Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

John was the son of James WOODING & Bridget DURICK and was born on the 6th of November 1874 in Macclesfield, SA.

John was the fifth child born into the family of 10 children. All of the children were born in Macclesfield.

His parents were married on the 25th of February 1866 in Macclesfield, SA.

His father was the son of William & Mary Anne WOODING and was born in 1842 in England. He had arrived in South Australia with his parents and siblings on board the Oregon on the 31st of October 1851.

His mother was the daughter of Michael DURICK & Margaret CONSENDINE and was born in 1847 in Pt Clinton, SA.

John gained a brother; William, on the 30th of August 1876.

John gained another brother; Andrew, on the 17th of October 1879, but sadly he only lived for 9 weeks.

He then gained another sister of the 18th of February 1881; Susannah.

Another brother; Henry, was born on the 2nd of November 1882, but he only lived for a few hours.

His last sibling; Ann, was born on the on the 29th of April 1885, but she only lived for a few hours.

His father died on the 14th of September 1904 in Macclesfield and his mother moved the family Pt Clinton a few years later.

In October 1912, John purchased allotment 64 in the township of Clinton.

This allotment is located between Matta Terrace & Emeu & Manwurta Streets (now numbers 2 Matta Terrace & 4 Emeu Street.

His mother died in Pt Clinton on the 8th of May 1914.

At the age of 39, John enlisted into the AIF on the 11th of January 1916 in Adelaide and was allotted the service number 206.

He was posted to the 43rd Battalion and embarked from Adelaide, South Australia, on board HMAT A19 Afric on 9 June 1916.

He served in France 12 months before being returned to Australia on the 23rd of March 1918. He was discharged, medically unfit, due to his age and debility, on the 8th of April 1918.

In October 1919, John purchased allotments 45 & 46 in the township of Clinton, from Marian Jane BULL.

These allotments are located between Matta Terrace & Cooper Street Streets (now number 10 Cooper Street).

John married Marian Jane BULL nee GREENSHIELDS on the 14th of August 1922 in Kulpara, SA.

Marion was the daughter of James Hugh GREENSHIELDS & Rebecca HAMMOND and was born on the 18th of July 1869 in Alma, SA.

Marion was previously married to William James BULL on the 23rd of January 1889 in Stepney.

William had died on the 9th of December 1896 at Mr Sharp’s residence in Peel Street, Alberton. Marion & William had 6 children born between 1889 and 1899.

Marian died on the 24th of November 1938 in Wallaroo and John buried her in the Clinton Centre Uniting Church Cemetery, with her first husband, William BULL.

John remained in Pt Clinton and moved to 8 Elizabeth Street, Adelaide in the mid 1940’s.

John died on the 12th of March 1948 in the Daw Park Repatriation Hospital as is buried in the West Terrace Cemetery; Kendrew Oval, Row 2, Plot 16.

Military

At the age of 39, John enlisted into the AIF on the 11th of January 1916 in Adelaide and was allotted the service number 206 and posted to A Company, 2nd Depot Battalion at Exhibition Camp, Jubilee Oval.

He listed his sister, Margaret Ann BENNETT, of Marion Bay, as his next of kin.

On the 1st of February he was posted to A Company, 1st Depot Battalion.

On the same day his brother William, enlisted into the 10th Infantry Battalion (5454). (He embarked from Adelaide on board the HMAT A60 Aeneas on the 11th of April 1916. William was wounded on the 9th of November near Guedecourt but sadly died from his wounds 10 days later).

After 4 weeks with the 1st Depot Battalion John was transferred to the newly raised 43rd Battalion, A Company at Morphettville Camp on the 7th of March.

The Battalion consisted of men who had recently enlisted and were practically raw recruits.
They commenced elementary training and then in April musketry was commenced throughout the Battalion. They underwent 10 days progressive instruction in the art of handling their rifles, with the course being completed by the firing of an application and the grouping practice on the miniature rifle range in the dry bed of the Sturt River.
An open range was then prepared in the sand hills between Glenelg and Henley, where for 2 days they were engaged with the service rifle, but the working of these targets proved so slow and tedious that arrangements were made to secure the use of the butts at Pt Adelaide.
Special trains conveyed the Battalion to and from the butts.

