EATHER, John
| Service Number: | 323 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 25 August 1914, Enlisted at Sydney |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Picton, New South Wales, Australia, 9 December 1895 |
| Home Town: | Picton, Wollondilly, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Arina Public School, New South Wales |
| Occupation: | Engine Cleaner |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 29 April 1915, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Panel 20, Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli Peninsula |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing, Picton and District Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 25 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 323, Enlisted at Sydney | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 323, 3rd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '7' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 323, 3rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
John Bennett EATHER, (Service Number 323) was born on 9 December 1895 at Picton. His whole railway career was based in his hometown where he commenced work as a cleaner in April 1914. Only four months later he joined the Expeditionary Forces on 23 August.
He left Australia through Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Euripides’ on 20 October 1914, allotted to the 3rd Battalion.
Submitted 23 June 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Carol Foster
Son of John Barrett Eather and Margaret Eather of Bargo, NSW formerly of Picton, NSW
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
Biography contributed by John Oakes
John Bennett EATHER (Service Number 323) was born on 9th December 1895 at Picton. His whole railway career was based in his hometown where he commenced work as a cleaner in April 1914. Only four months later he joined the Expeditionary Forces on 23rd August.
He left Australia from Sydney aboard HMAT ‘Euripides’ on 20th October 1914. He was allotted to the 3rd Battalion. He spent time training in Egypt before embarking from Alexandria on HMT ‘Derfflinger’ on 5th April for the Gallipoli landing.
On 29th April 1915, four days after Anzac Day, John Eather was posted missing. However, it was only after a Court of Enquiry held more than a year later in France that he was declared to be dead. Eyewitness accounts vary as to detail and date. Harcourt Welch (382) wrote that Eather had drowned when his landing craft was hit by shell fire; Sgt O R Munro reported that Eather had died in the fighting on the first day; Canbe (2656) reported that he had been killed in the trenches on Gallipoli in May; Bertie Carmody (3720) reported, second hand, that he had been seen in hospital in Heliopolis.
Since he has no known grave, his name is recorded on the Lone Pine Memorial at Gallipoli.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board