MCNEILL, Jack
| Service Number: | 57 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 31 May 1915, An original of D Company |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 20th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Sunny Corner, New South Wales, Australia, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Lithgow, Lithgow, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Coal miner |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 5 May 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
Brewery Orchard Cemetery, Bois-Grenier Plot IV, Row C, Grave No. 25 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Lithgow War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 31 May 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 57, 20th Infantry Battalion, An original of D Company | |
|---|---|---|
| 26 Jun 1915: | Involvement Private, 57, 20th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '13' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Berrima embarkation_ship_number: A35 public_note: '' | |
| 26 Jun 1915: | Embarked Private, 57, 20th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Berrima, Sydney |
Help us honour Jack McNeill's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
Jack McNeill played BB bass in the Lithgow City Brass Band before he enlisted at the age of 20. During late August 1915 he landed at Anzac Cove. McNeill served at Gallipoli until evacuation in December 1915.
In France, he was was a bandsman and stretcher bearer, on the night of the 5 May 1916 when the 20th Battalion was holding a sector of the front line trenches and salient at Bois Grenier, near Armentieres. The Germans laid down a large bombardment which lasted for two hours on the part of the sector held by the battalion. This was the first time the AIF came under heavy bombardment in France. The casualties amounted to aprooximately 150 men. Unfortunately, two stokes mortars were captured by the Germans along with an officer and number of men from the 20th Battalion. The Battalion CO was relieved of command and returned to Australia, while two other officers were court martialled in relation to the loss of the mortars. In true Australian fashion, for years after the men of the 20th Battalion were stirred by by other soldiers with the greeting: "Got any trench mortars, Dig?"
Both of Jack's parents, William and Jessie McNeill had passed away by 1919 and Jack's effects and medal entitlements seemed to go to his sister Maggie.
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