Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

James Frederick Richardson was born on the 15th of August 1894 and grew up in Norwood, Adelaide, South Australia. He was educated in a public school in Norwood.

James' occupation before the war started was a printer. He was 21 years and 2 months old when he enlisted for war which was quite young. As a printer he would have a good pay. James would work as much as he could to support himself and his wife. James was married to Ivy May Richardson who was also born and lived in Norwood, Adelaide, South Australia. They did not have any children. James’s height was 5.4 feet which is quite short compared to other people that enlisted for the war. The religion that James believed in was Methodist. The ship that James embarked on was the Ballarat HMAT A70 it left on the 28th of August 1916. His rank from the nominal roll was a Lance Corporal.

The battalion that James enrolled in was the 27th Infantry Battalion. The 27th Infantry Battalion began in March 1915, many of the people who enrolled lived in the districts mainly in South Australia. The 27th infantry Battalion also had alliances with the United Kingdom’s Royal Iniskillin Fusiliers and Seaford Highlanders which would help them when they went into battle. When the Battalion embarked on the 28th of August they were bound for Egypt. In September of that year they arrived in Gallipoli. In Gallipoli many evacuations were happing as a cause of bad hygiene and diseases, which wouldn’t make things easy for them when they had to battle in Gallipoli.

In 1916, the battalion entered the battle of the Somme, along with the 28th Infantry Battalion. They were the front line throughout the battle of the Somme. Which would be very nerve-wracking. They then arrived in Marseille, France on the 9th of April 1916.

During battles, James was severely sick and was eventually rushed to hospital on the 2nd of June 1917. After struggling in hospital for a month, on the 7th of July 1917, he returned to fight in the battalion, which shows guts and the true ANZAC sprit. He showed bravery and courage. He never gave up even when he was sick in hospital he always wanted to get back out there and fight for his country. In France, James left on the English leave.

So as James rejoined his batallion, the 27th Infantry battalion on the 20th of February 1918, and on the 9th of August he was wounded in action which is not a good sign as he just came out of hospital the year before. 

The living conditions in England and throughout the war were awful. Every time the soldiers went into battle the soldiers felt like they were traumatized. The soldiers had to deal with diseases. The weather and damp conditions during winter throughout the war made injuries that soldiers would have during the war would become seriously concerning. During the summer the weather was the complete opposite as many soldiers would become dehydrated as a cause of the sun blaring down on them. To prevent illness from gas during the war, many soldiers had to wear gas masks.

James returned to Adelaide, Australia on the 20th of November 1918 through the ship HT Suevic. This was a massive achievement for James to return to Australia after being very sick, he was then in hospital for a month before coming back to rejoin his Battalion. But once again he was wounded while he was fighting, but he never gave up and then embarked for England. This shows the true ANZAC spirit that James Frederick Richardson showed. It is such a big achievement for him to get back to Australia. He met his wife Ivy May Richardson who was thrilled that he was able to get back to Australia. James then died on the 23rd of February in his home town Adelaide, Australia. James will be an inspiration to many people who aspire to be a soldier. He showed true ANZAC spirit.