Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Andrew JACKSON and Maria nee PAYN

Joseph Jackson was born on 2nd October 1862 at Hobart Tasmania, the 3rd youngest of 15 children and the youngest son of Andrew and Maria Jackson.  He had 6 older brothers and sisters and 2 younger sisters.  He worked as a blacksmith and at some point Joseph moved to NSW where on 20th February 1885, aged 22, he enlisted with the Colonial Military Forces.  His service number was 343, his rank Private and he was assigned to the NSW Sudan Contingent A Company. 

The Contingent was raised and embarked in just 14 days after agreement was reached with the British Government and was the first armed force to be raised by a British Colony and despatched overseas.  The Contingent served in Sudan with British forces as part of the Suakin Expedition in 1885 and consisted of 522 infantry, one battery of 6 field guns, 212 gunners and 200 horses.  The contingent also included a 16 member band and a Field Ambulance of 4 medical officers, 34 other ranks, seven wagons and 26 horses.  A total of 758 ranks.  The Contingent gathered at Victoria Barracks on 3rd March 1885 and after farewells to family marched off just before noon for Circular Quay, Sydney, where they embarked on the transport ships Australasian and Iberia with Joseph on the latter ship.  They disembarked at Suakin, Sudan’s Red Sea port on 29th March.  The Contingent was attached to a British Brigade of Scots, Grenadier and Coldstream Guards.  They took part in action at Tamai, 38 kms from Suakin, on 3rd April marching there in a square formation made up of 10,000 men.  They returned to Suakin where they worked on a railway line being laid across the desert towards the inland town of Berber.  They also undertook guard duties and when a 500 strong Camel Corps was raised, 50 volunteers took part in action on 6th May at Takdul, 28 kms west of Suakin, where more than 100 Arabs were killed or captured.  The Contingent sailed for home on 17th May aboard SS Arab and disembarked at Sydney on 19th June.  They were quarantined briefly because of typhoid on the ship then 5 days later, dressed in their khaki uniforms, they marched through the city streets to a reception at Victoria Barracks.  They were presented with the Returned Service Medal Sudan 1885 by the Governor.  All members of the Contingent were awarded the Egypt Medal with the clasp "Suakin 1885" and the Khedive's Star.  The Contingent was subsequently disbanded.

In 1892 Joseph married Annie Blanche Price at Sydney NSW and from 1893 to 1899 they welcomed 3 children…Harry, Dudley and Daisy.  Sadly, Daisy died at 6 months old. 

Joseph served in the Boer War with the NSW Citizen’s Bushmen B Squadron as part of the 3rd Contingent.  The Contingent embarked from Sydney on 28th February 1900 on the troopships Atlantian and Maplemore.  They arrived at Cape Town South Africa on 2nd April then continued on to Beira where they disembarked on 12th April.  They then proceeded to Bulawayo via Marandellas under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Airey and took part in a severe engagement at Koster’s River on 22nd July attempting to relieve the Eland’s River garrison.  Joseph was invalided to Australia on 23rd August 1900.  For service in the Boer War Joseph was awarded the Queen’s South Africa Medal. 

Joseph and Annie welcomed 5 more children from 1901 to 1911…Leonard, Digney, Mary, Arthur and Nellie.  The family lived at Neutral Bay and attended the local Anglican Church. 

When WW1 broke out, 4 of the Jackson men enlisted.  Their stories are intertwined so this biography from here on is about all 4…a father and his 3 young sons who went to serve their King and country in war but not all would return home after the war. 

The eldest son, Harry, enlisted with the AIF in January 1915 aged 21.  He was assigned to the 13th Infantry Battalion and arrived at Gallipoli in May.  Leonard, known as Len, was 13 at the time and it would seem that he wanted to follow in his big brother’s footsteps but being under age didn’t deter him.  He enlisted at Victoria Barracks NSW on 6th August, 3 weeks before his 14th birthday but gave his age as 18 years 2 months.  He gave his occupation as a draper and gave his name as Richard Walter Mayhew to avoid detection.  He stated that his parents were deceased and that Annie B Jackson was his Aunt and was his next of kin when in fact Annie B Jackson was actually his mother.  Being under age he was supposed to have his parents consent but he didn’t tell them that he was enlisting.  He’s described as being 5ft 8ins tall with a fair complexion, grey eyes and light brown hair.  Perhaps his height and appearance made his age believable.  His was assigned to the 17th Infantry Battalion 6th Reinforcements.  His brother Dudley, aged 19, enlisted a week after Len having already been rejected 4 times at 4 different places because of poor eyesight.  However, he heard he could bribe his way into the army at Warwick Farm Camp so he and Len took the oath of allegiance together at Warwick Farm on 20th August 1915.  Dudley was assigned to the 20th Infantry Battalion and embarked from Sydney on 30th September so now all 3 brothers were in different units and because Len used a false name on his enlistment he couldn’t be transferred to the same unit as Harry or Dudley. 

