S6128
COATES, John Reuben Charles
| Service Number: | 38134 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 October 1916, at Adelaide |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | Field Artillery Brigades |
| Born: | Crafers, South Australia, June 1888 |
| Home Town: | Upper Sturt, Adelaide Hills, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Orchardist |
| Died: | Daw Park, South Australia, 6 September 1968, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Centennial Park Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | District of Upper Sturt Methodist Church Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Gunner, 38134, Field Artillery Brigades, at Adelaide | |
|---|---|---|
| 9 Nov 1917: | Involvement Gunner, 38134, Field Artillery Brigades, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Sydney embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
| 9 Nov 1917: | Embarked Gunner, 38134, Field Artillery Brigades, HMAT Port Sydney, Melbourne | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Gunner, 38134 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Heathfield High School
John Reuben Charles Coates was born in approximately June 1888, in Crafers, South Australia. Mr Coates worked as an orchardist before he was enlisted into World War I. Mr Coates didn't have any previous involvement in the military according to his war records, so fighting in WWI was the first and only time he fought for Australia. He lived in Upper Sturt in the Adelaide Hills and wasn’t married when he went to war, although he got married later in his life (date unknown). His father, John Coates, was next of kin on his records. Coates was also a follower of the Methodist religion, which is a form of Christianity. He was 5 ft 6, weighed 144 lbs (65.3kg), had fair (blonde) hair and blue eyes, according to World War I service records from the National Archives of Australia.
John Reuben Charles Coates was enlisted into World War I on the 2nd of October 1916, here in Adelaide. He embarked on the 9th of November 1917 from Melbourne on the HMAT Port Sydney A15. Coates was a private from the 18th of October 1916 to the 8th of November 1916 on the 8th COY, 2nd Depot Battalion. Coates was moved to the F.A. Reinforcements Maribyrnong on the 11th of April 1917 and then he was moved to the F.A. 31st Reinforcements, where he was promoted to a Gunner on the 1st of August 1917. Becoming a gunner meant he was responsible for loading and firing weapons, supplying the front line with weapons and ammunition and other roles relating to weapons. John Reuben Charles Coates was fortunate to survive world war 1 and he returned back to Australia on the 15th of June in 1919.
Once John Reuben Charles Coates returned from service back to Australia, he received a war medal on the 6th of November 1921. His witness was someone who went by the name of L.P.G Lidden. There is limited to no information on what he did when he got back to Australia. Mr Coates passed away on the 6th of September 1968 in Daw Park, South Australia based on information from the website FamilySearch. Coates was laid to rest at Centennial Park located in Pasadena, South Australia, along with most of the ANZACs from South Australia.
All information was sourced from the National Archives of Australia, the AIF Project, the Australian War Memorial, FamilySearch and Cameron Genealogies.