Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

John Willis was born in Richmond, Victoria on 11 November 1889. He was the youngest child in a blended family and the only surviving child born to Port Phillip Pioneer Margaret Sire and her second husband John Willis.

On the 20th January 1915, John enlisted as a Private in the AIF with the 6th Reinforcements 7th Battalion (Service No.2225). On June 17 of that year he embarked at Melbourne on HMAT A62 Wandilla and travelled to the Gallipoli Peninsula, where he served from 8th August.

A few months later on October 19, a young woman named Ruby Lacy wrote to the war office in Melbourne, enquiring about John's whereabouts and asking for correspondence to be sent to a newsagent nearby. However, nothing seems to have eventuated from this, making it difficult to be certain of their relationship.

In March 1916, John transferred first to 59th Battalion, and then to 60th Battalion. A few weeks later in early April he was sent to an ambulance station with exhaustion, where he convalesced before rejoining the Battalion.

On the 18th June 1916, John was transported from Alexandria to Marseilles in France on the Kinsfauns Castle to serve on the Western Front. He participated in the attack on Fromelles on 19 July 1916 and was subsequently reported missing in action.

Tragically for John Willis's family, it was another 20 months before a court of enquiry found that he had been killed in action. In the intervening time, the family's hopes were raised by reports that he was listed as a prisoner of war in Germany, only to be dashed when such reported proved groundless. The impact of this lengthy uncertainty can be seen in a letter written to the Red Cross Society by John's sister, Mrs Caroline Gathergood, asking for their help in locating him, in which she says, "he has been missing since 19th July and we have not had any news from him. We would be very thankful to you as my poor mother is broken up over him."

John was buried in la Chapelle-d'Armentieres, Nord, France. He is also commemorated on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour. In Memoriam notices were placed in the papers by many members of his family, including the following words from his heartbroken parents:

I shall come back, dear mother,
From my home in sunny land,
And though you may not see me,
I shall often touch your hand.
I shall look upon your dear face,
I shall listen to what you say;
And be often, dear mother, with you,
As before I went away.
—Inserted by his loving mother and father, Margaret and John Willis, Richmond. (The Age, 20 July 1918, p.6)