Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

John Winchester was a young tailor from Port Adelaide who enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force within weeks of WWI beginning. His rank was Private (Pte.), and he served for over 3 and a half years in countries such as Egypt, Turkey, France, Greece, Belgium and England and fought in some famous battles during this time. Miraculously he survived a serious gunshot wound and returned to Australia in 1917. John Winchester died in 1988 at the age of 92. He must have been a very resilient person to have survived nearly 4 years of difficult infantry service and a serious injury and then to live to such an old age.

Pte. Winchester was born between July and September 1895. He was born in Port Adelaide but lived in North Adelaide at 202 Gover Street when he enlisted. Pte. Winchester was a tailor before the war; his father worked in the naval sheds in Fremantle. He was single at the time of enlistment and his next of kin was his father.

Pte. Winchester enlisted at Morphettville Racecourse on the 19th of August 1914. This was only 15 days after Great Britain had declared war on Germany and officially joined the war. It was a time when there was great patriotism in Australia, and thousands of young men volunteered to fight in what they thought would be a short war. The AIF recruited 45,000 men in August 1914. Pte. Winchester spent 4 months training at Morphettville racecourse.

Pte. Winchester set sail with the 10th Infantry Battalion to Alexandria, Egypt. He was moved into a training camp at Cairo, where he joined other soldiers for training 8 hours a day, 6 days a week, wearing full kits and heavy backpacks. The 10th Infantry Battalion was a Battalion of Australian volunteers that fought throughout the war at places including Gallipoli and the Western Front.

There is little information about Pte. Winchester’s time in Gallipoli, but his service during this period was probably restricted by regular illness, as Pte. Winchester was admitted to the hospital multiple times during this period. He was first admitted to the hospital on the 14th of September 1915 with Vincent’s Angina which was a common infection that soldiers got at the time. He then was infected with a trench mouth. This was another common illness among soldiers and was caused by exhaustion, emotional stress, tobacco use and poor oral hygiene.

On the 3rd of September 1915, Pte. Winchester was transferred to Mudros for treatment of his lumbago. Mudros was a military medical base at Mudros Harbour on the Greek Island of Lemnos. Pte. Winchester then transferred back to the training camps in Cairo, Egypt where he spent approximately one year, where he was again admitted to hospital at Mena House multiple times. Mena House was an old hotel near the Giza Pyramids requisitioned by the AIF in 1915 and converted into the 2nd Australian General Hospital.

Pte. Winchester was then admitted to the hospital on the 25th of September 1915 for a third time with lumbago. Many soldiers suffered from this back injury throughout the war, commonly caused by the heavy backpacks that soldiers wore. Pte. Winchester suffered from lumbago throughout the war, being admitted to hospital multiple times for treatment of this condition. Pte. Winchester’s final recorded medical treatment in Egypt was for a sprained ankle.

Around 3 months later Pte. Winchester was transferred to Alexandria to the military headquarters. The military headquarters were near Cairo, where there were outdoor markets and other sources of entertainment. Shortly after Pte. Winchester arrived took advantage of his location left headquarters and was absent without leave from 1 pm to midnight on the 26th of June 1916. After being caught Pte. Winchester had to forfeit one day’s pay all his leave was stopped and he was transferred back to the 10th Battalion training camp where he spent the next month.

On the 2nd of August 1916, John Winchester returned to war with the 10th Battalion in France. At the time the 10th Battalion were based in Etaples but many of the soldiers were fighting in bitter trench warfare on the Western Front.  When Pte. Winchester arrived, he again became sick and was treated multiple times. His first injury was an injured wrist. Pte. Winchester was treated for ganglion on the right wrist. Ganglion is a fluid-filled lump in your skin formed when there is a small tear in the sleeve of thin tissue covering the joint.  He was then treated again in the hospital but was discharged to his Battalion on the Western Front the next day.

