HYMUS, Wesley John
| Service Number: | 5118 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 11th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Rockingham, Western Australia, 4 July 1888 |
| Home Town: | Rockingham, Rockingham, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Rockingham, Western Australia |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Rockingham, Western Australia, Australia, 29 August 1932, aged 44 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
East Rockingham Cemetery, Western Australia |
| Memorials: | Rockingham WW1 Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 31 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 5118, 11th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 31 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 5118, 11th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Shropshire, Fremantle |
Jack (Wesley John) Hymus
Jack (Wesley John) Hymus embarked from Fremantle on 31 March 1916 and served with the 11th Battalion, 16th Reinforcement. He returned incapacitated having been gassed at the front line and a German doctor working in a French field hospital incorrectly administered a spinal morphia injection. Jack blamed this doctor for deliberate malpractice for the resulting partial paralysis from his waist down. Jack could just drag himself around and his spirit won him much admiration. In February 1928 he was crawling through muddy ground at Lake Richmond to shoot ducks. Unfortunately mud got into the shotgun’s barrel and when Jack fired the gun the barrel blew off the tips of two fingers. He returned painfully to his horse and sulky and drove back to the hotel where a doctor was obtained from a visiting ship in the bay to tend to him. Jack died on 29 August 1932 aged 44 with deteriorating health from his wartime complications, leaving behind a wife and four young children.
Submitted 27 April 2016 by Gary Bush
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