BLANCH, James Ernest
| Service Number: | 1088 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 January 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Coy |
| Born: | Canterbury, New South Wales, August 1893 |
| Home Town: | Newcastle, Hunter Region, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Fireman |
| Died: | Newcastle, NSW, 14 October 1973, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Sandgate General Cemetery, Newcastle, NSW CATHOLIC 1 Sec:19 Lot:71 |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Jan 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1088, Railway Unit (AIF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Jan 1917: | Involvement Private, 1088, Railway Unit (AIF), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: '' | |
| 24 Jan 1917: | Embarked Private, 1088, Railway Unit (AIF), HMAT Miltiades, Adelaide | |
| 12 Apr 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 1088, 5th Broad Gauge Railway Operating Coy, 2nd MD |
Help us honour James Ernest Blanch's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Gary Mitchell, Sandgate Cemetery
Served during The Great War, resting at Sandgate Cemetery.
51 years ago today, on the 16th October 1972, Private James Ernest Blanch, 5th Australian Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company (Reg No-1088), fireman from Newcastle, New South Wales, was laid to rest at Sandgate Cemetery, age 78.
Born at Canterbury, New South Wales on the ? ? 1893 to William Patrick (died 31.1.1927, Hamilton, N.S.W., age 62) and Rose Hannah Blanch nee Diggins (died 20.10.1940, Hamilton, N.S.W., age 88) of Elizabeth Street, Abermain, New South Wales; husband of Ida M Blanch nee Wilmott (married 1919, Wickham, N.S.W., died?), James enlisted on the 15th January 1917 with the Railway Unit and Reinforcements and Special Draft at the R.A.S. Ground, Moore Park Camp, Sydney, N.S.W.
Unit embarked from Adelaide, South Australia on board HMAT A28 Miltiades on the 24th January 1917.
Granted leave to England from 16.3.1918 to 3.4.1918.
Admitted to hospital 7.5.1918 (not stated), 22.10.1918 (shingles).
Embarked for England 27.10.1918.
Returned to Australia 2.1.1919.
John was invalided back home on the 15th February 1919, being discharged medically unfit (shingles - also known as herpes zoster) is a viral infection caused by a reactivation of the varicella-zoster virus (VZV) that causes chickenpox (varicella) on the 12th April 1919.
Mr. Blanch’s name has been inscribed on The Capt. Clarence Smith Jeffries (V.C.) and Pte. William Matthew Currey (V.C.) Memorial Wall. Name not inscribed on the Newcastle and District Firemen Honour Roll.
I have placed poppies at James’s gravesite in remembrance of his service and sacrifice for God, King & Country.
Not officially commemorated.
Older brother Patrick William (born 31.7.1890, Foster, Victoria, labourer from Elizabeth Street, Abermain, New South Wales, enlisted 8.6.1916, 35th Battalion, Reg No-2532, wounded in action - 4.4.1918 (GSW left forearm), awarded Military Medal 20.12.1918, RTA 4.9.1919, died 18.4.1963, Burwood, N.S.W., age 72, from Coronation Road, Macksville, N.S.W., resting at Macksville Cemetery, RC portion, not officially commemorated).
For more detail, see “Forever Remembered “
http://www.commemoratingwarheroes.com/cemetery-main-search/
Lest We Forget.
Click images to start slideshow.