S8014
SCOBIE, John William Richard Lacey Coles
| Service Number: | 4638 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 6 September 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 10th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Newell, near Marree, South Australia, 11 November 1888 |
| Home Town: | Marree (Hergott Springs), South Australia |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Station Overseer |
| Died: | Attributed to War Service , Adelaide, South Australia , 13 September 1937, aged 48 years |
| Cemetery: |
West Terrace Cemetery (General) |
| Memorials: | Marree War Memorial Area |
World War 1 Service
| 6 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private | |
|---|---|---|
| 7 Feb 1916: | Involvement Private, 4638, 10th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '10' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Miltiades embarkation_ship_number: A28 public_note: '' | |
| 7 Feb 1916: | Embarked Private, 4638, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Miltiades, Adelaide | |
| Date unknown: | Wounded 4638, 10th Infantry Battalion |
Help us honour John William Richard Lacey Coles Scobie's service by contributing information, stories, and images so that they can be preserved for future generations.
Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Kearney
John William SCOBIE was born on 11th November, 1888 at Newell near Maree, South Australia
His parents were Alexander SCOBIE and Maryanne CLARKE
-------------
Raid on Celtic Wood
Another of the 19 unwounded men on the raid was 4638 Private Scobie who had been wounded at Le Barque in February 1917 but rejoined the battalion in July. He was a member of 9 Platoon C Company which means his platoon commander was Second Lieutenant Wilsdon.
In Walter Wilsdon’s Red Cross File is a letter of reply to the Red Cross written on behalf of Scobie who was at the time in England recovering from wounds he sustained in June 1918.
‘I have been asked by Pte. J.W. Scobie ... to reply to a letter sent by you on 6 July last regarding Lt. W.H. Wilsdon. He tells me that he saw Lt. W.H. Wilsdon the last time on the 9th October 1917. They all went over the top together but he cannot say whether he was killed, wounded or taken prisoner, as 70 of them started and only 14 returned. ...’ Written by R.B. Limberg-Buse dated 30 August 1918.
After being buried by a shell the day before the raid, Private Scobie extricated himself and then dug out his comrades and saved them from suffocation. For what the CO described as a fine example of ‘pluck and endurance’ Scobie was later award the Military Medal.
He was wounded again n 1918, and returned to Australia in January 1919.
Click images to start slideshow.