QUINTRELL, John Adolphus
| Service Number: | 2705 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 30 December 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 32nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Moonta, South Australia, Australia, 15 June 1880 |
| Home Town: | Moonta, Copper Coast, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Blacksmith |
| Died: | Inflammation of the liver, At sea, 1 September 1917, aged 37 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Buried at sea |
| Memorials: | Adelaide National War Memorial, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Moonta All Saint's Anglican Church Memorial Honour Roll, Moonta Corporation of The Town of Moonta Roll of Honour, Moonta Mines Public School Roll of Honour WW1, Moonta War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 30 Dec 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2705, 32nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 25 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 2705, 32nd Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Shropshire embarkation_ship_number: A9 public_note: '' | |
| 25 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 2705, 32nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Shropshire, Adelaide |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
John was the third of three brothers from Moonta, South Australia who died in WW1. 2391 Pte. Richard Hugh Quintrell 32nd Battalion was killed in action at Fromelles 20 July 1916 and 3886 Pte. Clarence Horace Quintrell 50th Battalion was killed a few weeks later at Pozieres on 12 August 1916.
John Adolphus Quintrell worked as a miner before the war. He left Australia during March 1916. On 1 June 1916, in Egypt he was admitted suffering from heart disease.
He disembarked in Marseilles, France in late June 1916. On the 11 December 1916 he was sent to a casualty station having been wounded. On the 23 December he was in hospital in England apparently suffering from shrapnel wounds to his face, hands and left thigh and also from debility. His records state "23.12.16 Adm 1St. Southern Gen. Hpl. Dudley Rd. Birmingham (Buried)"
Apparently buried in a shell explosion and suffered afterwards from shell shock and aphonia (the inability to speak). On the 21 July 1917 he boarded a ship for return to Australia. On 26 August 1917 he was gravely ill, and despite treatment, his condition deteriorated and he passed away on the 1 September 1917. The cause of death was given as 'acute septic inflammation of the liver'. On the next day he was buried at sea at latitude 41-11 south, longitude 54-9 east, which is a about a third of the distance between South Africa and Western Australia.