Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

6765 PRIVATE

J.E.HAWES

10th Battalion Australian Infantry

27th APRIL, 1917 AGE 16

John Edward Hawes was born in 1897 to parents John Patrick & Catherine Hawes in Arden Vale, SA, near Quorn. Hawes was known to the family as ‘Jack’ but he was really a John. Many people believe this birth date to be real but really Hawes lied about his age to go to the war when he was only 15 and a half. This information was never released to the public and it was gathered from relatives in the Hawes’s family, when interviewed by me. John was Roman Catholic and when he grew up he took the job of Farm Labourer. This means that Hawes would get up at the crack of dawn every day to round up 60 cows to milk by hand. He did have some help, however, from siblings. In later years John never got married and it was never recorded that he had a criminal record. Next of kin to Hawes was his father Mr. J.P Hawes who also lived at Quorn, South Australia.

Hawes, as a young Australian male felt it was his moral and male duty to enlist although he was not the legal age to enter battle. Therefore he was 15 but said he was 18. Due to the army needing more troops he was enlisted without doubt. Hawes enlisted on the 16th October 1916. Hawes enlisted into the 10th Battalion, 22nd Reinforcements of the Australian Army (A.I.F) Hawes when enlisting was never rejected as unfit for His Majesty’s service, so he was allowed to go to the war.  John was prepared to get vaccinated against Smallpox and enteric fever because he had never been vaccinated before and he had to get these vaccinations, so he didn’t catch anything at the war. During enlistment, a lot of paperwork had to be signed, which were very important documents such as: signing his name and saying that he will serve our sovergign Lord and King in the Australian Imperial force until the end of the war. Hawes also passed a medical examination in Adelaide, SA on the 14th October 1916 which was signed by the examining medical officer. When Hawes was enlisting the description of him was as followed: Age was 18 years and 9 months. Hawes’s height was 5 feet and 3.5 inches which is equivalent to 1.6 meters tall. Hawes weighted 194 pounds which is equal to 88 kg. His chest measurements were 31.5 – 34 inches. His complexion was medium, his eyes were brown and his hair was dark brown. Hawes recorded his religion as R.C, which is Roman Catholic. After enlistment Hawes was given the service number of ‘6765”. Hawes departed Adelaide on the HMAT Africa (A19) on the 7th of November 1916 and disembarked at Plymouth, England on the 9th January 1917.  

After arriving in England Hawes was admitted to the 2nd Auxiliary Hospital at Southhall with influenza (Flu) on the 31st January 1917, although he was discharged on 23rd February 1917. Two months later, Hawes was again admitted to Fargo Military Hospital with Otitis Media (middle ear infection) on the 9th April but then on the 26th April, Hawes was recorded as being seriously ill with hernia (when an organ comes out of its place). Unfortunately, John Edward Hawes died at 2:15 a.m. on the 27th April 1917 at Fargo Military Hospital, Wiltshire from Acute Otitis Media (middle ear infection) & Pyaemia (blood poisoning) with some reports of ‘hernia’ (when an organ comes out of its place). Hawes allegedly was aged 19 when he died but in reality, he was aged 16.  Hawes’s death was registered in the June quarter, in the district of Amesbury, Wiltshire. Hawes was buried on the 30th April 1917 at Durrington Cemetery, Wilshire, England. His plot number was 237. Hawes has a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone. Hawes does not have a personal inscription on his headstone, nevertheless, his coffin consisted of polished wood with brass furniture. Hawes’ coffin was placed in consecrated ground which is ground that has been made or declared sacred or holy and therefore suitable for Christian burial. Hawes was buried next to Private Robert Swan (plot number: 283) who passed away at the military hospital, at the time of 6:46 a.m. on the same day as Hawes but he died of pneumonia. After Hawes’s death his father, John Patrick Hawes was granted a pension to the sum of 16/-fortnightly from the 1st July 1917.

Hawes is commemorated in the Hall of Memory Commemorative area at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, ACT, Australian, on panel 59. Hawes is also commemorated on the South Australian National War Memorial, located on corner North Terrace and Kintore Avenue, Adelaide. (Panel 1, column 3). Hawes is also remembered on the Quorn War Memorial located at Railway Terrace, Quorn, South Australia. These are just some places where John Edward Hawes is commemorated and remembered but he will always be remembered and loved for his good intentions to serve his country and be willing to die for.

Private John Edward Hawes. Lest We Forget.

 ANZAC Spirit

John Edward Hawes believed as a young Australian that it was his duty to serve his country. Since this was Hawes’ vision, he lied about his age to fight for his country because he was simply not the legal age to fight. Hawes was just fifteen when he enlisted, with the legal age being 18. The courage and commitment when enlisting and deciding to go to the war must have been phenomenal, risking your life to save your country results in amazing courage. Even though, Hawes didn’t actually fight he still had very good intentions. But why is he important if he didn’t fight? To answer this very simply, all of the ANZACS enlisted, which means that they had their own reasons for putting their life on the line to serve their country but it all boils down to having good intentions. The ANZACS (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) were a great, dedicated and determined group of young Australians who did their part in life by protecting their country. Hawes was proudly one of them having a good intention of helping but sadly an unavoidable disease took his life before he could set out on the battle grounds. We thank Hawes for his courage, commitment, mateship, and determination as we do for the rest of the ANZACS. This is the ANZAC’S spirit. Lest we forget.

By Jeremy Schell 9.3

2019

Bibliography (Websites)

1.     The AIF Project - John Edward HAWES 2018, N/A, N/A, accessed 9 March 2019, <https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=130973>.

2.     Private HAWES, JOHN EDWARD 2018, N/A, N/A, accessed 9 March 2019, <https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/405364/hawes,-john-edward/>.

3.       Record Search 2018, Australian Government, Australia, accessed 9 March 2019, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=4768889&isAv=N>.

4.       Trove 2018, National Library of Australia, Australia, accessed 9 March 2019, <https://trove.nla.gov.au/result?q-field0=title%3A&q-type0=all&q-term0=Hawes+John+Edward&q-field1=title%3A&q-type1=all&q-term1=&q-field2=creator%3A&q-type2=all&q-term2=&q-field3=subject%3A&q-type3=all&q-term3=&q-year1-date=&q-year2-date=&l-advformat=&l-advformat=&l-advformat=&l-advformat=&l-advformat=&l-availability=&l-discipline=&l-language=>.

5.       Private John Edward Hawes 2018, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, ACT, Australia, accessed 9 March 2019, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10494482>.

6.       State Library 2018, State Library, Adelaide, South Australia, accessed 9 March 2019, <https://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/>.

7.       Search for a person 2018, Australian War Memorial, Australia, accessed 9 March 2019, <https://www.awm.gov.au/advanced-search/people?people_preferred_name=Hawes%2C+John+Edward+&people_service_number=6765&people_unit=>.