John and his Battalion were granted 4 days leave on the 19th of April and embraced the Easter Holidays. This was their last granted leave prior to their embarkation.
In May they attended a number of functions and ceremonies, chief among which were the presentation of their colours at Glenelg, the Military Tattoo on the Jubilee Oval and the farewell dinner provided in the Exhibition Hall by the Cheer up Society.

Dawn of June 9th was breaking behind the Mt Lofty Ranges when reveille sounded, rousing the whole camp to the activities of final preparation for departure, including the handing in of camp equipment and stores.
At 9:40am the first train left Morphettville Station for Outer Harbour with HQ and A & B Companies, including John on board, and then 30 minutes later C & D Company followed.

On reaching Pt Adelaide the train proceeded by the old route down St Vincent Street, where a large and enthusiastic crowd had assembled to bid farewell to them, before arriving at Outer Harbour an hour later.
They were allotted their equipment and were then free to go on deck to receive the farewell greetings of friends and relatives, who had gathered on the wharf.
Never in the history of the state had so large a crowd assembled to witness the departure of a boat. Hundreds of coloured streamers soon linked up the soldiers on board with the crowd on the wharf.

At 2pm on the 9th of June 1916, John embarked from Adelaide on board HMAT A19 Afric and, with his fellow soldiers, now realised that this was the commencement of the long, long trail, the end of which no one could fortell.

The journey through the Bight was cold and rough, causing sickness to 70 per cent of the soldiers. They finally sighted land on the morning of the 13th of June and after passing through King George Sound, they anchored in Albany Harbour at 11:30am, where re coaling immediately commenced.
The next day they drew alongside the wharf and were allowed ashore for a few hours, before resuming their journey at noon, and soon the shores of their homeland receded from view.
With calmer weather they were able to conduct training on board, consisting of musketry, physical exercise, bayonet fighting and boat drill. As the tropics approached permission to sleep on deck was granted and by day a minimal amount of clothing was worn.

On the morning of the 26th of June they sight Ceylon and anchored in the harbour of Colombo. Coal barges drew alongside and the natives conducted the re coaling operation.
John and his Battalion were allowed ashore and marched to the military barracks in Colombo where a wet canteen was placed for their disposal and the native vendors offered fruits and goods.

They resumed their journey to Suez the following morning and during their time in the Red Sea they experienced extreme heat and this caused several of the stokers to become ill with exhaustion. Whilst these men were recovering, volunteers from the Battalion undertook their work for them.

John was also admitted to the ships hospital on the 29th of June for 2 days.

They arrived in Suez on the 11th of July and completed the preparation for disembarkation. Orders were, however, received from the military authorities that the journey was to be continued through the Mediterranean. At 4pm they made their entrance into the Canal, the interesting surroundings of which attracted their attention for the next sixteen hours.
All along the bank were encamped Australian and English troops, who formed a portion of the Canal Garrison.

They re coaled the following day in Pt Said before being escorted out on the 13th by HM destroyer Telmar. They passed by Malta and reached Marseilles on the evening of the 19th of July, but did not enter the harbour until the following day.

They disembarked the following day and moved to Arran Point Station were they were entrained for Havre through Southern France. They reached Havre on the 22nd and detrained and marched to a rest camp, where they spent a cold night on the cobbles.

The following afternoon embarkation for England took place and at dusk the channel transport commenced its six hour journey, reaching Southampton at daybreak.
After two hours waiting on the wharf they were entrained and arrived at Amesbury Station on the Salisbury Plains where they detrained. They reached Lark Hill after an hours march and spent the rest of the afternoon settling into No.12 Camp, which was to be their training area prior to embarking for the front.
This camp was very well set out and even had hot and cold showers and the 41st, 42nd, and 44th Battalions were all close by.

Whilst training here John was admitted into the hospital sick for seven days.

Te early morning of the 25th of November was a repetition of June 9th. For the purpose on the move the Battalion was divided into three parties, leaving Lark Hill Camp in time to entrain at Amesbury Station by 7:15, 9:15 & 10:15am.

The weight of their equipment was far in excess of that they had borne on any previous march, as in addition to full marching order, two blankets, 150 rounds of ammunition, with steel and gas helmets made a burden exceeding 40kg. Thus the march to the train, although downhill, proved most strenuous.

On detraining they then had to load the boats and then at dusk the trip across the channel commenced and a heavy sea was experienced, causing sea sickness to many on board. The bleak wind with frequent showers of hail made the entry into the harbour at Le Havre, and the period of waiting intensely cold.

