Pte
John Bertram Buchanan
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 01/10/1891 |
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Place of birth: Parkes, New South Wales, Australia |
General information
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Profession: Labourer |
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: 2276 |
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Enlistment date: 24/01/1916 |
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Enlistment place: Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia |
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Units: — Australian Infantry, 36th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 12/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Lijssenthoek, Remy Siding, No. 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Died of wounds (D.O.W.) |
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Age: 26 |
Cemetery
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Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery Plot: XXI Row: A Grave: 16 |
Distinctions and medals 2
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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
Private John Bertram Buchanan – a labourer from Coff's Harbour, New South Wales - served in “D” Coy. of the 36th Battalion Australian Infantry, part of the 9th Brigade of the 3rd Australian Division. John’s unit participated in the First Battle of Passchendaele on 12 October 1917.
The 36th Battalion left their bivouacs at 7 p.m. on the 11th of October 1917. It marched to its assembly lines near Tyne Cot Cemetery between Augustus Wood and the Ypres-Roulers railroad. John’s Battalion was to follow the old Ypres-Roulers railway line, because the surrounding ground was too boggy. The going up was very hard, as the Germans shelled the route with gas and high explosive shells. The shelling became heavier from the Zonnebeke Railway Station and it became a regular barrage from Daring Crossing onward. The march to the assembly area proved to be a deadly one, as the Battalion suffered about hundred casualties on the route. One hundred men were wounded, dead or missing even before the Battalion had to attack.
While going up to the frontline John Bertram Buchanan was hit by shrapnel in his left buttock. He was taken back to a dressing station by stretcher bearers. One of them stated in John’s Red Cross Wounded and Missing File that he didn’t seem badly hit and was cheerful. From the dressing station he was taken back to n° 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station near Remy Siding, where the 26-year-old died of his wounds. John was buried in the adjacent Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery.
The 36th Battalion left their bivouacs at 7 p.m. on the 11th of October 1917. It marched to its assembly lines near Tyne Cot Cemetery between Augustus Wood and the Ypres-Roulers railroad. John’s Battalion was to follow the old Ypres-Roulers railway line, because the surrounding ground was too boggy. The going up was very hard, as the Germans shelled the route with gas and high explosive shells. The shelling became heavier from the Zonnebeke Railway Station and it became a regular barrage from Daring Crossing onward. The march to the assembly area proved to be a deadly one, as the Battalion suffered about hundred casualties on the route. One hundred men were wounded, dead or missing even before the Battalion had to attack.
While going up to the frontline John Bertram Buchanan was hit by shrapnel in his left buttock. He was taken back to a dressing station by stretcher bearers. One of them stated in John’s Red Cross Wounded and Missing File that he didn’t seem badly hit and was cheerful. From the dressing station he was taken back to n° 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station near Remy Siding, where the 26-year-old died of his wounds. John was buried in the adjacent Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery.
Sources 7
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36th Australian Infantry Battalion, (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/53/12). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583 Sources used |
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Embarkation Roll https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R2004523 Sources used |
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First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455, BUCHANAN J B). https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/NameSearch.aspx Sources used |
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McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Unicorn Publishing Group, 2018), pg 128-129. Sources used |
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Nominal Roll https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R2286807 Sources used |
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Red Cross Wounded and Missing https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1482980 Sources used |
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Roll of Honour https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1678303 Sources used |
More information 5
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/430928 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=019c2b88-6ff6-4875-a409-1251fd1c1124 |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7373655 |
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The AIF Project (UNSW Canberra) https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=37586 |
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A Street Near You https://astreetnearyou.org/person/430928/ |