TOONE, John Algernon Edmund
| Service Number: | Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 November 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Captain |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Pioneer Battalion |
| Born: | Little Bytham, Grantham, Lincolnshire, England , 1887 |
| Home Town: | Malvern, Stonnington, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Manchester Art School & Central High School, UK |
| Occupation: | Architect |
| Died: | Killed In Action, France, 6 September 1918 |
| Cemetery: |
Buire Communal Cemetery Grave C. 1. Personal Inscription FONDLY REMEMBERED WE LOVED THEE MUCH BUT JESUS LOVED THEE BEST |
| Memorials: | Melbourne Cricket Club Roll of Honour 1914 - 1918 |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Nov 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1 | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 May 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Captain, 3rd Pioneer Battalion | |
| 6 Jun 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Captain, Officer, 3rd Pioneer Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '5' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wandilla embarkation_ship_number: A62 public_note: '' | |
| 6 Jun 1916: | Embarked AIF WW1, Captain, 3rd Pioneer Battalion, HMAT Wandilla, Melbourne |
Memorial Post - Architects at War
CAPT TOONE was born in Lincolnshire in 1887 and was an Articled Pupil of J Lindsay Grant in Manchester whilst studying architecture and design at Manchester Municipal School of Art and Manchester University.
He was later an assistant to Charles Swain in 1908 and then Oswald C. Hill from 1908-1910. He also played on the South Manchester lacrosse team which won English and League championships. At the end of 1910 and at the age of 23 he emigrated to QLD.
He first settled in Ipswich where he worked for G.B. Gill and then later with the QLD and then Commonwealth government. He moved to Melbourne, made a home in Malvern and worked under Walter Burley Griffin in the Commonwealth Works Dept on the design of Canberra where he continued his love for lacrosse, playing for the Melbourne Cricket Club.
John Toone left his work under Griffin and joined up 15 Nov 1915 aged 28. He sailed aboard the Wandilla with C Company, 3rd Pioneer Bn on 6 June 1916. With him was another Architect from Melbourne - Arthur George Stephenson who was awarded a Military Cross (a story for another day). They are pictured next to each other bottom left of the photo - CAPT Toone leftmost.
They were two of 205 architects and draughtsmen who served with the various Pioneer and Field Company Engineers in the war. He fought at Ypres, Messines, Armentiers and La Neuville. and was Mentioned in Dispatches. Of the 5 Pioneer Battalions, the 3rd Pioneer Bn spent the most time in combat.
CAPT Toone was leading the 3rd Australian Division Pioneers at Tincournt on the Somme when he died instantly from sniper fire on 06 September 1918 aged 32. He lies in French soil; Peronne, Buire Communal Cemetery, Grave C.1.
Submitted 5 November 2023 by Christopher Rawlinson
Biography contributed by Geoffrey Gillon
Birth registered or transcribed as Toon.
Births Dec 1887 Toon John Algernon E Bourn 7a 347
He was 30 and the son of Edmund and Annie Maria Toone.
Next of kin-Mother, Mrs Annie Maria Toone, 53 Plymouth Grove, Manchester, England.
Address-'Livonia', Murray Street, Malvern, Victoria.
Previous military service-46th Infantry.
Enlistment date-15 November 1915
Captain in the 3rd Pioneer Battalion, C Company.
Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A62 Wandilla on 6 June 1916-he was then 32.
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