John Wilfred Gargett
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 | Cotherston, Yorkshire, England |
| Death | 6 Feb 1978, aged 84 |
| Place of Death | Leederville, Western Australia |
| Age at Enlistment | 22 years, 9 months |
| Description |
5'6" (1.68m) tall ; 122 lbs 55.338 kg ; fresh complexion ; blue eyes ; brown hair |
| Occupation | Draper |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Address | Mundijong, Western Australia |
| Next of Kin | Father , Mr Paul Gargett |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | 4818 |
| Date of Enlistment | 17 Dec 1915 |
| Rank | Corporal |
| Unit/Formation | 16th Battalion, 15th Reinforcement transferred to the 28th and then the 44th Battalion / 11th Brigade, 3rd Division |
| Date of Embarkation | 1 Apr 1916 ‒ 25 Apr 1916 |
| Ship Embarked On | HMAT A38 Ulysses |
| Date of Return | 21 Jul 1918 ‒ 11 Sep 1918 |
| Ship Returned On | HMAT A36 Boonah |
| Fate |
Wounded in Action 11 Jun 1917 Messines Returned to Australia - medical |
| Monument |
Mundijong Honour Roll ANZAC Memorial Park (Byford) |
| Medals |
British War Medal Victory Medal |
Pre War
Electoral Roll entry - 1916 Lowlands road Mardella, market gardener.
War Service
Entered Blackboy Hill camp on 17 Dec 1915 and on 1 Feb 1916 he was allocated to the 15th reinforcement draft for the 16th Battalion, travelling with them to Egypt aboard HMAT A38 Ulysses.
In Egypt he was transferred to the 4th Training Battalion, and then on 18 May 1916 to the Cyclist Corps. They boarded HMT Briton at Alexandria on 29 May and arrived in Plymouth, England on 8 Jun 1916.
On 7 Sep 1916 John was transferred from the Cyclist Training Battalion to the 28th Battalion. Still not settled, on 23 Sep 1916, John was transferred again, this time to the 44th Battalion, where he was appointed Lance Corporal a month later, and on 25 Nov 1916 he proceeded overseas to France with them via Southampton.
On 11 Jun 1917 while an Acting Corporal, he was wounded in action at Ploegsteert (Messines Ridge). On 8 June the battalion had captured its objectives while suffering very few casualties. However, when it came to defending the ground that they had won from the Germans over the next four days before they were relieved, they suffered some 300 casualties, including John.
Gassed, John was treated in turn by the 9th Field Ambulance the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station, the 55th General Hospital (Rouen), the 7th Convalescent Depot, the 10th Convalescent Depot and the 3rd Division's Base Depot before he rejoined the battalion on 23 Oct 1917 at St Pierre where it was re-organising, resting and training reinforcements.
On 4 Jan 1918 his rank (Corporal) was confirmed. John remained with the battalion until 23 May 1918 when he was taken to hospital with synovitis of the knee. Treated by the 11th Field Ambulance, the 5th Casualty Clearing Station, and the 2nd Canadian General Hospital before being referred to a Medical Board in Rouelles.
Classified B2 he was released to England to prepare for his return to Australia on medical grounds. John was discharged aby the 5th Military District on 27 Sep 1918.
Post War
In 1922 John married Lillie Taylor. Lillie died on 21 Feb 1982, aged 89 in Leederville.
Electoral Roll entries - 1925 - 1977 17 Cambridge street, Leederville, tram conductor.
Notes