Patrick Comerford
Four Comerford brothers from New South Wales who fought in the Australian forces during World War I became posthumous celebrities in Australia some years ago when they featured in a ‘Who Do You Think Are’ programme about the actor Joel Edgerton.
Two of Edgerton’s great-uncles fought alongside each other on the battlefield in Gallipoli in 1915. The Comerford name survives in Comerford Street and Comerford Avenue in Cowra, New South Wales. Some accounts say the names were given to these streets because the Comerford family owned the land originally; other accounts say they are named in honour of the four Comerford brothers who fought in World War I.
The family is descended from Edmond Comerford, from Clonmel, Co Tipperary, who was the father of:
James Comerford (1817-1898) of Clonmel, Co Tipperary. He was born in Clonmel on 15 June 1817. He married Mary Ann Kelly (1820-1881) in Ballyneale, near Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary, in 1839, and emigrated to Australia, landing in Port Jackson, New South Wales, in 1840. They lived in Camden, NSW, before moving to Shankmore County, Cumberland, NSW, in 1849.
They were the parents of eleven children, five sons and six daughters:
1, Edward Comerford (1842-1913). He married Elizabeth Webster.
2, Mary Ann (1844-1920), married Patrick Donlan (1842-1926).
3, Thomas Comerford (1844-1929), of whom next.
4, James Lawrence Comerford (1846-1926), married Susannah Jane Heffernan (1850-1937).
5, Margaret (1849-1920), married John William Costello (1844-1915).
6, Rebecca (1854-1877), died unmarried.
7, Ellen (1855-1945), died unmarried.
8, Catherine (Kate) (1856-1924), married Edward Dean Riley (1833-1913).
9, Eliza (1858-1938), married Thomas Kearins, who died in 1902.
10, William Comerford (1859-1860), died in infancy.
11, John Comerford (1861-1918). He married Laura (Leane) Sarah Jordan (1862-1945) in 1885, and they were the parents of six children: John E Comerford (1887-1920), James Michael Comerford (1890-1974), Ellen Laura (1892-1983), Mabel J (1896- ), Catherine N (1899- ), Rose E (1902 ), and Thomas William Comerford (1906-1976).
Mary (Kelly) Comerford died on 25 March 1881 in Young, NSW. James Comerford died on 29 September 1898 in Wambanumba, NSW, after a fall from a horse; he was then 81.
Their second son was:
Thomas Comerford (1844-1929). He was born on 17 June 1844 in Camden, NSW. He married Mary Agnes Hogan (1854-1925) in Boorowa, NSW, on 8 August 1877.
Thomas Comerford revived the Phoenix Brewery in Cowra, in central west New South Wales, in 1901. But he closed it less within a year, complaining that it was difficult to compete with the price of Sydney beer. There were only three hotels in the district who could purchase the beer manufactured locally, but all the other hotels were ‘tied’ houses owned by the big city breweries.
Thomas and Mary Comerford were the parents of ten children, six sons and four daughters:
1, Patrick Joseph (Paddy) Comerford (1878-1962).
2, Rebecca (Beccy) (1879-1962), married James Burns (1868-1921) in 1899.
3, Mary Jane (1880- ).
4, James (Jim) Comerford (1882-1919).
5, Simon Phillip Comerford (1884-1954).
6, Thomas Edward (Mick) Comerford (1886-1915).
7, Johanna Agnes (1887-1921), married William Copson in Cowra, 1908, and they were the parents of two daughters and three sons: Edna M Copson (1908-1910); Thomas Edward Copson (1910-1966); Sidney Archibald Patrick Copson (1912-1982); Mary M Copson (1915); and Ovid Emmit Copson (1905-1980).
8, Catherine Ellen (Kate) (1890-1980). In 1919, she married Donald Kempsey Cameron (1890-1963). She was the mother of one daughter, Thelma May Comerford (1913-2007), who married William George Munday (1913-1962).
9, George John Comerford (1892-1964).
10, Lawrence William (Larry) Comerford (1896-1954).
Thomas Comerford and Mary Comerford lived at Newtown, Cowra. Mary (Hogan) Comerford died in Cowra on 4 April 1925; Thomas Comerford died on 24 September 1929.
Four of these brothers, Patrick, Simon, George and Lawrence Comerford, enlisted in the Australian forces in World War I. Two brothers, James and Thomas Edward Comerford, known as Mick, were unable to enlist due to weak chests and sickly disposition. Indeed, Mick died on 14 September 1915 while his brothers were fighting.
The brothers found themselves in various theatres of war, including the Middle East and Europe, and it is a rarity in Australian war history that all four Comerford brothers returned home to Cowra and the surrounding district.
