John was born at Copeland, Gloucester Shire, NSW in December 1892. While giving his calling as a labourer, as a farmer he held Special Lease 12/18 at Stroud.
Drawing the majority of its personnel from the Maitland, Newcastle and Hunter Valley regions, the 2nd Battalion was raised within a fortnight of the declaration of war in August 1914. It was on the 23rd of August at Randwick that John enlisted with the 2nd Battalion, aged 21 years and 9 months. The Battalion embarked just two months later and after a brief stop in Albany, Western Australia, the battalion proceeded to Egypt, arriving on the 2nd of December.
Boarding the ‘Derfflinger’ on the 5th of April at Alexandria, the battalion took part in the ANZAC landing on the 25th of April 1915 as part of the second and third waves. Upon landing, the 2nd Battalion dispatched two companies, ‘A’ and ‘D’ to assist the 3rd Brigade who were pushing inland towards a high feature known as “Baby 700”, which overlooked the beachhead. Following the initial establishment of the beachhead, the campaign moved into a second phase as the Australians began work to consolidate and slowly expand their position around the lodgement. The battalion served at ANZAC until their evacuation aboard the ‘Huntsgreen’, arriving back at Alexandria on the 28th of December 1915. During his time on the Gallipoli Peninsular, John was promoted to Corporal on the 6th of August and to Sergeant on the 28th of November.
John attended the Field Ambulance at Tel-el-Kabir on the 5th of January 1916, and was admitted to the 4th Auxiliary Hospital, Abbassia with mumps the next day. Discharged for duty on the 29th of January he was admitted to Overseas Base, Ghezireh the same day.
Whie the 2nd Battalion departed for France and the Western Front from Alexandria in early March, John was kept behind and on the 29th of April was taken on strength with the 1st Training Battalion, Tel-el-Kabir and on the 1st of May to Overseas Base, Tel-el-Kabir.
After arriving in the UK with the 1st Training Battalion on the 10th of July, John was transferred to School of Infantry, Chelsea, Perham Downs until the 7th of August when he returned to duty and was taken on strength with the 1st Training Battalion at Milbank.
As winter began to set in and combat operations all but ceased, the 2nd Battalion endured considerable hardships amid snow and rain, in a sector that has been described as “the worst of the sodden front”. During the December period the battalion was reorganised, and it was at this time that John proceeded overseas from Folkstone aboard Arundel on 13th, arriving at the 1st ADBD the next day and on the 18th, he re-joined the 2nd Battalion.
As 1917 began with the shifting front line as the Germans withdrawing to the ‘Hindenburg Line’ John reported to the 1st Australian Field Ambulance sick on the 10th of January 1917 and was transferred and admitted to ARRS the same day with scabies. He was discharged to duties on the 8th of February to rejoin his unit the next day.
The 2nd Battalion’s first major engagement of 1917 did not come until the 9th of April when, on the periphery of the Arras offensive, they took part in an attack on Hermies, one of the outpost villages of the Hindenburg Line. The battalion played only a limited, supporting role during the 1st Division’s repulse of the German counterattack at Lagnicourt in mid-April, and following this the battalion’s next major action came in early May when it was involved in the Second Battle of Bullecourt.
On the 2nd of May, the day before the attack, the battalions of the 1st Brigade, despite being due for rest, had been attached to the 2nd Division. They were subsequently employed to provide work parties to release reserves among the 2nd Division units to take part directly in the fighting. Having not yet recovered its losses from the fighting around Hermies and being subjected to artillery bombardment during their approach to the front, the 2nd Battalion entered the line on the 4th of May with just 16 officers and 446 other ranks to relieve the 24th Battalion. As the Germans attempted to force the Australians back, the 2nd Battalion was moved around several times to shore up the line, until units of the 5th Division came up to relieve those of the 1st Brigade on the 8th of May. It was during this period that on the 7th of May 1917, John was ‘Killed in Action’ and was reported to be buried in the vicinity of Noviael.
While his next of kin on his attestation papers was Mrs S Bell, Wood Street, Adamstown, Newcastle, in 1915 he made his will leaving his effects to Mrs Helen Curran of Copeland North.
