Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

#191 DOWNING James (Jim) Francis   31st Infantry Battalion
 
James Downing was born at Barambah in the South Burnett to parents John and Cecilia Downing. The family lived at Barambah, probably raising cattle, and young James would have been involved in that work after leaving school.
 
James presented himself for enlistment in Brisbane on 13th July 1915. He stated his age as 29 years and gave his occupation as labourer although his father when completing the Roll of Honour Circular said that James was a grazier. James was allocated directly to the 31st Infantry battalion which was being raised at Enoggera as part of the 8th Brigade of a newly created division, the 5th Division AIF. After a period of training at Enoggera, the battalion journeyed to Broadmeadows outside Melbourne where they joined battalions from the other “outer” states to form the 8th Brigade. The men of the 31st boarded the “Wandilla” at Port Melbourne on 9th November 1915 bound for Egypt. James, who perhaps by this time was known to his mates in the platoon as Jim, had allocated 3/- of his daily pay of 5/- to his sister, Margaret (Meg) Downing of the Post Office Hotel, Nanango.
 
The 31st arrived in Egypt on 7th December and over the next month were joined by more battalions which would eventually comprise the three brigades of the 5th Division. The inexperienced troops trained for their eventual deployment to the western front. On 15th February 1916, Jim was promoted to acting corporal; and was confirmed on 23rd May.
On 16th June, the men of the 31st battalion boarded a ship in Alexandria for the seven day voyage across the Mediterranean to Marseilles.
 
The 31st boarded a train in the port city for a two day journey to the part of the front on the French Belgian Border near Armentieres. They went into billets at Morbecque for a short while before being ordered to occupy the trenches at Fleurbaix. On 19th July, with only three days experience in the trenches, the 5thDivision was ordered into an attack against a stronghold called the sugarloaf at Fromelles.
 
Fromelles was one of the greatest disasters for the AIF. The 31st battalion suffered 572 casualties and other battalions recorded similar figures. Brig General Harold “Pompey” Elliott, the commander of the 15th brigade, also of the 5th Division, wept as he saw his brave Victorians stumbling back to the start point. During the retreat from the sugarloaf on 20th July, Cpl Jim Downing received a bullet wound to the head. He was transported to a casualty clearing station and then to a Military Hospital at Boulogne.
 
Jim remained at a convalescent camp until October, then was posted to Base Details camp before finally re-joining his battalion on 1st November. The 31st was still suffering from the loss of men incurred at Fromelles and even though he had been away in hospital for 4 months, Jim was promoted to Sergeant almost immediately upon his return.
 
As winter approached, the British command wanted to make one last effort to advance the front to higher ground so that troops would not have to contend with mud and slush. The 31st battalion, although still under trained and understrength were put back into fight near Bapaume. Jim was slightly wounded by a shell fragment to his heel in late November but he was back with his platoon two days later.
 
On 19th January 1917, the records show that Jim Downing was killed in action at Le Transloy. Enquiries were made to the Red Cross by family members seeking information about his death and several witnesses came forward, all more or less recounting that Jim was in a dugout shelter in the side of a trench when the shelter received a direct hit from an artillery shell. He was loaded onto a stretcher carried by some of the men in his platoon to be taken to the aid post but he died on the stretcher before reaching the aid post and without regaining consciousness. One witness made a point of describing Jim as very manly, tall, with a straightforward manner. He was 31years old.
 
Jim was buried near a ration dump and a wooden cross erected over his grave. Jim had named his sister, Meg, as the sole beneficiary of his will. She also received a parcel of Jim’s personal effects which included coins, a money belt and a locket containing a lock of hair, perhaps from a sweetheart.
 
At the conclusion of the war, Jim’s remains were exhumed and reinterred in the Guards Cemetery at Lesboefs, south of Bapaume. His family chose the following inscription for his headstone: HE LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR HIS FRIENDS R.I.P.