Scott, John Mclaren
No.1629 – Private John McLaren Scott – 1st Anzac Battalion ICC
John McLaren Scott was born in Perthshire Scotland in 1891 to James and Christian Scott. He was educated in Perthshire and after leaving school he found work as a farm hand. In 1911 when John was 20 years old the family left Scotland and travelled to Western Australia where they initially took up residence in Fremantle. John later found work as a farmer at Bruce Rock but his mother continued to live in South Street Fremantle.
On the 15th May 1915 John went to the Francis Street Drill Hall in Perth to enlist in the AIF. He was accepted as fit for service with the medical examiner finding him to be 5 feet 7 & ¾ inches tall; weight of 154 lbs; chest measurement of 36-39 inches; fair complexion; blue eyes and fair hair. His religious denomination was Church of England. Upon his successful enlistment John was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the 7th Reinforcements to the 11th Battalion. However he only remained with them for eight days as on the 24th May he was transferred to become a part of the 1st Reinforcements to the 28th Battalion.
John had just over a week training with this group in WA as on the 5th June 1915 they embarked from Fremantle Harbour aboard the HMAT Geelong. Arriving in Egypt over three weeks later the men were marched to the reinforcement’s camp and John was taken on strength of the 28th Battalion on the 18th August 1915. Two weeks later the 28th Battalion went to Alexandria and boarded the HMT Ivernia which took them to the Dardanelles.
After being put ashore at Anzac the men were sent to the northern portion of the battlefield where they held the line for the next few months at Cheshire Ridge and the Apex. John survived the next few months of the campaign and as the Dardanelles was being evacuated the 28th Battalion was withdrawn in December and returned to Lemnos Island. They remained here for Christmas 1915 and then were sent back to Egypt, arriving at Alexandria on the 10th January 1916.
Three weeks after arriving back in Egypt John requested a transfer to the Australian Camel Corps which was then forming at Abbassia. This group would fight the Sennussi in Egypt for the next several months. It wasn’t until the 16th September 1916 that John left Matruh in Egypt and returned to Alexandria. On his arrival back he was officially taken on strength of No.3 Company of the 1st Anzac Battalion of the Imperial Camel Corps.
The Turkish forces were beginning to withdraw into the Sinai and Palestine and in December 1916 John was involved in the capture of Magdhaba and Rafa in January 1917. The Turks then retired to a defensive position which stretched from Gaza to Beersheba. On the 19th April 1917 an attack was made at Gaza which cost the Imperial Camel Corps dearly as the Turkish fire decimated them at tank redoubt. Many cameleers were killed, wounded or captured as the capture of Gaza had failed. John was badly wounded when shrapnel struck him in the arms and legs.
He was taken back to the 6th Brigade Field Ambulance and was then transferred to the 53rd Casualty Clearing Station. Unfortunately his wounds proved too severe and John died at No.53 CCS on the 21st April 1917. He was buried in Deir-el-Belah Cemetery in plot A.86 in what was then Palestine but is now in Israel.