Coonamble NSW
1643
45th Battalion
Tooraweenah Kookaburra
RTA 3.7.1919
Private Herbert Keegan was a 26 year old labourer of Coonamble when he and his brother, Hilton, enlisted on 12 January 1916 with the Tooraweenah Kookaburras and marched to Bathurst. The medical examination described Herbert as 5’8” tall, no weight stated, chest 33”-36”, dark complexion, brown eyes, dark hair no distinctive marks and his religion was Roman Catholic. Herbert was born in Warren NSW to James and Esther Keegan, his father was his next of kin.
After training in Bathurst for three months, Herbert embarked from Sydney on board the HMAT ‘Sydney’ on 14 April 1916 with the 45th Battalion. They trained in Egypt and England and arrived in France in August 1916 to face the bleak winter in the Somme. Herbert experienced all the major battles that the 45th Battalion saw in the Western Front. In September 1917 Herbert was detached to the 1st Anzac Corps (School) Cooking at Aveluy France. He was granted leave to the United Kingdom in August 1918 and rejoined his unit in France in September 1918 .
Herbert commenced his return to Australia from France in March 1919. He returned on the ‘Port Napier’ and arrived in Sydney on 3 July, 1919.
Herbert and his brother Hilton were discharged from the AIF on 20 October 1919. Herbert died on 28 June, 1962 aged 73 years and is buried in the Coonabarabran Cemetery.
He was issued the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He is commemorated on the Coonabarabran War Memorial and the Baradine Honour Roll.