Bartholomew Thomas Sharkey
1874 — 8 January 1941
Bartholomew Thomas Sharkey (James Collins) (10‑52‑36)
Born in Ireland in 1874 Bartholomew Served in WW1 under the name James Collins as he was too old to enlist at the time, being 40 years old. He enlisted in September 1914 stating he was 34. The age limit was initially 38 but as the war raged on it was increased to 45. Bart joined the 12th Battalion as a driver.
WW1 details – extracts from file at National Archives of Australia website:
- 2.11.14 Embarked Freemantle for Alexandria
- 13.9.15 After ten months of fighting he went to hospital with a fractured pelvis in Alexandria (fall from horse)
- 28.1.16 He headed back to Australia 4 months later
- 18.7.16 Discharged
I was successful in finding a great nephew on Ancestry called Simon Gillespie who lives in America and who was very excited that he might finally be getting his grave marked. Bartholomew or Bart as Simon calls him, was quite ‘anxious to serve’ in the AIF. He received medals in the Boer War which he sent back to his nephews in Ireland. But he was quite unwell after the first world war and never fully recovered from his injury. He did not work after leaving the army – he travelled around Australia looking for work but was not successful. He had emphysema and cirrhosis of the liver and died from heart problems on 8th January 1941. An email from Simon is as follows but first a photo
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