SLOAN, James Bowman
| Service Number: | 1783 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 3 May 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 21st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mearns, Renfrewshire, Scotland, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Box Hill, Whitehorse, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Drowning after ship torpedoed , Mudros Bay, Lemnos, Greece (HMT Southland), At sea (Mudros Bay, Lemnos, Greece (HMT Southland)), 2 September 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Helles Memorial, Cape Helles, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Box Hill (Shire of Nunawading) War Memorial, Helles Memorial, Gallipoli, Shire of Nunawading Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 3 May 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1783, 22nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 16 Jul 1915: | Involvement Private, 1783, 22nd Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
| 16 Jul 1915: | Embarked Private, 1783, 22nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Melbourne | |
| 2 Sep 1915: | Involvement Private, 1783, 21st Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1783 awm_unit: 21st Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1915-09-02 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
1783 Pte. James Bowman Sloan, 21st Battalion AIF, and his brother 741 Pte. Thomas Bowman Sloan, 21st Battalion AIF, both drowned at sea when a lifeboat capsized during the evacuation of the troopship 'Southland' after it was torpedoed in the Aegean Sea on 2 September 1915, on its way to Gallipoli. Eyewitnesses stated that both men were trapped under the capsized lifeboat and could not be saved despite the efforts of several other men. About 40 men died in the sinking of the ‘Southland’.
They were the sons of William & Elizabeth Sloan of Springfield Road, Box Hill, Victoria, Australia (formerly of Pollokshaws, Glasgow). Thomas Sloan was 23 at the time of his enlistment in January 1915 and James Sloan was 21 when he enlisted in May 1915. The family of nine had only emigrated to Australia during 1913.
A third brother, William Sloan, served with the 7th Battalion AIF from 1915. He was twice wounded and returned to Australia during 1918, medically unfit, with nerve damage to his right arm. Their father, also called William Sloan, enlisted in 1915 at around the age of 45, but was soon discharged as being over age.
The brothers are commemorated on the Helles Memorial & Pollokshaws War Memorial, Glasgow, Scotland.