15th Battalion, Australian Infantry (Australian Army)
Date Of Birth:
17/06/1881
Died:
29/05/1915 (Killed in Action)
Age:
27
Summary
Major Hugh Quinn was the son of John Quinn, formerly of Pomeroy, County Tyrone, and son of Mary J. Quinn (nee Irwin), of 14 Robert Street, Springhill, Brisbane, Australia, and nephew of Mrs. Flanagan, Church Street, Cookstown, and Mrs. Lavin, Ann Street, Dungannon. The family were well known in Pomeroy, John’s father, Mr. Hugh Quinn was a merchant in the village and John’s brother Francis was a local Publican. John Quinn emigrated to Australia in 1881 and was married with 2 sons.
Further Information
Major Hugh Quinn was the son of John Quinn, formerly of Pomeroy, County Tyrone, and son of Mary J. Quinn (nee Irwin), of 14 Robert Street, Springhill, Brisbane, Australia, and nephew of Mrs. Flanagan, Church Street, Cookstown, and Mrs. Lavin, Ann Street, Dungannon. The family were well known in Pomeroy, John’s father, Mr. Hugh Quinn was a merchant in the village and John’s brother Francis was a local Publican. John Quinn emigrated to Australia in 1881and was married with 2 sons.
Hugh's father John Quinn was a mounted police officer in Australia.
His son Hugh was born on 6th May 1888 at Rutherford Street, Charter Towers, Queensland, Australia, and educated at Millchester State School, Charter Towers, and The Southport Church of England Grammar School for Boys (Dixon’s), Queensland.
From an early age he showed great skills as an athlete and all-round sportsman. He received many plaudits for his boxing skills and was well known in the sport throughout the country, becoming Northern Queensland Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion.
Hugh worked as a Public Accountant, Local Authorities Auditor, Stockbroker and Auctioneer before joining the Commonwealth Defense Force (Kennedy Regiment) as a private. He rose through the ranks to acting Quartermaster Sergeant and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant on 6th April 1908 and subsequently to Lieutenant on 25th September 1911. Hugh’s father, John died 3rd May 1912.
Hugh Quinn served with the 2nd Infantry Naval and Military Expedition in the Pacific Ocean for a number of years before the out break of World War 1, when he volunteered for overseas service on 16th August 1914 and was appointed Captain on 16th December 1914 and attached to15th Battalion Australian Infantry Force.
He was ‘Mentioned in Dispatches’ because of his gallant action when leading his men on 26th April 1915, on the first day of the landings at Anzac Beach. The objective was to capture an area known as Baby 700. It was to become one of the most advanced and dangerous of the Anzac posts, the site of incessant fighting between the Anzacs and the Turks at Gallipoli.
At some points the front lines were only 15 metres apart. The area would become synonymous with Hugh Quinn‘s name and was subsequently known as, “Quinn’s Post.”
A plaque in Gallipoli commemorates Quinn's Post.
He was promoted to the rank of Major on 1st May 1915 and by all reports he was regarded highly by all those who served with him. The welfare and comfort of his men were always his first priority.
A party of Turks had broken into no:3 section of ‘Quinn’s Post’ on 29th May 1915, after having fired a large mine which killed most of the Australians there at 3.20am. From this section they began to penetrate through the post, but were pushed back and confined. Cut off from retreat or reinforcement, their surrender was only a matter of time, but Major Hugh Quinn was ordered to attack over an exposed crest and retake the trenches ‘at all costs’.
Quinn twice placed his whistle between his teeth to give the signal for attack, but removed it again, deciding to move up the front line to reconnoitre the scene for himself before he ordered his men to charge. Colonel Chauvel had arrived on the scene during the fighting and gave the order for Major Quinn to take the charge, but Quinn was reported to be argumentative and refused to give the order. Finally Captain McSharry and Major Quinn moved up the line where they took their positions. Hugh Quinn is reported to have stood on a parapet with his revolver when he was struck by an enemy bullet and fell back into the arms of his comrade, Captain McSharry.
The following letter was written by Sergeant McKay 15th Battalion A.I.F. and sent to Major Richardson, of Omagh, County Tyrone.
“I knew the late gallant Major Hugh Quinn well, both in private and military life. I had the honour of serving under him with the military from New Guinea to the Dardenelles. You know the sport he was in civil life, so you can understand how we appreciated the different tournaments he used to get up to on board ship and during our severe training in Egypt. We left Helliopolis on April 10th 1915, for Linnes and stayed there for a few days before going to the now historic landing at Gaba-Tepe. The Major (then Captain) took his company of men to what is now known as ‘Quinn’s Post’ (named after him). It was one of the hottest of hot spots. The first week was one continual fight, night and day, and our battalion suffered heavily. The work done by the Major was really great, ably seconded by Captain Corier (later wounded) and Lieutenant Armstrong (later killed). On 29th May 1915, at about 8am, the Turks made a desperate attack on our positions, and a few of them penetrated into a section of our trenches. They did not remain there long, as the boys of the 13th and 15th Battalions got to work with the bayonet. Major Quinn lost his life as the Turks retired back to their own trenches. He stood on top of a parapet and fired at them with his revolver. It was there that he was shot through the heart, to the great sorrow of the Brigade and especially the boys of his own company.”
