Profile

FOLEY, Michael Vincent
(Service number 6/454 (NZ); 1756 (AUS))

Aliases Enlisted as William HOSKINS
First Rank Private Last Rank Private

Birth

Date 08/07/1891 Place of Birth (1) Waimate; (2) Hobart, Tasmania

Enlistment Information

Date (1) 14 August 1914 (NZ); (2) 12 January 1915 (AUS) Age 23 years
Address at Enlistment (1) Waimate
Occupation (1) Farm labourer; (2) Labourer
Previous Military Experience
Marital Status Stated single but married.
Next of Kin Harry HOSKINS, Cliff Road, Hobart, Tasmania
Religion Church of England
Medical Information

Military Service

Served with Australian Imperial Forces Served in Army
Military District

Embarkation Information

Body on Embarkation 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion
Unit, Squadron, or Ship
Date
Transport
Embarked From Destination
Other Units Served With
Last Unit Served With 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion

Military Awards

Campaigns Balkans (Gallipoli)
Service Medals
Military Awards

Award Circumstances and Date

No information

Prisoner of War Information

Date of Capture
Where Captured and by Whom
Actions Prior to Capture
PoW Serial Number
PoW Camps
Days Interned
Liberation Date

Discharge

Date Reason

Hospitals, Wounds, Diseases and Illnesses

Post-war Occupations

Death

Date 7 August 1915 Age 24 years
Place of Death Gallipoli
Cause Killed in action
Notices Waimate Daily Advertiser, 29 December 1915
Memorial or Cemetery Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli; Waimate Old Cemetery - memorial on parents' headstone
Memorial Reference
New Zealand Memorials Timaru Memorial Wall; Waimate War Memorial

Biographical Notes

Michael Vincent Foley was the third son of John and Honorah (Norah née Leonard). He was one of the Territorials who volunteered on the outbreak of war and passed the medical test at Timaru on 14 August 1914. On 12 January 1915 at Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia, Michael Vincent Foley enlisted with the Australian Forces, giving false details – as William Hoskins, single, born at Hobart, Tasmania, next-of-kin – Harry Hoskins, Cliff Road, Hobart, Tasmania. Michael was born in 1891 at Waimate; he married Catherine Mulvena on 27 August 1914 at the Christchurch Catholic Cathedral. They had a child born January 1915. On 19 January 1915 a warrant was issued for Michael Vincent Foley for failing to maintain his wife and his child. The complainant was Catherine Foley, and it was thought that he may have joined the Expeditionary Force under the name of Leonard. Michael, however, had already enlisted in Australia, under an assumed name. Why? There were likely problems between Michael and Catherine. In March 1916, Catherine went to court, claiming maintenance for herself and her baby from her father-in-law. She was awarded 5 shillings a week. Michael’s brother, Timothy Joseph (Ted) Foley was called up in 1917 and enlisted.

Sources

The Australian War Memorial (www.awm.gov.au) [22 March 2020]; NZBDM Indexes (Department of Internal Affairs) [22 March 2020]; Waimate Old Cemetery headstone transcription & image [22 March 2020]; Timaru Herald, 15 August 1914, Waimate Daily Advertiser, 29 December 1915, 3 February 1916, 21 March 1916 (Papers Past) [March 2020]

External Links

Related Documents

No documents available.

Researched and Written by

Teresa Scott, SC branch NZSG

Currently Assigned to

Not assigned.

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