HARBURN, Jack
| Service Number: | 2811 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 18 June 1915, Perth, Western Australia |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1) |
| Born: | Fremantle, Western Australia, 1898 |
| Home Town: | Cottesloe, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 16 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Cottesloe State School WW1 Honour Board, Fremantle 849 Memorial, Midland Railway Workshops Soldiers Memorial, Mosman Park Memorial Rotunda, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 18 Jun 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2811, Perth, Western Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Oct 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2811, 11th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Hororata embarkation_ship_number: A20 public_note: '' | |
| 5 Oct 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2811, 11th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Hororata, Fremantle | |
| 16 Aug 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2811, 51st Infantry Battalion (WW1), Mouquet Farm, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2811 awm_unit: 51 Battalion awm_rank: Private awm_died_date: 1916-08-16 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From In Search of Charles Albert Stokes DCM
Pte Jack Harburn 2811 of Cottesloe Western Australia enlisted in the A.I.F. in June 1915, recording his occupation as clerk. Private Jack Harburn was attached to 11th Battalion, embarking from Fremantle with the 9th Reinforcements on board HMAT Hororata on 5th October 1915.
11th Battalion arrived in Egypt undergoing further training. It was in February 1916 that Jack was transferred to the 51st Battalion with his battalion arriving in France for the Western Front in June 1916 in readiness for the Battle of the Somme.
The Australian’s were soon sent forward to attack the village of Pozieres in the July of 1916, which was heavily fortified and defended by the Germans. It would take many assaults over a period of months before the Australians would eventually capture the village of Pozieres along with the surrounding areas of the village.
It was in one of these assaults against Mouquet Farm on the 16th August 1916 that the 51st Battalion was sent forward to take Mouquet Farm. It was in this assault that Private Jack Harburn was killed in action. He was 18 years of age. He has no known grave.
His father gave written consent for Jack to enlist due to that he was under age. Private Jack Harburn had an older brother Captain Roy Harburn, also of 11th Battalion and 51st Battalion, who was awarded the Military Cross and Bar in the Battle of Villers Bretonneux April 1918, which he returned to Australia.
Private Jack Harburn has not been forgotten along with all the other men from the 51st Battalion who remain on the battlefields of France and Belgium who have no known graves.
In the words of his brother, Captain Roy Harburn at the commencement of the attack at Villers Bretonneux on 24th April 1918 to his men of C Company.
“God Bless You”
Biography contributed by John Edwards
"...2811 Private Jack Harburn, 11th Battalion, of Cottesloe, WA. A clerk prior to enlisting in June 1915, Pte Harburn embarked from Fremantle with the 9th Reinforcements on board HMAT Hororata (A20) on 5 October 1915. The Battalion underwent further training in Egypt and in February Pte Harburn was transferred to the 51st Battalion. His unit arrived in France for service on the Western Front on 12 June 1916. Pte Harburn was killed in action at Mouquet Farm, Pozieres, France, on 16 August 1916. He was 18 years of age. Pte Harburn's older brother Captain Roy Harburn, also of the 11th Battalion and 51st Battalion, was awarded the Military Cross and Bar in 1918; he returned to Australia in October 1918." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)
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