SILCOCK, John
| Service Numbers: | 3159, SX28631 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 19 July 1915, Keswick, City of West Torrens, Australia |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | Australian Flying Corps (AFC) |
| Born: | Warrington,Lancashire ,England, 26 September 1897 |
| Home Town: | Mile End, City of West Torrens, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Engineer |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Adelaide,South Australia, 18 October 1984, aged 87 years |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: |
Peacetime
| 19 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Keswick, City of West Torrens, Australia |
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World War 1 Service
| 14 Sep 1915: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Private, 3159, 10th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Ballarat embarkation_ship_number: A70 public_note: '' |
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|---|---|---|
| 14 Sep 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3159, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ballarat, Adelaide | |
| 25 Nov 1915: |
Involvement
AIF WW1, Private, 3159, 10th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, John Silcock did not serve at Gallipoli - he jopined the Battalion on Lemnos which was within the declared service area. |
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| 21 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3159, 3rd Machine Gun Company, Battle for Pozières | |
| 5 Nov 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3159, 3rd Machine Gun Company, 'The Winter Offensive' - Flers/Gueudecourt winter of 1916/17 | |
| 5 May 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3159, 3rd Machine Gun Company, Bullecourt (Second) | |
| 3 Aug 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3159, 1st Divisional Signal Company, Third Ypres | |
| 10 Nov 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 3159, Australian Flying Corps (AFC) |
Peacetime
| 4 Mar 1946: | Discharged AIF WW1 |
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World War 2 Service
| Date unknown: | Involvement AIF WW1, Major, SX28631 |
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World War 1 Service
| Date unknown: | Involvement 10th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières |
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John Silcock enlisted on 19 July 1915, 3 months short of his 19th birthday. He was assigned to the 10th Reinforcements of the 10th Battalion and emabarked on the HMAT Ballarat on 14 Sep 1915 for Alexandria.
He and his 10th reinforcement colleagues managed to get posted to ANZAC but never quite made it ashore, the Battalion having withdrawn to the nearby island of Lemnos for rest, recuperation and reinforcement in November 1915. He was taken on strength there on 25 November 1915. Therefore in one of the quirks of military service he is classed as a veteran of Gallipoli despite not having set foot there.
After withdrawal to Egypt and Serapeaum, where the AIF re-organised for re-deployment to the Western Front, he was posted to the newly formed 3rd Brigade Machine Gun Company and subsequently embarked for France in late March on the ship 'Corsica'.
He served with the 3rd MG Company through the Pozieres / Mouquet Farm campaign, where many of his colleagues from the 10th Battalion would have become casualties, through until August 1917 during the Third Ypres campaign when he transferred to the 1st Division Signal Company, orobably on the basis of his engineering background and presumed aptitude for things technical. It was with the 1 Division Signals Company that the photograph of him as a motorcycle despatch rider was probably taken.
Then in May 1918 he transferred to the Australian Flying Corps to train as a pilot, graduating in August before being transferred to No 7 Training Squadron. The War finished before he saw any Operational Flying.
Appointment Terminated - 24 August 1919
WW2
ervice Record Name (www.ww2roll.gov.au) SILCOCK, JOHN Service (www.ww2roll.gov.au) Australian Army Service Number (www.ww2roll.gov.au) SX28631 (S31288) Date of Birth (www.ww2roll.gov.au) 26 Sep 1897 Place of Birth (www.ww2roll.gov.au) LANCASHIRE, ENGLAND Date of Enlistment (www.ww2roll.gov.au) Unknown (www.ww2roll.gov.au) Locality on Enlistment (www.ww2roll.gov.au) LOCKLEYS, SA Place of Enlistment (www.ww2roll.gov.au) Unknown (www.ww2roll.gov.au) Next of Kin (www.ww2roll.gov.au) SILCOCK, D Date of Discharge (www.ww2roll.gov.au) 4 Mar 1946 Rank (www.ww2roll.gov.au) Major Posting at Discharge (www.ww2roll.gov.au) 133 AUSTRALIAN BRIGADE WORKSHOP WW2 Honours and Gallantry (www.ww2roll.gov.au) None for display (www.ww2roll.gov.au) Prisoner of War (www.ww2roll.gov.au) No
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