Symonds, John Edward
2933 Corporal John Edward Symonds - 48th Battalion AIF
John Edward Symonds was born in Norfolk England in 1892 to John and Jane Symonds. He was one of nine siblings and in 1895 when he was three the family left England and moved to Western Australia, setting up residence in South Fremantle.
John completed his schooling in South Fremantle and also served in the cadets of the Citizens Military Forces. After leaving school John became a timber worker.
On the 20th July 1915 in Bridgetown John enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was passed as fit for service with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 8 inches;
Weight - 162lbs;
Chest Measurement - 36-40 inches;
Complexion - Fair;
Eyes - Brown;
Hair - Fair.
Upon his successful enlistment John was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp and assigned to No.17 Training Depot. He was in this depot for eight days being taken through the basics of infantry work. On the 1st August 1915 John was then transferred into the 9th Reinforcements to the 16th Battalion AIF. He trained with this group in WA for the next two months.
On the 1st October 1915 John and his group entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Hororata and set sail for Egypt, arriving there just over three weeks later.
John and his group would have been expecting to be sent on to Gallipoli, but with plans underway to evacuate that battlefield, the reinforcements were retained in Egypt.
The 16th Battalion eventually returned to Egypt from Gallipoli in early January 1916 and John was then taken on strength of that unit. He trained with them for the next two months in Egypt.
The size of the Australian Imperial Force was now expanding with the result that the original 16 battalions were now split in half to form a basis of new units. When the 16th Battalion was split, one half stayed and the other half went to form the new unit which was called the 48th Battalion. John was in the half that went to the 48th Battalion, being taken on strength on the 3rd March 1916. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.
For the next few months the 48th Battalion trained in the Egyptian desert. On the 2nd June 1916 the 48th Battalion departed Egypt for France, arriving at Marseilles on the 9th June 1916.
On arrival in France, the 48th Battalion were entrained north for the Armentieres region. They would have their first experience of the Western Front in this sector but they were only there for a short time as they were then shifted to the Somme battlefield.
On the 4th August 1916, just prior to going into the Pozieres front line John was promoted to the rank of Corporal. The 48th Battalion went into the Pozieres front line on the 6th August 1916 and almost immediately had to withstand a German counter attack.
On the 12th August 1916 John was wounded when shrapnel hit him in the face and hand. He was evacuated back to medical care and was sent to the 3rd Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne. He was only a patient there for two days and was then sent to England.
On arrival in England on the 16th August, John was sent to Graylingwell War Hospital in Chichester. The wounds had been quite severe and John was a patient here till the 29th November 1916. He was then transferred to the 2nd Auxiliary Hospital at Southall. He only had a few days there and was then transferred to No.4 Command Depot Camp at Wareham.
John was there till the 6th February 1917 when he was transferred to No.1 Command Depot Camp at Perham Downs. John was now nearing full fitness and he spent a month at this camp. On the 15th March 1917 John returned to France and spent the next three weeks at the 4th Australian Division Base Depot Camp at Etaples.
John rejoined the 48th Battalion on the 6th April 1917. Just five days later, the 48th Battalion were involved at the action at Bullecourt on the 11th April 1917.
On the front of the 12th Brigade their advance began at 5am after the 4th Brigade had already fought their way forward. The non arrival of their supporting tanks had delayed their advance.
The 46th Battalion captured a section of the first line (OG1) and the 48th Battalion, despite mounting casualties, went through them into the German 2nd line (OG2). Once in the German line no touch could be gained with the 4th Brigade. A section of line between the two Brigades was strongly held by the Germans and would prove to be a serious impediment in the coming fight.
The 48th meanwhile were attempting to consolidate OG2 with their remaining men under the leadership of Captain Leane, (a nephew of the CO) the senior 48th Battalion Company Commander to make it into the German lines as many of the officers and men had been hit in the advance.
They continued to fight through on their flank in an attempt to gain touch with the 4th Brigade, but the Germans in this section of trench were giving tough resistance.
With no ammunition or supplies coming through, the men including John were soon surrounded by the Germans. John had been shot in the right knee during the action so was in no position to try and escape back to the Australian line. When the Germans retook the Bullecourt trenches John was captured. He would spend the rest of the war as a Prisoner of the Germans.
John was repatriated on the 23rd October 1918, just a few weeks prior to the Armistice. On arrival in England he was sent to the 4th London General Hospital at Denmark Hill. He spent the next six weeks there undergoing further surgery on his right knee as while he was a prisoner the Germans had not properly put his knee under surgery.
On the 2nd December 1918 John was transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield. He was there for the next month, being released on the 2nd January 1919. He was then sent to No.4 Command Depot Camp at Hurdcott and was granted a two week furlough. On the 18th January 1919 he reported into No.1 Command Depot Camp at Sutton Veny and would wait here while waiting to be assigned a berth on a troopship.
On the 19th February 1919 John boarded the troopship HMAT Ascanius and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 24th March 1919.
John was discharged from the AIF on the 1st August 1919.
His brother William had served with the 11th Battalion in the Great War and died of wounds in Belgium in October 1917. Another brother Samuel Symonds served in the Royal Australian Navy, mainly on the HMAS Torrens.
In 1921 in Beaconsfield John Symonds married Kate Leigh and a daughter called Pearl was born in 1922 followed by a son John in 1923. The family was living at Rockingham Road Coogee and John was working locally as a Watchman.
After their children's birth's John and the family moved south to Manjimup and the Warren district. He worked as a fireman and a locomotive driver. He was also a keen fisherman in his spare time as well as being a member of the RSL.
John died at Warren at the age of 62 on the 8th November 1952 and he was buried in Manjimup Cemetery.