Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

John Joseph Andrews; #7011 25th Battalion A.I.F.

John Andrews was born on 12th August 1895 in Newtown Hamilton, County Armargh in Ireland. He emigrated with his family to Queensland while in his teens and by the time of his enlistment in 1917, the family lived in Cambridge Street, Coorparoo. At enlistment, John stated that he was a shop assistant. The Roll of Honour card completed by his mother stated that he was a draper’s assistant, perhaps in a local drapery at Coorparoo or Stones Corner.

He enlisted at Adelaide Street, Brisbane on 24 August 1917, just 12 days after his 22nd birthday. John reported that prior to enlistment, he had three years training with the Citizen Military Forces Artillery. Regardless of his artillery experience he was drafted into the 21st reinforcements of the 25th Infantry Battalion.

The 25th Battalion, comprised almost exclusively of Queenslanders, had been formed in March 1915 as part of the 7th Brigade, 2nd Division AIF; and saw its first action on Gallipoli before being sent to the Western Front in 1916. By late 1917 and early 1918, the 25th Battalion; and indeed the entire AIF, was desperately short of men.

John entered camp at Enoggera for a short period of training before being given two days home leave prior to embarkation in Sydney on HMAT Canberra on 16th November 1917.

His family circumstances can be gleaned from a number of documents where he reports that his Mother was a widow and partly reliant on him for support. In addition, he had an elder brother who had been rejected for military service, an invalid sister and two younger brothers aged 17 and 16. It is fairly apparent from the information provided that John was the primary bread winner for the family. It may also have been the case that since his elder brother had been rejected, it was now his duty to enlist. He allotted three shillings of his five shilling a day pay (one shilling was deferred until discharge) to his mother for the duration of his overseas service. In addition, there was a life assurance policy with AMP.

The 21st Reinforcements disembarked in Suez in December 1917, and proceeded to Port Said, then transport to Taranto in Italy before arrival at Southampton on 30 January 1918. John was posted to the 13th Training Battalion for three months before leaving Folkstone for the Australian Camp at Etaples in France; known as the Bull Ring. One week later, on the 4th May he had joined his battalion.

The 25th at this time, was resting after a period in the line. The rest camp was quite pleasant but on 10 May, according to the Unit History, there was a march of 17 kilometres to a rough camp near Bonnay. On 13th May, John reported sick to a casualty clearing station, from which he was transferred to a field hospital. There is no record of the type of illness but it is likely that it was one of a number of contagious diseases, such as mumps to which new reinforcements were particularly prone. Following convalescence John rejoined his unit on 10th July 1918.

When John rejoined the battalion, the 25th had just come out of the line after the battle of Hamel, a famous set piece battle conducted under Monash which took exactly 93 minutes for the objective to be reached. This was the start of the advance by the Australians that would push the Germans back beyond the Hindenburg Line. The major defensive position in front of the Australian divisions was the fortified town of Peronne on the Somme River, and the hill above the town, Mont St.Quentin. On the 29th August, as the 7th Brigade attempted to cross the Somme River, Private John Andrews received severe shrapnel wounds to the head, abdomen and arm from what may have been friendly fire that was falling short. He was evacuated back to a Casualty Clearing Station near Amiens where he died of his wounds the next day. John Andrews had had a total of 60 days with the 25th.
He was buried in Daours Communal Cemetery Extension, close to the CCS where he died on 31 August with the Rev. Patterson attending.

The advance on Peronne was to be the 25th Battalion’s penultimate battle. In spite of being reinforced 21 times (John Andrews was one of the last reinforcements to the 25th) the battalion with a nominal strength of almost 1000 was reduced to 650. Many of these were returned wounded who were not fit for front line duty. The 25th Battalion was almost finished as a fighting unit. When the battalion was disbanded in late 1918, the roll of honour listed 2821 wounded and 1026 killed. John Andrews was one of them.

Once John Andrews’ mother had been informed of his death, she wrote on several occasions to Base Records in Melbourne enquiring into the return of his personal effects and the issuing of a death certificate, so that a claim could proceed with the life assurance policy. Eventually she received a parcel containing letters and cards, a fountain pen and a broken watch, a testament, a match box cover, 2 badges and seven coins; being the personal effects of her son. In September 1918, his mother requested details of her son’s death, in particular, whether he had lingered for a long time or had died instantaneously. The reply in January of 1919 incorrectly informed her he had been in a hospital in Etaples and buried nearby. In fact, he had died some fifty miles from Etaples. It is likely that she also received a letter from a battalion officer or chaplain outlining the details of John’s death, although it would not have referred to the extent of his injuries.

Later, John’s mother also received his medals, the Empire Medal and the Victory Medal as well as an Honour Scroll. It may also be assumed that following usual practice, she was sent three copies of a photograph of his grave. Sometime in 1920, the Andrews family left Cambridge Street to live at Manilla Street East Brisbane.

On reflection, the story of John Andrews evokes a sadness still. A loving son who perhaps begrudgingly enlisted towards war’s end, concerned for the welfare of his widowed mother and siblings, only to meet death some 10 weeks before the war concluded.