The Coo-ees had held a recruiting meeting in the Park at Parramatta on the evening of the 10th November, where it was reported that 41 men had offered themselves as recruits.[1]
The Sydney Morning Herald reported the following official figures ‘of the men who actually signed on (after medical examination), between Gilgandra and Sydney:- Gilgandra, 35; Dubbo, 13; Wongarbon, 12; Geurie, 6; Wellington, 31; Stuart Town, 1; Euchareena, 1; Molong, 4; Parkes, 5; Orange, 19; Millthorpe, 2; Blayney, 11; Bathurst, 17; Glanmire, 1; Yetholme, 1; Wallerawang, 3; Lithgow, 19; Blackheath, 2; Katoomba, 11; Leura, 1; Lawson, 10; Springwood, 5; Penrith, 4; Parramatta, 27; Ashfield, 22; total, 263’.[2]
Parramatta’s “official” count of recruits who signed on after a medical examination was 27.
This is a list of 21 men who were attested at Parramatta at the time the Coo-ees were recruiting in Parramatta:
4734 Private Albert BROWN Corps Cyclist Battalion (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
4737 Sapper John Beveridge BUXTON 7th Field Company (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
4744 Private Sidney CANNON 4th Pioneer Battalion (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
4749 Private Allan COLQUHOUN 13th Battalion (attested Parramatta 11/11/1915 & medical Parramatta 10/11/1915)
4751 Private Reginald Arthur COWELL 4th Division Light Trench Mortar Battery (attested Parramatta 11/1/1915 & medical Parramatta 10/11/1915)
Depot Private Harold Edmund CROUCH (attested Parramatta 11/1/1915 & medical Parramatta 10/11/1915)
4765 Private Albert DENZEL 45th Battalion (Military Medal) (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
4773 Private William FARTHING 13th Battalion (attested Parramatta 11/1/1915 & medical Parramatta 10/11/1915)
6251 Private Francis Charles FINLAYSON 13th Infantry Battalion KIA 4/2/1917 (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
4776 CQMS Maurice Bertram FREE 45th Battalion (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
Depot Private James GORDON (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
4787 Sergeant John HOURIGAN 45th Battalion (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
4813 Corporal Arthur IRWIN 45th Battalion, AAOC (attested Parramatta 11/11/1915 & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
Depot Private Arthur LAKEMAN (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
4861 Private Cyril McMILLAN 45th Battalion (attested Parramatta 11/1/1915 & medical Parramatta 10/11/1915)
4849 Private Jack MORRIS 45th Battalion KIA 6/8/1916 (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
4853 Private William Joseph MUNRO 13th Battalion (attested Parramatta 11/11/1915 & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
4884 Private Charles RICHARDSON 2nd ANZAC Cyclist Battalion (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
5766 Private John SAUNDERS 13th Battalion (attested Parramatta 11/11/1915 & medical Parramatta 10/11/1915)
4905 Private Ernest Stephen TAYLOUR 45th Battalion (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
4914 Private Thomas WARD 2nd Australian Corps Cyclist Battalion (attested & medical Parramatta 11/11/1915)
We have names for 4 more men who did their medical at Parramatta at the time the Coo-ees were in Parramatta, but they were attested after the Coo-ees left Parramatta.
An individual blog entry will be added to this website for each of the above named men.
[1] ‘The procession’, The Cumberland Argus and Fruitgrowers Advocate, 13 November 1915, p. 11, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article86101767
[2] ‘The increased ranks’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 13 November 1915, p. 20, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article15624736
1915 Coo-ee March 