Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Early Life

John (Jack) Stewart Blackburn was born to Thomas and Margaret Blackburn (nee Browne) on the 2nd October 1887 at Woodville.

At the time of his birth his father was the Rector of St Margaret's, Woodville (1886-1912) and later Honorary Canon at St Peter's Cathedral, Adelaide (ca 1906-12). He also was a noted entomologist, becoming Honorary Curator in Entomology at the South Australian Museum. During his residence in Australia he described 3,069 species of Australian Coleoptera. There is at least one species named after him- the Blackburn’s Sphinx Moth, (Manduca Blackburni) – a moth he had documented while working on Hawaii – prior to arriving in Australia.

John was one of three brothers and one sister as well as three half-brothers (from Thomas's earlier marriage in the UK). Young John attended Canterbury House Preparatory School run by Canon S. Slaney Poole on Dequetteville Terrace, Kent Town (located between the brewery and Prince Alfred College). Also attending Canterbury School at the time was William (Lawrence) Bragg who later won the 1915 Nobel Prize in Physics (jointly with his father William Henry Bragg).

Teaching and University

After leaving Canterbury School John was a pupil teacher at Queen's School North Adelaide where he probably completed his senior university entrance examinations over several years. Although not an outstanding student, he was fortunate enough to be awarded an Education Department Scholarship in 1908 to enroll in the Arts course at the University of Adelaide. In 1909 he also was awarded another scholarship to attend evening lectures only. Studying for his degree part time allowed him to work for a time in the South Australian Land and Survey Department. This required him to travel to many parts of the State. He had done well at Geography at school so this vocation was also probably to his liking. He finally completed his course work and examinations at the end of 1913 and his Bachelor of Arts degree was conferred at the commemoration ceremony (in absentia) in December 1914. He had already enlisted in the Army in September of the same year.

Sport at University

Already a keen sportsman while living at Woodville, playing cricket with the local team in the Adelaide and Suburban competition and Lacrosse for Port Adelaide, when he attended Adelaide University he naturally played these sports with "The Blacks" He was a regular member of the newly formed AUCC B Grade team from 1910/11 - 1912/13 seasons. In 1910/11 they played off for the premiership against East Torrens. Although losing the grand-final narrowly, John had a fine season with the bat scoring 301 runs with a top score of 75. He also was an occasional bowler.

John also played Lacrosse, a sport introduced to Adelaide University by William Henry Bragg (Elder Professor of Mathematics and Experimental Physics) and was a member of the Rifle Club.

The year after graduating from Adelaide University, the Education Department posted him to Petersburg in the mid-north of South Australia. A country posting was common-place for new teaching staff who had received a scholarship. The appointment was as an Assistant at the Petersburg District High School, a Continuation School founded in 1908. The town of course became Peterborough when town names of German origin were anglicised. This appointment was short-lived and after the outbreak of WW1 he enlisted along-side many of his former university colleagues, cricketing team mates and fellow teachers.

War Service

John Stewart Blackburn enlisted in September 1914 and assigned the rank of Private and was posted to the 12th Battalion, E Company. With his mother and Father both deceased, his only sister Margaret was listed as next of kin. She was living at the time in Wagin Western Australia where her much older half brother Edward (Ted) Forth Williams Blackburn was a bank manager (11 years working for the Bank of New South Wales).

In October 1914 John embarked for overseas service on the HMAT A2 Geelong troop transport ship in Hobart (pictured below with troops boarding). Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Lancelot Clarke, the battalion proceeded to Egypt arriving in Alexandria on 2 December 1914. A period of training in the desert followed to prepare the Australian forces for their eventual transfer to Europe, but in late April 1915 they were committed to the Gallipoli Campaign. In August 1915 the 12th Battalion E Company contributed two Companies to the "diversionary attack" at Lone Pine. During this offensive John was wounded and evacuated and at one stage was set to return home on leave to recover but it is unclear if he did. After recovering, he was then transferred to the 3rd Field Engineers (obviously because of his surveying experience) and boarded the troop ship HMAT "Clan McGilvery" back to the Dardanelles. After the allied December 1915 retreat he then served in France at Le Havre on the coast of Normandy.

During his war service, casualty records show that he suffered numerous infections and bouts of debilitating rheumatism requiring hospitalisation. Despite returning to home with his sight intact, it was a complication of the chronic rheumatism that in the mid 1920’s caused John to lose his sight.

He was also docked 8 days pay for being absent without leave overnight at Le Havre, France, while on active service.

Bothers and Sister's War Service

John was the first of four brothers to enlist and his sister Margaret, after her fiancé Lieutenant Allenborough Davis was killed in Mesopotamia (around July 1916), also initially assisted the War effort growing fruit and vegetables at Griffiths, NSW. She did not subsequently marry. Other family members also contributed with important roles on the home front.

In 1916 Margaret Blackburn moved to London where she continued her War work until she returned to Adelaide April 1919. Older half brother Charles, who was already an eminent physician and superintendant at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Sydney, joined the Australian Army Medical Corps and served overseas.

John Stewart Blackburn’s older brother Harry and younger brother Arthur also both enlisted. Arthur Seaforth Blackburn, was an Adelaide University law graduate and was the first born and bred South Australian to be awarded the Victoria Cross - on 4 October 1916 for bravery at Pozieres in France. He later was a much respected South Australian politician (Member for South Australia Lower House Electorate of Sturt) and lawyer who worked extensively for returned service men. He was well regarded by those who served with him and many other people as evidenced by the fact that there are seven streets in suburban Adelaide and one building in Grenfell St that are thought to have been named after Arthur Blackburn.

