COOPER, Kenneth Julian
| Service Number: | 590 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Randwick, New South Wales, Australia, 22 February 1895 |
| Home Town: | Mosman, Municipality of Mosman, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Sydney Technical High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Electrical Engineer |
| Died: | Killed In Action, 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Station, Grevillers, France, 9 April 1917, aged 22 years |
| Cemetery: |
Bapaume Australian Cemetery A. 15. |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cremorne St Peter's Anglican Church WW1 Honour Roll, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll Of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 590, Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force | |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Mar 1915: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 590, Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force | |
| 17 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 2nd Infantry Battalion, Sydney | |
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement 2nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked 2nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Sydney | |
| 21 Dec 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 2nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 17 Dec 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 2nd Infantry Battalion | |
| 9 Apr 1917: | Involvement Lieutenant, 2nd Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 2 Battalion awm_rank: Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1917-04-09 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Kenneth Julian COOPER, (Service Number 590) was born 22 February 1895 at Randwick. In 1910 at the age of 15 he commenced work as an electrical junior in Sydney with the Electrical Branch of the NSW Tramways. Over the next two years he worked at the City Sub Station, Waverley, Balmain and Newtown. On 21 July 1913 he became an Electrical Mechanics’ Assistant in the Signalling section and it was from this role that he was released from duty to join the Expeditionary Forces. In his Attestation Papers he describes his calling as ‘Electrical Engineer’. At the time of his enlistment in the AIF Cooper had 206 days service with the Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, which had ventured north from Australia to seize German colonies in the Pacific. How this service relates to his Tramway record card is unclear, as he had been absent from work since 17 August 1914. Immediately upon his discharge from the N & M E F, Cooper enlisted in the AIF on 17 March 1915.
He was wounded in action at Hermies, near Bullecourt, with shrapnel wounds to his abdomen on Easter Sunday night, April 1917, transferred to a Casualty Clearing Station but died the same day.
He is buried in the Bapaume Australian Cemetery.
Subsequently it was revealed that Cooper had left an ex-nuptial son, Kingsley John Dickinson, who was granted a pension of 20/- per fortnight, paid in trust to his mother Miss N. Dickinson. Contact with this child seems to have been lost as Cooper’s medals were given to his mother, on condition that they would be handed back, if the son, the rightful recipient, ever claimed them.
Submitted 6 June 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of Basil Cooper and Maude Amy Cooper of Boyle Street, Mosmon, NSW
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Kenneth Julian COOPER, (Service Number 590) was born 22nd February 1895 at Randwick. In 1910 at the age of 15 he commenced work as an electrical junior in Sydney with the Electrical Branch of the NSW Tramways. Over the next two years he worked at the City Sub Station, Waverley, Balmain and Newtown. On 21st July 1913 he became an Electrical Mechanics’ Assistant in the Signalling section. In his Attestation Papers he describes his occupation as ‘Electrical Engineer’. At the time of his enlistment in the AIF Kenneth had 206 days service with the Naval and Military Expeditionary Force, which had ventured north from Australia to seize German colonies in the Pacific. He enlisted in the AIF on 17th March 1915.
By August, Kenneth Cooper had applied for a commission as an officer in the AIF, and this was granted in December 1915. He was only 20 years old. He left Australia, as a 2nd Lieutenant, aboard HMAT ‘Aeneas’ on 20th December 1915. By March 1916 he had reached Egypt. By November he had reached England. He went to France in December and joined the 2nd Battalion. On 18th December he was promoted to Lieutenant. Over the next months he had a number of periods in hospital and training schools
He was wounded in action at Hermies, near Bullecourt, with shrapnel wounds to his abdomen on Easter Sunday night, April 1917. He was transferred to a Casualty Clearing Station but died on the same day.
He is buried in the Bapaume Australian Cemetery.
Subsequently it was revealed that Kenneth Cooper had left an ex-nuptial son, Kingsley John Dickinson, who was granted a pension of 20/- per fortnight, paid in trust to his mother Miss N. Dickinson. Contact with this child seems to have been lost as Cooper’s medals were given to his mother but this was on condition that they would be handed back if the son, who was the rightful recipient, ever claimed them.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
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