JOHN, Henry
| Service Numbers: | 418, 418A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 June 1916, Enlisted at Victoria Barracks (Sydney) |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 23rd Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Balmain, New South Wales, Australia, December 1890 |
| Home Town: | Leichhardt, Leichhardt, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Permanent Way Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 12 October 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Leichhardt War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Jun 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 418, 23rd Machine Gun Company, Enlisted at Victoria Barracks (Sydney) | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 418, 9th Machine Gun Company, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 418, 9th Machine Gun Company, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 12 Oct 1917: | Involvement Private, 418A, 23rd Machine Gun Company, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 418A awm_unit: 23rd Australian Machine Gun Company awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-10-12 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
Henry JOHN (Service Number 418A) was born in Balmain about December 1890. He worked in the Permanent Way Branchj of the Railways as a ‘Wood Machinist’.
When he enlisted at the Victoria Barracks on 27th June 1916 he was unmarried and gave his mother as his next of kin. He claimed five years’ experience in the Royal Australian Naval Reserve. On 12th August 1916 Henry John married Dorothy. Her address is given as c/o Mrs Attwood of North Parramatta.
John left Australia from Melbourne aboard HMAT ‘Ulysses’ on 25th October 1916 and reached Plymouth (England) on 28th December. He moved among several units in England over the next eight months until he proceeded overseas to France on 7th September 1917. He served in several Machine Gun Companies, including the 9th, 16th and 23rd.
He was killed in action in Belgium on 12th October 1917.
He was buried at Passchendaele. After the war, the remains were exhumed and re-interred in Tyne Cot British Cemetery, 5¾ miles ENE of Ypres.
Dorothy (his wife) had reason to write to the military with a detailed history of her husband’s movements from enlistment at Victoria Barracks, encampment at the Royal Agricultural Society Showgrounds (Moore Park), then to Addison Road, Marrickville and then to Seymour, Victoria. Because there was confusion between her husband and Harry John, 2344, Dorothy went to some lengths to educate the military including the several re-allotments to units, three changes of regimental numbers, and drew the colour patches of the 23rd Machine Gun Company on her letter.
From 14th January 1918 Dorothy received a pension of £2 per fortnight.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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