AYRE, John
| Service Number: | 14 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 December 1915, Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 9th Light Trench Mortar Battery |
| Born: | West Tamworth, New South Wales, 1894 |
| Home Town: | West Tamworth, Tamworth Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | West Tamworth Superior Public School |
| Occupation: | Railway shunter |
| Died: | Accidental (explosion), Belgium, 1 June 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Strand Military Cemetery, Ploegsteert, Wallonie, Belgium Plot 111, Row C, Grave 4 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Tamworth ANZAC Park Memorial Gates |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 14, Newcastle, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 14, 35th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 1 May 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 14, 35th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Sydney | |
| 1 Jun 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 14, 9th Light Trench Mortar Battery, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 14 awm_unit: 9th Australian Light Trench Mortar Battery awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-06-01 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
27 January 1894 at West Tamworth. He was employed by the railways as a junior porter in the Newcastle District from September 1914 and by June 1915 had become a 3rd class shunter. On 19 December 1915 he was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces.
He left Sydney on 1 May 1916 on HMAT ‘Benalla’, arriving in Plymouth in July. After training in the use of trench mortars in England he proceeded overseas to France, attached to the 9th Light Trench Mortar Battery. On 8 December he was wounded accidentally, though the injury was recorded as self-inflicted. It would seem to have been a cut to his right hand, and he was discharged to duty after only three days.
He was killed in another accident on 1 June 1917 in the explosion of an ammunition dump at Ploegsteert Wood. He was buried in the Strand Military Cemetery, Ploegsteert Wood. 2¼ miles S.S.W of Messines.
(NAA 2455-3042537)
Submitted 9 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography
"...14 Private John Ayre, A Company, 35th Battalion, of Tamworth, NSW. Pte Ayre enlisted on 9 December 1915 and embarked from Sydney aboard HMAT Benalla on 1 May 1916. He later served with the 9th Light Trench Mortar Battery. Pte Ayre died of accidental injuries on 1 June 1917, when an ammunition dump exploded at Ploegsteert Wood, Belgium. He is buried at the Belgium 451 Strand Military Cemetery Ploegsteert..." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
8 December 1916 accidentally wounded - self inflicted
Died form wounds caused by the accidental explosion at an ammunition dump near Ploegsteert Wood
Son of Henry and Sarah Ayre of West Tamworth, New South Wales
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