7551
COLMAN, John
| Service Number: | 6464 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Unit: | 7th Infantry Brigade Train |
| Born: | Wilmington, South Australia, 2 December 1878 |
| Home Town: | Not yet discovered |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Blacksmith |
| Died: | Adelaide, City of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 6 July 1949, aged 70 years, cause of death not yet discovered |
| Cemetery: |
Quorn Cemetery, SA |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 12 Jun 1915: | Involvement 6464, 7th Infantry Brigade Train, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '21' embarkation_place: Brisbane embarkation_ship: SS Melbourne embarkation_ship_number: A36 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 12 Jun 1915: | Embarked 6464, 7th Infantry Brigade Train, SS Melbourne, Brisbane | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement 6464 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Trevor Pyatt
John Colman (1878–1949)
Veteran of the Australian Imperial Force, Blacksmith, Husband, and Father
Early Life
John Colman was born on 2 December 1878 at Wilmington, South Australia. His birth was registered in the Frome district (Book 210, Page 477).
He was the son of William Henry Colman and Temperance Slee, a pioneering family in the mid-north of the colony. John grew up in Wilmington, where he trained as a blacksmith, completing a five-year apprenticeship. His skills would later prove essential during his wartime service.
World War I Service
At the age of 35, John enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 4 January 1915 at Longreach, Queensland. He gave his trade as blacksmith and named his father, William Colman of Cummings near Port Lincoln, as his next of kin. He was unmarried at the time.
Enlistment Details
Age: 35 years, 1 month
Height: 5 ft 4½ in (163 cm)
Weight: 59 kg
Complexion: Dark
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Religion: Church of England
He was initially appointed Sergeant (Farrier), later listed as Staff Sergeant, though his nominal roll shows him as Private at discharge.
Service Timeline
26 June 1915 – Embarked from Australia aboard HMAT Melbourne (A36).
March 1916 – Landed at Marseilles, France, with the 17th Company, AASC, attached to the 2nd Division Train.
1916–1917 – Served on the Western Front providing supply and transport services vital to the infantry brigades.
1917–1918 – Hospitalised multiple times in France and England with trench fever, jaundice, and general debility; also granted leave in London and Paris.
March 1918 – Invalided to England.
2 January 1919 – Returned to Australia on Berrima.
18 April 1919 – Discharged in Adelaide as medically unfit.
John served for almost four years overseas, his blacksmithing and farrier skills keeping men, horses, and transport moving under the harshest conditions.
Marriage and Family
On 15 April 1924, at the Methodist Church in Hammond, John married Ada Lillian Goodenough (1905–1989), daughter of George Gething Goodenough and Louisa Alice Brooks. John was 44 years old; Ada was 20.
They raised a large family, first in Quorn and Wilmington, then moving to Cleve and Lock on the Eyre Peninsula. Their confirmed children were:
Roma May Colman (1925–1942)
William George Colman (1927–?)
Eileen Lillian Colman (1928–?)
John Andrew Colman (1930–?)
Laurence Charles Colman (1934–2005)
Coral Evelyn Colman (1935–2015)
Thomas Frederick "Tom / Ripper" Colman (1938–2007)
Marjory Elva Colman (1942–1977)
(Some family trees list up to ten children, but only eight are confirmed in official records.)
Later Life
John and Ada lived at Quorn after the war, later moving toward the Eyre Peninsula with their younger children. His wartime illnesses left him with long-term health issues, but he remained a respected figure as a returned serviceman, blacksmith, and family man.
Death and Burial
John Colman died on 6 July 1949, aged 70, in Adelaide. His residence was Quorn at the time. He was buried in the Quorn Town Cemetery on 10 July 1949.
His wife Ada survived him by forty years, passing away on 3 March 1989 at Port Augusta, and she was buried with him at Quorn.
Summary
Born: 2 Dec 1878, Wilmington, SA
Parents: William Henry Colman & Temperance Slee
Trade: Blacksmith
Military Service: AIF 1915–1919, Farrier/Staff Sergeant, 2nd Divisional Train AASC, served in Egypt, France & England, discharged medically unfit
Married: Ada Lillian Goodenough, 15 Apr 1924, Hammond
Children: 8 confirmed (1925–1942)
Died: 6 Jul 1949, Adelaide (res. Quorn), aged 70
Burial: Quorn Town Cemetery
Biography by Trevor Pyatt 3/10/2025