Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

John Lawson Hill was born in Liverpool in 1888, the eldest child of James & Kate Hill. His siblings were Violet (b. 1890), Harold (b. 1892), Elsie (b. 1895) and Thomas (b. 1900).

He arrived in Sydney as a Steward aboard the “Oopack” in September 1904.

SS Oopack arrival 1904
Daily Commercial News & Shipping Lists, Sydney 24 September 1904
When he enlisted in Cairns on 6 July 1916 his address was Port Darwin, Northern Territory and his occupation was engine driver. He listed his next of kin as Miss Mary Hart of Atherton, Qld. He was 28 ½ years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighed 140 lbs. He had a fair complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. He was Church of England.

He embarked from Melbourne aboard the HMAT ‘Hororata” on 23 November 1916.

HMAT Hororata Pt Melb 1916
He disembarked at Plymouth England on 29 January 1917. He proceeded from Folkstone Kent to France on 25 April 1917 and was taken on strength in the field with 11th Machine Gun Coy on 17 June.

On 3 August that year he suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was transported back to England to various hospitals for treatment before being returned to Australia on 25 November 1917. He was suffering from Hemiplegia and asphasia and one medical report stated “patient unable to give any account of himself”.

He passed away on 26 September 1918 and is buried In Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane. A gravestone was erected by his fiancée, Mary Hart.
Courtesy of The Cairns District Family History Society.