Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

When John George Molesworth Crowe was born in Albury, New South Wales in 1884, his father, George (1864 to 1925), was 20 and his mother, Jane (1855 to 1942), was 29.

At the time that John enlisted on the 7 October, 1915, at Liverpool, New South Wales, he was a single, 31-year-old station manager whose address was given as 37 St Edmonds Rd, Prahran in Victoria. His medical examination describes a man standing 6 foot tall (183 cm) and weighing 156 lbs (71 kg). His complexion was given as fair, eyes grey and hair fair. He gave Presbyterian as his religious denomination and he had no distinctive marks. He was taken on strength with the 11th Reinforcements for the 7th Light Horse Regiment and allocated the service number 1386.

His unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales on the 23 October, 1915, aboard the SS Hawkes Bay. Upon arriving at Maadi in Egypt he was taken on strength with the MEF (Mediterranean Expeditionary Force) on the 28 December, 1915. On the first day of the new year, John was admitted to the 4th Auxiliary Hospital in Cairo suffering from mumps. He would remain here until the 25 January, when he rejoined his unit stationed at Maadi.

On the 25 February, 1916, he marched out with the 7th Light Horse Regiment to Serapeum. In April of that year the Regiment joined the forces defending the Suez canal from a Turkish advance across the Sinai. It fought at the battle of Romani on the 4 August, at Katia the following day and was involved in the advance that pushed the Turks back across the Sinai and Palestine.

Late 1916 and early 1917 saw the Regiment engaged on patrol work until the British advance was stopped at Gaza. It was involved in the two abortive battles to try and capture Gaza on the 27 March and 19 April. On the 25 June, 1917, John was detached for water duty at Khan Yunus, near Tel-el-marakeb.

He was remustered as a temporary driver on the 1 August, 1917, to replace other drivers who had been taken ill. This lasted about one month when he was reverted to Trooper and returned to duty. This remuster occurred one more time before the end of October.

In late October of 1917, he was admitted to the 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance before being transferred to a number of other medical facilities, such as the 76th Casualty Clearing Station, the 43rd Stationary Hospital at Kantara and the 14th Australian General Hospital at Abbassia, suffering from influenza. As a result of his illness he was kept at a convalescent hospital due to him having pyrexia (sore muscles). It would be late November 1917 before John was back with the 7th Light Horse Regiment at Moascar.

The 7th Light Horse was involved in the pursuit of the Turks across Palestine and was present at the capture of Jerusalem in December. With the focus of operations moving to the Jordan Valley, John would have been involved in the raids on Amman on the 24 to 27 February and Es Salt between the 30 April and 4 May. On the 10 June, 1918 he was once again remustered as a driver.

The structure of a Light Horse Regiment was that there were three Squadrons and a Headquarters section. Each Squadron consisted of four troops, with each troop generally being allocated two drivers. John’s job, as a driver, would have been to take charge of the general service wagons (see image below) that were used for the transport of larger, more heavier items.


In early October John was admitted to hospital once again. This time suffering from septic sores. He would still be in hospital at the 14th Australian General Hospital at Port Said when the Armistice was signed with Germany. The Turks had signed the Armistice of Mudros on the 30 October, 1918, nearly two weeks before Germany had capitulated.

John was given 14 days leave in Cairo on the 25 November, after his stint in hospital. However, on the 12 December, he found himself back in hospital with an old injury to his right hand. John had injured his right thumb by falling off a horse on the 1 October, 1918. He had been treated for this at the 14th Australian General Hospital for six weeks, while he was also suffering from malaria. An operation was performed on him at the time with the surgeons opening the dislocated thumb and forcibly replacing the metacarpal bone. He was classified as having ⅓ incapacity of his right hand and it was suggested that he be discharged as permanently unfit for duty.

On the 15 January, 1919, John embarked on HMAT A35 Berrima at Suez and returned to Australia some weeks later. He was formally discharged from service on the 3 April, 1919. For his service during the war, he was awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

He married Gladys Bella Stennent Elcoate (1886 to 1922) at the Scots Church in 1920. Sometime after Gladys’ death in 1922, he married Eleanor Mary Alicia (Nellie) Miller (1893 to 1969). He died on 14 October, 1937, in Rochester, Victoria, at the age of 53.

Extract from "Light Horsemen of the Upper Murray", Year 5 and 6 Project, Corryong College.