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John Ellis Pearce was born on the 27th October 1890 in Riverton, South Australia to parents John and Louisa (nee Ellis) Pearce. John's father was a minister in the Methodist Church, the family lived in several country towns in South Australia before finally moving to Adelaide. John has two sisters, Gertrude and Olive and one brother, George Mayo Pearce, who also served in the AIF enlisting in January 1916 with the 11th Field Ambulance. John completed his schooling at Goodwood and then commenced Pupil Teacher training in 1906. When he enlisted at Morphettville on the 22nd August 1914 at the age of 23 he was employed as a teacher and had previously served as a Cadet. He was described as being 5'7" tall, fresh complexion, brown eyes and dark brown hair. The family were living at Jetty Road Brighton at the time.

He joined the 10th Battalion E Coy and on the 31st August he was promoted to the rank of Corporal, the following day he was again promoted to the rank of Sergeant. The unit embarked from Adelaide, South Australia, on board HMAT A11 Ascanius on the 20th October 1914. 

John sustained a gun shot wound to his left foot while fighting in the Dardanelles campaign on the 25th April 1915. He was evacuated to Lunar Park, Heliopolis where he had surgery to remove the bullet and on the 30th April was admitted to No. 1 General Hospital in Cairo. He was then transferred to the Convalescent Camp at Helouan on the 15th June. John had developed a sinus on the sole of the foot which exuded pus and prevented him from placing his foot flat, walking with the foot inverted, limping and unable to run. He was transferred to the Grand Hotel in Cairo on the 16th July and returned to Australia, embarking on board HS Horarata via Suez on the 29th July. He disembarked in Melbourne, Australia, on the 25th August and returned to Adelaide on leave. While in Adelaide, on the 25th September, he married (Mary Ethel Florence) Olivette Mansfield at the Methodist Church, Brighton. He was assessed by the Medical Board on the 29th September and recommended that he be discharged as permanently unfit for military service - unfit for marching. On the 30th November, while based at the 4th Military District Adelaide, he was discharged but on the 7th December, at Keswick, he enlisted for Home Service with the Mitcham Pay Corps and at his own request was then discharged on the 28th February 1916.

On the 4th March 1916 he was confirmed as being fit for service and on the 23 October he enlisted as a Private with the 2nd Depot Battalion D Coy Service No. S8588. On the 16th December he returned to the rank of Sergeant and transferred to A Coy but again was declared medically unfit and was discharged on the 7th February 1917.

After discharge from the AIF John returned to teaching and he and his wife were living in Unley, where on the 5th May 1917 he nominated for the state by-election in the National Party. They welcomed their first child, Olivette in May 1918 followed by George, Desmond and Daisy. 

By 1921 John had enlisted in the Royal Australian Navy in Victoria and was appointed as Schoolmaster P.N.F. He and his family remained in Victoria, John was based on numerous Ships or Establishments including Cerberus, Melbourne, Platypus, Penguin, Albatross and Australia. While based at Cerberus on the 10th November 1936 he was issued a Commission and in December 1938 he was promoted to Senior Master P.N.F.

John was admitted to the 115th A.G.H. at Heidelberg on the 8th August 1945 and as a result of acute post operative renal failure he died in the 2nd September 1945.

Medals awarded 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal

From Adelaide High School Magazine, Michaelmas, 1914, p 7-9

Sergt. J. E. Pearce was a pupil teacher at the School for the period 1909-1911. He
took a keen interest in the school athletics, and, when the Sports’ Club was reorganized by
Mr. Rossiter, “Jack” was elected the first General Secretary. Mr. Pearce was a leading
member of our tennis team and had considerable musical ability. He is in E Company of the
Infantry.

From Adelaide High School Magazine, Easter 1915, p 25

Sergeant J. E. Pearce also communicated with the old school. Jack will be
remembered as once being a very able and capable general secretary of the Boys’ Sports
Association. May he be as successful in his present duties as he was in the position
mentioned. We all join in wishing him “Good luck.”

