TONNER, James Edward
| Service Number: | 20894 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 January 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 8th Field Artillery Battery |
| Born: | North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 18 July 1886 |
| Home Town: | Sydney, City of Sydney, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tram Conductor |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Belgium, 10 July 1917, aged 30 years |
| Cemetery: |
Kandahar Farm Cemetery, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, North Sydney Tramways Pictorial Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 20894, 9th Field Artillery Brigade | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 May 1916: | Involvement Gunner, 20894, 9th Field Artillery Brigade , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Argyllshire embarkation_ship_number: A8 public_note: '' | |
| 11 May 1916: | Embarked Gunner, 20894, 9th Field Artillery Brigade , HMAT Argyllshire, Sydney | |
| 8 Jan 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Gunner, 8th Field Artillery Battery , Transferred from 9th Field Artillery Battery in France | |
| 10 Jul 1917: | Involvement Gunner, 20894, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 20894 awm_unit: 8th Australian Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1917-07-10 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
James Edward TONNER (Service Number 20894) was born on 18th July 1886 at North Sydney. From 9th February 1913 he was working as a casual tram conductor in Sydney, becoming permanent in December. He was released to join the Expeditionary Forces on 10th January 1916. He enlisted the same day, giving Ina B Tonner whom he described as his mother living in Moonee Ponds, Melbourne, as his next of kin. She was in fact his step-mother.
He was allotted to the 9th Field Artillery Brigade. He embarked HMAT ‘Argyllshire’ at Sydney on 11th May 1916 and reached Devonport (England) on 10th July. After several months training in England he proceeded overseas through Southampton to France on 30th December. He was taken on strength of the 3rd Australian Division Artillery and transferred to the 8th Field Artillery Brigade, 29th Battery on 8th January 1917. In February he was transferred to the 30th Battery. He was admitted to the 10th Australian Field Ambulance with what is described as ‘antrium’ but which may be a disease of the stomach now known as ‘antrum’. Despite a transfer to the 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station the condition was cleared on the same day and he re-joined the unit the next day.
In June he transferred to the 31st Battery. He died of wounds received in action, gunshot to the legs, on 10th July 1917.
Tonner was buried at Kandahar Farm, just SW of Wulverghem, 2¼ miles WSW of Messines, Belgium.
A pension of 43 shillings per fortnight was awarded to his step-mother, Ina B Tonner, from 27th September 1917.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.