Coull, Sydney Archibold

Gosford District Casualties of World War One

Bragg, Edmund Allen Service Number 1494

Killed in Action 19th May 1915 Gallipoli Peninsula

Gosford District Casualties of World War One

Coull, Sydney Archibald Service Number 2151

Killed in Action 29th August 1917 Messines, Belgium

Gosford City Council gratefully acknowledges the voluntary efforts of

Benalyn Campbell

And Vivienne Tranter

in compiling this resource

The information in this file has been extracted from official records

held in the

The Australian War Memorial and

National Archives of Australia

(© Commonwealth of Australia [National Archives of Australia] 2013)

Further information on this soldier may be found online at:

Commonwealth War Graves

The AIF project

Content advisory: This file may potentially contain disturbing accounts of service-related injury and death, disease and family grief. Adult supervision is recommended for children

using these resources. Individual files should be viewed within the context

provided by wider research on service conditions in the 1st AIF.

This resource is presented by Gosford City Council

for research purposes only. Please note that copyright for resources

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http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en

NAME Coull, Sydney Archibald

SERVICE NO 2151

UNIT 45th Battalion

RANK Private

AGE at Enlistment 27 yrs 11 mths

PLACE OF BIRTH Caiwarra, Qld

ADDRESS Narara, NSW

OCCUPATION Railway Night Officer

DATE OF ENLISTMENT 28 Feb 1916

PLACE OF ENLIST-MENT

Royal Aust Show Ground Sydney, NSW

PREVIOUS SERVICE Ni;

NEXT OF KIN Mother;- Mary Agnes Coull, Narara, NSW

Father’s were abouts unknown- deserted family over 20 yrs

PHYSICAL DESCRIP-TION

Height-5’5”. Weight- 136lbs. Chest-34-36½” Complexion-Fresh. Eyes-Grey. Hair-Brown.

RELIGION R/C

EMBARKED Sydney 22 Aug 1916 per A18 “Wiltshire”

DISEMBARKED Plymouth 13 Oct 1916

NOTES 31 Jan 1917 sick England

WOUNDED/ILLNESS Trench Fever.

DIED KIA 29 Aug 1917- Messines, Belgium

BURIED In the line at Messines, gve marked with a cross fashioned from a biscuit tin, by Cpl J P Murray 6771 13

th Btn.

MEDALS British War Medal-45285, Victory Medal-45811. Memorial Plaque & Scroll-330012

DEPENDANTS

PERSONAL EFFECTS

WILL Yes

GOSFORD TIMES 27.9.1917

ROLL OF HONOR. PRIVATE SYDNEY A. COULL.

Word was received by Mrs A Coull, Narara, on the 14

th inst. (through Rev. Father Kelly) that

her youngest son, Private Sydney A Coull, was killed in action on 29

th August in France.

The Sad news caused quite a gloom over the district, where the deceased soldier was widely known. He was a fine specimen of young Aus-tralian, and, by his genial disposition, en-deared himself to old and young alike. He was for many years a relief officer in the Railway Department, a position he resigned three years ago to take up the study of opera singer. His teacher, Mr Alfred Hill, of Sydney, predicted a brilliant career for the young singer, his voice being a robust tenor. After studying about eighteen months, he responded to the call and enlisted in January, 1916, sailing on the 22

nd August. He went into action January

last, and fought in the Somne and Messines battles, after which he was transferred from the 45

th Battalion to the glorious but unlucky 13

th

Battalion. With the exception of a few weeks in hospital suffering from trench fever, the young soldier was in action up till the 29

th August last,

when he was killed in action. Profound sympathy is expressed on all sides for

the deceased’s family, to whom the sad news

came as a shock.


RETURN THANKS MRS. A. COULL AND FAMILY Desire to convey their deepest thanks to all kind

friends, to the Members of the Narara Hall Commit-

tee, and Mrs O’Toole and Family for acts of kind-

ness and expressions of sympathy on their late sad

bereavement.

GOSFORD TIMES 29.11.1917.

LATE PRIVATE S. COULL Mrs Coull of Narara, has received the following letter from the battle front referring to the death of her youngest son, Private Sid Coull, who was killed in action on 29

th August:-

Godforth Wilts, No 4 Camp, England, September 28 – Dear Madam, - Just a few lines to let yoy know about your son. He was in my Section with B Coy 13

th Battalion at the battle

of Messines. A shell killed 20 and wounded 14, and your son was among the former. I regret having to break the news to you but on account of knowing the man your son was I feel it my duty to do so. He was killed outright and suf-fered no pain. We buried him after dark, and I said a prayer over him. God be merciful to his soul. I placed a little cross over his grave. I feel so sorry for your dear son, but he did his bit for his country. Should I ever get back to Australia I will call and see you personally. At present I am having a rest in England. We all hope that this cruel war will soon be over and that we will be able to get back home. Good night and God bless you. – From a dear friend of you son, sid (God blessings too) – J. P. Murray (Sergeant) France – Dear Mrs Coull and Family, - Being an old school mate of Sid’s I think it my duty to let you know what I can about poor Sid. He was killed in the front line on the 29

th Au-

gust and was buried that night just behind the line. You have my deepest Sympa-thy in your sad bereavement. Shortly I expect to be on leave from France, I will then let you know exactly where he is bur-ied. – I am, yours faithfully LIEUT. A. W. Edwards.

GOSFORD TIMES 17.1.1918. PREPARED FOR HIS END. Mrs M. A. Coull, of Narara, has received the follow-ing letter referring to the death of her youngest son, Sydney A. Coull, killed in action on 29

th August in

France:- France, 15

th November, 1917

Dear Mrs Coull, - I have just received your letter of 15

th September, and I feel very very deeply for you in

your sorrow for the death of your dear boy. Nothing saddens me so much as the loss of the men whom I love so much – their piety, their devotion, bravery and patience touches my heart. But if I myself feel so grieved at the death of one of them, it helps me all the more to understand your sorrow. Alas we have lost more than one lately. It will be a comfort for you to know that your son was well prepared for his end. A few days before they went into the front line I had all the 13

th Battalion at Mass, and all received Holy

Communion. On that day I had a little parcel of med-als, of our Lady, to give out, after Mass. I was greatly impressed by the eagerness with which they approached the Altar Rails to receive Holy Commun-ion was a most edifying example to others present. As I am obliged to look after three other Battalions, I was not present in the front line when your boy was buried. His death was instantaneous, and he was buried at the spot where he was killed, in the pres-ence of his officer – Captain Mosley. May God give him eternal rest. I offer Holy Mass continually for his soul, and the other brave dead. – In deep sympathy, yours very sincerely, C. LONGERAN, Catholic Chaplain.


ROLL OF HONOR. COULL – To the cherished memory of our darling Syd, who was killed in action at Warneton, Messines August 29

th,

1917. He fell in the front line, A soldier and a man. Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Have mercy on his soul. Inserted by his loving mother, brothers, and sisters

GOSFORD TIMES 28.8.1919. ROLL OF HONOR. COULL – To the sacred memory of our dear son and brother, Syd (13

th Battalion) killed in action 28

th Au-

gust 1917. Sweet Jesus have mercy on his soul. The highest manhood, modeled on Christ’s plan’ Who dies for others, dies a perfect man. Inserted by his loving mother, brothers and sisters.

Abridged record/s courtesy of the National Archives of Australia (NAA) Series No: B2455 Item Barcode: 3430329

Coull, Sydney Archibold

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