BUCKINGHAM, John William
| Service Number: | 2334 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 June 1916, Melbourne, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Collingwood, Victoria , 1898 |
| Home Town: | Collingwood, Yarra, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 3 October 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient) |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Jun 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2334, Melbourne, Victoria | |
|---|---|---|
| 28 Jul 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2334, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Melbourne | |
| 28 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2334, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 15 Feb 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2334, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, German Withdrawal to Hindenburg Line and Outpost Villages | |
| 3 May 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2334, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, Bullecourt (Second) | |
| 21 Sep 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2334, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, Menin Road | |
| 3 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2334, 2nd Pioneer Battalion, Polygon Wood |
the story of John William Buckingham
John William Buckingham was the eldest son of William John Buckingham who was killed on the 8th of may 1915 during the second battle of krithia and his death hit the family hard but John took it the hardest and it made him fired up and determined to join the war but was too young at the time. but on his 18th Birthday in June 1916 he enlisted and he then shipped out one month later in July and arrived on the western front in December and was at Operations on the Ancre and The Battle of Arras until may 1917 when he got trench fever. He was in England for 3 months where he wrote to his mother and also sent her sending a birthday card until September where he rejoined his unit at The Battle of the Menin Road then on October the 3rd he was killed instantly during the battle of polygon wood at age 19 and was buried by his comrades in an isolated grave which the location remains unknown.
Submitted 17 December 2017 by Thomas Buckingham
Biography contributed by Thomas Buckingham
Buried in a isolated grave by his comrades 3/4 mile west of Zonnebeke, and 3 3/4 mile east of Ypres, Belgium
His burial cross reads: "R.I.P In memory of 2334, Pte. J. W. BUCKINGHAM, 2/Pnr, A.I.F., K.I.A 3.10.17"
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Father
BUCKINGHAM, Pte. William John, 1086. 6th Bn. Australian Inf. 8th May, 1915. Age 39. Helles Memorial, Gallipoli.
The father, 1086 Private William John Buckingham, 6th Battalion, AIF was killed in action at Krithia on the 8th May, 1915. He has no known grave and is remembered on the Helles Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey.
The 6th Battalion, as part of the 2nd Brigade, suffered severe losses during the charge at Krithia, across 400 yards of open plain, losing about 126 men killed, and many others wounded. William had taken part in the Landing on the 25th April, 1915 and moved down to Krithia with the rest of 2nd Brigade a week later. He was the husband of Catherine and the father of five children. When he enlisted in September 1914, he was 41 years old.
The following death notice appeared in the Argus on the 17th June 1916.
“killed in action at Cape Helles 8th May, 1915, dearly loved husband of Catherine Buckingham, of 118 Perry Street, Collingwood; loved father of Ethel, Jack, Charlie, Ivy, and Baby Bill; dearly loved son of the late Thomas and Elizabeth Buckingham; brother of Mrs. J. Richards, of Cornwall, England.
“For duty and his country's call
He went, both true and brave, upon the battlefield to fall
And fill a soldier's grave.”
(Inserted by his wife and family.)
His son 2334 Pte. John William Buckingham, 2nd Pioneers, AIF, was killed in action on the 3rd October, 1917. He was originally buried in an isolated grave 3/4 mile west of Zonnebeke, and 3 and 3/4 miles east of Ypres, Belgium. The exact whereabouts of the grave is not known and he is commemorated at the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial in Belgium. He was only 19 years of age when he died.
John enlisted on the 6th May 1916, almost a year to the day since his father was killed at Krithia, and he was taken on strength of the 2nd Pioneers, in France on the 16th November 1916. He was sent back to England with trench fever in June 1917, before his death in October 1917.
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