CHILTON, John Rule
| Service Numbers: | 2619, 2619A |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 15 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Corporal |
| Last Unit: | 7th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | St Kilda, Victoria, Australia, 1890 |
| Home Town: | Briagolong, Wellington, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Timber worker |
| Died: | Killed in action, Pozieres, France, 17 August 1916 |
| Cemetery: |
No known grave - "Known Unto God" Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, Picardie, France |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Bass Glen Forbes Heroes Pictorial Roll of Honour, Bass Glen Forbes Roll of Honor WW1, Briagolong Honor Roll, Briagolong State School No 1117 Roll of Honor, Briagolong War Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux Memorial (Australian National Memorial - France) |
World War 1 Service
| 15 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2619, 22nd Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Oct 1915: | Involvement Private, 2619, 22nd Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '14' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ulysses embarkation_ship_number: A38 public_note: '' | |
| 27 Oct 1915: | Embarked Private, 2619, 22nd Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ulysses, Melbourne | |
| 17 Aug 1916: | Involvement Corporal, 2619A, 7th Infantry Battalion, Battle for Pozières , --- :awm_ww1_roll_of_honour_import: awm_service_number: 2619A awm_unit: 7 Battalion awm_rank: Corporal awm_died_date: 1916-08-17 |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Stephen Brooks
John Rule Chilton was the son of Caroline Ellen Chilton, born out of wedlock during late 1890. His mother married Claude Estoppey a few years later and had two more sons. These two sons also enlisted, and one, 1627 Pte. Henry Thomas Estoppey 3rd Australian Pioneers, died of pneumonia in France on 8 January 1917, at 19 years of age.
John was sent to the Western Front during early 1916 and ended up with the 7th Battalion where he was appointed Corporal.
At Pozieres he was detailed to dig a jumping off trench with others of the 7th Battalion when he was killed by machine gun fire. He has a very detailed Red Cross wounded and missing file. In essence, due to very heavy fire over most parts of the battlefield his body could not be retrieved and was subsequently lost.
In a letter to Base Records enquiring about war gratuities Mrs. Estoppey wrote, “I having lost my two dear boys I think I am fully entitled to it I have no one to help me and only a little left which they gave me”.
Her claim for a pension for John Rule Chilton was rejected on the grounds that she was not dependant on the deceased soldier for twelve months prior to his enlistment.
John Chilton’s other half-brother, Frederick Montague Estoppey also enlisted in the AIF during 1918 and returned to Australia in mid-1919.
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