MACFARLANE, John James
| Service Number: | 1649 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bootle, Liverpool, Lancashire., 1894 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Steward |
| Died: | Died of Wounds, Gallipoli, Gallipoli, Dardanelles, Turkey, 13 August 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, Gallipoli Grave II.B. 19., Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 19 Feb 1915: | Involvement Private, 1649, 6th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Runic embarkation_ship_number: A54 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Feb 1915: | Embarked Private, 1649, 6th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Runic, Melbourne |
Help us honour John James MacFarlane's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
He is commemorated on the following local memorials
Bootle Civic Memorials
St.James' R.C. Church, Bootle
He is one of six Australian soldier casualties of the Great War who are honoured on the Bootle, St James Roman Catholic church war memorial; only three can be verified with any certainty.
He was the son of John McFarlane and Elizabeth (nee McManus). His father, who was a dock labourer, was born in Cumberland and his mother at Liverpool. They were married at St.Luke's C.of E. Church, Crosby in 1893.
John James had siblings; Richard (b 1898), Henry Stephen (b 1900), Elizabeth May (b 1902), James (b 1904) and Gerald Anthony (b 1907).
In 1901 the family home was at 38 Knowsley Road, Bootle. A brother-in-law, Patrick McAlpin, a 22y old dock labourer from Liverpool was also a member of the household.
His father had died by 1909 when his mother re-married to William Duffy in the West Derby Registration district.
John James had three half-sisters from his mother's second marriage; Margaret (b 1910), Elizabeth (b 1913) and Mary (b 1914).
In 1911 Elizabeth Duffey was living with her surviving children, Robert, Henry, James, Gerald and Lilly McFarlane and Margaret Duffy at 16 Hemans Street, Bootle. Her husband, William Duffy, was not at home.
John James McFarlane joined the Australian Army at sea whilst serving as a steward aboard the Australian troop transport A54 (SS Runic) on the 1st April 1915.
He was 5ft 9 inches tall and weighed 158lbs with a fair complexion, grey eyes and red hair.
He gave his next of kin as his mother Elizabeth Duffy of 16 Hemans Street, Bootle.
He served in the Dardaneles from the 7th May 1915 where he was wounded twice.
On the 18th June 1915 he suffered a bullet wound to the right knee for which he was treated at 1st General Hospital, Heliopolis on the 24th June.
On the 13th August 1915 he died at Gallipoli of wounds received in action and was buried at Shrapnel Gully by Chaplain Dexter.
A report on his death appeared in the Liverpool Echo on the 30th September 1915 and in the Bootle Times on the 15th October 1915. His photo appeared in the Liverpool Echo report.
BOOTLE SOLDIER.
Private John McFarlane, of the Australian contingent, who formerly resided with his parents in Hemans Street, Bootle, was killed in action at the Dardanelles. He was in his twenty-first year, and was formerly a steward in the Allan and White Star Lines. He joined the forces from the S.S. Runic, on which vessel he was engaged as a steward. In June he was wounded and taken to hospital in Cairo. His death occurred shortly after his return to active service. In a letter to his mother, the sergeant-major of his company says: "The young soldier was shot through the head whilst on duty in the trenches, having only re-joined the forces a fortnight."
Liverpool Echo 30th September 1915
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