People Australia

James Hugh Kearney, n.d. photographer unknown

from Bank of NSW Roll of Honour

JAMES HUGH O ’NEILL KEARNEY, the son of Mr. James Anderson Kearney and Mrs. Winifred Mary Kearney, and the brother of Sergeant Donal Leo Kearney, was born at Eulo, Queensland, on 26th September, 1894. He was educated at Sandgate and Mareeba, Queensland, and at the age of fifteen was a sergeant in the Mareeba Volunteer Cadets.

He joined the Bank’s service at Cairns, Queensland, on 19th November, 1913, and was transferred to Atherton two days later. While there— in July, 1914—he was appointed ledgerkeeper.

On the outbreak of war James Kearney enlisted for service at Thursday Island. After returning from that station he enlisted again in February, 1915, in the A.I.F. and left Australia for Egypt in September as second-lieutenant with the 4th Reinforcements for the 25th Battalion. He went to France in the 7th Machine Gun Section with the first batch of Australians in March, 1916.

Owing to an attack of meningitis James Kearney was invalided to England and returned to Australia. In December, 1916, he re-enlisted and went back to France in June, 1917.

He was again invalided with a ruptured ear-drum in January, 1918, but rejoined his unit soon afterwards and received his lieutenancy on the field in May. Lieutenant Kearney and his battalion, when on the way to take up a position in the line, dug in on the side of a hill near the road from Bonnay to Heilly (Somme) at dawn on 5th June, 1918. They were subjected to a heavy gas bombardment, and while attending to the masking of his platoon Lieutenant Kearney was struck by a shell fragment, became unconscious, and died a couple of hours later at the dressing station. He was buried in the British Military Cemetery, Bonnay.