Freeman, John Robert
1105 Private John Robert Freeman - 28th Battalion & Imperial Camel Corps
John Robert Freeman was born in York WA on the 29th October 1894 to John and Bridget Freeman, being one of five siblings with George 1893, Reginald 1894, Nicoletta 1896 and Charles 1898.
The family initially lived 1903 in Norfolk street Fremantle, though they soon moved to nearby Attfield Street.
By 1912 he was working as a driver and then a shearer. However in 1913 he had signed up for the Royal Australian Navy. After training at Cerberus he was assigned to HMAS Pioneer, but in May 1914 was released from service.
On the 10th May 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 8 & 1/2 inches tall;
Weight - 149lbs;
Chest Measurement - 37-39 inches;
Complexion - Dark;
Eyes - Grey;
Hair - Brown.
Upon his successful enlistment, John was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the 7th Reinforcements to the 16th Battalion AIF. However he was soon transferred to "C" Company of the 28th Battalion AIF.
This group trained in WA until they embarked from Fremantle aboard the H.M.A.T. “Ascanius” on the 29th June 1915. After their arrival in Egypt in late July they were given further training and were soon told to prepare to head for Gallipoli.
On the 4th September 1915 the Battalion embarked from Egypt and made their way to the peninsula. After the 28th Battalion arrived at Anzac they were sent to part of the newly captured territory to hold the new trenches around positions such as the Apex and Rhododendron Spur. The 28th Battalion were not involved in any major actions on Gallipoli but still had a steady stream of casualties.
On the 31st October 1915 John fell ill and was sent to the 7th Field Ambulance. He was diagnosed as NYD or 'Not Yet Determined' however after four days he was back with his Battalion.
On the 11th December 1915 John was shot through the hip. He was treated at the Field Ambulance and then the 13th Casualty Clearing Station. On the 12th December he was taken out to the hospital ship Oxfordshire which brought him back to Egypt for further treatment.
He was admitted to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Heliopolis and remained there till the 10th January 1916. John had recovered well and was now returned to the 28th Battalion which had just returned to Egypt on the 10th January 1916.
John did not remain with the 28th Battalion for long, as on the 30th January 1918 he was transferred to the Australian Camel Corps. This unit was soon renamed the Imperial Camel Corps. According to the Australian War Memorial;
Camels were very useful in Sinai and Palestine. Tens of thousands were needed to get water to the soldiers, and they were also good for patrolling in the desert.
Later on they were also used to transport cameliers into battle, whereupon the riders would dismount to fight. They could also carry wounded men on stretchers placed on each side of the animal. Despite their usefulness, the camels were a rough ride, making transportation of the wounded uncomfortable and painful.
The Imperial Camel Corps Brigade was formed in 1916 from British and Commonwealth troops and was attached to the Anzac Mounted Division. There were four regiments: the 1st and 3rd were Australian, the 2nd was British, and the 4th was a mix of New Zealanders and Australians. Each regiment had around 770 men, and at full strength the brigade contained almost 4,000 camels.
Camels were well suited for life in the desert; they could carry around 145 kilograms and go without water for up to five days. Horses were also used by the troops, but required water daily. Initially transported from India and then Egypt, the camels could travel from 4.8 to 9.5 kilometres per hour.
In 1917 the brigade took part in the fighting at Gaza and Beersheba in Palestine. By the following year the country’s harsh terrain had made the camels less effective than horses. No longer needed, the Australian cameliers were transferred to the light horse.
Much of 1916 was taken up with patrol work but John saw action with his unit at the Battle of Romani in August 1916.
In November 1916 John was sent to Hospital suffering from scabies and jaundice and he was out of action in hospital for a few weeks. He did not rejoin his unit till the 16th January 1917. He then resumed duties with his unit, seeing action at the First Battle of Gaza in April 1917.
In May 1917 John got into trouble for which he was court martialled. The first charge at the field court martial stated that;
Conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, in that he at Ismailia on the 6th May 1917 created a disturbance at the Native Quarters at Ismailia.
