ROBERTS, John Thomas
| Service Number: | 2882 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 4 October 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 44th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Mount Egerton, Victoria, Australia, 1889 |
| Home Town: | Bulong, Kalgoorlie/Boulder, Western Australia |
| Schooling: | State School, Victoria, Australia |
| Occupation: | Miner |
| Died: | Nephritis , 5th Southern General Hospital (Milton Military Section), Portsmouth, Hampshire, England , 11 November 1917 |
| Cemetery: |
Portsmouth (Milton) Cemetery, Hampshire, England Plot H, Row 19, Grave No. 7 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 4 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2882, 44th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 29 Dec 1916: | Involvement Private, 2882, 44th Infantry Battalion, Third Ypres, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '18' embarkation_place: Fremantle embarkation_ship: HMAT Persic embarkation_ship_number: A34 public_note: '' | |
| 29 Dec 1916: | Embarked Private, 2882, 44th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Persic, Fremantle |
Private John Thomas Roberts
From WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK shared a post.
Died on this date - 11th November......Private John Thomas Roberts was born at Mt. Egerton, Victoria in 1889. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 4th October, 1916 as a 27 year old Miner from Bulong, Western Australia,
Private Roberts joined 44th Battalion in France on 9th July, 1917 after receiving further training in England.
Private Roberts was sent to Hospital sick on 7th August, 1917 & invalided to England with acute nephritis. He was admitted to 5th Southern General Hospital, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England on 27th August, 1917 but died at 12.50 pm on 11th November, 1917. He was buried in Milton Cemetery, Portsmouth where 11 other Australian WW1 Soldiers are buried.
Submitted 11 November 2019 by Evan Evans
Biography contributed by Robert Wight
John Thomas Roberts enlisted in the AIF at Kalgoorlie, WA on 4 October 1916, aged 27. He embarked overseas on 29 December 1916 and arrived in Devonport, England on 3 March 1917, where he spent the next three months with the 11th (Brigade) Training Battalion in Wiltshire.
He left England and arrived in France on 20 June 1917, where he was taken on strength of the 44th Battalion in the field on 9 July 1917.
Less than a month later, he was hospitalised in France from 7 August with various ailments (influenza and appendicitis) however was finally diagnosed with nephritis on 26 August 1917 and evacuated to England the same day.
On 27 August 1917, Pte John Thomas Roberts was admitted to the 5th Southern General Hospital in Portsmouth, where he finally succumbed to nephritis on 11 November 1917.
He was buried in the Milton Cemetery in Portsmouth a few days later, on 14 November 1917.
Source: Extract from "Clunes War Memorial WW1" by Robert Wight, June 2022.
Biography contributed by Cathy Sedgwick
The summary below was completed by Cathy Sedgwick (OAM) – Facebook “WW1 Australian War Graves in England/UK/Scotland/Ireland”
John Thomas Roberts was born at Mt. Egerton, Victoria in 1889 to parents William John and Esther Roberts (nee Williams).
He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) on 4th October, 1916 as a 27 year old, single, Miner from Bulong, Western Australia.
Private John Thomas Roberts, Service number 2882, embarked from Fremantle, Western Australia on HMAT Persic (A34) on 29th December, 1916 with the 44th Infantry Battalion, 6th Reinforcements & disembarked at Devonport, England on 3rd March, 1917.
Reinforcements were only given basic training in Australia. Training was completed in training units in England. Some of these were located in the Salisbury Plain & surrounding areas in the county of Wiltshire.
On 3rd March, 1917 Private Roberts was marched in to Camp Details at Sutton Mandeville, Wiltshire. He was marched out to 11th Training Battalion at Larkhill, near Durrington, Wiltshire on 8th March, 1917.
He proceeded overseas to France on 19th June, 1917 from 11th Training Battalion. Private Roberts was marched in to 3rd A.D.B.D. (Australian Divisional Base Depot) at Havre, France on 20th June, 1917. He was marched out to his Unit from 3rd A.D.B.D. on 8th July, 1917 & was taken on strength of 44th Battalion in France on 9th July, 1917.
Private Roberts reported sick on 7th August, 1917. He was admitted to 11th Australian Field Ambulance with Influenza & discharged to duty on 14th August, 1917. Private Roberts rejoined his Battalion from Hospital on 16th August, 1917. He reported sick again on 20th August, 1917 & was admitted to 9th Australian Field Ambulance with ?Appendicitis then transferred to 2nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station. Private Roberts was transferred to Ambulance Train No. 38 on 21st August, 1917 & admitted to 5th General Hospital at Rouen, France. He embarked for England on 26th August, 1917 on Hospital Ship Essequibo with acute nephritis.
On 27th August, 1917 Private Roberts was admitted to 5th Southern General Hospital, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England with nephritis (slight).
Private John Thomas Roberts died at 12.50 pm on 11th November, 1917 at 5th Southern General Hospital (Milton Military Section), Portsmouth, Hampshire, England from Nephritis.
He was buried in Milton Cemetery, Portsmouth, Hampshire, England – Plot number J, Row 7. Grave no. 239 and has a Commonwealth War Graves Commission headstone.
(The above is a summary of my research. The full research can be found by following the link below)
https://ww1austburialsuk.weebly.com/-milton.html
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