GUTHRIE, John Marsland
| Service Number: | 1769 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Sergeant |
| Last Unit: | 11th Field Artillery Brigade |
| Born: | Not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Brisbane, Brisbane, Queensland |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 15 April 1917, age not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
H.A.C. Cemetery, Ecoust-St. Mein, France HAC Cemetery, Ecoust St Mein, Arras, Nord Pas de Calais, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cordalba War Memorial, Corinda Sherwood Shire Roll of Honor, Graceville War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 22 Dec 1914: | Involvement Gunner, 1769, 301st Company Mechancial Transport, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '22' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ceramic embarkation_ship_number: A40 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Dec 1914: | Embarked Gunner, 1769, 301st Company Mechancial Transport, HMAT Ceramic, Melbourne | |
| 15 Apr 1917: | Involvement Sergeant, 1769, 11th Field Artillery Brigade , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 1769 awm_unit: 11th Australian Field Artillery Brigade awm_rank: Sergeant awm_died_date: 1917-04-15 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Faithe Jones
John Guthrie was barely 18 years old when he enlisted on 28th September 1914. He stated he was employed as a clerk with Queensland Railways and gave his address as simply Sherwood. It is possible that he was living with his uncle; William Guthrie, of Skew Street, Sherwood. He named his mother, Elizabeth, as his next of kin; however Elizabeth’s address was C/- Miss Marsland of Cotton Street Sandgate. John’s cemetery details list his father as Arthur Drummond Guthrie but letters in John’s service file from his mother indicate that Arthur Guthrie abandoned his wife and children in 1907, and his whereabouts were unknown. The same letter says that as a result of being abandoned, Elizabeth had no home. She would appear to have been living with her sister, Miss Marsland, for a time before gaining employment as a cook in a railway construction gang. The situation faced by Elizabeth (her only daughter had been killed in a riding accident in 1910) provides evidence of the possible motivation for young John to enlist; as he allotted 3/6 of his 5 shillings a day to his mother.
John had previous military experience with a Field Artillery Brigade and was promptly drafted into the 301st Mechanical Transport Company. He embarked on 22nd December 1914 in Melbourne and landed at Anzac on the first day. There was not much call for motor transport on the peninsula and John reverted to a field artillery battery as a gunner. Whilst stationed on Gallipoli, John was promoted first to corporal and then to sergeant.
After the withdrawal from Gallipoli in December 1915, the Australian forces regrouped in Egypt. John was posted to the 11th Field Artillery and accompanied the brigade to Havre in France where they were issued with new 18 pounder guns and limbers. The artillery supported Australian Infantry actions at Pozieres in July and August; Flers and Bullecourt in October and November.
On 11th March 1917, John was posted to an artillery school for two weeks. When he rejoined his unit, they were supporting assaults against the Hindenburg Line at Lagnicourt. On 15th April, John’s battery was called to provide a covering barrage on the flank of an advance by the 56th Battalion. In order to be able to locate the targets, the battery had to move out of concealed positions. When the German artillery observers spotted the exposed guns, they called down counter battery fire. The brigade war diary records that one officer and twelve other ranks were killed, as well as the loss of two guns and 3000 rounds of ammunition.
John and the other 11 gunners were laid to rest in the H.A.C. (Honourable Artillery Company) Cemetery in the same row. His personal belongings were eventually returned to his mother after advertisements were placed by the authorities in newspapers seeking her whereabouts. Elizabeth had been reduced to a state of homelessness after her husband abandoned her and the children. After the death of her son she had no family on which to rely. Elizabeth Guthrie moved around the state with the railway construction crew, being located at Ferny Grove, Samsonvale and Baralaba. It took some time for her son’s effects to be delivered to her as her address was not constant. It would appear that Elizabeth applied for repatriation benefits in 1935.
Courtesy of Ian Lang
Mango Hill