John Hurst (Jack) EDMONDSON VC

EDMONDSON, John Hurst

Service Number: NX15705
Enlisted: 20 May 1940, Liverpool, New South Wales
Last Rank: Corporal
Last Unit: 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion
Born: Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia, 8 October 1914
Home Town: Liverpool, Fairfield, New South Wales
Schooling: Hurlstone Agricultural High School, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation: Farmer
Died: Killed in Action, Libya, 14 April 1941, aged 26 years
Cemetery: Tobruk War Cemetery, Tobruk, Libya
Plot 3. J. 8., Tobruk War Cemetery, Tobruk, Libya
Memorials: Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Keith Payne VC Memorial Park, Liverpool J H Edmondson VC Memorial Clock, Liverpool Lodge No 197 U.G.L. N.S.W. Roll of Honour WW2, North Bondi War Memorial, Wagga Wagga Cenotaph, Wagga Wagga St. John's Anglican Church Corporal John Edmondson VC Memorial Plaque, Wattle Grove Corporal John Edmondson V.C. Memorial Park
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World War 2 Service

20 May 1940: Enlisted Corporal, NX15705, 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion, Liverpool, New South Wales
20 May 1940: Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Corporal, NX15705, 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion
14 Apr 1941: Involvement Corporal, NX15705, 2nd/17th Infantry Battalion, Siege of Tobruk

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Biography contributed by Robert Kearney

Edmondson, John Hurst (1914–1941)
by Ian Grant

John Hurst Edmondson, soldier, was born on 8 October 1914 at Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, only child of native-born parents Joseph William Edmondson, farmer, and his wife Maude Elizabeth, née Hurst. The family moved to a farm near Liverpool when Jack was a child. Educated at Hurlstone Agricultural High School, he worked with his father and became a champion rifle-shooter. He was a council-member of the Liverpool Agricultural Society and acted as a steward at its shows. Having served (from March 1939) in the 4th Battalion, Militia, he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 20 May 1940 and was posted to the 2nd/17th Battalion. Later that month he was promoted acting corporal (substantive in November). Well built and about 5 ft 9 ins (175 cm) tall, Edmondson settled easily into army life and was known as a quiet but efficient soldier.

His battalion embarked for the Middle East in October and trained in Palestine. In March 1941 the 2nd/17th moved with other components of the 9th Division to Libya and reached Marsa Brega before an Axis counter-attack forced them to retreat to Tobruk. The siege of the fortress began on 11 April. Two days later the Germans probed the perimeter, targeting a section of the line west of the El Adem Road near Post R33. This strong-point was garrisoned by the 2nd/17th's No.16 Platoon in which Edmondson was a section leader. The enemy intended to clear the post as a bridgehead for an armoured assault on Tobruk.

Read more - https://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/edmondson-john-hurst-10099 (adb.anu.edu.au)

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