The AIF Project

Sylvester Plunket COFFEY

Regimental number2341
Place of birthAdelaide, South Australia
ReligionRoman Catholic
OccupationLabourer
AddressKennilworth Road, Parkside, South Australia
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation34
Height5' 7.25"
Weight154 lbs
Next of kinAunt, Mrs Rose Corner, Kennilworth Road, Parkside, South Australia
Previous military serviceServed for 15 months in 5th Contingent, Imperial Bushmen, South Africa; service ended with termination of war.
Enlistment date24 June 1915
Place of enlistmentKeswick, South Australia
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name27th Battalion, 5th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/44/2
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Adelaide, South Australia, on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on 13 October 1915
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll32nd Battalion
FateReturned to Australia 30 June 1918
Discharge date31 December 1918
Other details

War service: Egypt, Western Front

Tried by Field General Court Martial, Zeitoun, 26 February 1916, on charges of (1) when on Active Service when in lawful custody attempting to escape, 1 December 1915; (2) when on Active Service using insubordinate language to his superior Officer, 1 December 1915: found 'Guilty' on both counts: awarded 6 months' imprisonment with hard labour; sentence communted to 6 months' detention.

Admitted to 1st Australian Dermatological Hospital, Abbassia, 20 March 1916 (venereal disease: gonorrhoea); discharged, 12 April 1916; total period of treatment for venereal disease: 24 days.

Embarked Alexandria, 13 June 1916; disembarked Plymouth, England, 23 June 1916; marched in to 7th Training Bn, 29 June 1916.

Taken on strength, 32nd Bn, in the field, France, 15 October 1916.

Wounded in action, 31 October 1916 (shell shock), and admitted 5th Field Ambulance and then to Y Corps Rest Station; transferred to 12th General Hospital, Rouen, 5 December 1916; to England, 8 December 1916 (injury, right leg: slight), and admitted to Reading War Hospital, 9 Dedecember 1916; discharged on furlough, 17 January 1917, to report to No 1 Command Depot, Perham Downs, 1 February 1917.

Found guilty, 13 February 1917, of being absent without leave from midnight, 9 February, till 8.45 pm, 10 February 1917: admonished, and forfeited 1 day's pay.

Transferred to 70th Bn, Wareham, 27 April 1917.

Tried by District Court Martial, 22 August 1917, of without a reasonable excuse allowing 2 persons to escape, committed to his charge, 25 July 1917, when a member of the quarter guard; pleaded 'Not Guilty'; found 'Guilty',sented to 45 days' detention, and forfeited a total of 73 days' pay.

Proceeded overseas to France, 14 October 1917; taken on strength, 32nd Bn, in the field, 26 October 1917.

Admitted to 11th Australian Field Ambulance, 14 April 1918 (not yet diagnosed), and transferred same day to 12th Casualty Clearing Station; to Ambulance Train No 37, 18 April 1918 (hemiplegia), and admitted to 10th General Hospital, Rouen, 19 April 1918; transferred to England, 21 April 1918, and admitted to Military Hospital, Fovant, 22 April 1918 (myalgia); transferred to 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Harefield, 6 May 1918.

Commenced return to Australia, 30 June 1918; embarked Fremantle on board HT 'Capentaria', 28 September 1918; disembarked Melbourne, 4 October 1918, for onward travel to Adelaide; discharged (medically unfit), Adelaide, 31 December 1918.

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Date of death1 January 1920
SourcesNAA: B2455, COFFEY Sylvester Plunket

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