Pte
John Henry Crompton
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 04/11/1875 |
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Place of birth: Lowthorpe, Yorkshire, England, United Kingdom |
General information
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Profession: Farmer |
Army information
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Country: Australia |
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Force: Australian Imperial Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 73 |
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Enlistment date: 06/12/1915 |
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Enlistment place: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
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Units: — Australian Infantry, 42nd Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 04/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Alma - Brigade Hof, Zonnebeke, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 41 |
Memorial
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Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Panel: 27U |
Distinctions and medals 3
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1914-15 Star Medal |
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
John Henry Crompton was a 41-year-old farmer from Elimbah, Queensland who was killed during the Battle of Passchendeale. John was born in 1875 in England in the hamlet of Lowthorpe, East Riding of Yorkshire. With no hope of inheriting the family tenancy he immigrated to Canada in 1906, where he went homesteading in Alberta. Not even a decade later John worked and lived in Australia. Adventurous as he was John enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in late 1915. By the Battle of Passchendaele he served as a Private with the 42nd Battalion of the Australian Infantry, part of the 11th Brigade, of the 3rd Australian Division.
On 4 October 1917 the 42nd Battalion took part in the attack on the Broodseinde Ridge. Their assembly point was located between Hill 40 and the Zonnebeke station on the Ypres-Roulers railroad. The attack began at 6 a.m. John’s Battalion advanced behind the 43rd Australian Infantry. Forty minutes later the 42nd Battalion leapfrogged through the 43rd and moved towards Thames. The Germans were caught off guard and John’s Battalion captured the fortified positions at Alma and Thames without much fighting. After the line at Thames had been consolidated, the 44th Battalion moved through, continuing the attack on the ridge. Though the men didn’t met much resistance along the way, the German artillery heavily shelled the advance. Most casualties were sustained due to shell fire. Casualties were especially high when a barrage caught the advance in Thames Wood.
According to his Red Cross Wounded and Missing File, John was wounded near Thames, while consolidating the position. He was evacuated on a stretcher by two German prisoners. When the party reached a trench near Alma, a shell exploded nearby, killing John and one of the stretcher-bearers. The remains of both men remains were buried on the side of the railway. But John’s grave went lost in the later duration of the war and he is now remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial.
On 4 October 1917 the 42nd Battalion took part in the attack on the Broodseinde Ridge. Their assembly point was located between Hill 40 and the Zonnebeke station on the Ypres-Roulers railroad. The attack began at 6 a.m. John’s Battalion advanced behind the 43rd Australian Infantry. Forty minutes later the 42nd Battalion leapfrogged through the 43rd and moved towards Thames. The Germans were caught off guard and John’s Battalion captured the fortified positions at Alma and Thames without much fighting. After the line at Thames had been consolidated, the 44th Battalion moved through, continuing the attack on the ridge. Though the men didn’t met much resistance along the way, the German artillery heavily shelled the advance. Most casualties were sustained due to shell fire. Casualties were especially high when a barrage caught the advance in Thames Wood.
According to his Red Cross Wounded and Missing File, John was wounded near Thames, while consolidating the position. He was evacuated on a stretcher by two German prisoners. When the party reached a trench near Alma, a shell exploded nearby, killing John and one of the stretcher-bearers. The remains of both men remains were buried on the side of the railway. But John’s grave went lost in the later duration of the war and he is now remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial.
Sources 8
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AIF-Project https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/index.html Sources used |
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Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com/ Further reference |
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Australian War Memorial https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10330341 Sources used |
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CWGC https://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/1598580/crompton,-john-henry/ Sources used |
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John Henry Crompton http://www.rgcrompton.info/crompton/1805info8.html Sources used |
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State Library of Queensland. https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/ Sources used |
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The Long, Long Trail http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/army/ Sources used |
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War Diary King's Australian Infantry, 42nd Bn. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583 Sources used |