Anderton. John Wallace

4015 Private John Wallace Anderton – 32^nd Battalion AIF

John Wallace Anderton was born in Preston Lancashire England in 1884 to Mr. and Mrs. Benjamin Anderton. He was educated in England and after leaving school he took up employment in the local area. Prior to the Great War John travelled to Western Australia and found work in the port city. He took up residence at 9 Nairn Street Fremantle.

With the outbreak of the Great War John had tried to enlist but was knocked back due to the state of his teeth. However he would try to enlist again and on the 31^st May 1916 John went to Swan Barracks in Perth to enlist in the AIF. On this occasion he was found to be medically fit for service and was accepted. The medical examiner recorded John’s physical attributes;

Height:                                     5 feet 5 & ¼ inches;

Weight:                                    127lbs;

Chest Measurement:              33-36 inches;

Complexion:                            Fair;

Eyes:                                       Blue;

Hair:                                        Fair;

Religious Denomination:         Church of England;

Distinctive Marks:                   3 Vaccination scars

Upon his successful enlistment John was sent to No.72 Training Depot at Blackboy Hill Camp. He underwent basic infantry training in this depot until the 20^th June 1916. He was then assigned into the 5^th Reinforcements to the 44^th Battalion. John trained with this group until the 5^th September 1916 when he was transferred across to the 10^th Reinforcements to the 32^nd Battalion AIF. He spent several weeks with this group in WA training at Blackboy Hill and Osborne Rifle range. Their departure orders then arrived and on the 30^th October 1916 John and his group boarded the HMAT Port Melbourne in Fremantle harbour and set sail for England. The sea journey took two months and the ship berthed at Devonport Harbour in England on the 28^th December 1916.

After being disembarked, John and his group were sent to the 8^th Training Battalion at Hurdcott Camp on the Salisbury Plains. He would be trained hard at this camp for the next three months though he was also given leave, which he put to use visiting family and friends in Lancashire.

On the 28^th March 1917 John was put in a draft of soldiers leaving the 8^th Training Battalion. They journeyed to Folkestone Harbour where they boarded a transport ship which took them across the Channel to France. On the 29^th March John entered the 5^th Australian Division Base Dept at Etaples. He would only remain here for two days and on the 31^st March 1917 he marched out of the depot to join his unit. John was officially taken on strength of the 32^nd Battalion on the 2^nd April 1917.

John joined the 32^nd Battalion in the final stages of the Hindenburg Line Outpost village’s campaign, where the Australians and British troops were advancing against the retreating Germans. Through April and May 1917 the 32^nd Battalion helped to garrison the front line trenches in the newly captured area. They were not involved in the First Battle of Bullecourt but they were drawn into the closing stages of the 2^nd Battle of Bullecourt in May 1917. The 32^nd Battalion helped to consolidate the gains already made and then they were relieved by British troops. After the Bullecourt action the 5^th Division was withdrawn from the line for a three month rest period. For the 32^nd Battalion June, July and August 1917 were taken up largely with training and sporting activities. John had got into trouble on the 28^th May 1917 for failing to obey an order given to him by an NCO and he was subsequently given three days of Field Punishment No.2 as a consequence. Otherwise John came through this rest period healthy and refreshed.

In September 1917 the 32^nd Battalion moved to the Ypres front to take part in the drive for Passchendaele and they were involved in actions around Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke and Broodseinde Ridge. John came through these actions unscathed and on the 17^th October 1917 he was detached for training to the 2^nd Army Sniping School. John learnt the finer arts of sniping at this school for the next two weeks and rejoined his unit on the 5^th November 1917.

The 32^nd Battalion would spend the 1917/18 winter in southern Belgium near Messines and Warneton. On the 18^th January 1918 John was given some rest from the front line when he was detached for duty to the Australian Corps School. He was on duty here for the next month, returning to the 32^nd Battalion on the 22^nd February. John had only been back a week when he was granted leave to the UK. On the 2^nd March 1918 he left the Battalion and proceeded to England where he enjoyed the next fortnight catching up with family and friends. John returned to France and rejoined the 32^nd Battalion on the 19^th March 1918.

Two days after his arrival, the Germans launched their Spring Offensive which broke through the Third and Fifth British Armies. The Germans were making a speedy advance towards the vital city of Amiens. Initially the 3^rd & 4^th Australian Divisions were sent to stop them and in early April 1918 they were reinforced by the 2^nd & 5^th Australian Divisions. For the next two months the 32^nd Battalion held the line in various areas of the Amiens front from Villers-Bretonneux to Sailly-Le-Sec. On the 16^th May 1918 while the Battalion were in trenches near Vaux-sur-Somme they were on the receiving end of a German gas bombardment. Unfortunately John was exposed to some of the mustard gas and he was evacuated to the 5^th Field Ambulance. After initial treatment he was sent to the 20^th Casualty Clearing Station though he was not here long as the same day he was put on a hospital train and sent to the 41^st Stationary Hospital. John spent the next ten days in hospital, being released on the 26^th May. He then was sent back to his unit, rejoining the 32^nd Battalion at their billets at Rivery on the 3^rd June 1918.

Through June and July 1918 the 32^nd Battalion continued with their trench raids known as peaceful penetration, and on July 29^th they secured a vital piece of land known as the Brick Beacon. This site had given the Germans a view over the Australian lines, so its’ capture was vital particularly with a large advance soon to take place.

As the Battalion was relieved on the 30^th July, the Official war Correspondent, Dr. Charles Bean, came to the front line and took photos of John (on right) and Private Giles (left) of the 29^th Battalion. It was a great photo showing the weariness and the state of the clothes the troops wore after days in the line. Private Giles’ uniform from that day is on display in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

On August 8^th 1918 the large allied advance began against the Germans and for the next two months the Australians were constantly in action in pushing the Germans back. John was involved in all the 32^nd Battalions actions including the capture of Nauroy in the Hindenburg Line where Major Wark of the 32^nd Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross. By October 6^th all the Australian infantry had been withdrawn from the front for a well earned rest. John had come through the last few months unscathed by wounds but it still took a toll on him physically. When the Armistice was announced on the 11^th November 1918 the 32^nd Battalion was still at rest.

The following month on the 4^th December 1918 John came down ill and was sent to the 8^th Field Ambulance where he was diagnosed as suffering from enteritis. He was transferred to the 37^th Casualty Clearing Station where he remained for three days. On the 7^th December John was sent to the 9^th General Hospital. John spent the next ten days here and on the 17^th December he was put on a hospital transport ship for England. On his arrival John was sent to the County of Middlesex war Hospital at Napsbury St Albans. John spent five days here and on the 23^rd December he was released from hospital and given a two week furlough, celebrating Christmas and New Year with his family in Lancashire.

On the 9^th January 1919 John reported for duty at No.1 Command Depot at Sutton Veny Camp. John now awaited a berth on a ship to Australia. On the 7^th February 1919 he boarded the SS Lancashire and set sail for Western Australia, disembarking at Fremantle on the 11^th March 1919. After a medical check up at No. 8 Australian General Hospital in Fremantle. John was released and was able to resume his civilian life. He was officially discharged from the AIF on the 11^th May 1919.

During his hospitalisation John had met a nurse and shortly after arriving back in Fremantle he travelled to NSW to meet up with her again. On the 10^th December 1919 he married Dorothy Jacks at St James Church in King Street Sydney. They would go on to have two daughters and lived in Parramatta NSW until 1936. The family then moved to Werriwa, where John resided until the late 1950’s. John Anderton died in Burwood NSW in 1962.