A week after the Dudley and Len went into camp Joseph and Annie were notified that Harry had been wounded on 10th August at Gallipoli.  It wasn’t long before Joseph and Annie realised hat Len had enlisted and so Joesph decided to go after him.  He was 53 years old and the legal limit for new recruits in 1915 was 45 so he was over age.  He enlisted on 13th September, 3 weeks after his 2 sons reported at Warwick Farm.  He gave his age as 44 years 11 months and is described as being 6ft tall with a dark complexion, grey eyes and brown hair.  His service number was 3832, his rank Private and he was assigned to the 19th Battalion.  He embarked from Sydney on 20th January 1916 on HMAT Runic.  He disembarked at Alexandria, Egypt, on 26th February and proceeded to Moascar Camp. 

Len embarked from Sydney on 2nd November on HMAT Euripides and upon arrival in Egypt in December was admitted to the 4th Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Abbassia with mumps.  He was reunited there with Dudley who had been admitted to the same hospital with mumps in November.  They met up with Harry briefly in late December who had recovered from his wounds.  They didn’t know it at the time but this was to be the last time that all 3 brothers would spend time together.  Len was discharged from hospital on 29th December then in February 1916 transferred to the newly formed 55th Battalion, part of the 14th Brigade, 5th Division.  The battalion moved to Ferry Post Camp on 28th March where Joseph joined Len on 3rd April having transferred into the battalion.  No doubt this was a moving time for both of them and a huge relief for Joseph to be with his young son.  The battalion moved to Moascar Camp in mid-June then entrained for Alexandria where they embarked on HMT Caledonia on 22nd June.  They stopped over for a day at Malta then proceeded to France and disembarked at Marseilles on the 29th June. 

Meanwhile…Harry and Dudley were already in Northern France. 

The 55th Battalion entrained for Thiennes then moved into the frontline trenches at Bac-St-Maur on 11th July.  This position was 4 miles south of Armentieres and there was only 300 yards between their trenches and the enemy’s.  They were relieved and withdrew to their billets at Bac-St-Maur before returning to the frontline to take part in the Battle of Fromelles on 19th-20th July 1916.  This is how the Australian War Memorial described this battle…“It was a bloody initiation for Australian soldiers to warfare on the Western Front. Soldiers of the newly arrived 5th Australian Division, together with the British 61st Division, were ordered to attack strongly fortified German front line positions near the Aubers Ridge in French Flanders. The attack was intended as a feint to hold German reserves from moving south to the Somme where a large Allied offensive had begun on 1 July. The feint was a disastrous failure. Australian and British soldiers assaulted over open ground in broad daylight and under direct observation and heavy fire from the German lines. Over 5,500 Australians became casualties. Almost 2,000 of them were killed in action or died of wounds and some 400 were captured. This is believed to be the greatest loss by a single division in 24 hours during the entire First World War. Some consider Fromelles the most tragic event in Australia’s history.”

Casualties were heavy for the 55th Battalion…2 Officers and 35 other ranks killed, 4 died of wounds, 5 Officers and 149 other ranks wounded, 4 Officers and 139 other ranks missing.  Incredibly both Len and Joseph survived the battle.  The battalion was relieved and withdrawn to rest on the 21st July but went back into the frontline trenches the next day, however, because of the losses sustained Companies A and B were combined as were Companies C and D.  One company at Boutillerie Post and the other at Foray Farm.  They remained there until the 5th August when they were relieved and withdrawn to billets at Fleurbaix.  A month later they moved into the frontline trenches at Fleurbaix.  After being relieved 3 days later they marched to Bac-St-Maur the next day where they were taken by lorries to Outtersteene.  From there they proceeded to Pont Remy and arrived at Pommiers Redoubt Camp, south of Montauban, on 20th October.  They moved into the frontline trenches the next day and then were relieved and withdrawn 2 days later.  Part of the battalion moved back into the frontline trenches on the 30th October with the remainder joining them the next day.  The following day, 1st November, the battalion moved to Carlton Trench then 2 days later moved to Fricourt. 

