Fr. Michael Bergin S. J. Records RANK Chaplain UNIT SERVICE NUMBER Australian Imperial Force, 5th Light Horse Brigade & 51st Batt. A.I.F. Chaplain AGE AT DEATH 38 DATE OF DEATH 11/10/1917 WHERE ENLISTED CAUSE OF DEATH LOCATION Killed in Action Passchendale, Belgium MEDALS or COMMENDATION The Military Cross of Honour (Australia) posthumously GRAVESITE or MEMORIAL Renninghelst Village Churchyard, Belgium HOME INFORMATION Son of Michael Bergin & Mary (nee Hill) Mill Owner, Fancroft, Roscrea. His brother John is listed as his next of kin REFERENCE BDT013 & TWD030 Much is written on the exploits of Fr. Michael in both of the reference books quoted here. The following information has been sourced and condensed from the Jesuits website commemorating those who served as chaplains etc.: Michael Bergin, born in Roscrea (at Fancroft Mill), schooled in Mungret, an Irish Jesuit chaplain with the Australian Imperial Force, which he joined as a trooper (stretcher-bearer) in the 5th Light Horse, in order to accompany the Australians to Gallipoli. Bergin requested to be a chaplain in the Australian Forces however the Australians were initially unsure of this Irish Jesuit, who served in the Lyons Province and had no connection to Australia. He was the only member of the whole AIF never to have set foot in Australia and the only Catholic chaplain serving with the AIF to have died as a result of enemy action. He always aimed to be where his men were in greatest danger, and having survived the Turkish campaign he was killed by a German shell on the Ypres salient in Flanders. The citation for the Military Cross awarded read: Padre Bergin is always to be found among his men, helping them when in trouble, and inspiring them with his noble example and never-failing cheerfulness. The Jesuit site points out the fact that his death as 11th Oct is on his tomb while most records quote it as being on the 12th because he was injured on the 11th but died a short time later on the 12th. The following appears in the Biographical Dictionary of Tipperary: BERGIN, Fr. Michael. Chaplain; soldier. Born: close to Roscrea, Co. Tipperary, 16th August 1879. He was one of five children, the son of Michael and Mary Bergin. While the family was not well-off, they placed a high value on education. The children were sent to Sacred Heart Convent in Roscrea. Michael was very
close to his brother Jack. Michael entered the Jesuit College in Mungret, Co. Limerick and remained there till he was 17. In 1897 Michael entered the Jesuit Noviceship in Tullbeg, Co. Carlow and was later sent to Syria where he studied for nine years in the University of Beyrouth. He was asked to travel to England in 1908 and in 1909 he visited his sick father in Ireland. His father died when he returned to England. Michael was ordained on the 24th August 1910, after which he worked in England for a couple of years giving retreats and missions throughout the country. He visited the Sacred Heart Convent in Cairo and heard of an Australian Regiment stationed there. The soldiers had no Catholic clergymen with them so Fr. Michael accompanied them to Gallipoli. He was unable to continue as their chaplain as a minister had not yet been chosen. Fr. Michael then joined the regiment as a soldier Trooper Bergin. He ministered to the men and carried out his duties as a soldier till the Australian authorities chose him as chaplain. Fr. Michael was a frail man, but this did not deter him from carrying stretchers and digging graves as several men died in the terrible battles between the Australians and the Turks. It was not an easy life and Fr. Michael wrote to his family telling them of the tragic experiences of war. He died from a shell close to Zonnebike, North East of Ypres on the 11th October 1917. He is buried near the church in Renninghelst. Following his death the Australians in respect of his dedicated service awarded him their highest army recognition, The Cross of Honour. http://www.thurles.info/2010/04/26/lest-tipperary-forgets-anzac-day/ Professor Fr. Michael Bergin, S.J., M.C.(1879 1917) Fr. M. Bergin Fr. Bergin won a military cross posthumously for his work as chaplain and as stretcher-bearer with the Fifth Light Horse Brigade. Fr Michael was well travelled and born in Fancroft, near Roscrea, Co Tipperary, schooled in Mungret College Limerick, an Irish Jesuit chaplain with the Australian Imperial Force, which he joined as a trooper (stretcher bearer) to the 5th Light Horse, in order to accompany the Australians to Gallipoli. He was the only Australian chaplain to have joined in the ranks, the only one never to set foot in Australia and the only Catholic chaplain to have died with the AIF (Australian Imperial Force). He always aimed to be where
his men were in greatest danger, and having survived the Turkish campaign, he was killed by a German shell on the Ypres salient in Flanders. The citation for the Military Cross awarded posthumously (although based on recommendation prior to his death), reads: Padre Bergin is always to be found among his men, helping them when in trouble, and inspiring them with his noble example and never-failing cheerfulness. Fr Michael s grave maker at Passchendaele, Belgium, gives the dates of his death as the 11th October. All official records indicate he died on the 12th October. Irish Times Article http://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/an-irishman-s-diary-1.656604 But then, in general, war is never as neat as myth-makers would like. Consider the case of Fr Michael Bergin, one of the many whose heroics Australians will celebrate tomorrow. A Jesuit priest, Fr Bergin won a military cross posthumously for his work as chaplain and stretcher-bearer with the Fifth Light Horse Brigade. But not only was he Irish. He never so much as set foot in the country he served. He was certainly well travelled. Born near Roscrea, Co Tipperary, he went to the Middle East as a missionary and teacher, first working in Syria, where he learned Arabic. He had moved to Cairo by January 1915 when the first Australian troops arrived there. And by the time the Aussies left for Gallipoli, he was with them, dressed in a private s uniform.