Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

John Henry Victor Gambles (service number 1463) was a skilled soldier and brave leader, serving in the Australian Imperial Force in World War 1. He was born in Gippsland, Victoria and raised by his parents, John Charles Gamble and Louisa Elizabeth Meadway. Before his time spent overseas, Gamble trained as a blacksmith, spending three years in the town of Quambattok as an apprentice. Further along in his life, he married his wife, Ethel Gamble, and they lived together in Kensington, Victoria. This would have made leaving for the war a great hardship, not knowing when they would see each other again. His life changed on the 2nd of December 1914 when he signed to be part of the Australian Imperial Force as a private in the 10th battalion. At this time, the war had only been going on for a couple of months and Australia had not yet sent any troops. Without returned soldiers to tell him what the war was actually like, Gamble was in the dark and had no idea how mentally and physically demanding the experience would be. Still, his willingness to be one of the first Australians to fight in the war shows his leadership qualities and his bravery. This being said, there was still a lot of fear and uncertainty from Gamble and the other soldiers through the months before their involvement. To prepare himself, he started training with his battalion in Oaklands, South Australia. In February 1915 Gamble and his battalion moved back to Victoria to board the HMAT A54 Runic, set for Gallipoli.

Gamble got his first experience of being a soldier on the 7th of May, 1915, when he landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula, joining many other soldiers who had already faced weeks fighting in an attempt to control the sea route for England to Russia. Gamble was greeted by tall cliffs, towering above him. Without any machinery, it would have seemed nearly impossible to climb the cliffs. However, Gambles courage and strength was shown when even with the disheartening start, he continued to serve. Fortunately, as Gamble was not a part of the first landing, the allies knew what challenges they would face and accommodated for this as much as they could. Unfortunately, Gamble fell sick later that year on the 25th of November with a very bad cold. This was most likely caused by the terrible hygienic conditions that the trenches were in. He re-joined his unit again on the 13th of December, even though he was not fully recovered and required hospitalization again 2 days later.

After being in Turkey for over six months, Gamble’s battalion returned to Egypt and in June 1916 sailed to France. In October he joined the Divisional Supply Column, meaning his role was to move supplies and men around. In this role he had to work in very difficult conditions. The French climate was extremely cold, muddy, wet and unliveable compared to Gallipoli and Egypt. 

After his battle, Gamble was promoted to Corporal on the 3rd of Jue 1917, before being sent on leave to the UK on the 4th of March 1918. This break was very welcomed by Gamble, considering his time in the war had been very exhausting due to his extensive periods sick and high-pressure leadership roles. Moreover, he had served through the very demanding battles around Ypres in the autumn of 1917. After his return on the 23rd of March, 1918 Gamble moved units to the 4th Mechanical Transport Company where he was promoted to sergeant on the 18th of August, 1918.

During this time, the 1918 flu pandemic was starting to spread and symptoms had been seen in some soldiers. The pandemic infected a third of the world's population, including Gamble. On the 11th of December, Gamble was sent to the 10th general hospital with influenza. Even though the war was over by this time, Gamble stayed in France till he recovered. Three days after going to hospital, Gamble was removed from the seriously ill list and five days later transferred to another hospital. On the 14th of March, 1919, Gamble was fully recovered and boarded a ship back to Australia. Over a month later, on the 30th of April, Gamble set foot in Victoria, after spending nearly 4 years overseas.