Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

John Lyell was born in Ladybank, Fifeshire, Scotland; the second son of David and Isabella Lyell. He attended school in Ladybank and served as a professional soldier for seven years in the Royal Scots Regiment before serving a further five years in the reserves.

John and his elder brother William emigrated to Australia after their parents died.  At the time of his enlistment John was working for Queensland Railways, and was probably living with his married brother, William at Graceville. When John presented himself for enlistment on 16th September 1916 he was 38 years old. He was drafted as a reinforcement into the 6th Field Company Engineers and embarked from Brisbane on the “Runic”, arriving in Egypt on 27th February 1916.

On 18th March, John was transferred to the 15th FCE as a sapper. The word sapper comes from the French word “sappe” meaning to dig; which is a fairly apt description of the work required by engineers in the First World War. On the 29th June, John and his unit arrived in Marseilles and boarded a train for the northern sector of the western front, arriving near Armentieres on 7th July.

Sir Douglas Haig; the British Expeditionary Forces Commander in Chief commented on the newly arrived Australians “ splendid physique… mad keen to kill Germans and to start doing it at once.” The 15th Brigade of the AIF under Brigadier Harold “Pompey” Elliot; supported by the 15th FCE attacked the German line at Fleurbaix on the 19th/20th July,  just short of two weeks after their arrival.

Tactics at this early stage of the AIF campaign in France were directed wholly by the British and displayed the old maxim that generals usually fight the current war with tactics from the last. The assault on the German lines at Fleurbaix (as well as the assault by the 5th AIF further down the line at Fromelles) was totally unsuccessful. A frontal assault without artillery support against an entrenched enemy would always fail. The engineers who were following up the infantry were tasked with digging saps (trenches perpendicular to the front line towards the enemy) when it was reported that John Lyell had been killed.

Subsequent enquiries with the Red Cross uncovered witnesses who reported that John had been struck in the head by a sniper’s bullet and died instantly. One witness described John as an “elderly man”, which to some of the youngsters in the AIF he probably appeared to be, he was nearly 40. It was also reported that John was buried in a cemetery in the same row as “15 others.” The war diary of the 15th FCE does not record more than two fatalities from the company on those days so the others were most likely infantry men.

John was buried in the Military Cemetery at Rue-de-Bois and his brother requested that his headstone be inscribed as follows: “His big kind heart was his greatest enemy.”

John Lyell is listed on the Graceville Memorial with the rank of corporal, however his military records have no notation of such a promotion. Perhaps the error was due to confusion over the rank of sapper.

Courtesy of Ian Lang

Mango Hill