FISHBURN, John Henry
| Service Numbers: | 122, 254A, S396 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 14 September 1914, Morphettville, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 5 Advanced Ordnance Depot |
| Born: | Ballarat, Victoria, Australia, 24 July 1894 |
| Home Town: | Broken Hill, Broken Hill Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Horse Driver |
| Died: | Natural causes, Plympton South, South Australia, 16 June 1958, aged 63 years |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia Derrick Gardens, Path 11, Grave 239 |
| Memorials: | Lal Lal WWI Roll of Honor, Lal Lal War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 14 Sep 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 122, Morphettville, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Jan 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 122, 9th Light Horse Regiment, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Armadale embarkation_ship_number: A26 public_note: '' | |
| 12 Jan 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 122, 9th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Armadale, Melbourne | |
| 31 Mar 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, Driver, 1st Field Company Engineers | |
| 14 Apr 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sapper, 254A, 1st Field Company Engineers |
World War 2 Service
| 12 Aug 1940: | Enlisted Private, S396, Keswick, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Aug 1940: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Private, S396 | |
| 24 May 1948: | Discharged Private, S396, 5 Advanced Ordnance Depot |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by St Ignatius' College
John Henry Fishburn was born on the 24th of July 1894, in Ballarat Victoria. Fishburn enlisted 14th of September 1914 at Morphettville, South Australia. According to his attestation paper, Fishburn had brown hair, light hazel eyes, a fresh complexion and was 5 feet, 2 inches tall. He described himself as a Methodist, single, and employed as a Horse Driver.
The unit sailed from Melbourne on the 12 January 1915 and reached Egypt on the 14th of March 1915
While Fishburn was undergoing his training, he became unwell with diarrhoea and was put into hospital on the 6th of July 1915. As he embarked from Alexandria to the Gallipoli peninsula, the ship Fishburn was travelling on, the HMT Southland, was hit by a German torpedo in the Aegean Sea, 2nd September 1915. He received compliments of his Captain as being one of a party who helped to bring the sinking ship back into port
In late September 1915 he was in trouble for being absent without leave and once again in October, he was punished on both occasions losing pay. He returned to Egypt at the end of the Gallipoli campaign and proceeded to France in March 1916.
The company was involved in the Battle of Pozieres where Fishburn was wounded 23 July 1916 and he was admitted to hospital with shell shock. After treatment he was sent to base depot to convalesce. He returned to his unit 3rd August 1916 and again he was absent without leave a few days later.
October 29th, 1917, Fishburn was accused of making a conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline in France. He was found guilty on two charges and was sentenced to field punishment, type two. This meant that Fishburn had to undergo heavy labour for forty days. Afterwards, one of the charges that was pressed against him was dismissed and his forty-day punishment became a twenty-day punishment. It was the first charge that was dismissed. After completing his twenty days of labour, Fishburn was then accidentally injured and got sent to hospital on the 14th of October 1917, being released shortly after on the 27th.
Fishburn remained a Sapper for the 1st Field Company in France for the remainder of the war. He then returned to Australia via Southampton in the United Kingdom. He was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on the 14th of April 1919.
John Henry Fishburn married Winifred Eva Fishburn. On the 12th of August 1940 he re-enlisted for World War Two in Keswick, South Australia, when he was forty-six years old. He was assigned to the 5 Advanced Ordnance Depot. He was discharged on the 24th of May 1948. H
e passed ten years later due to natural causes on the 16th of June 1958, when he was 63 years old. John Henry Fishburn’s grave is located in Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Australian War Memorial 2021, Trench Warfare - Hell on Earth | The Australian War Memorial, Australian War Memorial.
Department of Veterans' Affairs 2024, Gallipoli Campaign 1915 | Anzac Portal, anzacportal.dva.gov.au, Department of Veterans’ Affairs.
Details 2025, Adfa.edu.au, viewed 19 September 2025, <https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=97815>.
Field punishment | Australian War Memorial n.d., www.awm.gov.au.
Hunter, C 2020, ‘It seemed unthinkable that anyone could get out of it as I did’ | Australian War Memorial, Awm.gov.au, viewed 19 September 2025, <https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/george-langley-and-the-southland>.
John Henry FISHBURN 2025, Vwma.org.au, viewed 19 September 2025, <https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/197833>.
National Archives of Australia 2024, Treatment of returned soldier suffering shell shock | naa.gov.au, Naa.gov.au.
Terrace, V 2025, View digital copy, Naa.gov.au, viewed 19 September 2025, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3900536&S=9&R=0>.
The Battle of Pozieres 1916 2016, 1st Field Company Engineers - Australian Imperial Forces, viewed 19 September 2025, <https://aussiesappers.wordpress.com/2016/07/18/the-battle-of-pozieres-1916/>.
Volle, A 2023, Western Front | World War I, Encyclopedia Britannica, britannica.
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