Branch of Service

Army

Conflict

World War I (1914-1918)

Date of Enlistment

14/08/1914

Date of Discharge

15/06/1919

Place of Enlistment

Royal Military College, Duntroon ACT

Gender

Male

Date of Birth

15/08/1893

Place of Birth

Homebush, Sydney NSW

Address (at enlistment)

Royal Military College, Duntroon ACT

Occupation

Soldier

Next of Kin

Mrs. Annie W. Pain (mother), Cremorne Road, North Sydney NSW

Final Rank

Major

Final Unit

9 Infantry Brigade AIF

Distinguished Service Order (Commonwealth of Australia Gazette 23 May 1919)
Military Cross (Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No.44, 6 April 1916)
Mention in Despatches (Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No.176, 30 November 1916)
Mention in Despatches (31 December 1918)

Pain entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon with the first intake of cadets on 22 June 1911. He was a member of the guard of honour at the Canberra commencement ceremony on 12 March 1913. He graduated early from RMC, along with his classmates, on 14 August 1914 and was appointed as a Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion. By three days after the landing on Gallipoli, Pain was appointed as commanding officer B Company, 2nd Battalion and acted in that role until he was wounded on 7 August. When under heavy fire (at Lone Pine) from bombs and rifles Pain's Machine Gun section lost heavily and he placed the gun on top of the parados. He handled the gun personally and kept firing it until wounded in the head and shoulders. Pain did not disclose the latter wound and tried to return to duty. On the second wound being discovered he was sent to hospital but he had managed to fire 750 rounds and stopped the Turkish attack.

After recovering, Pain served mainly in staff roles before being appointed as a Brigade Major for the 9th Brigade in December 1917. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his staff work during February to September 1918 when the 9th Brigade advanced along the Somme River. After the war he attended the Staff College at Camberley, England and on became military liaison officer in London in 1940. Illness caused him to return to Australia and he died on 13 May 1941 at Caulfield Military Hospital in Melbourne. Pain was buried at Springvale Cemetery in Melbourne.

Description -height 5 feet 9½ inches, weight 161 pounds, chest 36-39 inches, fair complexion, hazel eyes, dark hair, Church of England.

Charles Bean, 'Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18' (Vol. II, p.505, 506n, 508, 543, 546-8, 551, Vol V. p.349, 351n, Vol. VI, p. 729, 731)
Colonel J.E. Lee, 'Duntroon: The Royal Military College of Australia 1911-1946', 1952
AWM Collections Record : H15819
NAA RecordSearch - Series B2455 (First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920)
Stories from the ACT Memorial, 'The Honour Guard at the Canberra Commencement Ceremony', ACT Heritage Library www.library.act.gov.au/find/history/stories_from_the_act_memorial
The Age (Melbourne) - 14 May 1941
Sydney Mail - 26 November 1916