Mitrogem/ Mitrofan Koropets

Mitrogem/ Mitrofan Koropets (Service No 384) was born in Dobrotoff, Russia around 1890.  How or when he arrived in Australia is unknown, but when he enlisted he stated he was a single 27 year old miner from Helensburgh N.S.W.

There is some confusion as to his first name but Mitrofam is the spelling on his enlistment papers.  Mitrogem/ Mitrofan stated his next of kin was his father, George of Helensburgh, but a letter in Mitrofan's file dated 18 April 1923 states that his father George lived in Dobrotoff, Russia.

Mitrogem/ Mitrofan embarked from Sydney on HMAT A38 Ulysses with 1st Tunnelling Mining Corps on 20th February 1916.  He arrived in France on 5th May 1916 and saw service on the Western Front as a tunneller.

On 28th October 1917 Mitrogem/ Mitrofan was admitted to hospital sick, no reason given and he returned to his unit on 6th December 1917.  On 14th March 1918 he was wounded in action by gas. This affected his eyes quite badly, and he was returned to Australia in March 1919 and discharged medically unfit on 18th September 1919.

When Mitrogem/ Mitrofan died on 1st April 1920, a coroners inquest deemed his death as suicide.  Newspaper reports initially indicated he had been murdered but evidence presented at the inquest talked of his having taken to drink after a broken romance with a lady from the South Coast.

Mitrogem/ Mitrofan was found in the Domain, Sydney, near Lady Macquaries Chair with a bullet wound to the left side of his head.  Strangely no gun was ever found but a search of his residence found the same type of ammunition with which the gun would have been loaded.