Lauri Mannerman

Born 22.02.1891     Place Lahti, Finland      Ethnic origin Finn    Religion Lutheran

Father Rekolin, Leander      Mother -

Residence before arrival at Australia worked for 8 years on steamers, calling at ports of England, Holland and Germany

Arrived at Australia

            from England      on 5.10.1915     per Port Lincoln      disembarked at Sydney

Residence before enlistment Kurri Kurri, West Maitland, NSW

Occupation before arrival at Australia: stoker on ship, 1916 colliery wheeler, 1928 labourer

Service

service number 124A   enlisted 21.01.1916   POE West Maitland, NSW

unit 34th Battalion, 4th Battalion   rank Private

place Western Front, 1916-1918

awards 13.08.1918 awarded Military Medal (LG 6/08/1918)

final fate RTA 20.11.1918       discharged 19.02.1919

Naturalisation appl. 1928

Residence after the war Rockhampton, Mundubbra, Townsville, Innisfail, Tully, Malanda, Rockhampton, Mount Isa, Qld

Materials digitised naturalisation (NAA)

digitised service records (NAA)

court martial records 1    2   (NAA)

digitised recommendation for award (AWM) (Manneman, Louis)

DVA medical case file (NAA)

alien registration certificate (NAA)

From Russian Anzacs in Australian History:

Laurie Mannerman was a Finnish stoker who left his ship in Australia in 1915 and joined the AIF shortly afterwards; somewhat headstrong, his conduct in the army had been far from exemplary, but suddenly here [at Hazebrouck] he showed a new side. ‘During the advance of his Company [4th Battalion] at Strazeele on night 16th/17th April [1918], it was found necessary to get covering fire from an outpost of another Company. Pte. Mannerman was sent with a message to the Commander of the outpost and succeeded in getting through in spite of the fact that the ground to be covered was under intense artillery and machine gun fire. It was then found necessary to communicate with the Battalion on the right and this soldier volunteered and carried a message through the same intense barrage’. For his actions here he was awarded a Military Medal.

    [...] by 1928 [Laurie Mannerman] had lived all over northern Queensland — in Rockhampton, Mundubbera, Townsville, Innisfail, Tully, Malanda — but he obviously kept in touch with the RSL. When the military authorities were looking for him in 1934 to give him his Military Medal, it was the RSL that informed them of Mannerman’s whereabouts: ‘Mr Mannerman has been travelling about for many months’.

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