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Name:
Nationality: Rank: Regiment: Age: Born : Date of Death: Additional information: Marital status : Schooling : Physical description : Height : Weight : Skin color : Hair : Eyes : Other marks : Religion : Awards : Cemetery : |
Bergin Michael
Irish Chaplain 3rd Class and Jesuit priest Australian Army Chaplains Department 37 18 august 1879 , St. Kieran, Roscrea , Ireland 12 october 1917 Son of Michael Bergin, mill-owner, and his wife Mary, née Hill Single Educated at the local convent school and the Jesuit College at Mungret, Limerick. He entered the Jesuit noviceship at Tullabeg in September 1897 5'10" = 1.77 m 10 stone 10 lbs = 68 kg Fresh complexion Fair Blue None Roman Catholic Military Cross Reninghelst Churchyard Extension Stone 1 |
Occupation :
Two years later he was sent to the Syrian mission where English-speakers were needed; he felt the break from home and country very keenly but became absorbed in his missionary work and the exotic customs of the local peoples.
After learning Arabic and French he studied philosophy at Ghazir, and in October 1904 began teaching at the Jesuit College in Beirut.
In 1907 Bergin was sent to Hastings, England, to complete his theology studies and was ordained priest on 24 August 1910.
After a short time at home he returned to Hastings for further study and then gave missions and retreats in the south of England.
Two years later he was sent to the Syrian mission where English-speakers were needed; he felt the break from home and country very keenly but became absorbed in his missionary work and the exotic customs of the local peoples.
After learning Arabic and French he studied philosophy at Ghazir, and in October 1904 began teaching at the Jesuit College in Beirut.
In 1907 Bergin was sent to Hastings, England, to complete his theology studies and was ordained priest on 24 August 1910.
After a short time at home he returned to Hastings for further study and then gave missions and retreats in the south of England.
Military Cross
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*Bergin was awarded the Military Cross posthumously.
The citation praised his unostentatious but magnificent zeal and courage. Though he had never seen Australia he was deeply admired by thousands of Australian soldiers, one of whom referred to him as 'a man made great through the complete subordination of self'. |
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Military footsteps
January 1915 12 may 1915 13 may 1915 13 august 1915 16 june 1915 22 june 1915 5 september 1915 23 september 1915 5 october 1915 24 december 1915 4 january 1916 26 march 1916 5 june 1917 12 june 1917 11 october 1917 12 october 1917 |
He returned to the Middle East in January 1914 and was in charge of Catholic schools near Damascus until the outbreak of World War I. Along with other foreigners in Syria, he was then imprisoned and later expelled by the Turkish government. By the time he reached the French Jesuit College in Cairo the first Australian troops had arrived in Egypt, and Bergin offered to assist the Catholic military chaplains. Though still a civilian, he was dressed by the men in the uniform of a private in the Australian Imperial Force and when the 5th Light Horse Brigade left for Gallipoli he went with it. Sharing the hardships of the troops, he acted as priest and stretcher-bearer until his official appointment as chaplain 4th class alloted to the 13th Infantry Brigade.4th Australian Division. Admitted to 'Fleetsweeper' from 1st Australian Clearing Station with influenza Admitted to N°2 Australian Stationary Hospital at Mudros with influenza and diarrhoea Discharged to duty. Transferred from Hospital Ship 'Gloucester Castle ' to N°19 General Hospital "Deaconess" Alexandria with enteric fever. Transferred to England per HS 'Karoola' from Alexandria. Admitted to 3rd London General Hospital with enteric fever. Bergin's arrival home in khaki, complete with emu feather in his slouch-hat, caused a sensation among his family and friends. Though tired and weak after his illness, he was anxious to get back to his troops for Christmas. He returned to Lemnos but was pronounced unfit and confined to serving in the 3rd Australian General Hospital and hospital-ships. Evacuated to Alexandria, he worked in camps and hospitals in Egypt Joined the 51st Battalion, A.I.F., at Tel-el-Kebir. He accompanied it to France and served as a chaplain in all its actions in 1916-17; these included the battles of Pozières and Mouquet Farm, the advance on the Hindenburg Line and the battle of Messines. Proceeded to join the BEF per Troop Transport 'Invernia' and to be Chaplain 3rd Class Disembarked at Marseille He was wounded at Passchendaele when a heavy shell burst near the aid-post where he was working. He died from a shrapnel wound to his shoulder at 3rd Field Ambulance Station |
Jesuit College , Mungret , Limerick |
3rd London General Hospital Wandsworth |
Hospital Ship 'Karoola' |
Troopship 'Invernia' |
Hospital Ship 'Gloucester Castle' |
3rd Australian General Hospital , Lemnos |
