Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Known as 'Jack'.

Described on enlisting as 40 years 1 month old; single; 5' 6 3/4" tall; 154 lbs;
dark complexion; brown eyes; black hair; Church of England.

Father George Carter and Mother Mary (nee ______) of Boggabri, New South Wales.

Last known address prior to enlisting was Laidlaw Street, Boggabri, NSW.

4/11/1915          Completed medical at Boggabri

9/12/1915          Enlisted in Armidale as a Private

14/2/1916          Commanding Officer appointed John to 'C' Company, 33rd Battalion 
                          After initial training at the Armidale depot camp, he moved with the Battalion to
                          the Rutherford camp near Maitland in March 1916.

3/5/1916           Moved to Sydney

4/5/1916           Embarked on 'HMAT A74 Marathon’ overseas to Egypt, via Albany, WA.
                          This destination was changed to England en-route and the transport returned
                          to Fremantle, WA to reload with sufficient coal for the voyage.

23/5/1916          The HMAT A74 Marathon sailed for England via Durban and Cape Town, South Africa.
                           After a 65 day voyage (the longest recorded troopship voyage) the Marathon
                           arrived at Plymouth and the Battalion disembarked, then boarded trains for the
                           Lark Hill, Durrington Camp, Salisbury Plains, Wiltshire.

The HMAT A74 Marathon weighed 7,827 tonnes with an average cruise speed of 16 knots or 29.63 kmph. It was owned by the G Thompson & Co Ltd, London, and leased by the Commonwealth until 28 July 1917.

10/7/1916          The Battalion arrived at the camp.

21/11/1916        After very extensive training the 33rd Battalion, along with other Units of the
                           9th Brigade, proceeded to France via Southampton.

24/11/1916        The 33rd Battalion arrived at Steenwerck, France.

27/11/1916        The Unit then moved into the trenches at Chaprelle d’Armentieres, to get their
                           first experiences at trench warfare.

9/11/1917          After just under 12 months on active service in France and Belgium, Jack reported
                           sick. He was first treated by the 3rd Field Ambulance for ‘debility’ then moved to the
                           Casualty Clearing station.

22/11/1917         He was transferred and admitted to the 3rd Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne.

27/11/1917         He was discharged to the 7th Convalescence Depot (CD), and then moved to the
                           10th CD at Ecault on the 29th.

4/1/1918             Transferred to the Rest Camp at Ecault.

16/1/1918           Jack was transferred from the Australian Infantry Base Depot (AIBD) at Rouelles
                            to England.

17/1/1918           Marched into the No3 Command Depot at Hurdcott.

1/2/1918             Embarked from Plymouth on the ‘HMAT A8 Argyllshire’  for Australia.

30/3/1918           He disembarked at Cape Town, South Africa,  before continuing the return to
                            Australia aboard the  'RMS Osterley'.

The RMS Osterley weighed 12,129 tons with an average cruise speed of 18 knots or 33.33 kmph. It was owned by the P & O SN Co, London.

15/4/1918           Disembarked in Sydney (2nd Military District).

15/5/1918           Jack was discharged from the AIF in Sydney due to his age and rheumatism.

Medals:
Star 1914/15; British War medal (44337); Victory medal (43345).

1920                   Jack married Eva J Taylor.

13/7/1922           He is buried in the Boggabri General Cemetery, Boggabri, NSW
                           next to his father George's grave.

Sourced and submitted by Julianne T Ryan.   15 September 2014.  Lest we forget.