James Colville BLACKETT

James Colville BLACKETT Update Details

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BLACKETT, James Colville

Service Number:	1166
Enlisted:	9 November 1914, 1st Reinforcements, A Company
Last Rank:	Private
Last Unit:	13th Infantry Battalion
Born:	Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia, 31 July 1889
Home Town:	Scarborough, Wollongong, New South Wales
Schooling:	Not yet discovered
Occupation:	Labourer
Died:	Killed in Action, Gallipoli, Turkey, 2 May 1915, aged 25 years
Cemetery:	No known grave - "Known Unto God"
Memorials:	Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Coalcliff Scarborough Clifton WW1 Roll of Honour, Lone Pine Memorial to the Missing

World War 1 Service

9 Nov 1914:	Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1166, 13th Infantry Battalion, 1st Reinforcements, A Company
22 Dec 1914:	Involvement Private, 1166, 13th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: ''
22 Dec 1914:	Embarked Private, 1166, 13th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Berrima, Melbourne
25 Apr 1915:	Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 1166, 13th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, Participated in The Landing at Gallipoli. Served on the Gallipoli Peninsula until his death on or about 2nd May 1915.
2 May 1915:	Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 1166, 13th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli, Mortally wounded during a charge on a machine gun post at Dead Man's Ridge, Gallipoli on 2nd May 1915. Last seen being carried down to Shrapnel Valley by an NZ soldier (per Red Cross Inquiry report).

Help us honour James Colville BLACKETT's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.

Biography contributed by Karan CAMPBELL-DAVIS

James Colville Campbell BLACKETT was born in Bathurst, NSW, Australia on 31st July 1889. The eldest of six children born to Edward Colville and Louisa (née ECKERSLEY) BLACKETT, James and his family moved to Scarborough (Wollongong) NSW, about 1910.

Tragedy befell the BLACKETT family the first time, when 19 year old third born Viola drowned at Scarborough Beach on 14th February 1912. Elder brother James was the one who found her shark mutilated body washed up on the beach the following morning, and the Coroner's Inquest later concluded that she had drowned, but that it was "not known how she came to be in the water".

Following 12 months service in the St George's Rifles, James enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) at Liverpool on 9th November 1914. He was employed as a labourer at the time, was 25 and described as being 5' 6", 10 stone with blue eyes and brown hair. Following his recruit training in Sydney and Broadmeadows Victoria, he was assigned as a Private with "A" Company of the 1st reinforcements of the 13th Australian Infantry Battalion. They embarked for further training in Egypt, aboard the HMAT Berrima in Melbourne, on 22nd December 1914.

The 13th Infantry Battalion took part in The Landing at Gallipoli on 25th April 1915, and the subsequent futile effort to advance upon the Peninsula. About 5.30pm on Sunday 2nd May 1915, James's Battalion was involved in a charge on a Turkish machine gun post at Dead Man's Ridge. A report from a witness who knew him later gave evidence to the Red Cross Missing Persons Court of Inquiry that, following the charge, he saw James lying beside him, seriously wounded. A New Zealand soldier picked James up and carried him down towards Shrapnel Valley, where a Casualty Clearing Station was located. He was never seen again. After initially being reported as missing in action, it was later amended to killed in action on 2nd May 1915. James has no known grave, and is commemorated on panel 36 of the Lone Pine Memorial, and on the headstone of his sister Viola's grave in the Scarborough Wombarra Cemetery, NSW. He was posthumously awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal for his service.

James had a younger brother (who was later awarded the Military Medal), a half-brother, and 6 first cousins who were also serving at Gallipoli, all of whom returned to Australia. His youngest sibling, Bessie, committed suicide by drinking strychnine in Hyde Park, Sydney, in 1927, also aged 25.

Compiled by Karan CAMPBELL-DAVIS from historical records kept by the National Archives of Australia, and personal knowledge from extensive family history research.

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