CLARKE, John Bowman
| Service Number: | 3224 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 28 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 53rd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Bourke, New South Wales, Australia, June 1891 |
| Home Town: | Murchison, Greater Shepparton, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 19 July 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Murchison Primary School No. 1126 Memorial Gates, V.C. Corner Australian Cemetery Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 28 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 3224 | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Oct 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3224, 4th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '8' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 13 Oct 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 3224, 4th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Port Lincoln, Sydney | |
| 19 Jul 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 3224, 53rd Infantry Battalion, Fromelles (Fleurbaix), --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 3224 awm_unit: 53rd Australian Infantry Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-07-19 |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
No railway employment record card can be located for John Bowman CLARKE, (Service Number 3224). The 1921 Honour Roll assigns his role as being in the Permanent Way Branch of the Railways. His Attestation Papers, signed at Cootamundra, give his birthplace as The Rock, and there was, according to the Government Gazette, a John Clarke employed at The Rock Quarry in 1914. The same list includes a man of the same name working on the Cullerin to Jerrawa Deviation. That either of these men are identical to the man who served is unknown.
Clark had been born about June 1891 and was not married. He gave as his next of kin, his mother, who lived at Murchison, Victoria. Among his mates he had the nickname ‘Nobby’.
His military career was brief as he was posted missing in action only three weeks later, on 19 July. A Court of Enquiry, sitting more than a year later in September 1917, ruled that he had in fact been killed in action.
Eyewitness accounts of his death suggest that he was killed instantly by a bullet or shrapnel wound to his head, while in a charge at Fleurbaix. His mate, Private Edwin Jenkyn, also volunteered the information that Clarke had been working at The Rock for a couple of years before enlisting. In the urgency of battle no burial could be undertaken. Jenkyn offered the view:
‘..the chances are that he got blown to pieces with a shell as they were very plentiful just about that place….’
Submitted 31 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Barbara Krnos
The son of Cecilia Clarke, from Murchison, Victoria, who received the last letter from him 0n 19th July, 1916. He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal
Biography contributed by John Oakes
John Bowman CLARKE, (Service Number 3224) worked for the Permanent Way Branch of the Railways. His Attestation Papers, signed at Cootamundra, give his birthplace as The Rock. He worked in that area, possibly in the quarry.
John Clark had been born about June 1891 and was not married. He gave his mother as his next of kin. She lived at Murchison, Victoria. Among his mates he had the nickname ‘Nobby’.
He left Australia from Sydney, on board HMAT ‘Port Lincoln’ on 13th October 1915. After reaching Egypt he was allotted to the 53rd Australian Infantry Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir on 16th February 1916. He embarked on ‘Royal George’ from Alexandria on 19th June and reached Marseilles on 28th June. Once in France he joined the British Expeditionary Force. His military career was brief because he was posted missing in action only three weeks later, on 19th July. A Court of Enquiry, sitting more than a year later in September 1917, ruled that he had in fact been killed in action.
Eyewitness accounts of his death suggest that he was killed instantly by a bullet or shrapnel wound to his head. He was involved in a charge at Fleurbaix. His mate, Private Edwin Jenkyn, also volunteered the information that Clarke had been working at The Rock for a couple of years before enlisting. In the urgency of battle no burial could be undertaken. Jenkyn stated:
‘..the chances are that he got blown to pieces with a shell as they were very plentiful just about that place….’
Since there is no known grave, Clarke’s name is recorded in the VC Corner Australian Cemetery and Memorial, Fromelles, France.
- based on notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
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