General News
22 February, 2025
Veterans' Voices: Edward Laurence Curran
Edward Laurence Curran was born in 1877 in Horsham, the son of Michael and Brigid Curran.
Known as ‘Ted’, he attended school in nearby Pimpinio.
On leaving school he became a farmer in the district.
In October 1899 war broke out in South Africa between the two Boer republics and the British Empire.
Curran enlisted in the 7th Battalion, Australian Commonwealth Horse, in May 1902.
The Australian Commonwealth Horse was the first Australian – rather than colonial – unit to serve overseas.
By the time Ted arrived in South Africa in mid-June, the Treaty of Vereeniging had been signed and the war was over.
His battalion returned to Australia shortly afterwards but Ted chose to stay on in South Africa, where he joined the South African Constabulary.
The South African Constabulary had served in a military capacity during the war but in peacetime it transitioned to a civil policing role in the conquered former Boer republics.
Ted enlisted in the constabulary for a three-year period, and when his time expired he returned to Australia.
In 1916 he was living in Gilgandra, New South Wales, and working as a farmer.
In September he travelled to Dubbo to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force.
He undertook a brief period of training before embarking on the transport ship Argyllshire at the end of October.
Arriving in England in January 1917, he continued his training at the army camps on Salisbury Plain.
The conditions in camp were not always ideal, and Ted spent 10 days in hospital with influenza in February.
Having recovered, he sailed to France at the end of March.
Towards the end of April Ted joined his unit, 24th Australian Infantry Battalion.
Earlier in the year, German forces had conducted a strategic withdrawal to a strongly held position known as the Hindenburg Line.
Before Ted arrived in France, some Australian units had been involved in a failed assault on the occupied French village of Bullecourt, north-east of Amiens.
In May the Allied commanders again sought to capture the village.
On May 3 1917 the second attack on Bullecourt began.
The battle ran for two weeks but 24th Battalion was involved in the fighting only on this opening day.
During that time it suffered almost 80 per cent casualties.
Among the dead was Edward Curran.
He had been with his unit in France for less than a month.
He was 39 years old.
Ted was buried in Queant Road Cemetery in northern France, where more than 2300 Commonwealth soldiers of World War I are buried or commemorated.
Two of Curran’s brothers also served in the war.
Driver Michael Joseph Curran of 3rd Field Artillery Brigade enlisted in 1914 and returned to Australia due to illness in May 1918.
Private Francis Austin Curran of 38th Battalion enlisted in 1916 and was badly wounded in the leg at Messines in June 1917.
He recovered in hospitals in England before returning to Australia in June 1918.
Private Edward Laurence Curran is listed on the Roll of Honour at Australian War Memorial, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the World War I.
[CROSSHEAD]Australian Commonwealth Horse
The Australian Commonwealth Horse (ACH) was a mounted infantry unit of the Australian Army formed for service during the Second Boer War in South Africa in 1902.
It was the first expeditionary military unit established by the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia following Federation in 1901.
More than 4400 men enlisted in the ACH in three contingents, with troops and squadrons raised in each state and combined to form battalions.
Eight battalions were raised, with the first arriving in Durban in March 1902.
The 1st and 2nd battalions saw limited active service, conducting patrols against the Boers during the last great drives that ultimately ended the war.
The war ended before the remaining battalions arrived to see action, and by the time peace came on May 31 1902 the majority of the third contingent, consisting of the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th battalions, remained at sea bound for South Africa.
The ACH suffered no fatal casualties in action, although 28 men died from illness.
With thanks: Sally Bertram, RSL Military History Library. Contact Sally at sj.bertram@hotmail.com or call 0409 351 940.