ANGUS, John Hartley
| Service Number: | 2758 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 March 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Battalion Imperial Camel Corps |
| Born: | Norwood, South Australia, Australia, 20 July 1886 |
| Home Town: | Edwardstown, Marion, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | Chronic enteritis whilst a Prisoner of War, Nidge, Turkey, 18 November 1917, aged 31 years |
| Cemetery: |
Baghdad (North Gate) War Cemetery XXI U 7 Buried by the Turks without any formality in the cemetery and no one was allowed to attend the funeral. |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Edwardstown District WW1 Roll of Honor, Marion District Roll of Honour WW1 |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Mar 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2758, 10th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 2758, 10th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Anchises embarkation_ship_number: A68 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Sep 1915: | Embarked Private, 2758, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Anchises, Adelaide | |
| 31 Jan 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 1st Battalion Imperial Camel Corps | |
| 19 Apr 1917: | Imprisoned Battles of Gaza , Second Gaza. Died of illness (enteric fever) at Nidge Hospital, Turkey on 18 November 1917. Was originally buried at Nidge Cemetery then re-interred post war. | |
| 18 Nov 1917: | Involvement Private, 2758, 1st Battalion Imperial Camel Corps, Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2758 awm_unit: 1 Battalion Imperial Camel Corps awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-11-18 |
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Son of John ANGUS and Sarah Margaret nee BOX
Taken Prisoner of War 19 April 1917 at Gaza (Palestine)
Died of Malaria & Dysentry
Biography contributed by NIgel Bellette
John Hartley Angus was born in Norwood, South Australia on the 20th of July 1886. He was the son of John and Sara Angus of Edwardstown, South Australia. he had one sister, Ethel, and two brothers, Lewis and Archibald. John was working as a farmer at the outbreak of the First World War.
He enlisted into the 10th Battalion of the First Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on the 11th of March 1915. His attestation papers describe him as 'Five feet five inches tall with a fresh complexion, grey eyes, and light brown hair. John embarked from Adelaide on the 2nd of September 1915 aboard HMAT A68 Anchises and arrived in Egypt on the 26th of September 1915.
On the 29th of January 1916 he transferred to the Imperial Camel Corps. He then spent a few weeks in and out of hospital for various minor ailments, re-joining his unit at Abbassia, Egypt on the 19th of May 1915. Initially John was a member of Number 1 Company but on 24th of June 1916 he was transferred to number 3 Company and moved to Sollum on the Egyptian/Libyan border.
On the 19th of April 1917, John was taking part in a dismounted action at Gaza when he was captured by the Turks. He had moved forward with other men, following a British tank, the Imperial Camel Corps Unit Diary tells the story:
“The Redoubt was carried at 0930 and about 50 prisoners were taken, the remainder retired to a prepared position in the rear. From this moment the accuracy of the enemy artillery fire became such that Lieut (sic) Campbell, after a consultation with a senior commander of the 163rd Brigade decided to withdraw. This was done but apparently some men did not receive the order and were taken prisoner when the enemy counter attacked at about 1400”
What the un-emotional war diary did not convey was the bitter fighting that took place in the redoubt before John and his section were eventually captured and how the only reason they surrendered was because they had run out of ammunition.
John was transported to the rear of the Turkish lines and eventually travelled to various POW camps in Turkey. He finally ended up in Nidge which was North of the Taurus Mountains near a work camp named 'Bor'. In October 1917, a mate of John's reported that, John had cut his hand on a piece of tin thrown from a passing train which then became infected, resulting in hospitalisation.
John died on the 18th of November 1917 in Nidge, Turkey aged 31 years. His cause of death was reported by other POWs as potentially a number of diseases including; Dysentery, Enteritis and Malaria. the official cause of death was Chronic Enteritis which is a severe inflammation of the small intestine causing dehydration and fever. According to witnesses he was buried in the Kaya-Bachi cemetery "Without any formality and no one was allowed to attend"
When John's body was exhumed in 1927 to be re-buried in Baghdad as a result of an Imperial War Graves Commission cemetery consolidation, he could not be positively identified from those other men buried near him. As such his headstone in the North Gate Cemetery, Baghdad, reads "buried near this spot'
His headstone is engraved with ‘3RD BN AUSTRALIAN INF’, a mistake identified by the Imperial War Graves Commission after the headstone was carved. This error was never corrected despite assurances from the War Graves Commission that it would be.
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