The commenced disembarking and unloading at 11am on the 26th and then during the afternoon they marched to No.1 Rest Camp, situated on a hill about 3 miles from the wharf.

The following day they moved to the railway yards where a troop train, consisting chiefly of cattle trucks, was waiting to take them to Bailleul.

The journey, via Rouen, Abbeville. Boulogne, Calais and St Omer, took 30 hours, with halts made en route for the issue of drinks and rations.

Although they arrived in the afternoon, by the time they had detrained it was dark and finding their billets without guides, caused great difficulty.

By morning they began to make necessary alterations and improvements to their billets as the 4 Companies were scattered in farm houses and huts at Blanche Maison, about 1 mile from Steenwerck.

They then moved into the much drier barns at their billets.

Steenwerck became the chief visiting place for the Battalion after parade hours. The warmth of the fires in the YMCA, cafes and estaminets helped to overcome the extreme cold that prevailed during the period in this area.

As they were in the reserve area, they were able to continue training which included; bayonet fighting, marching, physical drill and anti gas box respirators instruction.

On the 23rd of December, in high wind and through heavy rain, a march to their new billets in Armentieres was carried out and they were billeted in warehouses in Rue de la Gare.

They spent Christmas Day here preparing to relieve the 41st Battalion at the front on the 30th.

With reveille at 2am, breakfast disposed of and the billets cleaned, they left for the front line at 3:30am. This was difficult and tedious owing to the darkness, the mud and the slippery duck boards.

After relieving the 41st they then moved into No Mans Land and advanced towards the enemy’s line, but owing to extreme darkness and limited knowledge of hostile wire, the enterprise was unsuccessful.

On the 6th of January 1917 they were relieved by the 41st, which until early March was held by these 2 Battalions, relief taking place every five or six days.

On the 6th of March they exited the Armetieres Sector and moved into billets at Le Bizet.

John’s Company then relieved the 1st Wellingtons near Le Touquet, on the 13th of March and the defences in this sector differed very little from No Mans Land as the trenches were in a bad state of repair and waterlogged.

Whilst here, on the 31st of March, John was admitted into the 9th Field Ambulance and then to the 12th Casualty Clearing Station suffering from scabies.

He remained here for 20 days recovering before rejoining his unit on the 20th of April who were in the front line at Ploegsteert Wood.

They were relieved on the 29th by the 39th Battalion and moved back to Rue de la Gare, thus ending their first phase in the field.

They left their billets on the 1st of May heading to Le Buisson where an extensive training ground had been set up near Journy. The then began intensive training in preparation for the upcoming Battle of Messines. On the 25th they relieved the 36th Battalion back in the Le Touquet Sector.

In June they took part in the Battle of Messines before being removed to the reserve line on the 5th of June. With another attack on the 7th they were allotted to supply rations, water, ammunitions and engineer work until the 10th when they were ordered to relieve the 44th Battalion in the front line between Huns Walk & the River Douve in Ungodly Trench.

Almost at the time they reach this trench intense enemy fire was directed at them causing casualties to both the Battalions and confusing in the ranks of the 43rd Battalion.

After a few days they were relieved by the 16th Battalion and marched to St Andrew’s Drive, sustaining several casualties on the way, then onto billets near Steenwerck.

After a few weeks of rest they were ordered back in the front line at Betlheem Farm and on the march a shell fell on A Company causing 13 casualties, but John was lucky not to be injured.

In this area it was necessary to have very deep and narrow trenches to protect the troops from enemy shell fire. This mad the troops quite uncomfortable and it was made worse be the frequent thunderstorms and heavy rain.

They remained in and out of these boggy and bloody trenches for the next few months.

They were then involved in the Third Battle of Ypres at Broodseinde and Passchendaele and on the 12th of October and they led the assault.

Hill 40 proved their first obstacle and they suffered heavily from a machine gun operating from a pill-box on the crest.

After this battle john was detached to the 3rd Australian Divisional Base Depot (3ADBD) on the 11th of November in Rouelles for return to England as he was overage.

He proceeded to England on the 26th of November and marched into No.2 Command Depot in Weymouth awaiting embarkation home to Australia.

John embarked for Australia on the Balmoral Castle on the 1st of February 1918, disembarking in Adelaide on the 23rd of March 1918 and was discharged, medically unfit, due to his age and debility, on the 8th of April 1918.