Martin O'Meara: Difference between revisions
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In mid-1918 he was selected to join a group of Australian Victoria Cross recipients to return to Australia to assist with recruiting. He was promoted to Sergeant in late August 1918 and left England on 17 September 1918 on the troopship Arawa, arriving at Fremantle in Western Australia on 6 November 1918. On 7 November 1918 the Arawa's passengers were quarantined at Woodman's Point south of Perth because of a suspected influenza outbreak. |
In mid-1918 he was selected to join a group of Australian Victoria Cross recipients to return to Australia to assist with recruiting. He was promoted to Sergeant in late August 1918 and left England on 17 September 1918 on the troopship Arawa, arriving at Fremantle in Western Australia on 6 November 1918. On 7 November 1918 the Arawa's passengers were quarantined at Woodman's Point south of Perth because of a suspected influenza outbreak. |
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[[Image:Albert Jacka and Martin OMeara 1916.jpg|thumb|right|250px|O'Meara (right) meeting fellow VC recipient, Lt. [[Albert Jacka]], following the fighting at [[Pozières]].]] |
[[Image:Albert Jacka and Martin OMeara 1916.jpg|thumb|right|250px|O'Meara (right) meeting fellow VC recipient, Lt. [[Albert Jacka]], following the fighting at [[Pozières]].]] |
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Revision as of 23:32, 16 June 2016
Martin O'Meara | |
|---|---|
 Private Martin O'Meara c.1915–16 | |
| Born | 6 November 1885 Terryglass, Lorrha, County Tipperary |
| Died | 20 December 1935 (aged 50) Perth, Western Australia |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  Australia |
| Service | Australian Imperial Force |
| Years of service | 1915–1919 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Unit | 16th Battalion |
| Battles / wars | First World War |
| Awards | Victoria Cross |
Martin O'Meara VC (6 November 1885 – 20 December 1935)[1] was an Irish-born Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Early life
O'Meara was born at Terryglass, Lorrha, County Tipperary. He spent his early years in County Tipperary and by 1911 had moved to County Kilkenny. He arrived in South Australia in 1912, where he worked as a labourer on railway construction projects, and then travelled to Western Australia in 1914. He worked as a labourer in the Pinjarra area before making his way to the Collie area.
He was working as a sleeper cutter near Collie before enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force on 19 August 1915.
Military career
Assigned to 16th Battalion[2] as a private, O'Meara sailed from Fremantleon the troopship Ajana on 22 December 1915. He arrived at Port Suez in Egypt on 13 January 1915. He initially served with the 16th Battalion in Egypt as an infantryman and as a machine gunner with the 4th Machine Gun Company before arriving in France on 7 June 1916.
In late June 1916 he joined the 16th Battalion's newly-formed Scouting Section in northern France and served as a scout, observer and sniper during his time on the Western Front in Belgium and France.
Between 9 and 12 August 1916 at Mouquet Farm, Pozières, during four days of very heavy fighting, Private O'Meara repeatedly went out and brought in wounded officers and men from "no man's land" under intense artillery and machine-gun fire. He also volunteered and carried up ammunition and bombs through a heavy barrage to a portion of the trenches which was being heavily shelled at the time.[3]
O'Meara was wounded three times during the war: near Mouquet farm in August 1916, near Bullecourt in April 1917 and near Messines in August 1917.
He was presented with his Victoria Cross medal by King George V at Buckingham Palace on 21 July 1917.
In mid-1918 he was selected to join a group of Australian Victoria Cross recipients to return to Australia to assist with recruiting. He was promoted to Sergeant in late August 1918 and left England on 17 September 1918 on the troopship Arawa, arriving at Fremantle in Western Australia on 6 November 1918. On 7 November 1918 the Arawa's passengers were quarantined at Woodman's Point south of Perth because of a suspected influenza outbreak.
Later life
Martin O'Meara had a mental breakdown in November 1918 at the Woodman's Point Quarantine Station south of Perth, shortly after arriving in Western Australia. He was later diagnosed by the OC, 24th Australian Auxiliary Hospital, Stromness on 19 December 1918 as:
suffering from Delusional Insanity, with hallucinations of hearing and sight, is extremely homicidal and suicidal, and requires to be kept in restraint. He is not hopeful of his recovery in the near future. Admitted to Claremont Mental Hospital (insane patient), 3 January 1919.[4]
O'Meara remained in mental hospitals in Perth and died in December 1935 at the age of 50. He was buried in Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth, Western Australia.
The Medal
His Victoria Cross is displayed at the Army Museum of Western Australia, Fremantle, Western Australia.
References
- ^ Reid, Richard E. "O'Meara, Martin (1885–1935)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
- ^ "Australian War Memorial". Retrieved January 17, 2013.
- ^ "No. 29740". The London Gazette (invalid
|supp=(help)). 9 September 1916. - ^ The AIF Project: Martin O'Meara profile
Listed in order of publication year
- The Register of the Victoria Cross (1981, 1988 and 1997)
- Clarke, Brian D. H. (1986). "A register of awards to Irish-born officers and men". The Irish Sword. XVI (64): 185–287.
- VCs of the First World War - The Somme (Gerald Gliddon, 1994)
- Ireland's VCs ISBN 1-899243-00-3 (Dept of Economic Development 1995)
- Monuments to Courage (David Harvey, 1999)
- Irish Winners of the Victoria Cross (Richard Doherty & David Truesdale; Four Courts, 2000 ISBN 185182491X)
External links
- Irish emigrants to Australia
- Australian World War I recipients of the Victoria Cross
- Australian Battle of the Somme recipients of the Victoria Cross
- Irish Battle of the Somme recipients of the Victoria Cross
- Australian Army soldiers
- People from County Tipperary
- 1885 births
- 1935 deaths
- Burials at Karrakatta Cemetery