Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Quinn Albert John Biography

Quinn Albert John was born in Forreston South Australia. He had a fresh complexion which basically means he was pale and had clear skin. He had blue eyes and light brown hair. He was 5 feet and 7.5 inches tall which was half an inch shorter than the average height at the time which was 5 foot 8 inches. During World War I, the average height for a soldier was 5 feet 6 inches which makes Albert slightly taller than majority of his peers.

He lived with his mother, Mrs Janet Quinn, and worked as a farmer. At the time, being a farmer was actually a very popular job as most areas in the hills and foothills were farms or market gardens.  Albert was not married which suggests that most of the money he earned farming was used to support his mother. Albert was also a Baptist.

Quinn Albert John joined the army on the 20th of March 1916 as a private. He was part of the 43rd infantry battalion. His battalion trained with many others including the 41st, 42nd and 44th battalions. Within days of signing up, Albert was sent to a training camp in Woodside South Australia. They took part in many routine training sessions to prepare the new soldiers for embarkation. Their training included drills, military command and operating equipment like machine guns and other types of machinery.

Quinn embarked on the HMAT A19 Afric on the 9th on June 1916. The HMAT Afric was a large cargo and passenger ship. The soldiers stopped briefly in Egypt before travelling on to England for further training where they took part in routine marches, equipment trials and more drills. He went over to France in November 1916.

Not long after arriving, on 19 February 1917, Quinn was wounded in the knee. According to the 43rd Battalion's war diary, this was a day of heavy enemy artillery activity. He was evacuated to England for treatment but his leg did not recoer to the point where he could resume front line duty. The decision was made to return him to Australia.

There is not much information on what happened to Albert once he returned to Australia, but he did win a few medals. These medals include the WWI Victory Medal which was awarded to soldiers by Great Britan and a British War Medal which is given to those who worked in the Australian Navy, Army and to men and women of the Mercantile Marine.

It would be assumed that he most likely returned to his home in Forreston and continued his farming job. He have no details of his later life.

Reference List

ACT, R. (2013b). British War Medal 1914-20 : World War One : Department of Defence. [online] Defence.gov.au. Available at: https://www.defence.gov.au/Medals/Imperial/WWI/British-War-Medal-1914-20.asp.

birtwistlewiki.com.au. (n.d.). HMAT A19 Afric - Our Contribution. [online] Available at: https://birtwistlewiki.com.au/wiki/HMAT_A19_Afric [Accessed 8 Mar. 2021].

National Archives of Australia. (1914). QUINN Albert John : Service Number - 1151 : Place of Birth - Forreston SA : Place of Enlistment - Adelaide SA : Next of Kin - (Mother) QUINN Janet. [online] Available at: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8022993 [Accessed 8 Mar. 2021].

Virtual War Memorial Australia THE COMMONWEALTH WAR GRAVES COMMISSION TROVE AUSTRALIA THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA. (n.d.). [online] . Available at: https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/rslvwm/comfy/cms/files/files/000/002/383/original/Research_Checklist_WW1.pdf.

Vwma.org.au. (2015). 43rd Infantry Battalion. [online] Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/64.

www.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). Advanced Search | Australian War Memorial. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/advanced-search?query=43+battalion.

www.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). HMAT Afric. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2076729.

corporateName=Department of Veterans’ Affairs; address=21 Genge St, C.C. (n.d.). Training Australian army recruits during World War I | Anzac Portal. [online] anzacportal.dva.gov.au. Available at: https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/military-organisation/training.

www.parliament.vic.gov.au. (n.d.). Review of ANZAC Day Laws - Chapter 2. [online] Available at: https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/archive/sarc/ANZAC_Acts/Report/Chapter_2.htm#:~:text=ANZAC%20values%20include%20such%20human.