Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Australian Remembrance Army

Johannes Wegman
62883: Dutch Army Reserves
9468: Sapper, 11th Field Company Engineers

Johannes Wegman was a WW1 veteran who was buried in an unmarked grave in Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane. In 2022, the Australian Remembrance Army added a plaque to his grave, with funding assistance from the Australian Government Unmarked First World War Graves Program.

Johannes Wegman was born on 27 August 1880 in Gravenhage Netherlands. His parents Eugenia Johanna Pieternella Feijlbrief and Cornelius Johannes Marinus Wegmann, a horsedealer, raised him in the Methodist religion. Cornelius was widowed in 1916 and remarried in 1918 Gravenhage to Jansje Aalbersberg.

As a teenager, Johannes worked as an apprentice coachbuilder in the Hague, Netherlands. He joined the Durch Army Reserves at the age of 21 and served 2 years with the Cavalry and 9 years in Infantry.

At 30 years of age the world beckoned. Johannes travelled to Australia arriving in Sydney from Antwerpen on 28 July 1910 on the “Lieten NDL”. He left Sydney the next day, travelling to Brisbane, on the steamer “Prims Sigmsmund”. He settled in Brisbane and Dalby working as a Fireman. Johannes was naturalized 15 January 1916. His family remained in The Netherlands.

In 1915 war beckoned again and on 13 December, at the age of 35, Johannes enlisted in the AIF, Brisbane, Queensland. He was a fit man, standing 5 feet 9½ inches tall with dark complexion, hazel eyes and brown hair.

By 29 April 1916 he was stationed at the Mitcham Camp in Adelaide. This camp accommodated over 3.000 soldiers from Queensland and South Australia for up to 12 weeks of routine training. It was built on the 300 acre Grange Farm.

On 31 May 1916, Sapper Johannes Wegman assembled with other trrops at Mitcham railway station for embarkation for overseas. They received a rousing farewell from the local community as they left Outer Harbor, Adelaide, South Australia with 11th Field Company Australian Engineers and 1st Reinforcements on HMAT A29 “Suevic”.

The Company undertook a wide range of tasks including the evacuation of trenches and dugouts, road and bridge constuction and route maintenance and saw action in the Battle of the Somme and the Hindenburg Line. The Company was disbanded in 1919 when it returned to Australia.

Within a fortnight, Johannes was admitted to the ship’s hospital for a minor illness. Unfortunately, ill health was going to plague him throughout his service.

The Company disembarked at Devonport England 21 July 1916. He was admitted to the Fargo Military Hospital Larkhill Salisbury Plain on 3 October 1916 for two months with Cryptitis. He rejoined his Company and shipped out from Southhampton for France in late November 1916. In Havre, he was admitted to hospital again, this time for three months.

While in France (Havre and Rouelles), Sapper Wegman repeatedly got himself into trouble for minor breaches of bad conduct and disobedience, generally for creating disturbance in billets and failure to obey a lawful commads.

On 23 May 1918 he was hospitalized again in France with Myalgia. A couple of weeks later on 11 June 1918 he was invalided to the United Kingdom with rhumatism and myalgia and admitted to the 1st Birmingham War Hospital. On 8 August 1918, two months later he was discharged for furlough for 14 days to No 4 Command Depot at Hurdcott. He was then transferred No 2 Command Depot at Weymouth.

On 10 August 1918, two days after his discharge from Birmingham War Hospital, Johannes married Elizabeth Chatfield, the daughter of Benjamin Chatfield a Bootmaker, at the Registary office, Lambeth, London. At the the time of their marrage, Elizabeth lived in Brixton and Johannes was in 3rd Australian Auxiliary hospital, Dartford, run by the Australian Medical service. Elizabeth was 10 years younger than him.

Embarking from England 19 October 1918 on HT “Sardinia”, Johannes arrived back in Brisbane, Australia, 30 December 1918. He was welcomed home with 115 veterans, with three days of welcome celebrations for the returning soldiers. A string of motor cars headed by a Military Band wound its way through Edward, Queen and Stanley Streets on its way to Kangaroo Point Hospital where they were met by dignatries including the State Govenor, Ministers and the Mayor. A dinner was served that night by the Red Cross ladies. Johannes was discharged from service on 9 February 1919. He received the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

At the time he left England, Elizabeth was boarding in Adelaide Villa, Westham Weymouth. She followed him to Australia three months later on the “Zealandia”, disembarking in Sydney 10 January 1919.

After returning to civilian life, Johannes was a remittance man receiving a payment from Holland equaling £60 per year and a military pension of 10/-s per week. He worked as a labourer but life did not go smoothly and he found himself in trouble with the police on several occasions. He lived in a number of places including North Quay and St Pauls Terrace, Brisbane. Prior to 1928, he worked on the Kyogle railway construction in the clearing gang, shifting camp every two miles. It was during this time that he lost his war medals.

It is known that by 1929 Johannes was living apart from his wife. Her travel records show that she returned to England in both 1928 and 1929. It appears that she may have left Australia for the last time in 1930. Leaving Brisbane via Perth for Plymouth on the “Oranter”, her documents described her country of permanent residence as England.

In civilian life, Johannes maintained his links to his home country. In 1931 and 1932 he was received by the Consul for the Netherlands at functions in Brisbane on the occasion of the 51st and 52nd birthday of Queen Wilhelmina of the the Netherlands.

Sapper Johannes Wegman died in sad and uncertain circumstances on 26 September 1947 at the age of 67. There had been a series of police callouts in the previous twenty four hours concerning separate incidents in the local area. While investigating the complaints police found Johannes dying in Musgrave Park, Brisbane. He was unable to be revived onsite. Police reported his address as unknown. He was buried 30 September 1947 at Lutwyche Cemetery, Brisbane, ANZAC 7-80-6.

Lest We Forget