James ROADKNIGHT

ROADKNIGHT, James

Service Number: 858
Enlisted: 18 August 1914, Broadmeadows, Victoria
Last Rank: Lieutenant
Last Unit: 37th Infantry Battalion
Born: Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia, July 1892
Home Town: Bairnsdale, East Gippsland, Victoria
Schooling: Not yet discovered
Occupation: School Teacher
Died: Killed In Action, Passchendaele, Belgium, 12 October 1917
Cemetery: No known grave - "Known Unto God"
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Birchip War Memorial, Johnsonville Roll of Honor, Menin Gate Memorial (Commonwealth Memorial to the Missing of the Ypres Salient)
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World War 1 Service

18 Aug 1914: Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 858, Broadmeadows, Victoria
19 Oct 1914: Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 858, 8th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '9' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Benalla embarkation_ship_number: A24 public_note: ''
19 Oct 1914: Embarked AIF WW1, Corporal, 858, 8th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Benalla, Melbourne
25 Apr 1915: Involvement AIF WW1, Corporal, 858, 8th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli
28 Apr 1915: Promoted AIF WW1, Company Quartermaster Sergeant, 8th Infantry Battalion
24 Feb 1916: Transferred AIF WW1, Company Quartermaster Sergeant, 60th Infantry Battalion
3 May 1916: Promoted AIF WW1, Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant, 60th Infantry Battalion
28 Oct 1916: Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 60th Infantry Battalion
12 Jan 1917: Transferred AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 37th Infantry Battalion
22 May 1917: Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 37th Infantry Battalion
9 Jun 1917: Wounded Lieutenant, 37th Infantry Battalion, Battle of Messines, GSW (shoulder)
12 Oct 1917: Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 37th Infantry Battalion, 1st Passchendaele

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Biography

James was wounded at Gallipoli when a corporal, he then moved on to Belgium and was promoted many times until reaching the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. Tragically James was killed in action on 12 Oct 1917 in Belgium.

"...Second Lieutenant James Roadknight, 37th Battalion from Bairnsdale, Victoria. A 28 year old state school teacher prior to enlisting on 18 August 1914, he embarked for overseas as a Corporal (service number 858) with the 8th Battalion from Melbourne on 19 October 1914 aboard HMAT Benalla. While serving at Gallipoli, he was promoted to Company Quartermaster Sergeant on 28 April 1915. After Gallipoli, he transferred to the 60th Battalion and was promoted to Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant on 3 May 1916. Following training at Balliol College Oxford, England, he was appointed 2nd Lt on 28 October 1916. He transferred to the 37th Battalion on 11 January 1917 and was promoted to Lieutenant (Lt) on 22 May 1917. After being wounded in action on 7 June 1917, he was medically evacuated to England for treatment and returned to the 37th Battalion on 20 September 1917. Lt Roadknight was killed in action on 12 October 1917 near Passchendaele, Belgium and is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Belgium." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)

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