CURRIE, John
| Service Number: | 2604 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 18th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Beechworth, Victoria, AUSTRALIA, 1877 |
| Home Town: | Beechworth, Indigo, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Memorials: | Beechworth Presbyterian Church WWI Roll of Honour, Beechworth Shire WW1 Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Nov 1915: | Involvement Private, 2604, 18th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Euripides embarkation_ship_number: A14 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Nov 1915: | Embarked Private, 2604, 18th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Euripides, Sydney |
Help us honour John Currie's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Virtual Australia
Contribute by Robert Scott - May 2018
John Currie was born in Stanley, North East Victoria in 1877. He was the second youngest of ten children of Danial Currie and Agnes Currie (Nee McKinley). At age thirty-eight years, John enlisted for military service with the 1st A.I.F. on the 29th July 1915, at Armidale, N.S.W. where he was working as a miner. His Service Number was 2604, (later 2604A). Following initial training at Liverpool, John joined the 6th Reinforcements – 18th Battalion, 2nd Division as a Private on the 18th October 1915. On the 2nd November 1915, he embarked from Sydney aboard (A14) HMAT “Euripides” for the Great War in Europe, arriving in Egypt on the 27th December 1915. On the 14th February 1916, Private Currie was taken on strength with the 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade – 1st Division, ex-18th Battalion. After embarking at Alexandra, Egypt on the 22nd March 1916 aboard R.M.T.S.S. “Grampian”, he disembarked at Marseilles, France on the 28th March 1916. This was followed by a three-day train journey to Steenbecque and then to Sailly-sur-la-lys.
On the 26th October 1916, Private Currie joined the Lewin Gun School in Belgium and following this he re-joined his unit on the 3rd November 1916. John and his Battalion were involved in the attack on Lard Trench, north of Gueudecourt from the 5th to the 7th November 1916. During 1917, John and his Battalion were involved in fighting at Flers, Hermies, Bullecourt, Ypres, (Messines), Menin Road, Broodseinde, Poelchapplle and Passchendale Ridge. On the 30th October 1917, Private Currie received Gun-Shot-Wounds to his right arm and shoulder. He was evacuated back to England and was admitted to No. 26 General Hospital at Estaple on the 1st November 1917. Following his convalescence, Private Currie re-joined his Battalion at Wytschaette on the 14th January 1918.
On the 22nd August 1918, during fighting at Mericourt, Private Currie was again wounded in action, receiving Gun-Shot-Wounds to his right arm, back and face. He was invalided back to England aboard HMHS “Panama” on the 25th August 1918 and was admitted to the Southern General Hospital, Bristol the following day. He was discharged from Hospital on the 2nd October 1918. Private Currie embarked from England on the 20th December 1918 aboard RMS “Orontes”, arriving in Melbourne on the 30th January, 1919. He was discharged from active service on the 16th March 1919 as “medically unfit”.
John Currie went on to live a full and active life. He worked on the construction of the Hume Weir, (Lake Hume) in the early nineteen thirties driving construction steam locomotives. He also worked as a Boiler Attendant at the Ovens & Murray Home, Beechworth during WW2. John Currie never married and prior to his death, he lived with his sister Elsie and brother Daniel in the family homestead at Elgin Road, Beechworth.
John Currie died on the 21st April 1953, aged seventy-five years. He was buried with his youngest sister Elsie in the Beechworth Cemetery, Presbyterian Section C – Plot 47.
Service Medals:
1914 – 1915 Star
British War Medal
Victory Medal