TRIM, James Arthur
| Service Number: | 6443 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 October 1916, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 25th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, June 1889 |
| Home Town: | Villeneuve, Somerset, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Died of wounds, France, 31 October 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Wimereux Communal Cemetery, Pas-de-Calais - Hauts-de-France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Kilcoy Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 6443, Brisbane, Queensland | |
|---|---|---|
| 23 Dec 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 6443, 25th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '15' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Demosthenes embarkation_ship_number: A64 public_note: '' | |
| 23 Dec 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 6443, 25th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Demosthenes, Sydney | |
| 28 Oct 1917: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 6443, 25th Infantry Battalion, 2nd Passchendaele , GSW (head) |
Narrative
James Arthur TRIM #6443 25th Battalion
James Trim was born in Brisbane but by the time of his enlistment, the family had moved to Villeneuve near Kilcoy. The embarkation roll for the 25th Battalion shows three men from Villeneuve and one from Nerum who all enlisted on the same day, and who all have sequential numbers. One of the four was James’ brother Wilfred. No doubt the four mates had decided to enlist together.
When James presented himself for enlistment on 9th October 1916, he was 27 years old. He stated his occupation as labourer of Villeneuve and named his father, Felix, as his next of kin. On 23rd December, James, accompanied by his three mates, boarded the Demosthenes in Sydney. The landed in Plymouth on 3rd March 1917 and marched into a training battalion.
On 19th June 1917, James began a three week journey from England through the depot at Etaples near Boulogne and on to the assembly areas west of Ypres in Belgium where the 25th Battalion was preparing to go into the first of the set piece battles, Menin Road, which collectively would become known as the Battle of Passchendaele. Following Menin Road, the 25th again went into the advance at Broodseinde Ridge in the first week in October.
The 25th had been in the support lines for an attempt to take the village of Passchendaele in the middle of October but the attack failed. Nevertheless, significant ground had been won during the Flanders campaign and in the last week of October the 25th and the rest of the 7th brigade were tasked with holding the newly won ground. The Germans constantly harassed the Australians with artillery barrages of high explosive and mustard gas.
O n 28th October, while in the support trenches at Zonnebeke, James Trim was wounded by a shell splinter. He was transported out of the line to a casualty clearing station and from there was placed on an ambulance train and taken to the 8th Stationary Hospital at Wimereux near Boulogne. In spite of the speed with which James was transported to medical attention, he succumbed to his wounds on 30th October 1917. James had left a will in which he bequeathed all of his estate to a Miss Alice Day of Villeneuve.
James was buried in the Wimereux Communal Cemetery. Sadly his headstone contains no details save for his Surname, Initials and Service Number.
Submitted 15 March 2022 by Ian Lang
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