PEEBLES, James Hector
| Service Number: | 4314 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 July 1916, Enlisted at Royal Agricultural Society Showgrounds, Moore Park, Sydney. |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 45th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Dunedin, New Zealand, 15 October 1898 |
| Home Town: | Manly, Manly Vale, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Tram Cleaner |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 19 September 1918, aged 19 years |
| Cemetery: |
Brie British Cemetery, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Manly War Memorial NSW |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Jul 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 4314, 30th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Royal Agricultural Society Showgrounds, Moore Park, Sydney. | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Nov 1916: | Involvement Private, 4314, 30th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '16' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: SS Port Nicholson embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| 8 Nov 1916: | Embarked Private, 4314, 30th Infantry Battalion, SS Port Nicholson, Sydney | |
| 8 Jul 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 45th Infantry Battalion , Transferred (in France) from 30th Infantry Battalion via the 8th Training battalion. | |
| 1 Oct 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4314, 45th Infantry Battalion , Shrapnel to left eye. Admitted to the 2nd Casualty Clearing Station and then the 18th General Hospital. Rejoined his Battalion on 21st October. | |
| 18 Sep 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 4314, 45th Infantry Battalion , Bullet penetrated his abdomen. Admitted to 4th Australian Field Ambulance and then the 78th Casualty Clearing Station. He died the next day. | |
| 19 Sep 1918: | Involvement Private, 4314, 45th Infantry Battalion , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 4314 awm_unit: 45 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-09-19 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
James Hector PEEBLES, (Service Number 4314) was born on 15th October 1898 at Dunedin, New Zealand. He worked for the NSW Tramways as a cleaner in Sydney from 22nd April 1915. He was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces on 8th July 1916 and had in fact enlisted at the Royal Agricultural Society Grounds, Moore Park, Sydney the day before. He gave his age as 18 years and 1 month, whereas he was really only 17 years and 8 months old. He described his calling as ‘Fitters Assistant’ and while this does not exactly fit his Tramway job description, perhaps cleaning was more mechanical than the term might suggest. At 17-years-old he was unmarried, and he gave his father, Hector Peebles of Whistler Street Manly, as his next of kin. He also claimed to have served four years in ‘C Forces’, which probably means citizen’s forces.
He was first allotted to the 11th Reinforcements to the 30th Australian Infantry Battalion. He embarked HMAT ‘Port Nicholson’ at Sydney on 8th November 1916 and arrived at Devonport (England) on 10th January 1917. He was attached to the 8th Training Battalion for several months before proceeding overseas to France through Southampton on 19th June and taken on the strength of the 45th Battalion on 8th July.
Peebles was wounded in action with shrapnel to his left eye on 1st October and admitted to the 2nd Casualty Clearing Station and then the 18th General Hospital. The injury must have been relatively minor because he re-joined the Battalion on 21st October. In March 1918 Peebles had leave in England and then had another six months of soldiering.
He was wounded again on 18th September with a bullet penetrating his abdomen.
He was admitted to the 4th Australian Field Ambulance and then the 78th Casualty Clearing Station where he died on 19th September.
He was buried in the Brie British Cemetery, Picardie, France.
- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Board and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.