Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

ALCORN John Lenard #2103 25th Battalion

John Alcorn was one of at least four sons born to William and Elizabeth Alcorn. His parents had originally migrated from Canada. By the time that John was born in 1895, the family had settled in Boonah. William Alcorn had several brothers who had also emigrated and were then living in the Fassifern district.

John attended Boonah State School and then worked as a baker in the town, alongside his two younger brothers, Ernest and Percy. John presented himself for enlistment at the Shire Council Offices on 17th June 1915. The Australian press had been reporting the news of the Australians in action from Gallipoli for the last month which caused an surge in recruiting numbers. It may have been this enthusiasm which inspired John to join up.

Once John had sworn the oath to well and truly serve the King, the Shire Chairman signed his enlistment papers and provided him with a warrant to travel by train from Boonah to Enoggera. John marched into camp at Enoggera and after a few weeks was issued a uniform. There was some confusion about the spelling of his middle name as his enlistment papers showed “Leonard” while John signed his name as “Lenard.”

John was allocated as part of the 4th reinforcements for the 25th Battalion, a Queensland regiment that had recently sailed for Egypt and Gallipoli. When John embarked for overseas on the “Armadale” on 18th September in Brisbane, the embarkation roll lists John Alcorn aged 20 of Boonah, occupation baker. He had allocated 4/5 of his pay to his mother.

John’s file fails to record his arrival in Egypt but it is likely that the “Armadale” arrived in Suez around the beginning of November, by which time the fate of the Gallipoli campaign was sealed. Lord Kitchener, the British Secretary for War, had visited ANZAC and Cape Helles in October and decided that the whole enterprise be abandoned. It therefore made little sense for the reinforcements for the 25th Battalion to be sent to Gallipoli only to be evacuated again a few weeks later. John and the 4th reinforcements remained in Egypt before being taken on strength by the 25th at the beginning of February 1916. The 25th as part of the 7th brigade of the 2nd Division AIF, was transported to Alexandria by train before boarding a transport across the Mediterranean.

The 25th Battalion disembarked in Marseilles on 14 March 1916 and proceeded by train north to Armentieres near the Belgian border. They were the first Australian battalion in France. This was a fairly quiet sector on the western front and the British commanders used this sector to initiate new battalions into the business of trench warfare.

General Haig, Supreme British commander on the Western Front was planning a big push in the south of the British sector through the Somme River valley. It was to be the largest battle of the war so far, and was timed to commence on the 1st of July 1916. The attack was a disaster, with the British suffering 60,000 casualties on the first day. In spite of this, Haig was determined to push on and the1st, 2nd and 4th Australian Divisions were moved south from the Armentieres sector to Albert to take part in the Somme offensive.

The second division’s objective was to take a blockhouse which had been built on the site of a windmill in the village of Pozieres, half way between Albert and Bapaume. The windmill occupied a position on the highest part of the ridge behind two lines of trenches, and provided a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. The attack, the first major offensive by the 25th Battalion since arriving in France, was to begin just after midnight on the 29th July. The first attack was a failure, but subsequent attempts to secure the objective over the next week finally secured the two trench lines and the blockhouse; but at great cost with the 25th Battalion suffering 343 casualties (from a strength of a little less than 1000 men). John Alcorn is listed as Killed in Action on 5th August 1916 at Pozieres. He has no known grave.

In 1938, the Australian Government belatedly completed the National War memorial at Villers Brettoneux on the Somme. The memorial was dedicated by the newly crowned King George VI and his wife Elizabeth and contains the names of 11,000 Australians who lost their lives in France during the Great War and have no known grave.

On the site of the Pozieres windmill today is a commemorative stone which reads:

“The ruin of the Pozieres windmill which lies here was the centre of the struggle on this part of the Somme Battlefield in July and August 1916. It was captured by Australian troops who fell more thickly on this ridge than on any other battlefields of the war.”

John Alcorn’s three brothers, Ebenezer, Ernest and David all enlisted at various times during the war. All three returned safely to Australia at war’s end.

William Alcorn received John’s medals, the 14/15 star, Empire and Victory medals as well as a memorial bronze plaque and a memorial scroll signed by the King.