Only a month later he was admitted to the hospital with influenza and had to go to England to be treated for this. He was admitted to Southall Hospital in London. A few weeks later Pte. Winchester was court-martialled. Pte. Winchester had been court-martialled for disobeying a lawful command (details unknown). Pte. Winchester pleaded guilty to this charge and was sentenced to thirty days of detention and to forfeit forty-four days of pay.

Once Pte. Winchester was released, and he was sent to complete four days of military & physical training and musketry before he could be sent back to the battlefields. He trained at Detention Barrack Parkhurst in London and then returned to the Western Front on the 9th of August 1917 to continue fighting. Pte. Winchester spent around eight weeks fighting in brutal trench warfare before he was wounded. Pte. Winchester was wounded in action while serving in Belgium fighting in the famous battle of Polygon Wood, he received multiple gunshot wounds to his right hand, right thigh and right foot. He returned to England on the HS Princess Elizabeth and was admitted to the Pavilion General Hospital at Brighton to be treated for his wounds. Pte. Winchester spent the next three months in the hospital recovering from his injuries. On the 5th of December 1917, he transferred hospitals to the 3rd Auxillary Hospital in Dartford, England where he remained for the next week until discharged and sent back to a training camp in Weymouth, England.

Pte. Winchester never fully recovered from his injuries and was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). for this reason, on the 10th of March 1918 Pte. Winchester was discharged and sent on the HS Durham Castle (a hospital ship) back to Australia. He arrived back in Australia on the 21st of June 1918. Pte. Winchester was formally discharged from the 10th Battalion after serving 3 years and 296 days in the AIF, and the reason for discharge was, “medically unfit.” This would officially mark the end of Pte. Winchester's time of serving for Australia in WWI.

Post-discharge Pte. Winchester was awarded three medals. The first medal he was awarded was the 1914/15 star. This medal was awarded to soldiers who served during the period of the 5th of August 1914 and the 31st of December 1915. The next medal he was awarded was the British War Medal. This medal was instituted by King George V to mark the end of WWI. It was given to soldiers who served from 1914 to 1920 and the final medal he was awarded was the victory medal. The victory medal was a medal authorised in 1919 to commemorate the victory of the Allied Forces over the Central Powers. The medal was awarded to people who served during the period of the 5th of August 1914 to the 11th of November 1918. On the 4th of October 1967, he wrote a letter applying for the Anzac commemoration medallion, which he was granted, this was awarded to surviving soldiers in 1967 who had served on the Gallipoli Peninsula.

On 10 January 1938 John Winchester married Edith Jane Winchester (nee Pike). Ms Winchester was recorded in Pte. Winchester’s medical records as his wife and next of kin in 1915, but they may not have been legally married at that time. John and Edith Winchester had a child Gordon Barklay Winchester who was born in 1923 and died in 1935 at the age of 13. Edith Winchester died in 1968.  On the 24th of November 1988 Pte. Winchester Passed away at the age of 92 and was buried with his wife and son in Toowong Cemetery in Brisbane. Pte. Winchester's dedication to duty saw him enlist in World War I just days after it started. Despite enduring injuries, illnesses, and even a court-martial, he remained dedicated to serving his country. In his passing at the age of 92, Winchester left behind a legacy of courage and pride that continues to be honoured.

Bibliography

John Winchester 2024, Awm.gov.au, viewed 24 March 2024, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1898388>.

‌ Item details 2024, Naa.gov.au, viewed 24 March 2024, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=8846405&isAv=N>.

ACT, R 2024, Department of Defence, Defence.gov.au, viewed 24 March 2024, <https://www.defence.gov.au/adf-members-families/honours-awards/medals/imperial-awards/world-war-one/victory-medal>.

‌ 10th Battalion AIF SA - Morphettville Camp, September 1914 2024, History Trust, viewed 24 March 2024, <https://collections.history.sa.gov.au/nodes/view/29326>.

‌ Genge 2024, Anzac Portal home page, Anzac Portal, viewed 24 March 2024, <https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/>.

‌ Births, deaths, marriages and divorces 2024, Qld.gov.au, viewed 24 March 2024, <https://www.qld.gov.au/law/births-deaths-marriages-and-divorces>.

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