CANTWELL, James Joseph
| Service Number: | 6779 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 21st Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Pyalong, Victoria, Australia, March 1896 |
| Home Town: | Trentham, Hepburn, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Convent of Magdeline, Trentham, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Montbrehain, France, 5 October 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Ramicourt British Cemetery, France Row B, Grave No. 35 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Trentham District Honour Roll, Trentham War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 10 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6779, 23rd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 May 1917: | Involvement Private, 6779, 23rd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ascanius embarkation_ship_number: A11 public_note: '' | |
| 11 May 1917: | Embarked Private, 6779, 23rd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius, Melbourne | |
| 5 Oct 1918: | Involvement Private, 6779, 21st Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 6779 awm_unit: 21st Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1918-10-05 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Michael Ganey
Pte James Joseph Cantwell – SRN 6779.
James Cantwell was born to Thomas and Lavinia Cantwell (Simpson) in Pyalong Victoria in 1896 and he was a 19 year-old labourer living in Melbourne when he enlisted on the 10th July 1915.
He never turned up to the training camp and was listed as ‘away without leave’. It seems that his parents did not give him permission to join and did not allow him to proceed to camp. The army did not pursue him, even though he enlisted as a ‘24 year-old’.
When he was over twenty-one years of age, he again enlisted on the 13th of February 1917. This time his parents could not stop him.
The army was in a quandary, as he was listed as ‘away without leave’. They held him in custody until they took James’s story in to account and finally decided to process him on his first enlistment and no charges were laid. He was then allocated to be part of the 19th reinforcements to the 21st Battalion.
He embarked on the HMAT A11 Ascanius on the 11thof May 1917 and was taken on strength in the field with the 21stBattalion on the 25th November 1917. He was known as ‘Canty” by his comrades.
In January 1918 he was away from his unit for 5 days with scabies. He served without incident after this episode and was given 2 weeks respite from the front in August when he spent time at the 4th Auxiliary rest camp.
He was killed in action at Montbrehain on the 5th of October. He was acting as an ‘A’ Company runner and was with his company commander at the starting line ready for the assault, when at about 5.45 a.m., he was hit by shrapnel in the head and chest and died instantly. His comrades had to leave him where he fell and it was later assumed that the Americans buried him at later date.
His parents placed a notice in the Argus on the 26th October 1918.
CANTWELL. – Killed in action on the 5thOctober, Private J. J. Cantwell, 21st Battalion, beloved son of Mr. and Mrs. T. Cantwell, and loving brother of Lucy, 175 Royal Parade, Parkville, aged 22 years.
We pictured his safe returning,
And longed to clasp his hand;
But God has postponed that meeting,
It will be in a better land.
In 1919, they placed an In Memoriam Notice in the Argus newspaper on the 6thof October.
CANTWELL. – In loving memory of our only dear son and brother, Private James Cantwell, 21st Battalion, killed in action at Montbrehain on the 5th October 1918.
In distant France he his lying,
Killed by a bursting shell;
He was buried by his comrades,
They boys who knew him well.
He fought life’s battle bravely,
And always stood the test;
Remembered by his loved one
As one of Australia’s best.
-(Inserted by his sorrowing father, mother and sister Lucy, 175 Royal Parade, Parkville.)
As mentioned in this notice, James was their only son.
Private James Cantwell lies in the Ramicourt British Cemetery in plot B 35. His father supplied his headstone epitaph.
In Loving Memory
Of Our Dear Son
Father, Mother and Sister.
He is also commemorated on Pyalong Shire Public Hall Honour Roll and the Kilmore Shire Roll of Honour in the Kilmore Memorial Hall.
A number of James Cantwell’s cousins also served.
Corporal William Simpson served with the 24th Battalion and was killed at Passchendale in October 1917.
Sergeant William Cantwell served with the 4th Light Horse Regiment and took part in the charge at Beersheba on the 31st October 1917. He survived the war.
Private Thomas Cantwell served with the 60th Battalion and was badly wounded in France in August 1916. His badly wounded leg was saved and he returned to Australia with his leg then 4 inches shorter than the other.