The Hogans 4 BATTALION, AIF TH
Thomas and Mary Hogan, were typical middle-class people who worked hard to maintain their family in the southern Sydney suburb of Marrickville. Thomas, 39, was a tailor by trade while Mary tended the house. 18-yearold sons John and William were both gainfully employed, with John also a tailor, and his brother a pastry cook assistant. The youngest, Eileen, was still at school1. Given his age, William Hogan was previously unable to enlist for Gallipoli but now that he was 18, and had five years’ service as a senior cadet under his belt, he was good to go and was keen to get over to France and have a crack at the Hun. He presented himself at the recruiting depot in mid-February 1916 but, unfortunately, didn’t pass the required chest expansion test2. He returned later in the month and this time took in as much air as he could and puffed out his chest. As William strained to hold in the oxygen, the medical officer wrapped the tape measure around the lad’s chest. “Right son, you can breathe normally now!” the doctor said. Completing his portion of the documentation, he handed it back to the young recruit and, with a smile said, “Through you go Private and good luck”. With his enlistment confirmed on 29 February 19161 and with the spike in willing enlistees following the withdrawal from Gallipoli, he was held in abeyance in Bathurst Depot Battalion until the training camps could be cleared with some of the backlog of reinforcements. With William now in uniform, John felt he should also go and do his bit, rather than risk staying behind and becoming a recipient of the dreaded ‘white feather’3. Thomas and Mary spoke of the prospect of both lads heading off to war. Thomas felt it was only right that he too should enlist, lest his sons do all the fighting while he was safely tucked up at home. Reluctantly, Mary hid her sadness and agreed with her husband. John enlisted on 17 April4, while Thomas enlisted a week later, at the local sportsground, on 26 April 19165. 82
Both were hopeful that they would marry up with William, but sadly, it wasn’t meant to be, as both were sent to the Dubbo Depot Battalion4,5. Reinforcement drafts for the NSW 4th Battalion were being formed in Liverpool Army Camp and the trio saw an opportunity to finally serve together. All applied and all were successful. Now officially destined for the 4th, Thomas was allocated with Regimental Number 6493, William 6494 and John 6621. The draft had to knuckle down and prepare for war. The training was hard but interesting and the food, although a little bland compared to Mary’s home cooking, was plentiful. If the training program allowed and if not required for guards or other duties, local leave was granted on the weekends. All three headed home at every opportunity to spend their dwindling time with Mary and Eileen. It was 30 September 1916 when the 21st Reinforcement Draft of the 4th Battalion, marched to the dock and the awaiting troopship Aeneas6. Mary and Eileen edged their way to the front of the crowd, in the hope of seeing their boys. For Mary, it was a chance to utter a silent prayer, that it wouldn’t be the last glimpse of Thomas and her sons2,4,5. The Aeneas made a quick stop in Melbourne to pick up some additional drafts and, on 2 October, continued her journey to England, arriving on 19 November 1916. The men were sent to the bleak training area near Larkhill on Salisbury Plain, where the impending winter weather would allow for a realistic representation of the battlefields of northern France and Belgium as the troops completed their training. But for the boys from ‘down under’, nothing could prepare them for that winter of 1916-17, said to be the worst in 40 years. Their only solace, was the realisation that if they were already in the trenches, it would be a hundred times worse. Thomas and William buckled down with training, deployed to France in February and joined the battalion CONTACT Air Land & Sea – Issue 71 – September 2021
