The AIF Project

John William LANCASTER

Regimental number3088
Place of birthSouth Melbourne, Victoria
SchoolSouth Melbourne State School, Victoria
ReligionMethodist
OccupationLinotyper
Address321 Dawson Street, West Brunswick, Victoria
Marital statusMarried
Age at embarkation27
Height5' 2"
Weight140 lbs
Next of kinWife, C L Lancaster, 321 Dawson Street, West Brunswick, Victoria
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date12 July 1915
Place of enlistmentMelbourne, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name6th Battalion, 10th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/23/3
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT RMS Osterley on 29 September 1915
Regimental number from Nominal Roll3088A
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll60th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 19 July 1916
Place of death or woundingFleurbaix, France
Age at death28.4
Age at death from cemetery records28
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsV.C. Corner (Panel No 21), Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles, France
Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
170
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: William and Marion LANCASTER; husband of C.L. LANCASTER, 5 Kitchener Street, West Brunswick, Victoria
Other details

War service: Egypt, Western Front

Admitted to Isolation Hospital, Abbassia, 19 November 1915 (venereal); discharged to unit, 20 November 1915.

Taken on strength, 6th Bn, Tel el Kebir, 7 January 1916.

Transferred to 58th Bn, and taken on strength, Serapeum, 17 February 1916.

Transferred to 60th Bn, and taken on strength, Tel el Kebir, 15 March 1916.

Embarked Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, 18 June 1916; disembarked Marseilles, France, 29 June 1916.

Reported Missing, 19 July 1916.

Court of Enquiry, held in the field, 4 August 1917, pronounced fate as 'Killed in Action, 19 July 1916'.

Note, Red Cross File No 1541007: 'No trace Germany. Cert. by Capt. Mills. 10.10.19.'

Statement, 267 Pte T.W. ELLIOTT, 60th Bn, 19 December 1916: 'I knew him. We started that morning from Fromelles to take the first line trenches. We had to retire to our original line as the shelling was very heavy. His brother enquired about him from the depot Horseferry Road, London[,] and they replied that he was killed.'

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal
SourcesNAA: B2455, LANCASTER John William
Red Cross File No 1541007

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