ELMS, Joseph William
| Service Number: | 16128 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 6th Field Ambulance |
| Born: | Leichhardt, New South Wales, Australia, 20 December 1895 |
| Home Town: | Mascot, Botany Bay, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 21 April 1917, aged 21 years |
| Cemetery: |
Queant Road Cemetery, Buissy, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Mascot War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 16128, Army Medical Corps (AIF), --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '23' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 16128, Army Medical Corps (AIF), HMAT Suevic, Sydney | |
| 21 Apr 1917: | Involvement Private, 16128, 6th Field Ambulance, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 16128 awm_unit: 6th Australian Field Ambulance awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1917-04-21 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Joseph William ELMS (Service Number 16128) was born on 20th December 1895 at Leichhardt. From 15th November 1910 he became an apprentice clerk with the NSW Railways at Darling Harbour, and from the next year a junior clerk. Although, formally, he became an adult clerk in December 1916, he had been granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces from 4 February and was already overseas.
He enlisted in the AIF in January 1916, signing the Attestation Papers on the 31st. He claimed to be 21-years-old, but in fact was barely 20, and he also claimed three years’ experience in the Militia.
He left Sydney on 11 November 1916, nearly a year after enlisting. Records show him at Headquarters Liverpool in February and at the Field Hospital Liverpool in March, but do not explain the lengthy period between enlistment and embarkation, though since he was allotted to the Field Ambulance, this may have been training, or operating the hospital. He travelled on HMAT ‘Suevic’ and reached Devonport on 30 January 1917. In March he proceeded overseas to France from the Army Medical Corps Training Depot No. 2 Camp at Parkhouse and was taken on the strength of the 6th Field Ambulance on 14 March.
He was killed in action on the night of 21-22 April 1917, ‘buried by a mine explosion’. Other reports are more mundane, suggesting that four men were sheltering for the night in a dugout, when a large shell landed, killing or burying them alive.
He is believed to be buried in the Queant Road British Cemetery, 9¼ miles NE of Bapaume, France. There is a Collective Cross erected, bearing his regimental particulars and date of death, preceded by the words:
‘Buried in this Cemetery, actual grave unknown.’
Submitted 27 June 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
Joseph William ELMS (Service Number 16128) was born on 20th December 1895 at Leichhardt. From 15th November 1910 he became an apprentice clerk with the NSW Railways at Darling Harbour He became a junior clerk. Although, formally, he became an adult clerk in December 1916, he had been granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces from 4th February and was already overseas. The promotion was significant because the railways made up the difference between their military pay and their railway pay.
He enlisted in the AIF on 31st January 1916. He claimed to be 21-years-old. However, he had only just turned 20. He claimed three years’ experience in the Militia.
Records show him at Headquarters Liverpool in February and at the Field Hospital Liverpool in March. Since he was allotted to the Field Ambulance, this may have been training, or operating the hospital. He left Sydney on 11th November1916 on HMAT ‘Suevic’ and reached Devonport, England, on 30th January 1917. In March he went to France from the Army Medical Corps Training Depot No. 2 Camp at Parkhouse. He was taken on the strength of the 6th Field Ambulance on 14th March. He went to hospital sick with an abrasion to his heel at the end of the month and did not return to duty until 4th April. He was killed in action on the night of 21st-22nd April 1917. He had been ‘buried by a mine explosion’. Other reports say that four men were sheltering for the night in a dugout, when a large shell landed, killing or burying them alive.
He is believed to be buried in the Queant Road British Cemetery, 9¼ miles NE of Bapaume, France. There is a Collective Cross erected, bearing his regimental particulars and date of death, preceded by the words:
‘Buried in this Cemetery, actual grave unknown.’
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board