Norman James Scannell was born in Ballarat and was a Clerk by trade when he enlisted in the Siege Artillery Brigade Reinforcement 4 on 1 November 1915 at the age of 20. His unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT RMS Osterley on 15 January 1916. In November 1916 he joined the 36th Heavy Artillery Group in France. On June 1st 1917 he was wounded in action, suffering severe gas poisoning. He was evacuated to the Kitchener Military Hospital, Brighton, in England, before being returned to Australia on the A30 Borda which disembarked at Melbourne on November 21st 1917. He was discharged two months later as æmedically unfit – pleurisy with effusion'.
Tree No. 3388