SIMPSON, James
| Service Number: | 4928 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 November 1915, Springwood, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 4th Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Hollytown, Scotland, 1885 |
| Home Town: | Springwood, Blue Mountains Municipality, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Iron and Steel worker |
| Died: | Natural Causes, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, date not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 8 Nov 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4928, Springwood, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Mar 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 4928, 13th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Star of England embarkation_ship_number: A15 public_note: '' | |
| 8 Mar 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 4928, 13th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Star of England, Sydney | |
| 16 Apr 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 4th Pioneer Battalion | |
| 13 Oct 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Private, 4928, 4th Pioneer Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Kenneth Flook
Private James Simpson - Written by Marcus Flook
My Great Grandfather was a steel worker who emigrated from Scotland to Australia. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces in November 1915 when he was 30, and served with the 13th Infantry Battalion.
He volunteered to fight because his peers pressured him, the injustice of the Germans sinking the defenseless RMS Lusitania and that they had commenced releasing Mustard Gas. He disembarked in Egypt from the Star of England in April 1916. The voyage took over a month.
He undertook further training and then arrived in France in June 1916 and was sent to the Western Front Trenches near Armentieres. From July to August he fought in the Battle of the Somme at Pozieres.
“It was one vast Australian cemetery more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than on any other place on Earth”. - Charles Bean
He also fought in the Battle of Bullecourt, Polygon Wood, Dernancourt, Hamel, Chuignes and Bray and Hargicourt. He was awarded the British War Medal and Victory Medal.
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