HURLEY, John Cromwell
| Service Number: | 5931 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 29 May 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Lance Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 22nd Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Everton, Victoria, Australia, 13 November 1889 |
| Home Town: | Armadale, Stonnington, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Clerk |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 3 May 1917, aged 27 years |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 29 May 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 5931, 22nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Oct 1916: | Involvement Private, 5931, 22nd Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Nestor embarkation_ship_number: A71 public_note: '' | |
| 2 Oct 1916: | Embarked Private, 5931, 22nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Nestor, Melbourne | |
| 3 May 1917: | Involvement Lance Corporal, 5931, 22nd Infantry Battalion, --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 5931 awm_unit: 22 Battalion awm_rank: Lance Corporal awm_died_date: 1917-05-03 |
Help us honour John Cromwell Hurley's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Evan Evans
From Greta Heritage Group and Greta Hansonville Hall
LCpl John Cromwell HURLEY
Today we remember the FOUR men with ties to the Greta Hansonville district who lost their lives on this day.
3rd May marks the start of the second battle of Bullecourt in 1917.
As part of the final throes of the British Army's Arras offensive, a renewed attempt was made to secure the fortified village of Bullecourt in the period 3-17 May.
The Australian 2nd Division (5th and 6th Brigades) and the British 62nd Division attacked at 3.45 am on 3 May 1917.
The Australians penetrated the German line but met determined opposition which frustrated the envelopment plan.
Drawing more and more forces in, renewed efforts on 7 May succeeded in linking British and Australian forces, but inspired a series of ferocious and costly German counter-attacks over the next week and a half.
Following the repulse of the counter-attack of 15 May, the Germans withdrew from the remnants of the village.
Although the locality was of little or no strategic importance, the actions were nevertheless extremely costly: AIF casualties totalled 7,482 from three Australian Divisions. (source https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84360)
All four men died on the same day, tragically two brothers.
None of the men’s bodies were ever recovered and they are immortalised on the Australian National Memorial at Villers Bretonneux.
Today the village of Bullecourt remembers the battles and the tragic loss of life.
There is a wonderful museum - The Bullecourt WW1 Museum, opened in 2012, is based on the collection and life’s work of the late Jean and Denise Letaille. It is well worth a visit.
Visitors are able to lay flowers at the ‘Bullecourt Digger’ in the Bullecourt Memorial Park which is just out of town- this is in the middle of the area in which the Australians attacked. It commemorates the 10000 Australian Soldiers killed or wounded during the first and second battles.
A few more hundred metres back out of town on an embankment above the road stands ‘La Petite Croix’ which overlooks the fields where the battle took place. This memorial has both unit and individual plaques attached.
In Memory of:
1. LCpl John Cromwell HURLEY [5931]
22nd Battalion, 16th Reinforcement
Notes: Brother of Horace Hurley
2. 2nd Lt Robert Whitworth WHITEHEAD [2472]
23rd Battalion, 5th Reinforcement
Notes: Brother of Walter Whitehead
3. Lt Walter Middleton WHITEHEAD [1002]
21st/24th Battalion, D Company
Notes: Brother of Robert Whitehead
4. Pte Charles WINNELL [#5110]
22nd Battalion, 13th Reinforcement
Click images to start slideshow.