GARDNER, John Thompson
| Service Number: | 3731 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 10 May 1917 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 47th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, 1899 |
| Home Town: | Woomelang, Yarriambiack, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in action, France, 5 April 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Woomelang Banyan State School No 3487 Honor Board WW1 |
World War 1 Service
| 10 May 1917: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3731, 47th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Aug 1917: | Involvement Private, 3731, 47th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Aug 1917: | Embarked Private, 3731, 47th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Miltiades, Sydney |
Help us honour John Thompson Gardner's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
John Thompson Gardner was born in Long Gully, Bendigo, Victoria, during 1899. His father, James Gardner, aged 39 years, died at Long Gully, Bendigo in 1906. His mother, Emily remained at Long Gully and was living there in 1909. She married Robert Llewellyn in 1913. She was living in Woomelang, Victoria, when John Thompson Gardner, known as ‘Jack’, enlisted in Brisbane, Queensland during 1917. He stated he was 18 years and 2 months.
Jack’s older and only brother, 1918 Pte. Arthur Alexander Gardner 25th Battalion AIF, had also enlisted in Queensland and he lost his life when mortally wounded at Pozieres during July 1916, aged 23.
‘Jack’ died during the gallant defence at Dernancourt put up by the 47th Battalion against a German onslaught on 5 April 1918. He was in the front line for less than two months and his remains were lost.
‘Jack’ Gardner’s mother, Mrs. Llewellyn, aged only 48 years, died on 1 February 1920, and unable to trace any sisters, it seems Base Records marked the allottee of Gardner’s medals and plaque as ‘untraceable’. It was mentioned in service file that one of his sisters, Emily Jean Stuart Gardner, was awarded his war gratuity, but she could not be traced in 1922.