John Bruce HOSKING

HOSKING , John Bruce

Service Number: 1959
Enlisted: 18 January 1915
Last Rank: Private
Last Unit: 14th Infantry Battalion
Born: Albert Park, Victoria, Australia, 1898
Home Town: Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria
Schooling: St Kilda Park State School, St Kilda, Victoria, Australia
Occupation: Clerk
Died: Wounds, 3rd Casualty Clearing Station - Flers, France, 22 July 1917
Cemetery: Grevillers British Cemetery
Plot VI, Row C, Grave No. 6, Grevillers British Cemetery, Grevillers, Picardie, France, Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, Boulogne, Nord Pas de Calais, France
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour
Show Relationships

World War 1 Service

18 Jan 1915: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 1959, 21st Infantry Battalion
17 Apr 1915: Involvement Private, 1959, 14th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: ''
17 Apr 1915: Embarked Private, 1959, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Melbourne

In memory

My mother (Arietta Handras) died July 6 2016.

Johns grave is just behind my mums, and I say hello to him whenever I visit mum.

This photo of his grave is a tiny sign of respect to John for his sacrifice!


RIP John

Showing 1 of 1 story

Biography contributed by Sharyn Roberts

NOTE: The Family Name was incorrectly transcribed on the Embarkation Roll. The Attestation Papers signed by the individual indicates the Family Name as HOSKING. The record on this site has been amended to accord with that recorded within the Service Record. RSL Virtual War Memorial Chief Moderator, September 2016.

 

Served in Egypt, Gallipoli and France. Was the youngest of four brothers who all enlisted and saw service in France.'

Biography contributed by Evan Evans

From How We Served

The private commemoration for; - 1959 Private John Bruce Hosking of St.Kilda, Victoria who prior to his enlistment for War Service on the 18th of January 1915 had been employed as a clerk.

John was allocated to reinforcements for the 14th Battalion 1st AIF and was embarked for Egypt and further training on the 17th of April. John arrived on Gallipoli and entered the trenches on the 9th of July but was evacuated sick suffering from diarrhea on the 5th of August and arrived at Malta for hospitalization on the 7th of August.

By the 9th of October John had arrived back in Egypt and was embarked for Mudros Island from where he was to re-join his Unit. John again was evacuated sick due to suffering from enteric fever on the 21st of December and by the 13th of January 1916 he had been admitted into hospital at Alexandria, after being returned to Egypt, where he was listed as dangerously ill.
After an extended period of hospital treatment and then convalescence John was embarked for England where he arrived in June for further treatment. Hospitalized again due to sickness, this time in the form of tonsillitis, whilst in England, John would not recover sufficiently enough to be sent over to France until the 14th of May 1917.

After a short time in training at the ‘Bull Ring’ at Etaples, John was transferred over to the 21st Battalion and was formally taken on strength with his new Unit on the 28th of May. Now in the trenches John would remain on duty until he was accidentally wounded by a bomb blast on the 21st of July near Flers, leaving him with serious injuries to his hands, head and chest and he was evacuated to the 3rd Casualty Clearing Station.

John died as a result of these wounds on the following day and was interred formally within the Grevillers British Cemetery. At the time of his death John was aged only 19. Back in Australia the supreme sacrifice made by Private John Hosking during ‘The Great War’ was privately commemorated at his family's collective burial site within Melbourne General Cemetery, Victoria.

Read more...

Biography contributed by Elizabeth Allen

John Bruce HOSKING was born in 1898 at Albert Park, Victoria

His parents were John Andrew HOSKING and Sarah Letitia PEARSON

3 of his brothers also served in WW1

1. Albert Jeffrey HOSKING (SN 381) returned to Australia in 1918

2. Leslie Adrian HOSKING (SN 4557) returned to Australia in 1919

3. Thornton Phillip HOSKING (SN 4137) returned to Australia in 1919