Curran, John
815 Driver John Curran - 28th Battalion AIF
John Curran was born in Liverpool NSW IN 1881 to Joseph and Alice Curran. He had five siblings - James, Joseph, Margaret, Mary, and Lawrence.
After John's birth the family moved to South Australia and then Western Australia, setting up residence in Point Street Fremantle. John was working as a lumper at Fremantle Harbour.
On the 15th March 1915 John enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be fit for enlistment with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 4 inches;
Weight - 150lbs;
Chest Measurement - 36-38 inches;
Complexion - Fresh;
Eyes - Blue;
Hair - Auburn.
After his successful enlistment, John was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp and was assigned to No.13 Training Depot. He was here for a few weeks being taken through the basics of infantry work. He was then assigned to @B@ Company of the 28th Battalion with the regimental number 815.
This battalion trained in WA until the end of June 1915. On the 29th June 1915 the 28th Battalion embarked from Fremantle WA aboard the H.M.A.T. “Ascanius” and made their way to Egypt.
Upon arrival in Egypt the 28th Battalion spent August training in the desert and in early September made their way to Alexandria and were embarked for Gallipoli. The 28th Battalion were sent to an area known as the Apex and Rhododendron Spur. They would hold the line here for the remaining months of the Gallipoli campaign.
Though the 28th battalion did not participate in any attacks while at Gallipoli, they sustained a steady stream of casualties due to Turkish fire and illness. John was at Gallipoli until the 21st November 1915 when he was evacuated suffering from jaundice. He was put on a hospital ship and taken to Egypt where he was admitted to the 3rd Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis.
John recovered quite well and on the 10th December was released and sent to the AIF base camp. As plans were underway to evacuate the Gallipoli battlefield John was retained in Egypt and rejoined his unit when they returned in January 1916. The next two months were taken up with training.
On the 16th March 1916 the 28th Battalion arrived at Alexandria Harbour where they boarded a troopship which took them to France, arriving at Marseilles on the 21st March. The 28th were then entrained to the north of France where they went into the line near Armentieres and Fleurbaix. They would spend the next few months in this area, during which time they also conducted the first Australian trench raid in France.
On the 2nd July 1916 John spent a week away from his unit in hospital but returned on the 9th July 1916.
In July the 28th Battalion, as part of the 2nd Division were sent south to the Somme battlefield where they relieved the 1st Division. On the 29th July 1916 they attacked the German positions along the Pozieres road and were terribly hit by machine gun fire as they came upon uncut German barbed wire. Casualties were immense but John came through the assault unscathed. A week later on August 4th 1916 the remnants of the 28th Battalion participated in the capture of the Windmill position at Pozieres and again John came through this.
John saw further action at Mouquet Farm in August 1916 before the Battalion was sent to Belgium for several weeks through September and October 1916. The 28th Battalion then returned to the Somme battlefield where they took part in further actions against the Germans in November 1916. The Battalion again sustained heavy casualties but once again John came through safely.
The 28th Battalion remained on the Somme battlefield through the 1916/17 French winter and underwent horrible muddy conditions. In February 1917 John fell ill and was evacuated to the French town of Rouen where he was admitted to No.10 General Hospital. On the 28th February he was then transferred to No.2 Convalescent Depot.
John spent two more weeks here and was then transferred by hospital ship to England. On arrival he was sent to the 3rd London General Hospital. He remained a patient here till the 25th April 1917 when he was given a two week furlough.
After his leave period was over John was sent to No.1 Command Depot Camp at Perham Downs. He remained here for nearly two weeks and was then sent back to France on the 23rd May 1917. John then spent two weeks in the 2nd Australian Division Base Depot and then rejoined the 28th Battalion on the 11th June 1917.
The 28th Battalion had just begun their three month period out of the front line and much of this time was taken up with training and sporting activities.
On the 7th July 1917 John was evacuated ill but only spent a week away from his unit.
In September 1917 the 28th battalion were sent to Belgium where they would take part in the Third Battle of Ypres. John took part in the Battle of Menin Road on the 20th September 1917 and subsequent actions around Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke, Broodseinde Ridge and Passchendaele through October and November 1917. John again came through these major actions without being wounded.
From December 1917 to March 1918 the 28th battalion remained in Belgium and held the front line between Ypres and Messines. On the 12th March 1918 John was evacuated to the 7th Field Ambulance where he was diagnosed with myalgia. He was not sent to hospital but spent a few weeks at the 13th Casualty Clearing Station. He then rejoined the 28th battalion on the 7th April 1918.
By now the 28th Battalion were back on the Somme, near Ville-sur-Ancre and Morlancourt. They remained in this sector till June 1918 when they went to the Villers-Bretonneux front. John participated in the captured of Monument Wood in July 1918.
On August 8th 1918 the successful Amiens offensive commenced when Australian, British and Canadian divisions attacked and broke through the German lines. The 28th Battalion attacked from Villers-Bretonneux and took their objectives. They saw much action in the next few weeks and John remained with them when they took part in the capture of Mont St Quentin and Peronne in late August, early September 1918.
On the 5th September 1918 John was given a two week furlough to England and rejoined the 28th battalion on the 22nd September 1918. John rejoined the 28th battalion in time for their last action of the war.
In late September 1918 the 2nd Australian Division attacked the Hindenburg Line positions around Bony and Mont St Quentin. The attack was successful through costly and when the Battalion was withdraw from the line on October 3rd 1918 John emerged safely. He had gone through another major action without being wounded.
The 28th Battalion were now withdrawn from the line for a well deserved rest period. They were still out of the line when the Armistice was announced on the 11th November 1918.
On the 19th November 1918 John fell ill and was sent to the 7th Field Ambulance where he was diagnosed with myalgia and rheumatism. He was then transferred to the 3rd Australian General Hospital at Abbeville. John remained here till the 2nd December 1918 when he was transferred to the Australian Base Depot Camp at Le Havre.
John spent nine days here and on the 12th December 1918 was transferred to England and was sent to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth. He would now wait here to be assigned a berth on a troopship home. John celebrated Christmas and New Year in Weymouth and on the 18th January 1919 boarded the transport ship Ulysses and set sail for home, disembarking in Fremantle on the 24th February 1919.
John was medically checked at No.8 Australian general Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle and was then discharged from the AIF on the 25th April 1919.
He then returned home to Point Street and resumed his working life as a Lumper.
By 1922 John had moved to 47 High Street Fremantle and he remained living there till 1931. John then moved to South Terrace Fremantle. From the 1920's through to the 1950's John continued working as a Lumper at Fremantle Harbour.
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