SPENCE, John Alexander
| Service Number: | 3400 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 August 1915, Perth, WA |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 52nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Fremantle, Western Australia, Australia, 12 July 1893 |
| Home Town: | Fremantle, Fremantle, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Hilton Park, Western Australia, Australia, 20 November 1962, aged 69 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Fremantle Cemetery, Western Australia Presbyterian Mon EE 0629 |
| Memorials: | Fremantle Scots Church Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Aug 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3400, 12th Infantry Battalion, Perth, WA | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 3400, 12th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: '' | |
| 1 Jun 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 12th Infantry Battalion, Egypt | |
| 23 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 3400, 12th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières | |
| 3 Sep 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 3400, 12th Infantry Battalion, BW to finger. Remained at duty. | |
| 16 Sep 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 12th Infantry Battalion, France | |
| 7 Jun 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3400, 12th Infantry Battalion, Battle of Messines | |
| 6 Jul 1917: | Honoured Distinguished Conduct Medal, Battle of Messines, For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty at Messines. He led his men to the attack with great courage, capturing two enemy field guns and killing the crews. | |
| 4 Jan 1918: | Transferred AIF WW1, Sergeant, 52nd Infantry Battalion, France | |
| 5 Apr 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3400, 52nd Infantry Battalion, Dernancourt/Ancre | |
| 24 Apr 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3400, 52nd Infantry Battalion, Villers-Bretonneux, GSW to hip and thigh. Evacuated to UK. Never rejoined unit. | |
| 6 May 1918: | Honoured Military Medal, Dernancourt/Ancre, For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty at Dernancourt on the 5th April 1918. | |
| 22 Mar 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 3400, 52nd Infantry Battalion, RTA 10 December 1918 and discharged as MU (wounds). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Helen Harmer
John Alexander ‘Jack’ Spence was born in Fremantle on the 12.7.1893. When he was 15 in 1908, he was arrested with two friends for stealing bicycles. He was sent to Industrial school for 12 months. He had previously served for 3 years with the Australian Navy when he joined the AIF at Perth, on the 2.8.15, aged 22 years 1 month. He declared his occupation to be labourer and his denomination Protestant. He listed his next of kin as his wife, Nellie Spence. However, she deserted him and went to Orange St, Randwick, Sydney, then Double Bay, Sydney.
Jack was described as 5’5¾” with a fair complexion, blue eyes, fair hair. He had many tattoos: swallows on both arms, an eagle and Australian Flag on his back, the Australian Coat of Arms on his chest. On his left arm: Advance Australia and MR, on the Right one: Unity. Initially a Private with the Service Number 3400, he was appointed to the 11/12th Battalion on the 29.10.15. Jack embarked on the 1.11.15 from Fremantle on HMAT Benalla A24. On the 3.3.16 he left Zeitoun and joined the 52nd Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir. On the 1.6.16 Jack was promoted to Lance Corporal and on the 5.6.16, he joined the BEF in Alexandria. On the 12.6.16 he disembarked from the Ivernia in Marseille. He received a wound to a finger in his right hand on the 3.9.16 and was discharged to duty. In France he was promoted to Corporal on the 16.9.16 and then promoted to Sergeant the same day. A series of glass plates taken by photographers Louis and Antoinette Thuillier during this time was discovered in the Mouquet farmhouse near the village of Vignacourt and first published in the book “The Lost Diggers” by Ross Coulthart in 2012. The book includes three photographs of John with the 52nd Battalion and his story.
On the 25.6.17 he was detached to the 13th Training Battalion in Codford, England, where recruits were trained in basic infantry skills and he was attached there on the 28.6.17.
On the 15.8.17 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. The Citation read “for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He led his men to the attack with great courage, capturing 2 enemy field guns and killing the crews. He afterwards displayed great fearlessness in patrolling under machine gun fire and worked with great energy during consolidation”. This was noted in the supplement to London Gazette, List no 223 dated 28.8.17 and promulgated in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette No 219 of 20th Dec 1917.
On the 5.9.17 he was promoted to ER CSM England. Jack was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal on the 3.10.17, and on the 21.11.17, attached to the permanent cadre of 13th Training Battalion, Codford, for duty with B Company. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant from the 31.12.17 and proceeded to France the same day.
Jack was wounded in action on the 24.4.18, then invalided to the UK on the 30.4.18. He was admitted to Alexandria Military Hospital on the 1.5.18 with a severe GSW to his right thigh. On the 6.5.18 he was awarded a Military Medal.
Jack returned to Australia on the 10.12.18 per Somali and was discharged from 52nd Battalion with the rank of sergeant on the 22.3.19. After the war, he settled in the Fremantle area and worked as a tram employee. He married Alma Amanda Bertha Ulrich (1902 – 1934) in 1920 and Edith Ethel Sidnell (born 1900) in 1939.
He died on the 20.11.1962 in Hollywood Repatriation Hospital, Nedlands, aged 69. His home was in Hilton Park, and he was buried in Fremantle Cemetery, Presbyterian Monumental portion, grave EE 0629. Jack was described as the dearly beloved husband of Edith and stepfather of Norman and Ken. Edith Ethel Spence died on the 30.1.1976 aged 76 and is buried with Jack.
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