SNELLING, James Bertram
| Service Number: | 2473 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 26 July 1915, Enlisted at Liverpool. |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 4th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | HammHersmith, London, England, 28 February 1894 |
| Home Town: | Liverpool, Fairfield, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway Porter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, Belgium, 22 March 1918, aged 24 years |
| Cemetery: |
Spoilbank Cemetery, Zillebeke, Belgium I K 21 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 26 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2473, 19th Infantry Battalion, Enlisted at Liverpool. | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 2473, 19th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Themistocles embarkation_ship_number: A32 public_note: '' | |
| 5 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 2473, 19th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Themistocles, Sydney | |
| 24 Jul 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Private, 2473, 4th Infantry Battalion, Admitted to 2nd Australian Field Ambulance with shell shock. He then went to the 44th Casualty Clearing Station, was transported by No. 19 Ambulance Train to the 1st Australian General Hospital at Rouen, then a Convalescent Hospital. | |
| 14 Jul 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Corporal, 4th Infantry Battalion, Promoted at Hurdcott (near Wiltshire in England) | |
| 22 Mar 1918: | Involvement Corporal, 2473, 4th Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2473 awm_unit: 4th Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1918-03-22 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by John Oakes
James Bertie SNELLING, (Service Number 2473) was born on 28th February 1894 at Hammersmith, Middlesex, England. Military files use the name James Bertram Snelling, rather than Bertie. The Railways did generally require proof of age for employment and this usually meant a birth certificate.
The military did not record birth date or require proof of age.
Snelling first worked for the NSW Railways as a junior porter in the Traffic Branch in the Sydney District from 4th July 1914. In February 1915, having attained the age of 21 years, he became a porter. He was granted leave to join the Expeditionary Forces on 26th July 1915 and enlisted at Liverpool the same day. He gave his father, James Alfred Snelling of Shepherd’s Bush, London, as his next of kin.
He was allotted to the 5th Reinforcements to the 19th Australian Infantry Battalion. He embarked HMAT ‘Themistocles’ at Sydney on 5th October 1915. He was taken on strength of the 4th Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir (Egypt) on 14th February 1916. In March 1916 he embarked at Alexandria for passage to join the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France, passing through Marseilles on 30th March.
On 24th July he was wounded in action and admitted to the 2nd Australian Field Ambulance with shell shock. From the 44th Casualty Clearing Station he was transported on No. 19 Ambulance train to the 1st Australian General Hospital at Rouen and then a Convalescent Depot, before returning to the 4th Infantry Brigade Depot at Etaples. It was 1st September before he re-joined the 4th Battalion. Four months later Snelling was promoted to Lance Corporal and in March admitted to the 1st Australian Field Ambulance with PUO – Pyrexia of unknown origin. The new medical journey went via the 3rd Casualty Clearing Station, Ambulance Train No. 1 to the 5th General Hospital at Rouen and then the Hospital Ship ‘Lanfranc’ to the Kitchener War Hospital in England. Two weeks later he was released to the 3rd Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford and then furlough. When he returned from this leave to the Training Depot at Perham Downs he was classified as B1A or not fully fit for front line duty.
On 14th July 1917 he was promoted to Corporal at Hurdcott (England) but remained on duties away from the front until February 1918 when he returned to the 4th Battalion in Belgium. He was killed in action on 22nd March 1918, and buried in the Spoilbank, Zillebeke, 1½ miles South of Ypres.
- based on the Australian Waar Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.
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