Fairclough, John William
5696 Private John William Fairclough - 11th Battalion AIF
John was born on the 12th May 1898 in Chorley Lancashire England to Jesse and May Fairclough and was one of ten siblings born into the family.
In 1911 the family was still living in Chorley England but the family then came to Western Australia.
On arrival in WA they took up residence in Thompson Road North Fremantle and John completed his schooling in Fremantle and also served in the local 86A Cadets.
On the 8th March 1916 John enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be fit for enlistment, with the medical examiner describing his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 8 & 1/2 inches tall;
Weight - 143lbs;
Chest Measurement - 33-36 inches;
Complexion - Fair;
Eyes - Blue;
Hair - Brown.
Upon his successful enlistment John was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.53 Training Depot. He spent a few weeks being taken through basic infantry training and on the 4th April 1916 he was transferred into the 18th Reinforcements to the 11th Battalion AIF.
He trained with this group in WA for the next few months. On the 15th July 1916 John and his group were sent to Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Ajana. The ship then set sail for England, arriving at Plymouth on the 4th September 1916.
John and his group were then disembarked and sent to the 3rd Training Battalion. John trained here for the next three months and on the 4th December 1916 was sent to France. He went into the 1st Australian Division Base Depot at Etaples. He spent a few more weeks here but then fell ill with severe bronchitis.
He was sent to the 26th General Hospital at Etaples but was then shipped back to England. On the 3rd January 1917 John was admitted to the 2nd Southern General Hospital and he remained here for a few weeks. On the 19th January 1917 he was transferred to Tidworth Military Hospital.
Due to the severe bronchitis he had suffered from, John's fitness level was downgraded and he spent the next few months in England in hospital and then the depot camps.
On the 3rd April 1917 John was sent to Wareham Camp and joined the 70th Battalion AIF. This was a new unit of the 6th Australian Division that was being assembled in England. John trained with this unit for the next six months but it then became evident that there were not enough reinforcements coming from Australia to sustain a 6th Division so the unit was disbanded and the men returned to their previous units.
John was sent to France in October 1917 and was taken on strength of the 11th Battalion on the 16th October 1917. The unit was then serving in the Third Battle of Ypres and was in the line near Celtic Wood and Broodseinde Ridge.
John served with the 11th Battalion in Belgium for the next two months. On the 22nd December 1917 he fell ill and was sent to the 24th General Hospital at Etaples. He was diagnosed with a 'PUO' or Pyrexia of Unknown Origin.
On the 5th January 1918 John was shipped to England and was admitted to Cambridge War Hospital. He remained there for a month and was then transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield. He spent two more weeks there and was then transferred to No.4 Command Depot Camp at Hurdcott.
He was stationed there till the 7th May 1918 when he was transferred to the Overseas Training Brigade Camp at Longbridge Deverell. After a few days here John suffered a relapse of the bronchitis and was sent to Sutton Veny Camp Hospital. Fortunately it was not a severe illness and he returned to camp on the 16th May 1918.
John was now shipped back to France and rejoined the 11th Battalion on the 7th June 1918. The 11th Battalion were then in the front line near Merris and Meteren. In operations against Merris on the 17th June 1918 John was wounded when hit in the thigh by shrapnel.
He was evacuated to the 3rd Field Ambulance for immediate treatment and was then sent to the 7th Stationary Hospital at Boulogne. After a few days of treatment here, John was shipped to England where he was admitted to Colchester Military Hospital.
After a week at Colchester John was transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford. He remained here through to September 1918 when he was transferred to No.2 Command Depot Camp at Weymouth. Due to his wound, John had been medically downgraded and would be sent back to Australia.
John would now wait to be assigned a berth on a transport ship home but was still at Weymouth when the Armistice was announced.
On the 10th December 1918 John boarded the transport ship Somali and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle in January 1919. He was then disembarked and sent to No8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle for a medical check.
John was discharged from the AIF on the 16th March 1919.
On his return home he found that his family had moved from Thompson Road North Fremantle to Stuart Street Cottesloe Beach (Mosman Park).
In 1921 John married Sarah Emma Theresa Ostle. They would move to Jolimont and John found employment as a Cellar Hand. They would live here until the 1940's.
His parents and siblings were still living in the Mosman Park area as in 1932 his mother died in Mosman park and in 1935 his sisters Maud died at Buckland Hill and in 1942 Ada died in North Fremantle.
In 1939 John and Sarah moved to Fimiston in the Goldfields and by 1943 were at Kalgoorlie.
In 1945 his father died in Mosman Park and in 1952 his sister Mary died in Mosman Park. John returned to Mosman Park a few times over the years but was living in Kalgoorlie.
John died on the 18th May 1955 in Kalgoorlie. He was buried in Boulder Cemetery.