MONCRIEFF, John Bain
| Service Number: | 120 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Second Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 13th Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Moonta, South Australia , 26 June 1891 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | St Peter’s College, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Grazier |
| Died: | Killed In Action, France, 3 September 1916, aged 25 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Hackney St Peter's College Fallen Honour Board, Mitchell & Districts War Memorial, Mitchell War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 21 Dec 1914: | Involvement Private, 120, 5th Light Horse Regiment, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Persic embarkation_ship_number: A34 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Dec 1914: | Embarked Private, 120, 5th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Persic, Sydney | |
| 3 Sep 1916: | Involvement Second Lieutenant, 13th Machine Gun Company, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: awm_unit: 13th Australian Machine Gun Company awm_rank: Second Lieutenant awm_died_date: 1916-09-03 |
Help us honour John Bain Moncrieff's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography
From the book Fallen Saints - John Bain Moncrieff was born at Moonta South Australia in 1891 and before the war was a grazier at Mitchell in Queensland. He enlisted at Enoggera, Queensland on 27 November 1914, was a taken on the strength of C Squadron, 5th Light Horse Regiment on 8 December, and sailed from Sydney aboard HMAT Persic four days later. He proceeded to Gallipoli in May 1915 but after falling ill with severe dysentery was admitted to the Hospital Ship Gloucester Castle in early September.
After a slow recovery at No 3 Auxiliary Hospital, Cairo, he rejoined the 5th Light Horse at Maadi, Egypt on 13 February 1916.
On 27 May, he was appointed second lieutenant and two days later was transferred to the 50th Battalion where after a short secondment he was taken on the strength of the 13th Brigade Machine Gun Company.
During the attacks at Mouquet Farm, the 13th Brigaded suffered a loss of slightly less than 1350 officers, NCOs and men killed, wounded and missing. Of the 41 casualties among the officer ranks were two from the 13th Machine Gun Company; Second Lieutenant John Moncrieff was killed and Lieutenant William Cousins wounded. [i]
According to a report written by Lieutenant Colin Colquhoun, he and Moncrieff were with two soldiers in a pit near Mouquet Farm when a 9.2-inch shell landed in the pit wounding Moncrieff and the two men next to him. Suffering with wounds to the face, Second Lieutenant Moncrieff was carried to 13th Field Ambulance where he died; Colqhoun said he believed Moncrieff was buried in a cemetery near the Chalk Pits. [ii]
[i] Bean, C E W, Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, Vol III, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1929, p. 858
[ii] National Archives of Australia: B 2455, Moncrieff John Bain / 7986012, viewed 20 October 2005
Click images to start slideshow.