The eldest son, Patrick Joseph Comerford (1878-1962), was born in Young NSW, and enlisted in the Australian forces in Liverpool NSW. He fought in both Egypt and France during World War I.
Both the third son, Simon Phillip Comerford (1884-1954), and the youngrest child, Laurence William Comerford (1896-1954), were in the same unit as transport drivers of the 18th Battalion in the 5th Brigade in Gallipoli in 1915.
Simon Philip Comerford was born in Young, NSW, in 1884, and was living in Lyndhurst, New South Wales in 1913. He enlisted in Liverpool, NSW. He fought in Gallipoli in August 1915. Documents show he fractured his left leg after he was kicked by a horse while on transport duty in January 1918.
After World War I, he was living in Calalare, New South Wales, by 1930 and he was still there when he died on 7 December 1954.
His brother, Laurence William Comerford, was wounded in action in France in November 1917. Laurence enlisted on 2 February 1915 as private in the 20th Battalion, 3rd Reinforcement, and his unit embarked from Sydney on board HMAT A54 Runic. He was a driver with the 18th Battalion during the war, and returned to Australia on 13 April 1919.
Laurence married Dorothy Clemantine Williamson in 1926. He was a painter, and lived in Earlwood NSW. He died on 22 November 1954.
The fifth son, George John Comerford, who was born in Boorowa, NSW. He enlisted in Liverpool, NSW, and trained at Holsworthy near Liverpool. He took part on horseback in the farewell to the 12th Light Horse Regiment in Sydney on 28 April 1915, and he embarked on HMAT A29 Suevic on 13 June 1915.
On their arrival in Egypt, George and his comrades in the 12th learned they were to reinforce troops already at Gallipoli. On their way to Alexandria, the troopers were told the 12th would be split on arrival at Gallipoli.
The Machine-Gun Section and George’s ‘A' Squadron of the 12th Light Horse were ‘taken on strength’ to the 1st Light Horse Regiment around ‘Walker’s Ridge,’ becoming that regiment’s ‘B' Squadron. Between late August and December, George saw action in mainly defensive battles. He described to his family the ferocity of the hand-to-hand trench combat he was involved in.
He also spoke of the ingenuity of an idea to have rifles keep firing through a dripping water mechanism as plans for the evacuation of the ANZACs were put into actioned and of his role as one of the troopers assigned with setting up the famous ‘drip’ rifles.
George recalled to family members his prominent role in the charge of the Light Horse at Beersheba, one of, if not the last great cavalry charge in any war and a turning point in the Turkish control of the Sinai and Palestine during World War I.
George was a trooper in the 4th Light Horse Brigade. He said his horse was called ‘Aeroplane’ because ‘it flew’ when prompted or startled by artillery fire. He said one of the reasons the horses needed no encouragement to charge that late afternoon in October was because the horses had been lacking water and ‘could smell it’ at the wells of Beersheba, only a few miles away.
George was in ‘A' Squadron, 2nd troop, and was in the leading row of the charge with only the scouts ahead of them. While another A Squadron troop dismounted to fight in the trenches as they approached Beersheba at full gallop, George was in the remaining troops that jumped trenches and entered Beersheba on the Asluj-Beersheba road at full pace, capturing Turkish guns, munitions and prisoners, as the Turks surrendered.
His medals, honours and awards included the 1914-1915 Star, the Victory Medal, and the British War Medal. George married in 1921, and he died in Cowra on 24 January 1964.
Comerford Street and Comerford Avenue in Cowra are named after the four brothers in recognition of their service and the rarity of all four returning home to Cowra and surrounding districts.
The eldest of these brothers, Patrick Joseph Comerford (1878-1962), was born on 12 May 1878 in Young, NSW. He married Ivy Philomena Anthony (1904-1995), daughter of William Melchaides Anthony and Margaret Josephine (née Lee), on 16 October 1921.
They later lived at Wilkins Street, Bathurst. Patrick died in Bathurst in 1962, and Ivy died in 1995. They were the parent of seven children:
1, Ronald Noel Comerford.
2, Beryl Mary Bullock.
3-7, five other children.
The stories of these brothers were told in a television programme on the genealogical background of the Australian actor and filmmaker, Joel Edgerton.
The award-winning Edgerton has appeared in the films Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002), Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005) as a young Owen Lars, King Arthur (2004) as Gawain, Zero Dark Thirty (2012), The Great Gatsby (2013), Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014) as Ramesses II, Black Mass (2015), Loving (2016), Bright (2017), Red Sparrow (2018), and The King (2019).
