HINDLEY, John James
| Service Number: | 2747 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 2 July 1915 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 4th Machine Gun Company |
| Born: | Coleraine, Victoria, Australia, 1889 |
| Home Town: | Boort, Loddon, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Labourer/Draper |
| Died: | Died of wounds, Dulmen POW Camp, Germany, 6 May 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Cologne Southern Cemetery Plot 10, Row, Grave 1, Cologne Southern Cemetery, Cologne, Germany |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Ballarat Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial, Bendigo Fire Brigade ANZAC Honor Roll, Bendigo Great War Roll of Honor, Bendigo St. John's Presbyterian Church Honour Roll, Kyneton Honour Roll, Kyneton War Memorial |
World War 1 Service
| 2 Jul 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2747, 21st Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 Sep 1915: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 14th Infantry Battalion | |
| 15 Sep 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 2747, 14th Infantry Battalion, SS "Makarini" | |
| 13 Nov 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2747, 14th Infantry Battalion, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 6 Apr 1916: | Transferred AIF WW1, Private, 4th Machine Gun Company | |
| 8 Aug 1916: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 2747, 4th Machine Gun Company, Mouquet Farm | |
| 11 Apr 1917: | Imprisoned Bullecourt (First), Died in captivity 6 May 1917 of gun shot wounds to abdomen (sustained at 1st Bullecourt). | |
| Date unknown: | Involvement Private, 2747, 4th Machine Gun Battalion |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Larna Malone
Known as ‘Jack’, John James Hindley was born at Coleraine, in the district of Hamilton, Vic., the son of John and Margaret Hindley. The family had emigrated from Liverpool, England, and settled at Coleraine. By 1914 John and Margaret Hindley were living in Boort, where John worked as a Draper.
‘Jack’ Hindley was variously described as Laborer (Service Record) or Cloth Merchant (German Death Certificate). He enlisted in Melbourne on 2.7.15 aged 26 years and 9 months. He was described as being 5’ 10” in height, with a sallow complexion, hazel eyes and brownish red hair. On 9.7.15 he was appointed to the 9th Reinforcements for the 21st Battalion and assigned Service No. 2747. He embarked for overseas on 2.8.15.
On 8.9.15 he was transferred to the 8th Reinforcements for the 14th Battalion and joined the battalion at Gallipoli on 13.11.15. He participated in the evacuation of the Gallipoli Peninsula during December 1915 but soon after was admitted to hospital in Lemnos suffering from influenza. He embarked with the battalion for Egypt. On 7.4.16 he was transferred to the 4th Infantry Brigade Machine Gun Company. He embarked for France in June 1916.
His unit participated in the 1st Battle of Bullecourt which commenced on April 10, 1917. The Australian 4th Division breached the German Hindenburg Line during the battle, but had been left isolated and over 1,000 men were captured. John James Hindley was reported as Wounded and Missing on 11th April. The report was later amended to state that he had been captured at Reincourt. (i.e. NE of Bullecourt, behind the Hindenburg Line.) He was interned at Dulmen, a town in the district of Coesfeld, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. He was wounded in his left arm and had also sustained a bullet wound in his left leg. He was admitted to the prison hospital on 25.4.17. His left arm was subsequently amputated.
He died on 6.5.17 whilst a Prisoner of War. The German Death Certificate stated the cause of death to be “Gun Shot Wound left upper arm and exhaustion.” He was initially buried in the Dulmen POW Cemetery, but his body was later re-interred in the Cologne South Cemetery. (Plot 10 Row C Grave 1)
The inscription on his gravestone reads:
“HE HELPED TO GIVE AUSTRALIA
A NEVER-DYING NAME.”
“The Men Listed on the Roll of Honour, St John’s Presbyterian Church, Bendigo”: Larna Malone
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