MILTHORPE, John Leslie
| Service Number: | 2173 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 17th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Corowa, New South Wales, Australia, 1894 |
| Home Town: | Oaklands, Urana, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Oaklands Public School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Engine driver |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 20 September 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium, Birr Cross Roads Cemetery, Flanders, Belgium |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient), Urana Shire Great War Roll of Honour |
Biography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Milthorpe was first reported as wounded and missing on the 20 September 1917, during the Battle of Menin Road. He was later found by a court of enquiry held in April 1918 to have been killed in action on that date.
“He was in B Company VII Platoon and I know his number. I was told by some of the boys that they saw him killed instantly by a shell near Anzac House, Ypres sector after we had taken our objective and dug in. When they last saw him, he was in a shell hole with another young lad who was killed, and they said they had taken his disc and paybook and handed them in. I saw Milthorpe when we went over that morning but never saw him again.” 620 Private Percy Mahady 17th Battalion December 1917.
His brother 2073 Charles Milthorpe 5th Battalion served at Gallipoli and suffered a shrapnel wound to the head during the Lone Pine Battle. He was dangerously ill for a few weeks and returned to Australia in September 1915.