PURCELL, John
| Service Number: | 4906 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 August 1915, Ballarat, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | St Arnaud, Victoria, Australia, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Tourello, Ballarat North, Victoria |
| Schooling: | State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Nephritis, Tourello, Victoria, Australia, 3 November 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Clunes Public Cemetery Roman Catholic Section, Row 1, Grave No. 4405, |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Tourello Walnut Grove Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4906, 14th Infantry Battalion, Ballarat, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Mar 1916: | Involvement Private, 4906, 14th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Anchises embarkation_ship_number: A68 public_note: '' | |
| 14 Mar 1916: | Embarked Private, 4906, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Anchises, Melbourne | |
| 4 Oct 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4906, 14th Infantry Battalion, GSW to right thigh and buttock sustained at Dickebusch. Evacuated to UK. Developed nephritis while in hospital and RTA 3 July 1917. Died at home of nephritis on 3 November 1917 while on leave. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
John Purcell, aged 21, enlisted in the AIF in Ballarat on 2 August 1915, embarked overseas on 14 March 1916 and arrived in Egypt on 15 April 1916.
He left Egypt on 6 June and arrived in Plymouth, England on 16 June 1916. He left England and arrived in France on 26 July 1916, where he joined the 14th Battalion in the field on 6 September 1916, fortunate to have missed the horrors of the Somme during August 1916.
Within weeks, he was in the front line at Dickebusch, near Ypres in Belgium, where he sustained a gunshot wound to his right thigh and buttock on 4 October 1916. He was evacuated to hospital in England, where he remained for the next eight months.
He recovered from his thigh wound, however developed nephritis (kidney ailment) while in hospital. He never recovered from the illness and embarked for Australia on 3 July 1917 for eventual medical discharge from the AIF.
He arrived in Melbourne on 27 August 1917 and was convalescing at his Tourello home while on leave when he died from nephritis on 3 November 1917.
He was later buried at the Clunes Cemetery.
Source: Extract from "Clunes Soldiers Memorial Panel" by Robert Wight, June 2022.
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