ANDERSON, John Shaw
| Service Number: | 1504 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 12 January 1915, Helena Vale, Western Australia |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 11th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Fremantle, Western Australia, March 1896 |
| Home Town: | Fremantle, Fremantle, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Perth Modern School |
| Occupation: | Student |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Gallipoli, Dardanelles, Turkey, 1 August 1915 |
| Cemetery: |
Shell Green Cemetery, Gallipoli Peninsula Plot II, Row G, Grave No. 62, Shell Green Cemetery, Gallipoli Peninsula, Canakkale Province, Turkey |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Fremantle 849 Memorial, Subiaco Perth Modern School WW1Honour Board, Subiaco Perth Modern School War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Jan 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1504, Helena Vale, Western Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Feb 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1504, 11th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Itonus embarkation_ship_number: A50 public_note: '' | |
| 22 Feb 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 1504, 11th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Itonus, Fremantle | |
| 7 May 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1504, 11th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 1 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 1504, 11th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1504 awm_unit: 11 Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1915-08-01 |
Help us honour John Shaw Anderson's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Paul Trevor
'To the right is a studio portrait of 1462 Private (Pte) Marshall Trigellis Fox, 11th Battalion of Subacio, WA (on the left) and 1504 Pte (later Lance Corporal) John Shaw Anderson, 11th Battalion of Fremantle, WA (right). Pte Fox and Pte Anderson were friends and prefects of the Perth Modern School before they enlisted in January 1915. Fox had qualified for admission to university, and Anderson had qualified to study as an accountant. Although they enlisted seperately and were in separate reinforcement groups, the pair met up and left Australia for Egypt on the same troop transport in February 1915.
According to the Perth Modern School newspaper 'The Sphinx', Fox's departure was premature, owing to the serious illness of one of the other men: "His departure was so sudden that he was unable to come up to the school to say good-bye. 'I don't want you to think that I am one of those fellows', he wrote to the Head Master, 'who get all they can from the school and then let it pass away completely out of their mind". Arriving on Gallipoli in May 1915, both Fox and Anderson were killed during the 11th Battalion's attack on Tasmania Post on 1 August 1915. According to the school newspaper "It was later still that we heard that the two friends had died together, the one succouring the other as he fell".
Later correspondence received by the school from a member of the 11th Battalion which read: "I feel particularly sorry for two boys who had just left the Modern School who I am sure, had great careers before them...They died side by side, the second one while looking at the first one's wounds. All who know say the same as I do, that they feel sorrier over their loss than anybody else's". Both Anderson and Fox were aged 19.' from Australian War Memorial Photograph Collection (www.awm.gov.au)
"MY PAL."
Respectfully dedicated to my dear friend John S. Anderson, killed in action, August 1, 1915.
When you hear them speak of heroes
and the gallant deeds they've done,
When they tell of all the glory on the
field of battle won,
Does it bring to you the memory of
one true Australian son?
My Pal!
When you think of how he gave his
life, and, dying, knew no fear,
Just to save a wounded comrade; does
it bring a silent tear
When you think of duty nobly done
by one you all loved dear.
My Pal!
Will you think of him each morning?
Will you keep his vacant chair?
When you kneel beside your bedside,
Will you a give a little prayer
For him? That God will bless his
soul. A lad who did his share.
My Pal!
CHAS. NORMINGTON.
Boulder.' from The Evening Star 19 Jun 1917 (nla.gov.au)
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