  Compact binaries such as double neutron stars or a neutron star paired with a
black-hole, are strong sources of gravitational waves during coalescence and
also the likely progenitors of various electromagnetic phenomena, notably
short-duration gamma-ray bursts (SGRBs), and kilonovae. In this work, we
generate populations of synthetic binaries and place them in galaxies from the
large-scale hydrodynamical galaxy evolution simulation EAGLE. With our zELDA
code, binaries are seeded in proportion to star formation rate, and we follow
their evolution to merger using both the BPASS and COSMIC binary stellar
evolution codes. We track their dynamical evolution within their host galaxy
potential, to estimate the galactocentric distance at the time of the merger.
Finally, we apply observational selection criteria to allow comparison of this
model population with the legacy sample of SGRBs. We find a reasonable
agreement with the redshift distribution (peaking at $0.5<z<1$), host
morphologies and projected galactocentric offsets (modal impact parameter
$\lesssim10$ kpc). Depending on the binary simulation used, we predict
$\sim16-35\%$ of SGRB events would appear "host-less", i.e. sources that merge
with high impact parameters or have hosts fainter than the detection limit
($H>26$).
