14376
DEAR, James
| Service Number: | 2398 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 1 April 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 50th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Pekina, South Australia, October 1871 |
| Home Town: | Orroroo, Orroroo/Carrieton, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Pulmonary Haemorrhage, Wingfield Rifle Range, South Australia, 11 May 1935 |
| Cemetery: |
Cheltenham Cemetery, South Australia Section O, Drive C, Path 39, Site Number 108S |
| Memorials: | Orroroo District Roll of Honour WW1 |
World War 1 Service
| 1 Apr 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, 2398, 50th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 21 Sep 1916: | Involvement Private, 2398, 50th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Commonwealth embarkation_ship_number: A73 public_note: '' | |
| 21 Sep 1916: | Embarked Private, 2398, 50th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Commonwealth, Adelaide | |
| 28 Dec 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, 2398, 50th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour James Dear's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Paul Lemar
James was the son of Joseph DEAR & Emily Ann HATCHARD and was born in October 1871 in Pekina, SA.
His parents were married on the 14th of April 1870 in the Court House, Melrose, SA.
His father was the son of James & Charlotte DEAR and was born in 1842 in Salisbury, Wiltshire.
His mother was the daughter of James HATCHARD & Sarah DAMON and was born on the 1st of October 1854 on Pekina Run, SA.
James was the eldest child born into this family of 5 children.
His father was a labourer and James grew up on Belalie Station before the family moved to Yalparra Station.
After completing his education he gained employment as a labourer.
James married Mary Wilhelmina BOND on the 27th of June 1895 in the Wesleyan Church, Johnburgh, near Carrieton, SA.
Mary was the daughter of George Joseph BOND & Wilhelmine WEINENHOFER and was born in 1874 in Wentworth, NSW.
They made their home at Orroroo and welcomed their first child; Daisy Pearl Beatrice on the 7th of November 1896.
Blanche Olive was then born on the 27th of March 1898 followed by Cecil James on the 8th of December 1899.
Gladys Pretoria was born on the 16th of November 1901, followed by Eva Gertrude on the 29th of October 1903 and then Maud Frances Wilhemina on the 3rd of September 1905.
Irene Isabel Emily was born on the 13th of May 1907, but sadly she died the following year on the 7th of March 1908 and they buried her in the Jamestown Cemetery.
Seven moths later their last child; Mary Adelaide was born on the 3rd of October 1908.
In late 1915 they moved to Hampden Street, Paddington and then to Heath Street, Birkenhead.
At the age of 44, James enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 1st of April 1916 in Adelaide and allotted the service number 2398 and posted to C Company, 2nd Depot Battalion in Exhibition Camp.
On the 27th of April he was transferred to D Company, Base Depot in Mitcham Camp and after a further 4 months of training James was posted to the 50th Battalion, 5th Reinforcements on the 16th of August.
James embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT Commonwealth on the 21st of September 1916, disembarked in Plymouth on the 14th of November and marched into the 13th Training Battalion in Codford, the following day.
He suffered from Rheumatism and remained with the 13th Training Battalion in Codford for 8 months before he was transferred to No.2 Command Depot in Weymouth on the 2nd of August 1917, for return to Australia.
He embarked from England on the 27th of September 1917 on board HMAT Suevic and disembarked in Adelaide on the 18th of November.
James was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 28th of December 1917.
He gained employment as a labourer and the family then moved to Leadenhall Street, Pt Adelaide.
Their son Cecil died on the 2nd of April 1921 of Enteric Fever in the Adelaide Hospital and they buried him in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section O, Drive C, Path 39, Site Number 108S.
James and Mary separated in 1927 and in 1933 James moved in with his daughter Eva and her family at the Wingfield Rifle Range, Rosewater.
The following years James started to suffer with shortness of breathe and began attending a Tuberculosis Clinic for treatment.
On the 11th of May 1935 Eva began to prepare tea and whilst she was doing this James went out into the front garden of their home to cut some firewood.
Eva called for him in for tea at 5:30pm but he didn’t come or answer so she went to look for him
She found him in the front garden on his hands and knees, his head was on the ground near some blood and he had no pulse, so they helped him inside and put him on his bed.
Dr Chandler was called by the Rosewater Police and examined James and found life was extinct.
As there was blood on the ground, the doctor claimed his death to be from a Pulmonary Haemorrhage following Tuberculosis.
James died in the front garden of his daughter’s home at the Wingfield Rifle Range at 5:45pm on the 11th of May 1935.
He was buried 2 days later in the Cheltenham Cemetery; Section O, Drive C, Path 39, Site Number 108S, with his son Cecil.
DEAR - On the 11th May, at Wingfield, Ottoway (James), beloved husband of Wilhelmina Dear, aged 63 years, leaving six daughters.
Mary remarried to William Joseph RICHARDSON on the 8th of September 1937 and she died on the 22nd of February 1957.
Military
At the age of 44, James enlisted into the 1st AIF on the 1st of April 1916 in Adelaide and allotted the service number 2398 and posted to C Company, 2nd Depot Battalion in Exhibition Camp.
He listed his wife, of Heath Street, Birkenhead, as his next of kin.
On the 27th of April he was transferred to D Company, Base Depot in Mitcham Camp and after a further 4 months of training James was posted to the 50th Battalion, 5th Reinforcements on the 16th of August.
James embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT Commonwealth on the 21st of September 1916, disembarked in Plymouth on the 14th of November and marched into the 13th Training Battalion in Codford, the following day.
James suffered from Rheumatism and remained with the 13th Training Battalion in Codford for 8 months before he was transferred to No.2 Command Depot in Weymouth on the 2nd of August 1917, for return to Australia.
James embarked from England on the 27th of September 1917 on board HMAT Suevic and disembarked in Adelaide on the 18th of November.
James was discharged, medically unfit, from the AIF on the 28th of December 1917 and awarded the British War Medal.