AVERY, John Bede
| Service Numbers: | 3005A, 3005 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 11 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Gunner |
| Last Unit: | 17th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Camperdown, New South Wales, date not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Camperdown, Inner West, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Convent School and Marist Brothers (Catholic) School, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Occupation: | Tram Conductor |
| Died: | Hit By A Shell, Messines, France, 24 April 1918, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Bonnay Communal Cemetery Extension Row B, Grave 21, Bonnay Communal Cemetery Extension, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Tempe Newtown Tramway Depot Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 11 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3005A | |
|---|---|---|
| 20 Dec 1915: | Involvement Private, 3005, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Suevic embarkation_ship_number: A29 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Dec 1915: | Embarked Private, 3005, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Suevic, Sydney | |
| 24 Apr 1918: | Involvement Gunner, 3005A, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3005A awm_unit: 53rd Battery 14th Brigade Australian Field Artillery awm_rank: Gunner awm_died_date: 1918-04-24 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
John Bede AVERY, (Service Number 3005A) was born on 18 August 1888 at Camperdown, Sydney. His whole career with the NSWGR&T was spent as a casual tram conductor in Sydney. He had begun work in March 1910 and was released for duty to join the Expeditionary Force on 6 September 1915, though his military records show that he had enlisted a month earlier.
Avery embarked from Sydney on HMAT ‘Suevic’ on 23 December 1915, and upon reaching Egypt joined the 58th Battalion, but soon transferred into the artillery where he gained the rank ‘gunner’ rather than ‘Private’ and was moved from battery to battery in France. He had a number of bouts of sickness and hospitalisation until about November 1917.
He was killed in action on 24 April 1918, and at that stage was a gunner with the 14th Field Artillery Brigade. He was buried in Bonnay British Cemetery, 1¾ miles N of Corbie.
(NAA B2455-3041994)
Submitted 9 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Julianne Ryan
Father Willian Avery and Mother Kate AVERY,
John lived with his parents at 58 English Street, Camperdown, Sydney, NSW on enlisting.
Click images to start slideshow.