SKINNER, Henry St John
| Service Number: | 7905 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 1st Australian General Hospital |
| Born: | Warragul, Victoria, Australia, 1882 |
| Home Town: | Sunbury, Hume, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Asylum attendant |
| Died: | 14 July 1921, cause of death not yet discovered, place of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: | Sunbury War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 7905, 1st Australian General Hospital | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 7905, 1st Australian General Hospital, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '23' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 7905, 1st Australian General Hospital, HMAT Nestor, Melbourne | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement Private, 7905, 1st Australian General Hospital, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '23' embarkation_place: '' embarkation_ship: '' embarkation_ship_number: '' public_note: '' | |
| Date unknown: | Embarked Private, 7905, 1st Australian General Hospital |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Ross Martin
Henry St John SKINNER was born in 1882 near Warragul, Victoria. His parents were St John Moore Skinner and Mary Travers Skinner, nee McLean.
In 1915 he was living and working in Sunbury, Victoria. He was employed at the Sunbury Asylum as a warder/attendant and his next of kin was his wife Minette Lillian Skinner. They lived in Brook Street Sunbury and had 4 children.
Henry enlisted on 6/7/1915 in Melbourne and was assigned to the Medical Corps. He was appointed acting Sergeant, possibly because of his medical experience. He left Australia on 11/10/1915 bound for Egypt. There he was involved in nursing duties and he left Egypt on 9/2/1916 aboard the HMAT Nestor, a hospital ship bound for Australia which was reached on 13/3/1916. His rank of Sergeant was confirmed on 25/4/1916.He left Australia again on 16/8/1916 aboard the Orcades bound for the UK which was reached on 2/10/1916.
On reaching France he was transferred to the 2nd Australian Field Ambulance and during fighting in the Bullecourt area he was awarded the Military Medal.
The recommendation for his medal reads:"Between Bullecourt and Noreuil, France on May 6th and following days Sergeant Skinner displayed the finest qualities as a leader of men in his management of the evacuation of the wounded and by his personal bravery and disregard of danger set a valuable example to his men. He lost 50% of his bearers in the shell swept area over which his line of evacuation ran. In spite of these heavy losses and the severity of the shell fire he maintained a steady flow of evacuations and kept his regimental aid post cleared".
On 19/8/1917 he was transferred to the Australian General Base Hospital, France and then returned to Australia aboard the HMAT Beltano reaching Melbourne on 18/10/1917. He was discharged from the Army on that day but reenlisted for Home Service and was sent to the Mont Park Military mental home retaining his rank of Sergeant. He nursed at Mont Park until 10/10/1920 when he was finally discharged.
Sadly Henry died on 14/7/1921.
In 1924 his widow was living at 70 Drummond Street Carlton with their 4 children.