SERVICE PERSON RESEARCH
SERVICE PERSON DETAILS
Service Person’s
Name
Rank
Service Number
Regiment/Unit or
Ship or Squadron
David Emmett Coyne
Sergeant
3347
31st Australian Infantry Battalion
Date of Birth
14 March 1896
Place of Birth
Marian, Queensland
Family Details
Parents: David Emmett Coyne and Annie Coyne (nee Hughes)
Age at Enlistment
19
Place of Enlistment
Rockhampton
Date of Death
15 May, 1918
Place of Death
61st Casualty clearing station in France
Injuries accidentally received
Cemetery or
Memorial Name
Grave or Memorial
Number
Vignacourt British Cemetery
11 D 6
PHOTO:
Source: Mackay History 2011, David Emmett COYNE
http://www.mackayhistory.org/research/fallen_soldiers/WW1/coyne_de.ht
ml (accessed 1 February 2015)
Australian War Memorial 2015, Roll of Honour: David Emmett Coyne,
http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1728234/ (accessed 1 February 2015)
SERVICE PERSON’S STORY/EULOGY:
Prepared by Amy Stratford
David Emmett Coyne was born on 14 March 1896 at Marian, near Mackay in Queensland. He was the 8th child of
David Emmett Coyne and Anne Coyne (nee Hughes) who were both born in Ireland. David attended Marian State
School and after finishing school went to help his father on the family’s sugar cane farm.
Coyne enlisted in Rockhampton as a Private in the Australian Imperial Force on 25 January 1916. He was 19 years and
9 months old. His enlistment papers state he was 5ft 11 ¼ inches tall, fair complexion, brown eyes, brown hair and his
religious denomination was Roman Catholic.
Coyne was sent to Frasers Hill Camp in Brisbane and then embarked overseas on 4 May 1916 with the 31st Battalion –
7th Reinforcements at Brisbane. He left Australia on the ship HMAT A49 Seang Choon.
The unit arrived in France and spent the winter of 1916-17 on the Somme engaged in raiding and patrol work and
then, in March, they advanced on Bapaume. On 21 April 1917 he was promoted to Lance Corporal and left his unit for
six months to qualify as a bomb instructor in England. He was promoted to Sergeant and re-joined the 31st Battalion in
October 1917. From November 1917 to March 1918 the Battalion served in Flanders before they went back to the
Somme.
On 15 May 1918 the Battalion was at Vaire-Sous-Corbic. At about 11.30 pm this night all the men were in the
trenches. David, as a fully qualified bomb instructor, had to periodically test the bomb supplies to ensure they were
in good order and this is something he did regularly. He thought that some of the stored grenades may have been
affected by the damp and that he should test one to see if they would still be alright to use. He made sure no one was
nearby and he threw one but it fell back into the trench.
No one is really sure what happened, he either fell from the fire step or his arm hit the back of the trench as he threw
it. From his military records there are eight witness statements to the incident. It was dark but the witnesses all agree
he yelled for everyone to get out and run for their lives as he had dropped the bomb. He tried to find the grenade in
the darkness without luck. He knew his men were not clear so he deliberately threw himself on the general area
where he thought the bomb was and it exploded with him lying on it. Immediately one of the soldiers yelled out “Is
anyone hit?” and Coyne replied “Yes, I’ve got the whole issue, I lay on the bomb”.
At first it appeared David would survive but his injuries were extensive. David died of severe injuries accidentally
received, within hours of the explosion, at the 61st Casualty Clearing Station in France. He had multiple bomb wounds
on his legs, abdomen, arms, chest and neck.
He is buried at the Vignacourt Cemetery near Amiens.
Sergeant David Emmett Coyne was nominated for the Victoria Cross for throwing himself on a hand-grenade that he
had thrown accidentally, in order to protect other soldiers from the explosion. However, as this was not in the face of
the enemy, he posthumously received the Albert Medal in Gold, the only such medal issued to a member of the
Australian Imperial Force.
Today Emmett Coyne is honoured through the naming of a street in Marian, called Coyne Avenue which is one of the
original street names in this area.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Australian War Memorial 2015, Roll of Honour: David Emmett Coyne,
http://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1728234/ (accessed 1 February 2015)
Mackay History 2011, David Emmett COYNE
http://www.mackayhistory.org/research/fallen_soldiers/WW1/coyne_de.html (accessed 1 February 2015)
National Archives of Australia 2015, B2455, COYNE D,
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3437880
(accessed 14 February 2015)
Pedersen, P. A. (2014). Australian Dictionary of Biography- David Emmett Coyne,
http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/coyne-david-emmet-5801 (accessed 1 February 2015)
WWI Pictorial Honour Roll of Queenslanders 2013, David Emmett Coyne, http://qld.ww1anzac.com/co.html
(accessed 1 February 2015)