Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of John and Rebecca MYERS
Of Northcote, Vic.

JOHN JAMES MYERS

Military Medal

Recommendation:-

'Night 27th/28th August, 1916 at MOUQUET FARM. For leading bombing squads which successfully entered enemy strong point 54, and pushed forward into strongly held communication trenches, holding same, and inflicting heavy casualties on a large body of the enemy troops, and thus covering our consolidating party. These two N.C.O.s [MYERS and 2636 Edgar John RULE] threw bombs untiringly, and it is due to their personal heroism that the enemy were held back for some time, thus giving us time to prepare for their counter attack. They stood to their posts under heavy shell fire with undaunted courage.'

Date of recommendation: 30 August 1916

Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 62

Date: 19 April 1917 on page 928 at position 10’

Following embarkation from Australia in December 1914, the first news of John Myer’s war experience was posted in the Daylesford Advocate in June 1915 where his father had been transferred with the police force from a prior posting at Quarry Hill.

PRIVATE J. MYERS (Wounded)

‘Sergeant Myers, of the local police force, received a telegram yesterday that his son, Private John Myers, had been wounded in the Dardanelles. Pte. Myers was 18 years of age on the day before he enlisted, at Bendigo. He was with the 14th Battalion. By a coincidence his parents received a letter, from him, written on May 4, on the same day as the intelligence arrived that he had been wounded. The 14th was not engaged in the coastal landing which proved so gallant a feat, and cost so many valuable lives, but the battalion has since then seen hard service. The letter, which was written in the trenches, stated that Pte. Myers' mate had been killed, but that the writer was in the best of health and had seen some fighting. The food in the trenches, Pte. Myers adds, was first class, and he was getting quite fat. The opinion in the trenches was that the Allied Forces were bound to defeat Turkey, and the only difference of opinion was as to the time that would be occupied in doing so. At the time of enlisting Pte. Myers was a clerk in the Bendigo Branch of the New Zealand Insurance Company. He was well known and liked personally, and his parents have the sympathy of all in their anxiety and trouble’.[1]

As the local paper concluded, John’s parents had good cause for anxiety as John was wounded twice on Gallipoli, firstly in May and then at the ferocious battle of Lone Pine in August 1915. On both occasions his wounds resulted in evacuation off the Peninsula.

No further news on John had been reported in Bendigo until the following news is report in January 1917 is published:-

MILITARY MEDAL WON - SERGEANT MYERS.

'Sergeant Myers, of St. Kilda-road police station, has received word that his son, Corporal John James Myers, of the 14th Battalion, 4th Australian Infantry Brigade, has received a Military Medal, and also special mention in despatch orders, for great gallantry on 27th August, near Mouquet Farm. Corporal Myers, who has just turned 20 years of age, and has been through the campaign for the past two years, was born at Marong, and educated at the Marist Brothers' College, Bendigo.

Although wounded four times, the young soldier has displayed great courage, thereby winning the esteem of his officers, as well as the admiration of his comrades. He has been promoted to the rank of sergeant in recognition of this splendid record.[2]

John would serve at Gallipoli then at the front in Northern France and Flanders and be wounded a further two times with a severe gun shot wound to the eye. He return to his unit and unfortunately would be ‘Killed in Action’ on May 5, 1918 as his Battalion advanced

‘ Night 27th/28th August, 1916 at MOUQUET FARM’

The 4th Division which included John Myers 14th battalion was brought back on 27 August and for the fighting around Mouquet Farm. The prior two weeks of fighting in the area had seen a further 2,650 casualties, of the Australian 1st Division which was relieved by the 2nd Division during the night of 22 August.

Barring the approach to Thiepval was a battered and broken complex, which before the war had consisted of a homestead, courtyard, and dairy; this was Mouquet Farm or as the Anzacs called it ‘Moo Cow Farm.’ The Germans had earlier identified the ground the farm sat on as tactically significant and in addition to fortifying it, had built a network of interconnecting rooms and bunkers beneath the farm.[3]

[1] Daylesford Advocate, Thu 24 Jun 1915  Page 3 PRIVATE J. MYERS

[2] Bendigonian (Bendigo, Vic. : 1914 - 1918)  Thu 25 Jan 1917  Page 31
[3] Virtual War Memorial Australia Website https://vwma.org.au/explore/campaigns/103