COPE, Harold George
| Service Numbers: | Depot, 30105 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 August 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column |
| Born: | Townsville, Queensland, Australia, 19 September 1896 |
| Home Town: | Townsville, Townsville, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 21 September 1917, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, City of Townsville WW1 Honour Roll, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient), Townsville Cenotaph |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, Depot, Reinforcements WW1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Jan 1916: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private | |
| 5 Jun 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 30105, Reinforcements WW1 | |
| 9 Nov 1916: | Involvement Gunner, 30105, 9th Field Artillery Brigade , Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Nov 1916: | Embarked Gunner, 30105, 9th Field Artillery Brigade , HMAT Benalla, Sydney | |
| 21 Sep 1917: | Involvement Gunner, 30105, 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 30105 awm_unit: 2nd Australian Divisional Ammunition Column awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1917-09-21 |
Help us honour Harold George Cope's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Virtual Australia
Courtesy of the Australian War Memorial -
History / Summary
Born in Townsville on 18 September 1896, Harold George Frederick Cope was serving in the militia in the Kennedy Regiment when he enlisted in the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF), raised to take part in the capture of German New Guinea, on 14 August 1914 and was sent to Thursday Island for garrison duty. He left the island on 16 August on the troopship Kanowna and was formally taken on strength of the AN&MEF on 6 September. The ship returned to Townsville without reaching New Guinea on 18 September, on account of a dispute with the vessel's firemen, and the soldiers aboard her, including Cope were discharged.
Harold Cope, now employed as a labourer, enlisted in the AIF on 30 August 1915, just before his nineteenth birthday. He was assigned to training with reinforcements for the 5th Light Horse Regiment near Brisbane. After being absent without leave for a week, during which time he was involved in an incident at a private residence, his commanding officer noted in December that Cope was 'not likely to become an efficient soldier', and recommended his discharge. Shortly afterwards Cope's mother, Elizabeth, contacted the army to state that she had not given her under-age son permission to enlist. Cope was consequently discharged from the AIF on 21 January 1916.
Cope re-enlisted in the AIF on 5 June 1916, this time with the consent of both his mother and stepfather, Cornelius Schatzler. Assigned as a gunner, service number 30105, to reinforcements for the 9th Field Artillery Brigade, Cope moved to Sydney for further training. While there he married Olive Victoria Barker. He left Sydney for overseas service in November, aboard HMAT A24 Benalla. After training in England Cope was assigned to the 2nd Divisional Ammunition Column, joining his unit at the end of June 1917. He was killed at Busseboom, near Poperinghe, Belgium, on 21 September 1917, during the third battle of Ypres. Cope's body was never recovered for burial. His name is listed on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres.
This commemorative plaque was sent to his widow, Olive, in 1925.
Click images to start slideshow.