MASTERTON, John
| Service Number: | 958 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 13 February 1915, Liverpool |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 2nd Division Headquarters |
| Born: | Kirkliston, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom, 2 January 1876 |
| Home Town: | Hay, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer - NSW Railways & Tramways |
| Died: | Natural causes, Kirkaldy, Fife, Scotland, United Kingdom, 8 August 1935, aged 59 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 13 Feb 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 958, 17th Infantry Battalion, Liverpool | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Mar 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 17th Infantry Battalion | |
| 12 May 1915: | Embarked Private, 958, 17th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Sydney | |
| 12 May 1915: | Involvement Private, 958, 17th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '12' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 20 Aug 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lance Corporal, 958, 17th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 10 Oct 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 17th Infantry Battalion | |
| 30 Jan 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 17th Infantry Battalion | |
| 3 May 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Sergeant, 958, 17th Infantry Battalion, Bullecourt (Second), Noreuil, Shrapnel wound - remained on duty | |
| 25 Sep 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Sergeant, 2nd Division Headquarters, Attached to Traffic Control Detachment | |
| 1 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Sergeant, 958, 2nd Division Headquarters, Third Ypres, Traffic Control Detachment | |
| 14 Jan 1918: | Honoured Military Medal, For devotion to duty whilst in charge of traffic control at Bellewaarde Circuit near Ypres from 1-9 October 1917. On 3 October 1917 at Idiot Corner the area came under heavy enemy shell fire, resulting in a chaotic situation with numerous casualties and horses and wagons in disarray. Through his coolness and courage, he organised the clearing of the road and induced the drivers to return to their wagons. | |
| 28 Mar 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Sergeant, 958, 2nd Division Headquarters, Traffic Control Detachment, Demobilised at London and remained in United Kingdom. |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Michael Silver
John Masterton was born at Kirkliston, Leith, Scotland in January 1876, the ninth of fifteen children born to James Masterton a contractor and his wife Christina Garlick.
He married Jane Smith Pryde at Edinburgh in 1903. They had two children, a son and a daughter, over the following two years.
In 1912 it appears that he left the family for Australia. An engine fitter by trade, he gained employment as a railway labourer with NSW Railways and Tramways and was based at Hay, NSW at the outbreak of World War 1.
Enlisting in February 1915 and subsequently appointed Lance Corporal, he sailed with the 17th Battalion on the HMAT Themistocles from Sydney on 12 May 1915 for the Middle East. On August 20 he landed at Gallipoli. Promoted to Corporal, he remained on the peninsula until the evacuation in late December 1915.
The 17th moved to the Western Front in late 1916 and he was promoted to Sergeant. On 3 May 1917 near Noreuil, France, Sergeant Masterton was wounded during a hazardous mission into no-man’s land, under heavy enemy bombardment, to assess the location of enfilading machine gun and rifle fire. Despite his wounds he remained on duty.
After transferring to the 2nd Division Traffic Control Detachment, he was awarded the Military Medal for coolness and courage in organising the clearing of the road and stabilising a chaotic situation at Idiot Corner near Ypres on 3 October 1917 after the area was subjected to heavy enemy shelling.
John Marsterton was not required to return to Australia after the war. Due to his marriage he was permitted to remained in the United Kingdom following his discharge in March 1919. He returned to live in his native Scotland.
Sergeant John Marsterton MM died at Kirkaldy, Scotland in 1935.