British War Medal 1914-20 : Private J Moran, 5 Machine Gun Battalion, AIF

British War Medal 1914-20. Impressed around edge with recipient's details.

Associated with the service of 2982 Private James Moran, a 26 year old carter who enlisted in the AIF at Sydney, New South Wales, on 2 February 1916. After training in Australia, Moran embarked for overseas service on 14 March 1916 as a member of the 31st Battalion 5th reinforcements. Travelling via Egypt he arrived in France on 30 June 1916 in time to take part in the Battle of Fromelles on 19 July, in which more than half the battalion's members became casualties. Moran transferred to 8 Machine Gun Company (8 MG Coy) on 22 August 1916. He saw little active service with this unit until June 1917 as he was hospitalised a number of times with a septic hand, trench feet so bad he had to be evacuated to hospital in England, and then bronchitis. In March 1918 8 MG Coy was renamed 5 Machine Gun Battalion when it became organised on a Divisional (5 Division) rather than a Brigade level. A detachment from the battalion, including Moran, was sent to counter attack in front of the village of Villers Bretonneux in France in April 1918 and were subject to German poison gas attack on 17 April. Moran was immediately evacuated to 41(British) Casualty Clearing Station, where he remained for 10 days in an effort to stabilise his condition so that he could be evacuated to England. He arrived at 1 South General Hospital in Birmingham on 28 April but died less than 48 hours later, from pneumonia caused by the gas attack. He is buried at the Lodge Hill Cemetery, Birmingham.