14 comments:
RIP
My great great grandmother Jane Comerford was Williams twin… born 1859 and married Franz Krebs
William Comerford, Son of James and Mary, had a twin sister, Jane who married Franz Krebs
John Comerford b.1861 had a daughter Mary b. 1886 (Joel Edgerton’s gg grandmother.
I am the grandson of George John Comerford the 5th of the brothers in the article.
George married Ethel Hatch in Cowra on return from the Great War. They had 5 children; Bernard (dec), who served in the 2nd AIF in WW2 married to Kath (no issue), Shirl/Shirley (dec) who married James ‘Jim’ Thomas, they had 3 daughters, Olive(my mother) (dec) married Noel Barber and I Am the youngest of 4 children(2m/2f); Patricia (living) who married Samuel Hampton and had 6 children (4m/2f), and Janet (living) who married John Dudley and had 3 sons.
George passed away 4 months prior to my being born and my mother (a nurse) returned to Cowra to assist her mother in caring for him in his failing health.At the time my family were living in Grafton on the NSW North Coast some distance from Cowra on the central plains over the Great Dividing Range from Sydney.
Cowra was in World War 2 the site of a Prisoner of War camp that saw the mass break out by Japanese Prisoners of War in August 1944. George apparently ‘innocently’ scared the family while the search for escapees was occurring by ‘remembering to retrieve the Axe from the woodpile late one night. It may well have been a lesson - as many of the escapees took their own lives, but a searching officer was overpowered and killed during this time.
The family moved to Cowra from Young where they had also run a brewery, however as the article identified at the time they were not aware that pubs in Cowra had been ‘tied’ to the major Sydney breweries ;(Tooth’s, Tooheys and Reschs). They then returned to the earlier family business of stables and farrier work. I believe Thomas and Mary relocated to Sydney and travelled periodically to Cowra- not an uncommon practice for stabilised rural business people in early C20 Australia. Mary was reputed to be a capable even fine horsewoman in her own right.
I can confirm a family connection to the Edgertons (didn’t know the it was the famous movie ones).
I can also confirm that Comerford street was named both for the fact the street ran along the boundary of the family property, as well as the story of the return of the 4 brothers from WW1. George and Ethel raised their family in a house made of earth walls and features well - hand dug by George. George worked in a number of roles after returning in 1919, most significant was a telephone linesman.
In 1966, 2 years after George passed the house was de-roofed in a wind storm and Ethel relocated to live closer to Shirl and her family. The block was eventually sold and subdivided.My mother often wondered if they found the well - which George filled in with pieces of carriage and harness left from the old business.
I came across this site while searching for information that Patrick Paddy had also served in the colonial militia sent to the second Boer War.
Noting some of your other interests, George was Catholic and is buried in the old Catholic cemetery in Cowra. His wife Ethel was devoutly CofE her family migrating in 1903 from London.My mother Olive was also a devoted Anglican all her life, passing aged 93 in 2020. Her sisters Patricia and Jan (Janet) still are living in 2024. The father of Patricia’s husband Sam served with George in the same Lighthorse troop in WW1.
Curious if my family is connected. My husband’s father was Thomas Edward Comerford ( born 1919). I believe he was orphaned. His father was James Comerford who married Edith Ada Irvine Armstrong in 1916. I think that James was the son of Thomas Comerford who married Mary Hogan. We visited Cowra once and I wondered about the street name Comerford. There is no one in the family alive who can tell me anything.
I am curious if there is a family connection. My husband’s father was Thomas Edward Comerford ( born 1919 in Cowra). I believe he was an orphan. His father was James Comerford ( born in Young but living in Cowra) who married Edith Ada Irvine Armstrong in 2016. His father was Thomas Comerford from Cowra who married Mary Hogan. All that info is on marriage certificate of James and Edith. There is no-one in family to tell us more than that.
Hi Sharyn interesting mix of names - but I am not sure about how the dates work. I will ask my Aunt Jan and get back to you.
I have marriage certificate that confirms all of that info. When I try to double check elsewhere I can’t find anything else.
I have a very old marriage certificate that confirms all of that but can’t seem to get any further.
Typo on 2nd comment. Meant 1916. I have very old marriage certificate with that info on it but no way to confirm anything else.
I have very old marriage certificate with that inf. Typo in 2nd comment. Obviously meant 1916, not 2016. No other way to verify or gain more info.
I have emailed my Aunt Jan she thinks she may be able to help but wants to check some details she had concerning Thomas (who was known widely as Mick). Will let you know when she is in touch.
Neil Barber, did you ever find out about the query I made? You said your Aunt might have information.
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