The 2nd Charge read;
Striking a person in whose custody he had been placed, in that he, at Ismailia on 6th May 1917, when in custody of 5593 L/Cpl L.H. Slipper MHP, struck with his fist, in the face of the said Lance Corporal.
The 3rd Charge read;
Resisting an escort whose duty it was to have him in charge, in that he at Ismailia on the 6th May 1917, while under the escort of 2434 L/Cpl W Watts and No.1708 Lance Corporal J Greenep MFP, resisted his escort by kicking and struggling.
John plead Not Guilty on all charges but was found guilty on the 1st and 3rd charge. He was then sentenced to 6 months imprisonment at a detention barracks in Cairo. John only served a few months of this sentence as he was released on the 17th August 1917. He then returned to the 1st Battalion Imperial Camel Corps.
John served at the Beersheba operations in October 1917 and Jerusalem in November 1917. He came through these actions unscathed and was also present for the capture of Jericho in January 1918.
John continued to serve with the Cameliers as they made their way through the Jordan Valley, seeing action at Es Salt in May 1918.
On the 17th May 1918 John fell ill with gastritis and was evacuated to the Field Ambulance and after a few days was well enough to rejoin his unit. He served with the Camels for a few more weeks but on the 22nd June 1918 was sent to hospital ill.
At the 44th Stationary Hospital at Kantara he was diagnosed with venereal disease but after a few days was released from hospital.
The Imperial Camel Corps had now been disbanded and John was sent to join the 10th Light Horse Regiment and was taken on strength on the 31st July 1918. A week later he fell ill and was sent to hospital. It was a recurrence of the venereal disease and John was returned to hospital. He stayed in hospital from the 9th August to 4th October 1918.
On being released from hospital John joined the 3rd Light Horse Brigade Training Regiment and was with them until the 28th October 1918 when he rejoined the 10th Light Horse Regiment. The Armistice followed soon after on the 11th November 1918.
John remained with the 10th Light Horse Regiment till February 1919. He had again fallen ill but was not away long, rejoining the 10th LH in March 1917. He then served with them through to June 1919.
On the 5th June 1919 he fell ill and was sent to hospital and it was found he had injured his clavicle. He was treated at the 14th Australian General Hospital at Abbassia. He remained there for a month and on the 24th July 1919 he was sent aboard the hospital transport ship Dongola for the journey back to Australia. He arrived back in Fremantle on the 17th August 1919.
After being disembarked John was sent to No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle for a medical examination and more treatment on his fractured clavicle.
He was discharged from the AIF on the 18th October 1919.
He then returned to the family home, his parents then living in Spearwood.
His father John died in Fremantle on the 22nd November 1921.
John married in 1924 in Fremantle to Jessie Florence Hilda Reeves and a son John was born in 1926, and a daughter Lorna.
They took up residence at 5 Railway Street North Fremantle. John was working as a plate layer during this time. They lived here through the 1930's & 40's.
John's mother Briget died in Fremantle on the 21st may 1939.
On the 20th August 1940 John enlisted into the Australian Army for service in the Second World War. He was again accepted as fit for service and was assigned the service number WX8306.
John had been assigned to the 1st Australian Railway Construction Company. After initial training in WA, John left Fremantle Harbour in September 1940 aboard a troopship which took him to Egypt.
John served with this unit in the Middle East for the next two years. While their main duties involved constructing strategic rail links—such as carving the Haifa–Tripoli line through the Lebanese mountains, small detachments of the 1ARCC operated directly as part of the Tobruk garrison.
It doesn't appear that John served at Tobruk, his records mentioning Haifa and Gaza.
In July 1941 John was transferred for duty to the 5th Australian General Hospital. He returned to Australia in April 1942.
In June 1942 he was given a medical examination at Hollywood Hospital and was found to be permanently unfit for active service. He was discharged from the Army on the 21st July 1942.
John then returned home and resumed his employment as a Plate Layer for the Railways. The family continued to live at 5 railway street North Fremantle through to the 1960's.
In 1967 John wrote to the Army from his house in Loch Street Mosman Park for his Gallipoli medallion which was duly sent to him.
John died on the 21st January 1978 aged 83. He was cremated at Fremantle Cemetery.