Packer, John Waldegrave

1885 Sergeant John Waldegrove Packer – 34th Battalion AIF

John Waldegrove Packer was born in Norfolk England in 1881. He was educated in England and after leaving school he found employment in the maritime industry. In the early 1900’s John travelled to Australia where he was soon employed in the coastal shipping routes.

He set up base in Fremantle and it was in the port city that he met Bridget Madden and they would marry in 1906. They set up house in Jandakot though John was often away in his role as a Ship’s fireman. During the early years of the Great War John was working on the SS Uraidla.

On the 17^th March 1916 John went to the Fremantle Drill Hall to enlist in the AIF. The medical examiner found John to be fit for service and recorded his physical attributes as

Height:                                     5 feet 7 inches;

Weight:                                    138lbs;

Chest Measurement:              31-34 inches;

Complexion:                            Fresh;

Eyes:                                       Blue;

Hair:                                        Light Brown;

Religious Denomination:         Roman Catholic.

John was given a few weeks before he had to report for duty so he was able to go home to Jandakot to spend this time with his wife. On the 5^th April John reported to Blackboy Hill Camp and he was allotted to No.61 Training Depot where he would learn the basics of infantry work. On the 1^st May 1916 John was assigned to the 15^th Reinforcements to the 28^th Battalion. He trained with this group until the 9^th June when he was transferred to the 2^nd Reinforcements to the 44^th Battalion AIF at Claremont Showgrounds Camp. John would train with this group in WA for the next three months while they waited for their departure orders. Prior to departing WA, the 2nd Reinforcements had their group photo taken at Claremont Camp.

These embarkation orders finally arrived and on the 9^th August 1916 John and the 2^nd Reinforcement Group boarded the HMAT Miltiades in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for England. The journey took seven weeks and they berthed at Plymouth Harbour on the 25^th September 1916.

After being disembarked the men were marched into the 11^th Training Battalion at Codford Camp on the Salisbury Plains. On the 13^th October 1916 John was taken on strength of the 44^th Battalion however on the 11^th November the men from 2^nd Reinforcements to the 44^th Battalion were transferred to the 33^rd and 34^th Battalions of the 9^th Brigade AIF. John would join the 34^th Battalion but he didn’t have long with his new unit in England as the 34th embarked from Southampton on the 21^st November 1916. The 3^rd Division units were sent to what was called the Nursery sector near Armentieres. It was so called as at this stage it was a quiet part of the front line for new troops to acclimatise to the conditions of the Western Front. John remained with the 34^th Battalion at Armentieres until late January 1917 when he was sent to the Divisional School for a week of instruction. John returned to the 34^th Battalion on the 4^th February 1917 and he spent the next several weeks with the unit but on the 25^th March he was sent to the Divisional Gas School, returning on the 31^st March.

For the next month and a half the 34^th Battalion had a regular pattern of being in the front line and reserve positions in the Armentieres sector. On the 17^th May at Le Touquet John was slightly wounded when the Germans launched a heavy bombardment of the Australian positions prior to an attack, which the 34^th repulsed.

John was sent to the 11^th Field Ambulance where his wound to the right arm was dressed. As the wound was not severe; John remained in the advanced dressing station for several days, eventually returning to the 34^th Battalion on the 1^st June 1917. The Battalion were now in the Ploegsteert sector and participated in trench raids prior to the June 7^th advance at Messines. For the past year, Australian, British and Canadian Tunnellers had been digging under the German lines and laying explosives in preparation for a large advance. On the morning of June 7^th 1917 these mines were exploded, devastating the German front line positions. The 34^th Battalion took all their objectives this day though they suffered many casualties due to shellfire. John survived the action unscathed and was promoted Lance Corporal. The 34^th Battalion would remain in the Messines sector until the end of July 1917. They were then sent out of the line for a well deserved rest and embarked upon much training and sporting activities for the next few months.

On the 15^th September John was promoted to Corporal and then to Sergeant, just in time for the Battalion’s move to the Ypres front. They were soon in the line at Broodseinde and Zonnebeke holding the lines recently captured by other Australian units. On October 12^th the 34^th Battalion participated in the advance on Passchendaele, though unfortunately it was not a success due to the horrible muddy conditions through which the men had to advance. Despite the bravery of the officers and men, the 34^th had to withdraw to their original positions. All the officers had become casualties and the Battalion was severely decimated. John had survived unscathed though the wintry conditions soon took their toll as on the 9^th November he was evacuated sick. John only spent a week out of the line, returning on the 16^th November.

The 34^th Battalion would spend the 1917/18 winter in the Warneton/Messines sector in southern Belgium. On the 31^st December 1917 John was granted a fortnight’s leave in England, returning on the 16^th January 1918. For the next three months the 34^th Battalion were now on a regular rotation in and out of the front line positions and during this time also participated in trench raids. This all changed on March 21^st 1918 when the Germans launched their spring offensive which broke through the British Third & Fifth Armies. The Germans were making a speedy advance towards Amiens and the Third & Fourth Australian Divisions were immediately sent south to combat this advance.

By March 28^th the 34^th Battalion had reached Corbie and on the 30^th they were in action against the Germans at Hangard Wood near Villers-Bretonneux. They successfully stopped this advance by the Germans but they were again called on a week later, when on April 4^th, the Germans launched another strong attack on Villers-Bretonneux. Though making initial headway the Germans were repulsed mainly due to the work of the 9^th Brigade. The 34^th Battalion remained at the Villers-Bretonneux front for the next few weeks, suffering under a heavy German bombardment. Towards the end of April they were withdrawn from the line for a well deserved rest, but the respite was short and on the 5^th of May the 34^th Battalion was involved in operations on the Morlancourt front. Several actions had succeeded in taking territory back from the Germans and on the 7^th May another advance was attempted but a party of the 33^rd & 34^th Battalion mistakenly continued on past their objective until they were well behind German lines. They were soon surrounded and the men including John had to surrender.

Capt. McMinn was our O.C. We had advanced too far behind the German lines and got lost. It was a dark night. When daylight came we found ourselves behind his batteries. We were out of ammunition and about three kilometres behind the German line. Our position was hopeless and Capt McMinn decided to surrender.

John would spend the rest of the war as a Prisoner of the Germans. He had initially been reported missing which would have sparked fears for his family, but the news soon came through that he was a Prisoner of War.

After the Armistice on the 11^th November 1918 the Prisoners of War began to be repatriated to England and John reached Dover on the 25^th November. Upon reporting to AIF Headquarters in London he was granted a month’s leave. On the 28^th December John reported to No.2 Command Depot where he waited to be allotted a spot on a transport ship home. On the 18^th January 1919 John boarded the HMAT Ulysses and set sail for home, disembarking in Fremantle on the 24^th February 1919.

After a medical examination at No.8 AGH in Fremantle, John was released from hospital and he returned home to Jandakot. Sgt John Packer was discharged from the AIF on the 10^th April 1919. In the early 1920’s John and Bridget moved to Church Street Fremantle. (Later renamed Stevens Street) They lived in Fremantle until the 1930’s when they moved to the Chidlow district in the Perth hills.

John Packer died in 1952 aged 72 though Bridget lasted twenty more years, dying in 1973. Both are buried in Karrakatta Cemetery plot RC LA 0421.