Meanwhile…back home in Australia, Annie was informed by the Red Cross that Harry, a Sergeant, had been wounded at Mouquet Farm during the Battle of Pozieres.  He was taken prisoner and died on 15th August 1916 at a German dressing station at Ligny-Thilloy, 2km south of Bapaume.  He was buried at Ehrenfriedhof Cemetery just north of the village but was later reinterred at Valley Cemetery, Vis-En-Artois, France.  He was 23.  Poor Annie had the awful task of writing to Joesph, Len and Dudley to tell them of Harry’s death. 

On 4th November Len was admitted to the 13th Casualty Clearing Station, known as Edge Hill, at Dernacourt with ICT of the left leg…inflammation of connecting tissue.  This is caused by constant marching and living in the trench conditions for prolonged periods.  He was transferred by hospital train No. 7 the next day to No. 4 General Hospital at Camiers.  He was evacuated to England 5 days later from Calais by the hospital ship HMHS Dieppe.  He was admitted to Norfolk War Hospital at Norwich on 15th November then transferred to the No.1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield on 27th November. 

Joseph was also admitted to the 13th Casualty Clearing Station with an undisclosed illness on the same day as Len.  He travelled by the same hospital train to the same hospital then by the same ship to be admitted to the same hospital in England.  When Joseph heard of Harry’s death he decided that in fairness to Annie, he and Len should return to Australia.  He told his authorities that he was over age and that Len was under age.  Consequently they were both sent to No. 2 Command Depot at Weymouth in preparation for return to Australia and discharge.  They embarked together from Plymouth on 13th February 1917 on HMAT Ulysses and disembarked at Sydney NSW on 12th April.  Joseph was discharged on 14th May 1917 and Len followed a week later. 

However, this didn’t deter Len at all.  He re-enlisted on 4th March 1918 at Victoria Barracks NSW under the same false name and this time he gave his age as 21years 3months.  He stated again that both parents were deceased and that his friend, Mrs Annie Blanche Jackson, was his next of kin but this was actually his mother.  He gave his occupation as a motor driver and stated that he’d previously served with the AIF and had been discharged medically unfit.  He gave his rank as Sergeant and was given the service number 86816.  He proceeded to Liverpool Camp and assigned to E Company Recruits Depot but was not required to serve overseas. 

Len’s brother Dudley returned to Australia in late 1918 having been wounded in the left leg and cheek on 31st August 1918 during the Battle of Mont St Quentin.  He was awarded the Military Medal in June 1919 for outstanding work as a Lewis Gunner during this battle.  Quite an achievement for someone who should never have been accepted to serve because of his poor eyesight and who had been rejected 4 times for enlistment before bribing his way into the army. 

Joseph re-enlisted on the 28th May 1917 at the Addison Road Camp, Marrickville NSW.  He gave his age as 46 and his occupation as builder.  His service number was 460, his rank Private and he was assigned to the newly formed No. 2 District Guard which only recruited returned soldiers from the Boer War and Gallipoli.  He remained with this until being discharged on 1st January 1919. 

Joseph passed away on 27th July 1931 at Neutral Bay aged 68.  He was buried in Rookwood General Cemetery and Annie was laid to rest beside him when she died in 1953 aged 83. 

Joseph and his son Harry are commemorated on the St Peter’s Anglican Church WW1 Honour Board at Cremorne NSW.  He is also commemorated on Board 3 of the Mosman “With The Colours” Honour Roll alongside his sons Dudley and Leonard which is located at the Mosman Library, Mosman NSW. 

Joseph Jackson was awarded for service in WW1 the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.   

Respectfully submitted by Sue Smith 7th December 2023.

Sources

The Lost Boys by Paul Byrnes (book)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_Contingent#:~:text=during%20the%20campaign.-,The%20New%20South%20Wales%20Contingent%20was%20the%20first%20military%20contingent,1885%22%20and%20the%20Khedive's%20Star

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1194599