From Adelaide High School Magazine, Midwinter, 1915 p 9-11

Australians Landing at Gallipoli.
By SERGEANT J. E. PEARCE.
(An Old Scholar.)
________
Writing on May 7, 1915, Sergeant Pearce (son of the Rev. John Pearce) tells the
following thrilling story:-
‘You will rejoice with me that yet again my life has been spared. The more I think of
it all the more I recognize how very much I have to be thankful for. Of course, I am proud to
have been amongst the first Australians to do something on this side of the world, but I
realize how easily I might have been amongst the slain. When the 10th Battalion roll was
called two days after our landing on Gallipoli only one officer and twenty-four men
responded out of over 1,000. My wound is doing wonderfully well, although it will be many
weeks before I can walk again; but apart from this I feel splendid. I’m in good hands.
“Now for the story. At the end of February, we left Egypt, apparently for active
service, in a disgustingly dirty old troopship which was infested with lice and rats.
“Two days after sailing from Alexandria, and after passing numerous islands of
intense historic interest, we were guided into a harbour, the beautiful bay of the Island of
Lemnos, by a French torpedo destroyer. It is a Grecian isle, but is conceded to England for
tactical purposes[. Though we often went ashore, we lived on the ship, with the exception of
three days’ bivouac. Last Saturday we were transhipped to the English battleship ‘Prince of
Wales.’ We then sailed for the Dardanelles. At 2 o’clock in the morning of Sunday, April 25,
we had a hot breakfast, and then got into the launches which were to take us ashore under the
steam of a pinnace. We were then five miles from the shore. We disembarked at this distance
from land to prevent any noise that would reveal our movements. Not a glimmer of light was
visible, although we knew that six great English battleships were near by, as well as the great
Queen Elizabeth. From information received from airships we knew that the Turks were
entrenched on the top of a steep hillock leading straight up from the beach. As we were to be
the first to land, our object was to capture this before daylight, and so enable the thousands of
troops that were to follow on to land. The leading party consisted of about 2,000 men. The
troopships had also moved our way during the night. At about 4 a.m., when we were almost
congratulating ourselves on the prospects of a quiet landing, because the naval officers had
handles the eight pinnaces with such caution; ping ! went the first shots which rang out from
the shore. ‘Up and at ‘em !’ was the responsive cry. Along with the others in our barge I
jumped in water up to my middle. Hadn’t time to feel the cold as I scrambles ashore and got
into the cover of the thick underbrush growing on the sides of the hill. We rested for a couple
of seconds. It was now getting a little lighter, so up we went to take the trench at the top of
the hill at the point of the bayonet. It was indeed a thrilling time. We had been ordered not to
fire a shot until daylight, and they were peppering us like rain. We got within twenty yards of
the top, in spite of the bullets, and then the Turks fled at the sight of the bayonets ! We got
home on a few, and did what we set out to do. Resting awhile, we looked back to see how our
comrades were faring. Away on our left a launch had just reached the beach, containing
about seventy men. A Turkish machine gun had found their range, and was peppering them
awfully. While we watched, only seven got on to the beach, and even those fell, with the
exception of one, who was found later with his throat cut. Thus a whole boatload were
annihilated in a few minutes. This destructive gun we captured later at the point of the
bayonet. The Turks, who were officered by Germans, employed a number of snipers, who
were ‘dug in’ on the hillsides. They ‘picked off’ the officers, consequently we were short of
officers when we reached the top of the hill, and our men pushed on down the gully and up to
the top of the next ridge. Meeting no opposition, they pushed on again, down another gully and up to another ridge. When our chaps got to within 400 yards of where the Turks were
entrenched they started to dig themselves in. In my opinion, it was a fatal mistake to push so
far. It was the intention of the Brigadier to dig in on the second ridge, but our fellows, full of
enthusiasm and flushed with victory, pushed on without waiting for orders. Here the Turks
were waiting for us. There was a momentary lull in the firing, then it started and continued
without a stop for three days and nights. Our warships were to have covered our advance
with shell fire, but we were so much in advance of the intended distance limit that they dared
not fire for fear of hitting us. They contented themselves by silencing a Turkish fort on the
southern point, which poured shrapnel on to the boats that were landing the remainder of our
men. The Turks turned their machine guns and artillery on to us. They have eight machine
guns to a battalion, while we have only two. They simply threw away their ammunition to
resist us. We could hear the zip-zip of the bullets running down the line and cutting clean off
the top of the shrubs behind which we were lying. If I related the terrible scenes, I’m afraid
that even my parents and brother would suspect exaggeration. I do not wish to dwell here. It
is a sad page in my life’s history. Here are a couple of illustrations. A shell landed on the
back of one of the fellows and exploded about ten yards to my right, which scattered him far
and wide, killed his near mate, and wounded another. One of our Sergeants was hit in the
stomach twice; dropped his rifle, and in his agony screamed for someone to give him a rifle
or shoot him dead. He was a quarter of an hour in dying a horrible death. One of our Captains,
who had both legs shot off by a shell, bled to death in a few minutes. And so I could go on;
but I dare not. In the words of Major Oldham, it was ‘not war but murder.’ Our orders,
however, were to hold on whatever the cost, and bravely they did it.
“In the meantime thousands of troops were landed, who reinforced us. By night also
some of our artillery was ashore, and the Indians had some of the mountain guns talking.
“I was struck in the left foot at 4 p.m. by a shrapnel bullet. It passed right through the
foot, leaving only the hole. The doctor had passed an instrument clean through the wound,
and given it a thorough cleansing. To continue my story. When struck, my first thought was
that my whole foot had gone, the bullet came with such a terrible thud. ‘No more tennis for
me,’ I thought. A comrade at my side cut away my boot and sock, which were saturated with
blood, and applied field dressing which I supplied. A short rest, and then I commenced the
return journey on my hands and knees. When I had crawled half a mile a New Zealander put
me on his back and carried me down to the beach. I got his address, because I felt I owed my
life to him. I was almost exhausted from loss of blood and lack of food - hadn’t had a bite all
day - when he found me, and although the snipers shot at us he carried me, with numerous
rests, the one and a half miles to the beach. Even here we were not safe. The Turks actually
tried to get their shrapnel on to the wounded that were lying on the beach. We were as soon
as possible put on a hospital ship and taken to Alexandria, and from there to Heliopolis.
“Such in brief is the story of that terrible, terrible Sunday, eleven days ago.
I must not close this letter without saying how much I thank our heavenly Father for
His watchfulness and care of me. Even on the battlefield I heard the still small voice, and I
am sure it said, ‘Fear not, I will be with thee all the way.’ Somehow it gave me confidence,
for I know He was watching all the while.
“Many Methodist parents will never see their sons again, but it will be comforting to
know how their sons died.
“Don’t worry about me; I’m all right now. Am in splendid health, with an appalling
appetite, and am receiving the best of care. Remember me to all my friends.”

From Adelaide High School Magazine, 1915. General Notes Old Scholars.

Sergeant J. E. Pearce, of No. 1 Platoon, B. Co., 10th Infantry, has been wounded in
the foot. A New Zealander pluckily carried him one and a half miles to a place where he
could receive medical attention. Pearce has been taken to the Australian Hospital at Cairo,
and is making satisfactory progress.