CARPENTER, John William
| Service Number: | 665 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 33rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wallabadah, New South Wales, Australia, 1880 |
| Home Town: | Waitara, Ku-ring-gai, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tram conductor |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 21 April 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Namps-au-Val British Cemetery, France Plot 11. Row B, Grave 25 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Hornsby War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Jun 1917: | Involvement Private, 665, 9th Machine Gun Company, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Jun 1917: | Embarked Private, 665, 9th Machine Gun Company, HMAT Suevic, Melbourne | |
| 21 Apr 1918: | Involvement Private, 665, 33rd Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 665 awm_unit: 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-04-21 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
John William CARPENTER was born at Wallabadah (near Quirindi), NSW on 2nd September 1879, but went to school at Hornsby in Sydney. He joined the NSWG Railways &Tramways as a tram conductor (casual) on 8th May 1916. His permanent appointment was not confirmed until 9th March 1918, by which time he had been in the AIF for over a year. His record card also has the annotation ‘on active service during strike, 1917’. He was released from duty to join the AIF on 5th February 1917.
John actually applied to enlist twice, a not uncommon occurrence. The first time was on 9th January 1917, but he did not go ahead with the enlistment, and the second time was on 5th February 1917 which is when his military service is recorded as beginning. He enlisted at the rank of Private (Service Number 665) and was posted to the 11th Reinforcements to the 9th Machine Gun Company. As he was married, he gave his wife, Alice Ada Carpenter, as his next of kin; at the time their home was in Peats Ferry Rd, Waitara, NSW.
He embarked at Melbourne on 21st June 1917 for England aboard HMAT A29 ‘Suevic’, and disembarked at Liverpool, England on 26th August 1917.
Submitted 18 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by John Oakes
John William CARPENTER was born at Wallabadah (near Quirindi), NSW on 2nd September 1879. He went to school at Hornsby in Sydney. He joined the NSWG Railways &Tramways as a tram conductor (casual) on 8th May 1916. His permanent appointment was not confirmed until 9th March 1918, by which time he had been in the AIF for over a year. His record card has the annotation ‘on active service during strike, 1917’. He was released from duty to join the AIF on 5th February 1917.
John actually applied to enlist twice,which was quite common at that time. The first time was on 9th January 1917, but he did not go ahead with the enlistment. The second time was on 5th February 1917 which is when his military service is recorded as beginning. He enlisted at the rank of Private (Service Number 665) and was posted to the 11th Reinforcements and the 9th Machine Gun Company. He was married to Alice Ada Carpenter. Their home was in Peats Ferry Rd, Waitara, NSW.
He sailed for England on 21st June 1917. The ship was HMAT A29 ‘Suevic’. He disembarked at Liverpool in England on 26th August 1917. He was sent for training with the 9th Training Battalion. He transferred to the 33rd Infantry Battalion at that time. While he was still training, he spent 10 days, from 26th October 1917, in hospital suffering from bronchitis. This was followed by another four days leave to assist his recovery. On 17th January 1918 he left England for France.
John joined the 33rd Infantry Battalion on 22nd January 1918. He spent 10 days beginning on 9th February 1918 in hospital with gingivitis and pyorrhoea. He was wounded in a gas attack near Amiens on 17th April 1918. He died of his wounds at the 41st Casualty Clearing Station on 21st April 1918. He was buried the next day in the Namps-au-Val British Cemetery, Namps-au-Val, Amiens, Picardie, France.
- based on the notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.