James Emanuel CALLARD

CALLARD, James Emanuel

Service Number: 1641
Enlisted: 24 February 1916, Broken Hill, New South Wales
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 48th Infantry Battalion
Born: Broken Hill, New South Wales, Australia, 9 August 1894
Home Town: Adelaide, South Australia
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: Station hand
Died: Killed in Action, Belgium, 8 June 1917, aged 22 years
Cemetery: Messines Ridge British Cemetery
Memorials: Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Broken Hill War Memorial, Tibooburra Milparinka District War Memorial
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World War 1 Service

24 Feb 1916: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1641, Broken Hill, New South Wales
11 Apr 1916: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1641, 48th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Aeneas embarkation_ship_number: A60 public_note: ''
11 Apr 1916: Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1641, 48th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Aeneas, Adelaide
7 Jun 1917: Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1641, 48th Infantry Battalion, Battle of Messines

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Biography contributed by Westminster School

James Emanuel Callard was born in Broken Hill, New South Wales on 09 Aug 1894. When he was old enough James went to work as a station hand on a property in country New South Wales.

James enlisted as a Private in the Australian Army at the age of 21 years and 6 months old. The First World War had started 19 months earlier and James like many Australians was keen to fight for his country. He was a single man enlisting on 24th February 1916 and was posted to the 48th Infantry Battalion, 2nd Reinforcement with the Service Number: 1641.

Six weeks later on 11th April, he left South Australia, on board HMAT A60 Aeneas headed for Egypt probably to the Australian army training camp in Tel El Kebir,  110 km north-east of Cairo. This small village was described by an Australian soldier as ‘a very dirty place’.

James had only been there for a month before falling ill with bronchitis & then influenza. He was admitted to the Australian hospital in Abbassia, which was a suburb of Cairo. Prior to the war this building had been the Egyptian Army Barracks. This hospital and the other field hospitals were kept busy with not only war injuries but many diseases associated with the region such as malaria, dysentery and pneumonia.

When James had recovered he did spend some time in France and England before travelling to Belgium to fight.  His war record has two incidences of disobedience. The first recorded on the 11th August 1916, for being in bed at 6.10am. He was given three days Confined to Camp (C.C.). The second was for being late on parade recorded on 20th October 1916 with one day C.C. James was killed in action on the battlefields in Messines, Belgium, on the 8th June 1917 he was just 22 years old. He is buried at Messines Ridge British Cemetery, Messines, Flanders, Belgium.

James can be remembered as another brave young man who died too young. His mother Mildred Callard, who lived in Adelaide at the time, was listed as his next of kin with his father as being deceased.

 

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