James Barber
From Our Contribution
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| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth |
Not known "Not known" contains an extrinsic dash or other characters that are invalid for a date interpretation. |
| Place of Birth | Leeds, Yorkshire, England |
| Death | 26 January 1937, aged 59 |
| Place of Death | East Perth, Western Australia |
| Age at Enlistment | 38 |
| Description |
5'4" (1.63m) tall ; 154 lbs 69.853 kg ; dark complexion ; brown eyes ; brown hair |
| Occupation | Miner |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Address | Spring Gully, Greenbushes, Western Australia |
| Next of Kin | Wife , Mrs Ethel Barber |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | 4151 |
| Date of Enlistment | 25 September 1915 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit/Formation | 11th Battalion, 13th Reinforcement to D Company / 3rd Brigade, 1st Division |
| Date of Embarkation | 17 January 1916 ‒ 9 February 1916 |
| Ship Embarked On | HMAT A30 Borda |
| Date of Return | 9 September 1916 ‒ 20 September 1916 |
| Ship Returned On | HMAT A61 Kanowna |
| Fate | Wounded in action 22-25 Jul 1916 Poziéres |
| Monument |
Jarrahdale Honour Roll ANZAC Memorial Park (Byford) |
| Medals |
British War Medal Victory Medal |
Pre War
Electoral Roll entry - 1914, George street, Greenbushes, miner
War Service
Entered Blackboy Hill camp on 25 Sep 1915, and on 9 Nov 1915 he was allocated to the 13th reinforcement draft for the 11th Battalion and travelled with them to Egypt aboard HMAT A30 Borda disembarking in Suez on 9 Feb 1916. On 19 Mar 1916 James was taken on strength of the 11th Battalion, and posted to 'D' Company. On 30 Mar 1916 along with the rest of his unit he embarked on HMT Corsican in Alexandria for travel to Marseilles, arriving there on 5 Apr 1916. Here they were entrained for Flêtre in northern France, before moving to Sailly where they were placed in reserve billets.
Although his records show that he was reported missing on 25 Jul 1916, and that he was wounded in action between 22 and 25 Jul 1916, there is also an entry that indicates he was wounded with gunshot wounds to his left elbow and head on 23 Jul 1916. Four days earlier (night of the 19th) the battalion had moved into the front line at Poziéres. During the night 22/23 Jul 1916, with the 9th Battalion on its right and the 1st Brigade on its left, it had attacked enemy positions at Poziéres. 'D' Company were on the left flank attacking the first of the battalion's objectives. They had crawled out of their trenches and to about 50 metres from their first objective while waiting for the pre attack artillery barrage to commence. During this period an enemy machine gun caused some casualties. Further casualties to the first wave were caused by their own artillery when they advanced too far forward in their enthusiasm.
As James' multiple injuries were most likely caused by either a machine gun, or shrapnel, we might assume that he was an early casualty. Evacuated from the battle field on 23 Jul 1916 by the 2nd Field Ambulance, he was treated by the 3rd Australian Casualty Clearing Station before being transferred to the 32nd Stationary Hospital in Wimereux on 26 Jul 1916. He was later moved to Boulogne on 8 Aug 1916 from where he was evacuated to England aboard HMHS Cambria. On 8 Aug 1916 he was admitted to the King George Hospital in Stanford street. At this point his injuries were described as severe wounds to his head and left shoulder. On 30 Aug 1916 he was transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital remaining with them until 8 Sep 1916.
On arrival back in Australia on 20 Oct 1916 aboard HMAT A61 Kanowna he was admitted to the 8th General Hospital in Fremantle until 21 Oct 1916. James was discharged by the 5th Military District on 28 Feb 1917.
Post War
On 1 Mar 1917, James' pension was increased to 60/- fortnightly, his wife Ethel's to 30/-, and daughter Agnes' to 20/- fortnightly. This would imply a very heavy limitation to James ability to work.
Ethel died in Perth on 19 Jan 1928, age 50.
Notes
Link to district is not obvious, but is the most likely match for name on the Mundijong War Memorial