S16466
MERRY, Jack Cholerton
| Service Number: | 2954 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 17 January 1916, Adelaide, SA |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 9th Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Euroa, Victoria, June 1894 |
| Home Town: | Norwood (SA), South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Civil Servant |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Gilles Street Primary School WW1 Honour Board (Original), Euroa Telegraph Park, Grange Gollywog Bachelors Club Roll of Honor |
World War 1 Service
| 17 Jan 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2954, 9th Light Horse Regiment, Adelaide, SA | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 2954, 9th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: RMS Mooltan embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 24 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 2954, 9th Light Horse Regiment, RMS Mooltan, Adelaide | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Trooper, 2954 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Saint Ignatius' College
Australian soldier biography – Jack Cholerton Merry
Jack Cholerton Merry came into this world around the year of 1894 possibly in mid-June, not knowing that he would play an important role in defending his country in the First World War. His mother Mary Merry gave birth to her son in Euroa, Victoria. His father’s name was not on his records other than his initials T.B Merry Little did she know that on the 24th of August, 1916 she would lose her only child to the imperial forces not knowing if he would come back.
On the 17th of January 1916 Jack enrolled in the First World War, back then called the Great War, to fight the central powers. It was not hard for Jack to pass his medical exam because of his big build and height. He weighed 154 (69.8432 Kilograms) lbs and was 5.9 feet tall. Another factor that contributed to his acceptance was his age, he was 22 and 7 months old when he registered for the imperial forces which was a big advantage. On the 24th of August the embarkation process commenced, this all took place in Adelaide.
Preparations for the Great War began well before the war commenced and according the Jack's year of birth, I have estimated that Jack would’ve been around the age of 20 when he started training. Whether or not he was only committed to training or kept his job as a civil servant is unknown. The particular regiment that Jack was a part of, the 9th Light Horse regiment, started training between October 1914 and February 1915. Trainings took place in Melbourne, which happened to be where Jack was currently residing. Because this took place so early and not anywhere near the war the information tells me that this would’ve been something that Jack would’ve had the desire to do.
Later in the day he set off to Egypt on the RSM Mooltan the he boarded in Adelaide. His journey in the army has officially begun, at this point it is 50/50 on whether he will survive to re-join his mother in Victoria. Before the war would’ve been an extremely emotional and nerve racking time for both Mary and Jack.
In the middle of his journey on the 3rd of April 1917, Jack was admitted to the 2nd Australian Stationary Hospital in Egypt with appendicitis. He was being treated and had to have his appendix removed. During this time his parents were notified in the form of letters. Letters were being exchanged between his mother, father and Major J.C Lean. Major J.C Lean informed Jacks parents on the progress of his recovery, since there was not news on his recovery Major J.C Lean took this as good news and informed them of the lack of news but reassured them that it is good when there is no news because it commonly means he is improving but slowly.
After Jack was completely recovered he re-joined his regiment and continued to defend his country and fought. He went onto survive the war and return to Australia once again on the 10th of July 1919, he was welcomed with open arms by his mother back in his home town of Victoria. Though he left without any medals or certificates of recognition, he came home proud and honoured that he got the opportunity to help defend Australia in the First World War.