The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2055) Corporal John Ignatius Mooney, 19th Battalion, AIF, First World War

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Gerard Pratt, the story for this day was on (2055) Corporal John Ignatius Mooney, 19th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2055 Corporal John Ignatius Mooney, 19th Battalion, AIF
KIA 30 August 1918
No photograph in collection – family supplied image.

Story delivered 24 July 2015

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal John Ignatius Mooney.

John Mooney was one of seven children born to grazier John Mooney and his wife, Amelia. He was born in 1892 in Goulburn, and his mother died when he was seven. His father later remarried. John and his siblings grew up in the Monaro district of New South Wales. His father had property in Mittagong and other business interests in Cooma and served on the local council. Little is known of his schooling, but as a young man John shunned agriculture in favour of the railways. On the outbreak of war he was working as a shunter for New South Wales Railways, and was engaged to be married.

John Mooney enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in May 1915 at the age of 23. He spent a short period on Gallipoli, during which, he reported to people in Australia, he was largely engaged in sniping. His health suffered, and he was evacuated for treatment for the mumps, jaundice, and, later, influenza. He rejoined his battalion in France in March 1916.

In November 1916 the 19th Battalion moved into trenches north of Flers to relieve the 17th Battalion. A few days later Mooney was wounded by a gunshot wound to his right arm, severe enough to see him evacuated to England for treatment. His recovery took several months, after which he attended a number of training schools. In March 1918 he had two weeks’ leave to Paris before returning to his battalion in the field. He would never leave it again.

On 30 August 1918 the 19th Battalion was on the banks of the Somme Canal with the intention of crossing it on the way to Péronne. Engineers had been working on bridges to cross the canal, but when the men of the battalion arrived construction was incomplete. Mooney, who had been promoted to corporal a week earlier, was reconnoitring the position when he was hit by a German shell. He was killed instantly.

The 19th Battalion had withdrawn to its original position, and Lance Corporal Charles Mackinnon volunteered to go with three other men and a stretcher to retrieve Mooney’s body. They collected Mooney without any problems, but before they had reached safety a stray shell dropped near the party. Mackinnon and another stretcher-bearer, Private James McIlwee, were killed. Together with Mooney they were buried a short distance from where they fell.

John Mooney’s fiancée, Margaret Hannah Driscoll, was devastated by his death. She never married.

John Mooney was 26 years old. His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 Australians who died during the First World War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Corporal John Ignatius Mooney, Lance Corporal Charles Mackinnon, Private James McIlwee and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section