The First of Cooma's Fallen
Henry MouldsTrooper Monaghan Raymond Hayes was three months short of his 20th birthday when he enlisted in the 1st Light Horse Regiment of the Australian Imperial Force, in August 1914. It was sometimes said that if a man could ride a horse then he was destined for the Light Horse. Coming from Cooma, in rural New South Wales, as he did, Hayes is certain to have had that skill.
With the other members of his regiment, Hayes embarked for service overseas in October 1914. Their transport, His Majesty’s Australian Transport (HMAT) A16 Star of Victoria arrived in Egypt in early December.
Initially the Light Horse were thought unsuitable for the Gallipoli operation. The infantry though, soon needed reinforcement, so the Light Horse were deployed without their horses to join the campaign. Hayes landed with the 1st Light Horse Regiment on the 12th of May 1915 and served as a batman while the unit was attached to the New Zealand and Australian Division. For most of their time on the Gallipoli Peninsula the 1st Light Horse played a defensive role, but even defensive roles can involve contact with the enemy. Trooper Hayes was wounded in action on the 25th of May, receiving a gunshot wound to his right arm and left buttock. He was hospitalised on the island of Lemnos before rejoining his unit at the end of June.
Just over a month later, on the 31st of July 1915, Trooper Monaghan Hayes was killed in action and now lies in the Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, only a short distance from Anzac Cove, on which he’d landed less than twelve weeks before his death. The inscription on his headstone reads “Thy Will Be Done”. He was not quite 21 years old.
Sources:
Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour
Australian War Memorial website
The AIF Project: www.aif.adfa.edu.au
Commonwealth War Graves Commission: www.cwgc.org
National Archives of Australia: NAA: B2455, HAYES M R 330