After the Great War

After 4 years and 98 days abroad, John returned home on the troop carrier HMV "Durham" In Jul 1917 the newspapers carried news of his engagement. The article read: The engagement is announced of John Stewart Blackburn, B.A. (Field Engineers, France), son of the late Rev. Canon Blackburn, of Woodville, and Mildred Alice, third daughter of Mrs. J. H. George, of 'Erlburton,' Davenport Terrace, Wayville.

It is interesting to note that the engagement to Mildred was announced in July 1917, while John was still serving in the army and the war was still happening. It is surmised that the announcement was made during a period of leave but the dates on his army record do not suggest he was on leave in July 1917.
Very soon after his return to Australia, on 10 Jan 1919, John and Mildred Alice George were married at St. Oswald's Church in Parkside.

Shortly after he was discharged in February 1919 the new couple took up a fruit block in the Riverland at Renmark (he chose not to return to teaching). Several articles in the newspapers of the early 1920’s reported the fact that he was on a fruit block, including the one shown below.

While living in Renmark on the fruit block, John and Mildred had two children: Both his son Harold Stewart Blackburn (1919 - 1998) and his daughter Suzanne Burton Blackburn (1922-2005) went on to complete their medical degrees at Adelaide University Medical School. Harold worked for his entire life as a general practitioner in Tasmania while Suzanne worked in England as school medical officer.

After six years of trying to make a go of it, the hard life and his poor health (with failing eye sight) saw their return to Adelaide and taking up residence at Henley Beach.

John then started an office supplies, typing and copying business and was associated with a typing school at his Ware Chambers office in King William St, City. Ware Chambers was also the home of Muirden College and several legal firms so it was a well chosen location.

Even with failing eyesight his typing was found to be both fast and accurate and his business was soon very successful.

His typing capabilities were highlighted in a 1928 newspaper article about Adelaide typists.

In about 1930, John and his wife Mildred purchased a house at number 26 (but since renumbered to 32) Tusmore Avenue, Leabrook. This was to remain their home until after John’s death in 1976, when Mildred moved into a unit.

John had become a highly respected Adelaide business man and gained great acclaim for his services to the community. He was a member of the Board of the Burnside hospital for several terms and on the committee of the Church of England Guild for Services to the Blind and Blind Welfare. His outstanding community work earned him a CBE in 1960.

Although christened John, his friends called him Jack. His first grandchild however, could not say "Grandfather John" but could say "Parndon" and within the family the name stuck so from about 1950 onwards, he was known in the family as “Parndon”.

His Death Certificate showed that on 15th June 1969 at Leabrook, John Stewart Blackburn passed away from "Secondary carcinoma in liver with the Primary carcinoma probably in the pancreas". His final resting place is at Centennial Park, Panorama.

The Blackburn Family's Continuing Legacy

Thomas and Margaret Blackburn did not live to see their own immediate family achieve all their great distinctions, however the underlying makeup of the Blackburn family has carried through generations - their family's great contributions to society covering the fields of military service, community service, the law, medicine and much more, are enduring.

One of John Stewart Blackburn’s nephews and one of his granddaughters provide two examples of distinguished contributions by his descendants.

Arthur Seaforth Blackburn’s first son was Sir Richard Arthur Blackburn O.B.E. He was John’s nephew. Richard’s distinguished career started at the University of Adelaide where he won the Stow and John Howard Clark prizes. He graduated with first-class honours in English literature and was named South Australian Rhodes Scholar for 1940. The scholarship was deferred, because of his own military service, until after the Second World War. At Magdalen College, Oxford he studied Law and in 1950 returned to Adelaide to be appointed the Bonython Professor of Law. After seven years of academic life at the University of Adelaide, he made a second career in the practice of the law: 14 years as barrister and solicitor, 14 years as judge, the last seven as Chief Justice of the ACT Supreme Court.

Given that his own death was caused by carcinoma (cancer), John Stewart Blackburn would have been thrilled that his granddaughter, Elizabeth H. Blackburn (Dr Harold Stewart Blackburn’s second daughter) was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine in Sweden in 2009 for discovering the molecular nature of telomeres, the ends of chromosomes that serve as protective caps essential for preserving genetic information, and for co-discovering telomerase, an enzyme that maintains telomere ends. Both telomeres and telomerase are thought to play central roles in aging and diseases such as cancer, and her work helped launch entire new fields of research in these areas.

Since the discovery of Telomerase, her work with the enzyme and the telomeres present in our DNA, continues to be undertaken by many other scientists.
She is currently working in California as the President of Salk Institute - one of the world’s preeminent basic research institutions where renowned scientists make groundbreaking discoveries by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology and related disciplines.

Recognition of Contribution

Many of the brave men who served in the Great War were left shattered both physically and mentally on their return to Australia. If they survived their torment, it often left them with an inherent strength of character and determination to make the world a better place. John Stewart Blackburn had to overcome much more adversity than most which makes his personal achievements and wider contributions the more remarkable.

Those men of the Adelaide University Football and Cricket Clubs who put their academic, professional and sporting ambitions on hold to serve during the Great War had a strength of soul and purpose that deserves our ongoing respect and gratitude. The proposed WW1 Memorial Picket Fence at Adelaide University Oval is a small way of showing this.

The sons of Thomas Blackburn have their WW1 service recognised at other places including St Margaret's Anglican Church in Woodville with plaques at the entrance gate.

John Stewart Blackburn (and his wife Mildred) also have a memorial in the form of an aumbry at the rear of St David's Church, Burnside where they were long term parishioners in their later life.

Profile added with the permission of the authors Rob O'Shannassy

For the complete profile including photographs, newspaper articles, documents and sources prepared for the AUFC/AUCC WWI Memorial Project please see the document attached.