Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Corporal JACK COLE, of the 10th Battalion, late of Adelaide, was killed in action in France on August 11, after being for three years and six months on active service. He left Australia on June 14, 1915. He leaves a wife and child.

John Cole was born on the 12th of January 1892, in Yarrawonga, Victoria. His father, Michael John Cole, was 29, and his mother, Anne Maria O’Sullivan, was 22. He grew up in Yarrawonga, Victoria, and was the 3rd of 5  siblings.  They were: Georgina Mary Cole, William James Cole, Annie Florence Cole, and Michael Stanley Cole. Between the ages of 1 and 3, John moved to Adelaide with the rest of his family. His sister Georgina Mary Cole died at the age of 9 when he was only 4.

John became a fitter and turner, now known as a mechanic, where he most likely performed tasks such as assembling, repairing, and maintaining machinery.

On the 30th of August 1913, at the age of 23, John married Esther Rose Campbell in Parkside, South Australia. A year later, John and his wife had their first child on the 18th of January 1914, which they named Elsie May Cole.

Not long later, on the 25th of April 1914, John forged the name of his brother, Michael Stanley Cole, on a receipt that indicated the payment of £12.70. A newspaper article states that he confessed to his crime, and at the time, he did not realise that he was committing a serious offence and intended to pay the money back to his brother. John was then sentenced to 12 months of hard labour.

On the 12th of April 1915, John Cole enlisted as a Private for the Australian Imperial Force and was enlisted into the 10th Battalion at the age of 23. His Battalion began training at the Morphettville Racecourse between August and September.

John embarked on 23rd June 1915 on the HMAT Kanowna from Adelaide to Egypt. During John’s first major battle, the Gallipoli Campaign, he was wounded and received a Gunshot wound to the right arm on the 12th of October 1915 and was admitted to a hospital ship the next day and on to a hospital in Cairo. He rejoined his unit in March 1916 and then John embarked from Alexandria to Marseilles in France.

He was then promoted to Lance Corporal on 2nd May 1916. Several weeks later he received a gunshot wound to the left shoulder on on 25th July. He was to be the Temporary Corporal on the same day as his injury, but then reverted to the Lance Corporal. The injury from the gunshot wound took place while his battalion was fighting during the Battle of Pozieres, and he was evacuated from France to England to be treated in a hospital.

In February 1917 John became ill and was admitted to hospital for a few days, he recovered and rejoined the 10th Battalion only to return to hospital in mid April with trench feet.

While John’s battalion was fighting in Polygon Wood, he was gassed on 3rd October 1917. He was admitted to the hospital and regrouped with his unit on 16th November in England before going back to war. On the 2nd of December 1917, medically examined and classified in the B1/B2 category, which suggests that he was still recovering, but still fit enough to serve. From April to June in 1918, he proceeded back overseas, where he went back to the front lines.

Unfortunately, while John was serving in the Battle of Amiens on the 11th of August, 1918, he was killed in action from the intense shellfire at the age of 27. His body was not found, nor buried anywhere, but his service is commemorated at memorials in places like the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, the South Australian National War Memorial and Villers-Bretonneux Memorial. John's wife, Esther, received his kit bag after his death, which held 3 pocketbooks, letters, cards, photos, 1 devotional book and 1 souvenir table centre. John received one victory medal that recognised his participation and efforts during the campaigns of World War 1.

Lest We Forget

Reference list

·       | The Australian War Memorial 2016, Awm.gov.au.

·       Casualty Form 2026, viewed 9 April 2026, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3267563&S=1>.

·       Casualty Form 2 2026, viewed 9 April 2026, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3267563&S=1>.

·       Certificate of Medal 2026, viewed 9 April 2026, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3267563&S=1>.

·       Details 2026, Adfa.edu.au, viewed 12 March 2026, <https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=57409>.

·       FamilySearch.org 2019, Familysearch.org, viewed 1 April 2026, <https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/about/LWQ5-FYC>.

·       John Cole | South Australian Red Cross Information Bureau 2026, Sa.gov.au, viewed 12 March 2026, <https://sarcib.ww1.collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/soldier/john-cole>.

·       Lance Corporal John Cole 2026, Awm.gov.au, viewed 12 March 2026, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10712191>.

·       Letter 2026, viewed 9 April 2026, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3267563&S=1>.

·       Letter Indicating Contents of Kit Bag 2026, viewed 9 April 2026, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3267563&S=1>.

·       Mitchell, EL 1914, HMAT Ascanius (A11), viewed 7 April 2026, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C380152>.

·       Service form 2026, viewed 9 April 2026, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3267563&S=1>.

·       Service Record 2026, viewed 9 April 2026, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3267563&S=1>.

·       Terrace, V 2026, View digital copy, Naa.gov.au, viewed 12 March 2026, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=3267563&S=1>.

·       Twelve Months Hard Labour 2026, Oldnews.com, viewed 9 April 2026, <https://www.oldnews.com/en/record?record_id=record-12022-1083243481&ocr_panel=1&referred=mh_record_page>.