BREEN, Jack
| Service Numbers: | 1366, 1112 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 September 1914, Enlisted at Broadmeadows, Victoria |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 1st Machine Gun Battalion |
| Born: | Elmhurst, Victoria, Australia, 1892 |
| Home Town: | Maryborough, Central Goldfields, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Clunes Catholic School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Accident - Fell off Troop Train, France, 6 April 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Wimereux Communal Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais - Hauts-de-France Plot X, Row A, Grave 12 Rev. A.W. Tongeate, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Clunes War Memorial, Nullawil District War Memorial, Nullawil Methodist & Presbyterian Church Great European War Roll of Honour, Nullawil War Memorial |
Biography contributed by Sharyn Roberts
Son of Mrs J. Breen of Maryborough, Victoria; brother of Catherine Murley of Ararat, Victoria
Origanally alloted service number 1112 before being changed to 1366
Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory
Biography contributed by Robert Wight
John (Jack) Breen enlisted in the AIF at Broadmeadows on 29 September 1914, aged 22. He embarked overseas on 22 December 1914 and arrived in Egypt about five weeks later.
The 8th Battalion landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, during the second wave, and fought at Cape Helles during the 2nd Battle of Krithia on 8 May 1915. The battalion entered the Turkish trenches at Lone Pine on 6 August 1915 during the August Offensive, then remained on Gallipoli until late December 1915 when it was evacuated to Egypt.
Pte Breen was promoted to Lance Corporal on 27 February 1916 and transferred to the 2nd Machine Gun Company on 12 March 1916. He left Egypt on 25 March and arrived in Marseilles, France on 30 March 1916, where he returned to the rank of Private (at his own request) on 2 July 1916.
On 23 July 1916, the company experienced trench warfare on the Western Front for the first time at Pozieres and then Mouquet Farm. The company saw further action on 15 April 1917 when the Germans attacked the Australian lines at Lagnicourt in strength.
The company moved north to Belgium in late 1917 and was involved in the Battles of Menin Road (September) and Broodseinde Ridge (October) during Third Ypres.
The 2nd Machine Gun Company was incorporated into the 1st Machine Gun Battalion on 1 April 1918 and, after the German Spring Offensive in March 1918, boarded a troop train at Strazeele on the evening of 5 April 1918. At some time during the all-night journey south to the Amiens, Pte John (Jack) Breen accidentally died when he fell from the train.
He was found dead beside the tracks the next day and was buried at Wimereux Communal Cemetery, France (above) on 7 April 1918.
Source: Extract from "Clunes War Memorial WW1" by Robert Wight, June 2022.