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BERRY, James Webster
Personal Details
| Service Number: | 4207 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 March 1916, Place of enlistment - Blackboy Hill, Western Australia |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Tunnelling Company (inc. 6th Tunnelling Company) |
| Born: | Nerring near Bendigo, Victoria, 1869 |
| Home Town: | Kalgoorlie, Kalgoorlie/Boulder, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Mining Engineer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 31 July 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Hersin Communal Cemetery Extension Plot II, Row B, Grave 1, Hersin Communal Cemetery Extension, Hersin-Coupigny, Lens, Nord Pas de Calais, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Boulder Kalgoorlie Roll of Honor, Kalgoorlie St John's Anglican Church Honour Roll, Western Australia State War Memorial |
Service History
World War 1 Service
| 15 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4207, 3rd Tunnelling Company (inc. 6th Tunnelling Company), Place of enlistment - Blackboy Hill, Western Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 May 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3rd Tunnelling Company (inc. 6th Tunnelling Company) | |
| 1 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Sergeant, 4207, 3rd Tunnelling Company (inc. 6th Tunnelling Company), HMAT 'A69' Warilda from Fremantle :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '6' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Warilda embarkation_ship_number: A69 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Nov 1916: | Honoured Military Medal, REPORT ON THE ACTION OF NO. 4207 SERGEANT BERRY, and NO. 44OO LANCE CORPORAL MONAGHAN OF THE 3rd. AUSTRALIAN TUNNELLING COMPANY AT LOOS ON 19 / 11 / 16 At about 8/45 a.m. on 19/11/16, No. 125630 Sapper Meikle, 258 Company R.E. was buried by a minenwerfer obtaining a hit on Shaft 99. Rescue work at once started by four men, two R.E’s and two Australians, the R.E’s working from No.2 Shaft, while the two Australians worked from the top. These two almost succeeded in freeing the man when another minenwerfer again buried him to the head, also burying the two rescuers. Notwithstanding the heavy and incessant T.M. fire these two men on being freed kept on working until 5/30p.m. when the buried man was got out alive. The trenches in the vicinity were destroyed, and access was only obtained from the open behind the parados. These men kept the head and shoulders of the buried man clear as the sap was continually being shaken in, and stayed with him while the trench was closing in on them. The T.M. fire was most intense for 1½ hours, the spot in which they stayed consisted of about 6 feet of trench, being the only part in the vicinity not levelled. Signed R.L. Ward 2/Lieut. R.E. 258 Company | |
| 31 Jul 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 4207, 3rd Tunnelling Company (inc. 6th Tunnelling Company), Third Ypres, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4207 awm_unit: 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company awm_rank: Sergeant awm_died_date: 1917-07-31 |
Personal Stories
Help us honour James Webster Berry's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
Husband of Mrs Helen Florence (nee Halse) Berry of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia. The couple had married in Victoria in 1887. He was the father of two adopted sons.
Son of George Berry.