Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From How We Served
 
The final resting place for; - 1306, 2191 & V10282 Sergeant John Phillip Black, who had traveled from New Zealand to Australia prior to the outbreak of World War One, and was employed as a ship’s steward at the time of his enlistment on the 23rd of November 1914.

John was allocated to reinforcements for the 6th Battalion 1st AIF, and was embarked for Egypt and further training on the 1st of February 1915.
Following his arrival, he was officially taken on strength with his Unit, and was with his Battalion when it was committed to the Dardanelles campaign, where he would at Gallipoli on the 25th of April (ANZAC Day), and was wounded in action in the first days of the fighting.

John was evacuated back to Egypt for hospitalization, and following his recovery he was sent back to the trenches of Gallipoli on the 17th of June.
Within weeks of his return he was again wounded in action, having sustained shrapnel wounds to his skull and injuries to his spine. He was evacuated for hospitalization, and arrived back to Malta on the 18th of July, and from here was sent to England for further treatment, being admitted into hospital on the 24th of September.

John’s recovery and convalesces would be a slow process, but by the 3rd of August 1916, he was again sent to the trenches, of Northern France. Although being evacuated for hospitalization due to illness, John’s service in the field would be continuous until 22nd of July 1917, when he was evacuated for medical treatment due to ‘Trench Fever’, and again he was sent back to England for further treatment, where he arrived on the 7th of August 1917.

Having been released from hospital John was retained in England where he was attached to the Overseas Training Battalion. By the 18th of November he had returned to his Unit in the field, but was again evacuated for medical care due to sustaining a hernia on the 30th of June 1918, and following his recovery he was again sent back to his Battalion, where he arrived on the 23rd of July.

On the 23rd of August, John was again wounded in action, sustaining serious shrapnel wounds to his lower left arm, which was so shattered, that once he was evacuated back for hospitalization, it needed to be amputated.

Following his recovery after major surgery he was deemed no longer fit for service in the trenches and began his repatriation to Australia as an invalid, departing England on the 8th of November, just days before the Armistice which would bring about the end of the First World War.

John would need ongoing treatment for his multiple wounds received during his time at the front, and he was finally discharged from the 1st AIF for his re-entry into civilian life on the 9th of November 1919.
With the outbreak of the Second World War, John again presented himself for re-enlistment with the Australian Military Forces on the 20th of January 1940, and was accepted for full time service within Australia.

John was posted to the Australian Army Pay Corps, and was stationed at the Accounts Office Victoria Lines of Communications. Whilst on service, John was evacuated to the 115th Australian General Hospital (Heidelberg) due to illness, and whilst being treated, he succumbed to sickness, passing on the 15th of December 1942. He was aged 49 at the time of his premature death.

Following his passing whilst again on service with the Australian Military Forces, Sergeant John Black, a ‘Great War’ veteran who had sustained an amputation whilst fighting in the War to end all Wars, was formally laid to rest within Springvale War Cemetery, Victoria.