REEDY, John
| Service Number: | 6886 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 November 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 8th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia, 1 August 1898 |
| Home Town: | Croydon, Ashfield, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in action, Belgium, 25 October 1917, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Nov 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6886, 8th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 17 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 6886, 8th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Port Napier embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 17 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 6886, 8th Infantry Battalion, SS Port Napier, Sydney |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
John Vincent Reedy enlisted 25 January 1916 at Liverpool. He had just turned 17 years of age. He gave his occupation as blacksmith's striker and his next of kin his father Roger Reedy of 'San Toy' Wallace Street, Ashfield. Consent signed by his mother Annie Reedy. John enlisted in the 30th Battalion AIF. He was A.W.L. from Kiama on 7 August 1916 and a warrant was issued for his arrest 18 August 1916. He was posted as a deserter, a warrant was issued for his arrest and he was struck off strength 6 September 1916.
His older brother, 2220 Pte. Arthur Ambrose Reedy 3rd Battalion AIF was killed in action at Pozieres on 22 July 1916, aged 20. News of Arthur’s death had filtered back to Sydney by late August 1916, and may have been part of the reason for John being absent without leave. Also, John Reedy turned 18 years of age on 1 August 1916.
John enlisted again as John Reedy, 7 November 1916, at the showgrounds in Sydney. He was known as ‘Jack’ Reedy to his family and friends and gave his occupation as labourer and his next of kin his mother Annie Reedy.
Unusually, he was put in the 8th Battalion, a Victorian unit. He left Sydney during November 1916 and arrived in France via England May 1917.
Private John Reedy was seen to have been hit by an artillery shell by several witnesses in his Red Cross Wounded and Missing file. This was while they were holding a trench on the Passchendaele Ridge in Belgium on the morning of 25 October 1917. He was only 19 years of age and he has no known grave.
Another older brother Roger Patrick Reedy (b. Camden 1891) served in the 7th Company Australian Army Service Corps AIF at Gallipoli and in France and returned to Australia in 1918.
His father, Roger Reedy passed away during 1919. His mother Annie was awarded a pension of one pound per fortnight on top of the two pounds per fortnight she was receiving on account of her other son, Arthur Reedy.