From the Belfast Newsletter dated 25th September 1915:
Major Hugh Quinn, of the 15th Battalion Australian Infantry, whose death in action was referred to in the last dispatch from General Sir Ian Hamilton, commanding the Mediterranean Force, was a grandson of the late Mr Hugh Quinn, merchant, Pomeroy, County Tyrone, where members of the family, including Mr Francis Quinn, his uncle, still reside. This gallant officer played a conspicuous part in the heavy fighting in the Anzac zone on the Gallipoli Peninsula, and Quinn’s Post, the scene of the stern and prolonged struggle between the Allied forces and the Turks, is named after him. The official account of the fighting in which he met his death reads:-
‘From 28th May till 5th June the fighting seemed to concentrate itself around Quinn’s Post. Three enemy galleries had been detected there, and work on them stopped by counter-mines, which killed twenty Turks and injured thirty. One gallery had however been overlooked, and at 3.30 am on 20th May, a mine was sprung on or near the centre of Quinn’s Post. The explosion was followed by a very heavy bomb attack, before which our left centre subsection fell back, letting in a storming party of Turks. This isolated one subsection on the left from the two other subsections on the right. At 5.30am out counter attack was launched, and by 6am the position had been retaken with the bayonet by the 15th Australian Infantry Battalion, led by Major Quinn, who was unfortunately killed. All the enemy in the trench were either killed or captured, and the work of restoration was begun. At 6.30am the Turks again attacked, supported by artillery rifle and machine gun fire, and by showers of bombs from the trenches. The fine shooting of our guns and the steadiness of the infantry enabled us to inflict upon the enemy a bloody repulse, demoralising them to such an extent that the bomb throwers of their second line flung the missiles into the middle of their own front line. At 8.15am the attack slackened, and by 8.45am the enemy’s attacks had practically ceased.’
Private information received in Pomeroy shows that Major Quinn, after leading his men with the utmost bravery, was shot on the parapet of the trench captured from the Turks. Major Quinn had taken part in the desperate fighting of May, of which General Hamilton says in his despatch:-
‘Around Quinn’s Post, both above and below ground, the contest has been particularly severe. This section of the line is situated on the circumference of the Anzac semicircle at the further point from its diameter. Here our fire trenches are mere ledges on the brink of a sheer precipice falling 200 feet into the valley below. The enemy’s trenches are only a few feet distant. On 9th May a night assault, supported by enfilade fire, was delivered on the enemy’s trenches in front of Quinn’s Post. The trenches were carried at the point of the bayonet, troops established in them, and reinforcements sent up. At dawn on 10th May a stronger counter attack forced our troops to evacuate the trenches and fall back to Quinn’s Post. In opposing this counter attack, our guns did great execution, as we discovered later from a Turkish officer’s diary that two Turkish regiments on this date lost 600 milled and 2,000 wounded. On the night of 14th-15th May, a sortie was made from Quinn’s Post with the object of filling in Turkish trenches in which bomb throwers were active. The sortie, which cost us some 70 casualties, was not successful.’
There are many other references in the despatch to this post, whose name will perpetuate the memory of the gallant Ulstermen who died in its defence.
From the Tyrone Courier dated 30th September 1915: Dardanelles Hero Killed
Major Hugh Quinn, 15th Battalion Australian Infantry, whose death was specifically mentioned by Sir Ian Hamilton in his dispatch published last week, was a grandson of the late Mr Hugh Quinn, merchant, Pomeroy, where members of the family, including his uncle, Mr Francis Quinn, still reside. It was after this gallant Ulsterman that the name of ‘Quinn’s Post’ in the Anzac zone, was given to the area held by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, which was the scene of much desperate fighting and which has been mentioned in Sir Ian Hamilton’s dispatch several times. Private information received in Pomeroy shows that Major Quinn, after leading his men with the utmost bravery, was shot on the parapet of a trench captured from the Turks.
Hugh Quinn was buried at New Monash Cemetery with the Military Service conducted by Reverend J. Green.
His remains were later re-interred to grave 3 C 21 at Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, Turkey. The cemetery is situated 400 yards south-east of Anzac Cove and got its name because of the heavy shelling it was given by the Turks on the 26th April 1915.
The epitaph on his gravestone reads:
"Some time, some day I trust to see the dear face I hold to memory"
After his death, Hugh’s mother, Mary Quinn was awarded a pension of £52 per year, this increased to £104 and finally to £255
Major Quinn, Captain Walsh and Captain Harry, all killed in action at Gallipoli, were boyhood friends in Charter Towers, Queensland.
On 21st September 1915, in Charter Towers, Queensland, in the town hall, at the request of the Mayor, Councillors J. Millican and Mr. Pritchard performed a ceremony, unveiling the pictures of Captain S.W. Harry and Major Hugh Quinn. The Mayor spoke highly of the qualities of both officers who were natives of the town.
