WINNER
CROKER PRIZE FOR BIOGRAPHY 2016
1624 – DAN’S LEGACY
By Christine Collins
Dan’s Legacy
Dan Mahoney was poised in the trench that dark night, scarcely breathing and acutely aware of
the sounds around him. He fingered the trigger of his rifle, waiting for the signal to move
forward into ‘No Man’s Land’. It was the 1st July 1916 and the 9th Battalion had been instructed
to capture Germans and weapons in Fleurbaix, France. It would be Dan’s first encounter with
the enemy. All of a sudden, a barrage of shells burst overhead and lit up the sky. The men
forged ahead into the mayhem. Several fell into the potholed ground, wounded. Dan looked
around. He was suddenly alone in his sector but continued to scramble across the muddy
ground, driven by fear and adrenalin. He launched a grenade into the sap ahead and saw
silhouettes of Germans deserting their post. Two remaining German soldiers surrendered and
abandoned their large machine gun. Dan unscrewed it from its stand and ‘with considerable
difficulty’ dragged it back through the barbed wire. Others soon assisted him in retrieving the
spoils of war.1 His first offensive resulted in a Military Medal as ‘he showed great courage and
coolness’.2 It was the first engagement of many over the next four, long years on the Western
Front and by no means the most difficult situation he would encounter.
Dan was a 23-year-old farmer from Kyogle, New South Wales, the third of eleven children. His
father, Denis had emigrated from Ireland in 1879 and by 1886, he had married Elizabeth Garde
(Annie).3 In 1888, Denis successfully obtained land in Kyogle and they established themselves as
dairy farmers. He later became president of the Kyogle Shire Council from 1915 to 1916.4 Dan
was their only son to enlist in World War 1 and by October 1915, he had left his family far
behind.5
The first major offensive for Dan’s battalion was in July 1916, at Pozieres. It was hell on Earth
and many men were killed in a short period of time. It was a battle where ‘shell shock’ became
symptomatic of the horrors that the men suffered. Dan was wounded in the left shoulder and
required several months in hospital. It would not be his most enduring wound. That would
come later in 1917 at Bullecourt, Belgium, when he was injured in his neck and arm. He was
wounded five times in all and was also hospitalised with illnesses. Just as the war was coming
to an end, he was again injured when undetonated mortars exploded in an incinerator.6
Dan survived the war and finally returned to Kyogle in 1919, although he was not the same man
as when he had left. His extensive medical records described the symptoms of ‘effort
syndrome’ (post-traumatic stress syndrome) and other ongoing post-war debilities. Despite
this, Dan fell in love with Margaret Wilson (Peggy), an English nurse whom he married in 1921,
one year after her arrival from England.7 Their three children, Edward (Ted), Joseph Bernard
(Bernie) and James Alan (Alan), all grew up in the Kyogle area.
The year was 1939 and World War 2 loomed when Bernie was 17. By 1941, Bernie had enlisted
at the tender age of 19.8 It is hard to imagine how Dan must have felt seeing his young son
1624 – Croker Prize for Biography 2016
leave, knowing what he, himself, had endured. A blurry photo seems to show a proud father
with his arm around his wife and son.9
Dan gave his son the prized Military Medal as a parting gesture.10 Bernie was soon assigned to
Malaya with the 8th Signals Division but it was not long before the Japanese overran the country
and Bernie became a prisoner of war in Changi, Singapore. The medal was lost, along with his
hope of returning home.
‘F Force’ was formed from the last prisoners of Changi in April 1943. 7000 men, including
Bernie, were packed into trains for the long journey to Kanchanaburi, Thailand, arriving in May
1943. They were then forced to march to isolated worksites to commence construction of the
infamous Thai-Burma railway line. The lack of food, water and sanitation, coupled with the
impending wet season, spelt death for thousands of men.11 Barely three months later, Bernie
died a lingering death from Cholera, halfway along the railway. Dan and Peggy were
heartbroken and never overcame their loss.12
Six years later, just before Christmas 1949, Peggy was tragically killed by a taxi in Brisbane.13
The funeral in Kyogle was a sad affair, with her two remaining sons being pall bearers.14 Now
Dan was alone. His beloved wife was gone, his son had been killed in the war and his other two
sons were married and busy with their own families. Dan’s health continued to deteriorate and
he was forced to stop work as a Tick Gate Assistant in 1957. The shrapnel lodged in his throat
constantly made it difficult to swallow and talk. When he laid down, he felt as though he was
choking. His spine was weakening. He continued to battle his demons and in his final years, was
admitted to war veteran homes in Brisbane, being described as severely disabled.15
Dan died alone on Christmas Eve 1970, aged 78. He was placed in an unmarked grave in the
heritage-listed South Brisbane cemetery.16 Since then, and for the past 46 years, Dan has been
forgotten. His sons and their wives have died, and their children have been unaware of his
whereabouts.
Until now. I have found him at last and visited the lonely spot where he resides. He will finally
receive the recognition that he deserves, with an official plaque from the Office of War Graves
soon to be placed on his grave. As we commemorate the centenary of the battle at Pozieres in
2016, I will invite my relatives to commemorate the personal battles that my great grandfather
suffered. I admire his endurance and courage in the face of adversity and am honoured to
recognise his place in our family history. Now, he will finally be remembered.
1624 – Croker Prize for Biography 2016
References
1
Gatfield, J. & Landels, R. The RSL Book of World War 1. Harpers Collins Publishers, Australia 2015. pp172-3
2
Commonwealth of Australia Gazette: 30 November 1916, Page 3236, position 15
3
NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, Marriage Certificate, Denis Mahony & Elizabeth A Garde,
7263/1886.
4
Wilson, B. Kyogle and Districts’ Early Selectors and Settlers 1840-1920. Kyogle Historical Society, NSW. 1977.
P40
5
National Archives of Australia, Daniel Mahoney Service Records, Canberra. NAA: B2455
6
National Archives of Australia, Daniel Mahoney Medical Records, Qld. NAA: BP709/1, M24247. pp402-405.
7
Qld Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages, Marriage Certificate, Daniel Mahoney & Margaret Wilson, B27444.
8
National Archives of Australia, Joseph Bernard Mahoney Service Records, B883, NX71952
9
Wilson, B. & Wilson, K. Ladies Please Provide. The Risk Hall 1908-2008. Self-published, NSW. 2008. Pp118.
10
Ibid, p119.
11
Australian War Memorial, Australian prisoners of war: Second World War - Prisoners of the Japanese, BurmaThailand Railway, https://www.awm.gov.au/research/infosheets/pow/japanese/thailand/
12
Mills, R. Doctor’s Diary and Memoirs, Pond’s Party, F Force, Thai – Burma Railway. Roy Mills, NSW 1994.
13
Trove, The Daily News (Perth, WA: 1882 - 1950), Saturday 10 December 1949, page 1
14
Trove, Northern Star (Lismore, NSW: 1876 - 1954), Monday 19 December 1949, page 2
15
National Archives of Australia, Daniel Mahoney Medical Records, Qld. NAA: BP709/1, M24247
16
Brisbane City Council, South Brisbane Cemetery. https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/facilities-recreation/parksvenues/cemeteries/south-brisbane-cemetery , 2016.
1624 – Croker Prize for Biography 2016