
Old Boys at War Project – One School’s Sacrifice
At the end of 20 I 5, the Year I 0 Elective History class undertook a project to discover our Old Boys who served in Australia’s military forces, and, in particular, those who had been killed in the service of our nation. From a puzzle with many missing pieces, these students were able to research the lives and details of 3 I servicemen killed in WW2 and begin the process of uploading their details to the RSL virtual memorial site.
From incomplete rolls dating from the early I900’s, we were able to positively identify 5 Old Boys killed in WWI from the hundreds of Old Boys we believed to have served in that conflict. Our Old Boys were in the thick of the action in WWI with one being killed (or dying of wounds) at Gallipoli, one in Syria, one at Fromelles and two at Bullecourt. Recently Old Boy researchers, Alan Mcinnes (Class of I956) and John Peters (Class of I964) appear to have found one Parramatta Marist Old Boy who was killed in the Boer War, Trooper Patrick O’Grady, NSW Imperial Bushmen (Died of Wounds, Ottoshoop, I 900). His relatives (possibly older brothers) also served in the war in South Africa but survived. They may also have attended Marist. The family was from Granville.
The School has continued this project with Year 9 Elective History.
Boer and First World Wars
Private (later Bombardier) Francis Chippindale DCM
Private (later Bombardier) Francis Chippindale DCM, 12th Light Horse Regiment (later 52nd Battery, 25th Brigade Australian Field Artillery), of Parramatta, NSW. Wounded in action 19 July 1916 at Fleurbax, France. Died of his wounds 17 August 1916 in Newcastle-On-Tyne, aged 21. Buried St Andrews and Jesmond Cemetery, United Kingdom.
Second World War
Flight Sergeant Robert Hugh Gillian
Flight Srgeant Robert Hugh Gillian, Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) was killed in an accident flying over Northern Ireland on the 26th March 1945, Aged 27. A monument marks the crash site and he is bried at St Mary Roman Catholic Church Cemetery, Limavady, Lodonderry, Ulster, Northerin Ireland, UK.
Stoker 2nd Class John Hagin
Stoker 2nd Class John Hagin, Royal Australian Navy, was killed on 27 November 1941 when his ship, HMAS Parramatta (Pictured) was torpedoed and sunck by U-559 off the Libyan coast whilst escorting an ammunition supply ship Hanne to ther besieged troops in Trobruk. He was 18.