MILLS, James Ambrose
| Service Number: | 4027 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 December 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 24th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Avenel, Victoria, 1891 |
| Home Town: | Violet Town, Strathbogie, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Tamleugh State School |
| Occupation: | Farmer |
| Died: | 1976, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Cheltenham Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Violet Town Honour Roll WW1 |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Dec 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 4027 | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Feb 1916: | Involvement Private, 4027, 24th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Warilda embarkation_ship_number: A69 public_note: '' | |
| 8 Feb 1916: | Embarked Private, 4027, 24th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Warilda, Melbourne |
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MILLS James Ambrose 4027 PTE
24th Battalion
1890-1976
James Ambrose (Jim) was born at Avenel in 1891. His father Thomas Mills, and mother Mary, must have moved to Tamleugh shortly after Jim’s birth because the next child, a daughter, was born at Tamleugh. Jim was educated at Tamleugh SS.
Jim enlisted in 1914 when he was 23 years old, must have thought better of it and disappeared. He was apprehended 14 months later, court martialled, re-enlisted and embarked on HMAT Warilda 8 February 1916 for England.
In the following July and August the war in France was concentrated around Pozieres and Mouquet Farm. The winter was severe, and snow was falling so the troops adopted an excellent form of camouflage, wearing large white nighties bought locally in Amiens. It was during the Mouquet Farm offensive that Jim was wounded. A gunshot wound to his left shoulder saw him invalided to the 18th GH at Cambrai. On 25 September he was admitted to hospital at Weymouth suffering from a middle ear infection which, aggravated by shell shock, eventually lead to total deafness. In May 1917 Jim was invalided home aboard HMAT Ayrshire suffering from deafness and concussion. He was discharged on 13 September 1917.
In 1918 Jim and Maud Alice Maynard were married at Newport – Maud’s home town. A son was born but only lived a year. Two more children were born, a daughter and a son. They remained in Newport for a time while Jim worked as a constable. In 1934 the family moved back to the farm at Tamleugh. In 1954 Alice Maud died at their daughter’s residence 157 First Avenue, Royston Park, Adelaide. Jim probably lived with their daughter until his death 1976, aged 86. He was buried in the Cheltenham Cemetery, Adelaide.
Service Medals: British War Medal Victory Medal
Memorials: Memorial Hall Violet Town.
Tamleugh SS Honour Board
Copper Plaque affixed to exterior wall of Memorial Hall, Violet Town
Tree no 32 was planted in 1917 by F Mills
In 2013 John Pummeroy planted a Ceratonia siliqua - Carob Tree - in Jim’s memory.
© 2016 Sheila Burnell
Click images to start slideshow.