Name: Harry Lindsay Shannon
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Date of birth: 1891
Place of birth: Wagga
Link to Wagga: Birthplace
Date of enlistment: 19 June 1915
Age at enlistment: 24 years 2 months
Occupation: Clerk
Religion: Church of England
Next of kin: Father, Percy Shannon, c/o Referee Newspaper
Office, Sydney
Battalion or Regiment: 4th Battalion, 9th Reinforcement
56 th Battalion
Battlefields: Egypt, France
Outcome: Returned to Australia, A29 ‘Suevic’, 27 September, 1917
HARRY Lindsay Shannon was the son of Percival St. George ‘Percy’ Shannon and Blanche (née Battersby).
Percy was a journalist who was based in Wagga from the 1890s through until the early years of the 20th century.
He later worked for The Sydney Morning Herald among other publications.
In Wagga, the family lived at ‘Woodbine’ Cottage on Crampton Street, and it was here that Harry was born.
Prior to enlisting, Harry had spent three years as a Cadet in Wagga.
He was a pupil of the Wagga District School, and his classmates included Malcolm Henningham and Everard Sheppard.
From newspaper reports, it appears that Harry was a good shot – in October, 1906, he competed in the weekly shoot of the Wagga District School Rifle Club, where he competed in Class B alongside Malcolm Henningham, Cyril Layh, Percival Kem and Allan Bruce and other teenaged boys who later enlisted and fought for their country.
Like father Percy, by all accounts, Harry was also a gifted footballer. Percy played rugby and was also on the first general committee of the Wagga Rugby Football Club, and also on the sub-committee formed to draft the rules in 1899.
He was also a very fine cricketer.
In 1907 and 1908 Harry was chosen to play on inter-state teams, again, with many chums who would become comrades during the war.
He played in the Wagga district football teams (1909-1912), the East Sydney Australian football team (1913) and also played Rugby after relocating to Bathurst, where he was a student enrolled at the Bathurst Experimental Farm.
On December 8, 1913, Harry’s mother, Blanche, died at the family home in Sydney.
She was just 45 years old.
Harry enlisted with the AIF in June, 1915, and embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT 8 ‘Argyllshire’ on September 30.
Immediately on arrival in Egypt, Harry was admitted to the No. 4 Auxiliary Hospital with mumps, most probably caught on the voyage from Australia.
He wasn’t discharged to duty until Christmas Eve.
In January ,1916, he joined his battalion at Tel-el- Kebir.
The following month, he transferred from the 4th Battalion to the 56th Battalion, and was appointed to the rank of Corporal.
Exactly three months later, in May 1916, he rose to the rank of Lance Sergeant.
The Referee newspaper of June 14, 1916, reported that Harry Shannon was, early in the year, a corporal in charge of a bomb-thrower’s section, somewhere at the front.
By January, 1917, Harry was stationed at the 1st Anzac School of Instruction in France.
On January 5, 1917, Harry was instructing in bombing at the 1st Anzac Corps School at Bois des Escardonne when the bomb exploded.
A Court of Inquiry held the following day determined that the accident was unavoidable, all precautions had been taken to obviate an explosion, and that the soldier was not to blame.
As a result, Harry embarked from Rouen aboard the HS ‘Aberdonian’, bound for England.
He had sustained multiple bomb wounds to both arms and his left leg (knee joint).
He was admitted to the Military Hospital at Lewisham on January 23.
Lewisham Military Hospital (a Borough of London) had beds for 24 officers and 838 for other ranks as well as provision to take officers suffering from shell shock.
On May 28, 1917, Harry was transferred from Lewisham Military Hospital to the 1st Auxiliary Hospital (Harefield Hospital) in Middlesex.
On June 9 he was discharged from the hospital to the Weymouth Depot.
He was still suffering with a fractured left tibia.
The Sydney Mail of April 4, 1917, reported on Harry’s wounds.
The article read he and three of his mates were the victims of a premature bomb explosion.
“One of the group was killed, Sergeant Shannon (an instructor in bomb throwing) got 14 pieces of shell in him. Two went through the fingers of his left hand. Two of his teeth in the top jaw were blown out by the roots; fragments of shell entered his right arm and shoulder; his left leg was fractured, four pieces of shell entering his left knee,” the report said.
Harry sailed from England on September 27,1917, aboard the ‘A29 Suevic’ bound for Australia for discharge.
On Christmas Day, 1917, he was discharged from the AIF 2nd MD.
On Monday, November 19, 1917, Harry was aboard one of four special trains conveying about 500 wounded and invalided soldiers that passed through Wagga on their way to Sydney.
Among the returning local soldiers were Private Weedon (brother of Dr Stephen Weedon) and Harry.
On his return to Australia, Harry settled at ‘Katonga’, Beckwith Street, Wagga.
He was awarded a pension of 22/6.
After this, Harry seems to largely vanish from the historical record. According to the 1930 electoral roll, he was a labourer, living in Travers Street, Wagga.
From 1931, Harry appears to be living in Sydney (mainly in the inner city areas like Surry Hills), working as a labourer.
In 1937, the Wagga Wagga Express reports on a visit that he made to his hometown.
At this time, he and his father Percy are remembered as talented sportsmen.
In 1968, Harry was still living in Surry Hills, no occupation is listed. Presumably he had retired.
Harry died at Turramurra in 1970.