Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Eric Coates was born in Sydney, NSW, Australia in March of 1897, living in Cumberland(1), a suburb between Parramatta and Cabramatta. He was an Anglican and 'natural born British subject', descending from his father Arthur Coates and his mother Louisa Amelia Coates(2). Arthur Coates was an oyster merchant, buying and selling oysters for a living, whilst his wife stayed at home to take care of the house and their beloved child.

Although there is little available information about his early years of childhood, it is known that prior to the war that Eric was a Senior Cadet for 4 years in the army, an occupation that required him to help train junior cadets and himself to become future military officers(3). During his three years at Sydney Technical High School, Eric Coates slowly climbed his way up the ranks in his classes, improving rapidly in all subjects. At his first year at Sydney Technical High School (1911) he was ranked 38th in his division, his rank increased to 22nd out of the 30 people in his class (1912) and at his last year studying at Sydney Tech (1913), he reached rank 11th out of the 34 people in his class(4). Despite being short in stature, it was very clear that he carried just as much willingness to support his countrymen, and the officers conducting the examinations must have undoubtedly recognised that. He passed his medical examination in Sydney on the 13 of May 1916, managing to enlist at the Victoria Barracks aged 19 and a ¼ years old on the May 15th of the same year. He embarked at Melbourne, Victoria on the 2nd of November 1917, onboard the HMAT A73 Commonwealth along with the rest of the 43rd embarkment of Dental Detail units.

Eric Coates was an orderly ranked Private in the Australian Army Dental Service (A.A.D.S), a collection of medical units more colloquially known as the Dental Details, the smallest units in the Australian Imperial Force(5). He disembarked at Suez, Egypt on the 10th of December 1917(6). Each unit in the Dental Details consisted of only one dentist, two dental mechanics and one or more orderlies(7). His role as an orderly in the unit was to assist his superiors during and after the dental procedures on other soldiers by preparing and cleaning tools between operations, maintaining the workplace's cleanliness as best as he could and finally supporting the safety and care of dental patients during the procedure. Generally, he was tasked to assist with non-medical duties that the rest of the Dental Details unit was not inclined to do. As the unit was not meant to be used like standard infantry, he and the rest of his unit never attended any major battles and often stayed in the backlines being attached to field hospitals, base camps and other medical units. Almost all his time served in the war was spent in Egypt, attached to hospitals in Moascar, Alexandria, Port Said and Abbassia, with the exception of him being attached to a field hospital in Liverpool(8). He unfortunately contracted malaria on the 19th of October 1918, but was admitted and treated for it later that month on the 30th. As recognition for his service in World War One, he received the British War Medal and the Victory medal(9).

Returning on the 17th of July 1919(10), he was discharged on 21st November. He became engaged to Rosie Malvina Green on the 21st of December 1921 and had two children with her, one daughter named Elizabeth and another (13). 

He found employment as a truck driver an advertisement on the 11th of January 1921 stated that he had a one-ton Ford truck that he could use, likely referencing to the 1920 Ford Model TT, a truck based on its predecessor, the Ford Model T but with a stronger frame and rear axle along with two rear springs to assist with carrying heavy loads(11). With the  truck, he was employed as a motor driver through 1930-1949, switching to become a caterer through 1949-1963. He passed away aged 87 on the 16th of February 1984(14).

Endnotes

1. Ken Stevenson, Eric Coates Honour Board Project Word Document
2. Ibid
3. Anonymous. Eric Coates Records. National Archives of Australia
4. Ken Stevenson, Eric Coates Honour Board Project Research, Sydney Technical High School 1911-1913 Class Report Records
5. Ken Stevenson, Eric Coates Honour Board Project Word Document
6. Ibid
7. Anonymous. Dental Details: AIF. Virtual War Memorial Australia
8. Ken Stevenson, Eric Coates Honour Board Project Research Google Drive Army Logs
9. Anonymous. WW1 Honour Board Name List Excel Spreadsheet
10. Ken Stevenson, Eric Coates Honour Board Project Word Document
11. Ibid
12. Anonymous. Eric Coates Records. National Archives of Australia
13. Ken Stevenson, Eric Coates Honour Board Project Word Document
14. Ibid

Bibliography

- Ken Stevenson, Research on Google Drive (Includes many records and the Word Document)
- Anonymous. WW1 Honour Board Name List Excel Spreadsheet
- Anonymous. UNSW Canberra, 2024. Eric Coates Records. Australian Imperial Force (AIF) Project
- Anonymous. Eric Coates Records. Virtual War Memorial Australia
- Anonymous. Dental Details: AIF. Virtual War Memorial Australia
- Anonymous. Port Said War Memorial Cemetary. Virtual War Memorial Australia
- Anonymous. Eric Coates Records. National Archives of Australia