BIRMINGHAM, Stanley Patrick
| Service Number: | 917 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 12th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Sydney, 1888 |
| Home Town: | Parramatta, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Parramatta Marist Brothers |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Illness (Malaria), Damascus, 25 October 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Damascus Commonwealth War Cemetery, Syria Damascus Commonwealth War Cemetery, Damascus, Syria |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Aug 1915: | Involvement Private, 917, 12th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '3' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Runic embarkation_ship_number: A54 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Aug 1915: | Embarked Private, 917, 12th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Runic, Sydney | |
| 25 Oct 1918: | Involvement Trooper, 917, 12th Light Horse Regiment, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 917 awm_unit: 12th Australian Light Horse Regiment awm_rank: Trooper awm_died_date: 1918-10-25 |
Extract from Last Post Ceremony
Trooper Stanley Patrick Birmingham
(This is an extract from the Last Post Ceremony 27 July 2017, Australian War Memorial)
Stanley Birmingham was born in Sydney in 1888. He grew up in Parramatta and went to Marist Brothers School. He started work as a clerk and enlisted on 4 March 1915. He joined the 12th Australian Light Horse (ALH) Regiment and sailed for Egypt on 9 August 1915.
He was sent to Gallipoli at the beginning of November and joined A Squadron of the 12th Light Horse Regiment which had been detached for duty with the 1st ALH Regiment. Soon after, the Australians withdrew from Gallipoli and Birmingham returned to Egypt. Through this period he suffered from influenza and mumps. In July 1916 he was with the 2nd ALH Brigade at Romani. He returned to the 12th ALH and in September was involved in a number of patrols in the Sinai Desert. On 12th of February he was recorded as being absent without leave and was fined one day's pay, confined to barracks for two days and all leave stopped for 30 days. However, he continued to go absent.
In April the 12th ALH moved into Palestine and took part in the second Battle of Gaza. This battle was a failure and one of Birmingham's closest friends was killed. On 31 October he took part in the charge at Beersheba.
In late November 1917, when the 12th ALH were near Deiran, Birmingham left his column, going absent without leave and rode into town where he assaulted a number of locals. In December 1917, he was found drunk on duty. He was court martialled and sentenced to six months incarceration with hard labour. At this time, he corresponded with the parents of his mate killed at Gaza.
The regiment started their move towards Damascus in September 1918 and the 12th ALH was one of the first Australian units to enter the city on 1st October. In mid-October he was again absent without leave. He contracted malaria and died on 25 October aged 31.
After hearing of his death, the sister of his Gaza mate wrote to Birmingham's mother: 'All my family had kindly thoughts of your son. After my brother was killed at Gaza ... your son was good enough to write us ... He must have been a good-hearted and generously disposed boy'.
Trooper Stanley Patrick Birmingham is remembered on Panel 8 of the First World War Role of Honour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.
Submitted 3 February 2022 by Adam Hendry