Pte
Edmund James Cooper
Information about birth
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Year of birth: 1894 |
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Place of birth: Seymour, Tasmania, Australia |
General information
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Profession: Labourer |
Army information
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Country: Australia |
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Force: Australian Imperial Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 2819 |
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Enlistment date: 19/08/1915 |
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Enlistment place: Claremont, Tasmania, Australia |
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Units: — Australian Infantry, 12th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 06/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Westhoek, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 23 |
Cemetery
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Divisional Collecting Post Cemetery and Extension Plot: I Row: H Grave: 13 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 2
| #1 | Enlistment place | ||
| #2 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Edmund James Cooper was a private of the Australian Infantry 12th Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Division. On the evening of 3 October 1917, the 12th Battalion left their bivouacs round Chateau Regard and went forward to relieve the 4th Battalion on Westhoek and Anzac Ridges. The 4th Battalion moved into the front line trenches, as the attack on Broodseinde was to take place next day. The valley between Westhoek and Anzac Ridges was heavily barraged the following days. On the night of 5-6 October, the 12th Battalion moved on their turn to Broodseinde Ridge to relieve the 1st and 4th Battalion. It was particularly dark and rainy that night. The duckboard track leading to the front line was badly damaged by shell fire. Men, heavily laden with guns and ammunition, were to become hopelessly bogged in the mud. Also was the battalion heavily shelled by enemy artillery. That night, Private Edmund James Cooper was probably killed by shell fire on his way to the front line.
Sources 3
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12th Australian Infantry, (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/29/32). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583 Sources used |
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First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920 (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455, COOPER E J). https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/NameSearch.aspx Sources used |
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Newton L.M., The story of the twelfth: A record of the 12th battalion A.I.F. during the Great War of 1914-1918 (Hobart, J. Walch & Sons Pty. Ltd. 1925), p. 158-9. Sources used |
More information 4
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/480799 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=208cee8a-42c6-4f2d-9333-c250d68192cd |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7397108 |
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The AIF Project (UNSW Canberra) https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=61859 |