71923
COWARD, John Vincent
| Service Numbers: | 1901, L901 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | Not yet discovered |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 48th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | October 1898, place not yet discovered |
| Home Town: | Bowden, Charles Sturt, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Butcher |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Gilles Street Primary School WW1 Honour Roll (New) |
World War 1 Service
| 13 Jul 1916: | Involvement Private, 1901, 48th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '19' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Seang Bee embarkation_ship_number: A48 public_note: '' | |
|---|---|---|
| 13 Jul 1916: | Embarked Private, 1901, 48th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Seang Bee, Adelaide | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement Private, L901, 48th Infantry Battalion | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 1901, 48th Infantry Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Adelaide Botanic High School
John Vincent Coward was born in October 1898 in Bowden, South Australia. His mother, Mrs Mary Coward initially resided at 1 Sturt St Adelaide, SA however, she later moved to 5 Norman, St Adelaide South Australia. On the 13th of April in Adelaide South Australia, Coward enlisted at the height of 5 feet and 6 inches at 18 years and 6 months of age. By occupation, Coward was a Butcher's Labourer with brown hair, hazel eyes, perfect vision, and a medium complexion. He also had a distinctive scar on his right thumb.
On July 13, 1916, at Outer Harbor in South Australia, 18-year-old John boarded the HMAT Seang Bee (A48), a 5,849-ton vessel designated for transporting Australian Troops. While aboard the Seang Bee, Coward faced a 28-day detention as a consequence of disregarding orders to vacate a hammock and using obscene language towards his commanding officer. Fortunately, he managed to have the detention reduced to just 16 days. Coward's confinement came to an end on September 6, 1916. Following the exhausting and eventful 28-day journey, Coward disembarked the ship in Plymouth, England on the 9th of September that same year.
In Bedford, England, which was located over 350km away from Plymouth, Coward committed a crime. He exceeded the authorised duration of his leave, remaining absent from midnight on October 8, 1916, until 2 pm on October 11, 1916. Consequently, he received a 7-day detention and had to forfeit his pay for 10 days. On November 21, 1916, he was marched from England to France. Then, on December 19th, 1916, he joined the 48th Battalion, marking the beginning of his journey.
Coward's journey started rough, as he found himself hospitalised due to illness after 2 days. Fortunately, the sickness was brief, and he re-joined his battalion on the 24th of the same month. However, the following year, on January 19th, Coward committed another crime, facing charges for the loss of government property resulting in a deduction of 5 pounds, 1 shilling, and 3 pence. In March of that year, his battalion followed the withdrawing Germans towards the Hindenburg Line.
Shortly after, on the 14th of April 1917, he was sent to a hospital in Rouen, France to be admitted with Impetigo (a mild infection). He was later transferred to an unspecified depot in Rouen on the 21st. On May 11th, he moved to a different base in Rouen, and by May 19th, 1917, he found himself in a hospital in Camiers, France, diagnosed with Scabies (a highly contagious and intensely itchy skin condition). Despite being discharged on May 23rd, he was once again hospitalised on May 31st at the 4th Australian Division Base Depot in Le Havre, France, due to an undetermined sickness. Fortunately, after a brief 15-day stay, he returned to his unit on May 21st, 1917.
From July of 1917, Coward was involved in most of the Battle of Passchendaele on the Western Front, which aimed to control the south and east ridges of Ypres a Belgian City. Coward fought hard, until October 2nd, 1917, when he fell ill and was hospitalised with scabies and transferred to 10 Casualty Clearing Station in Hazebrouck, France near Flanders. There Coward was treated and re-joined his unit nearly 2 months later, on the 26th of November 1917.
Unfortunately, at the onset of the new year on January 10th, 1918, Coward was admitted to King George’s Hospital on Stamford St due to Pneumonia and was placed on leave advised for furlough. On the 11th of April 1918, Coward was absent from his room without leave in England from 4:30pm. In early May of 1918, Cowards went overseas to France from Sandhill Camp via Folkestone. Shortly after, Coward proceeded to the Australian Infantry Base and re-joined his unit on the 11th of May 1918. He joined his battalion to fight in the German Spring Offensive and the Battle of Amiens where Coward was wounded in action at the very beginning on August 8th, 1918. After enduring 5 days of pain, Coward was admitted to Norfolk War Hospital, Thorpe Norwich, England on the 13th. That same day he was transported to a UK gunshot wound Hospital, so he was likely to be wounded by gunshot. And on September 10th, 1918, Coward was transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital in Harefield.
Coward's long-awaited return to Australia from England took place on January 8, 1919, aboard the HMAT Orsova (A67). The voyage lasted 41 days, and he arrived in Adelaide on February 18, 1919. Following two months of anticipation in Adelaide, he received his discharge from the 4th military district.
Not much is known of Coward's life after the war. However, Coward did receive a British War Medal, and Victory Medal for his involvement and service during the First World War. In August of 1954 at age 56, Coward applied to the Williamstown sub-branch of the Returned Sailors, Soldiers & Airmen's Imperial League of Australia.