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34th BATTALION A.I.F.

Private: 1529 Michael GRIFFIN.

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Born: 1894. Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. Birth Cert:19951-1894.

Married: 1938. Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. Marriage Cert:

Wife: Amilda May Griffin. nee: Whyburn (1907-1966)

Died: 25th October 1967. Maitland, New South Wales, Australia. Death Cert:

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Father: Thomas Griffin. (1852-19..)

Mother: Emma Griffin. nee: 

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INFORMATIONMichael Griffin was serving with the 14th Infantry for the past 3 years when he enlisted with the 34th Battalion AIF on the 29th of February 1916 

11/06/1917.

Informant; Private: 1529 Michael GRIFFIN. A Coy No:3 Platoon. Sergeant: 165 William James RICHMOND was in A Company, I believe III Pltn. I had known Sergt Richmond for 9 or 10 months and was in the habit of seeing him every day. He was about 5ft 7" in height, well built, brown hair and had freckled face. He had relations in IRELAND. He was killed in Houplines sector, about half an hours walk from ARMENTIERES about the 29th January 1917. I did not see him killed or buried, I was told by Private: 1783 Frederick Clarence ABRAMS of A Coy, No:3 Platoon, 34th Bn AIF (2nd Reinforcements) that he had seen Richmond's grave in the Military Cemetery at ARMENTIERES. Abrams did not say if there was a cross and name on it. Abrams is employed in the Battalion Q.M. Stores at the present time attending to the graves.

Hospital Ship "Essequibo".

Michael returned to Australia on the 21st of December 1917.

Horseshoe Bend Roll of Honour

Family Information

Michael was a single 21 year old Carpenter who work for J.B. Thompson of West Maitland and lived at Cathcart Street, Horseshoe Bend

 

A boy from
Horseshoe Bend
MICHAEL GRIFFIN

Michael Griffin (1894 - 1967) joined
the 34th Battalion in late February
1916. He arrived on the Western
Front in June 1917 and, soon after,
was severely wounded in the left
hand. He returned to Australia in
December 1917.
He was one of a number of boys
(estimated at the time to be
between 40 and 50) from the ‘Bend’
(Horseshoe Bend, Maitland) who
enlisted in the AIF.
The ‘Bend’ was a tight-knit
community with strong family and
friendship ties. It was a self-reliant
group and protective of its own. This
was demonstrated by how the Bend
people acknowledged the service
of their men and women when they
returned home from the First World
War. They formed a Welcome Home
Committee and each returned
soldier was presented with a
specially commissioned gold medal
with a horseshoe in the centre and
the name of the soldier to who it was presented.

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"Horseshoe Bend Medal"

THE PRESENTATIONS

“Before the medals were presented, Mr. C.J. Mannall (chairman) said the Horseshoe Bend Welcome Home Committee had been giving a welcome home to all the Horseshoe Bend heroes who had returned, and these welcomes would never be forgotten. “He thought it a pity that similar welcome homes had not been given to other soldiers of the Maitland area. “But the Horseshoe Bend committee decided that the returned men should have something given to them to commemorate the heroic part they had played in the war and decided to present each man with a gold medal. “These medals were very unique. “ Each had a horseshoe in the center with the monogram of the recipient, the name of the returned soldier to whom it was presented, and an inscription stating by whom and what it was presented for and each was surmounted by a crown, and attached by a green ribbon to a gold pin for the purpose of attaching to the coat.”

(The HSB Honour Roll lists a H. and L.A. Mannall K.I.A.)

- One of the recipients of the medal was Private: 81 Reginald James HACKETT, 34th Battalion, who had his right arm amputated above the elbow after being wounded at Messines, June 7 1917. Less than two months after being awarded the medal he killed himself with a revolver. He lived with Miss Soorley in Cohen Street.

- A medal to Major (Dr) J.J. Hollywood, living in the “extended area” of Horseshoe Bend. 

- A medal to Nurse Dorothy Feneley and the HSB committee “were honoured and had the privilege of welcoming home one of their brave nurses.” A very important historical record of WWI. 

(By Peter Bogan; Sept. 7, 2014)

It is not known how many medals were commissioned but the Roll of Honour from the Horseshoe Bend Infants school lists the names of sixty four men, thirteen K.I.A, leaving fifty one to return home.

Horseshoe Bend Honor Roll

(Horseshoe Bend, Maitland. Cynthia Hunter, Maitland City Council, 2000)

(By Peter Bogan; Sept. 7, 2014)

Grave of Private: 1529 Michael GRIFFIN (1894-1967) East Maitland Cemetery.

Military Records

© Commonwealth of Australia (National Archives of Australia)

Under Construction: 27/07/2007-05/05/2024.