MEEHAN, Henry Francis

Henry Francis Meehan was born in Middlesborough, Yorkshire, England, the son of John Meehan and Mary Maize. He had four brothers, James, Joseph, Patrick and John, and two sisters Mary and Sarah Meehan. Of these, James, Mary and Joseph, all died young, while his father, John,died in 1906 and his mother in 1912. It was probably after his mother's death that Henry Meehan emigrated to Australia.  In 1916,the year he enlisted in the A.I.F., he was living in Parliament Place, East Melbourne and was working as a Drapery Manager. Born in 1880, he was relatively old to enlist, aged 35 years and 10 months old. On his enlistment form, he gave as his next of kin his niece, Mary Lee, of 24 Burns St, Harlesdon, London, England. He was 5'5" tall, with brown hair and eyes, and was by faith, a Roman Catholic.

Henry Meehan enlisted on 31 August 1916. He was sent to Royal Park for training with the D/22 Depot Battalion. On 30 November, 1916, he embarked on H.T. Hororata A 20, landing in Plymouth, England on 29 January, 1917. On 30 January, he marched in to join the 2nd Training Battalion at Dorrington. It wasn't until 20 August, 1917, that he proceeded to France, leaving by ship from Southampton. Once in France, he joined the 21st Battalion on 1 September, 1917.  Three months later, he was in hospital, struck down by Nephritis, a painful infection of the kidneys, which caused frequent urinating, accompanied with severe pain. He was in hospital for six weeks, before again joining his unit on the Western Front on 28 January, 1918.

By then, the German forces had been victorious in defeating Russia on the Eastern Front,  thus releasing fifty divisions of admittedly war weary veterans to fight in the west. Germany needed a fast victory over the allied troops. In 1917, America had entered the war, and with the U.S.A.'s military and manpower about to tip the balance to the allies, it was urgent that the victory came quickly.  The Germans launched the Spring Offensive on 21 March, 1918, moving from the Hindenburg line west. At first they were successful, re-gaining much of the ground lost in 1916-17. Thier main objective was to defeat the French armies first, skirting round the British positions, but the supply issue caused problems.  The German soldiers could not carry enough supplies and ammunition to sustain themselves for long and the supply chains could not keep up. It was just prior to the Second Battle of the Aisne that Henry Meehan was wounded on 19 May, 1918.  was admitted to the 7th Canadian Hospital, then evacuated back to England on H.S. Princess Elizabeth and admitted to hospital at Bethnall Green. The wounds must have been severe, as they ended his miltary career. On 15 September, he was returned to Australia, and on 3 December, was discharged from further military service.    

in 1919, he was back at The Cairo in Parliament Place, East Melbourne, working as a buyer. In 1924, he married Gladys May Bogle. They were not to have any children. In 1934, they were living at 35 Milburn Grove, Caulfield, with Henry working as a merchant. By 1937, they were at St Kilda, living at 5 The Esplanade, again with Henry working as a merchant and Gladys with home duties. They were still there in 1943. 

Henry Francis Meehan died on 5 November 1965, aged 85. He was buried at Brighton General Cemetery, Glen Eira.