John Buckland

Personal Information
Date of Birth	not known
Place of Birth	Jarrahdale, Western Australia
Death	7 Jul 1917
Place of Death	Messines area, Belgium
Age at Enlistment	19 years, 2 months
Description	5'11½" (1.82m) tall; weight 146 lbs (66.2 kg); fresh complexion, brown eyes, brown hair.
Occupation	mill hand
Religion	Methodist
Address	Jarrahdale, Western Australia
Next of Kin	Father Sylvanus Thomas Buckland
Military Information
Reg Number	320
Date of Enlistment	8 Jan 1916
Rank	Private
Unit/Formation	44th Battalion B Company / 11th Brigade, 3rd Division
Date of Embarkation	6 Jun 1916 - 21 Jul 1916
Ship Embarked On	HMAT A29 Suevic
Fate	Killed in Action 7 Jul 1917 Messines area
Monument	Jarrahdale
Medals	British War Medal Victory Medal

War Service

Ten days after entering camp, John was allocated to B Company of the 44th Battalion that was being raised in WA at the time. While with the 44th Battalion, training in England, Joh was AWOL on 18 Oct 1916. Awarded 1 day's field punishment and loss of 2 day's pay. On 25 Nov 1916 the unit proceeded by train to Southampton and during the night embarked for France, disembarking in Le Havre at 6:30 am on 26 Nov 1916, before moving into reserve positions at Steenwerck.

During the night of 5th/6th July the battalion relieved the 42nd battalion in the front lines in the Messines sector. On 7 Jul 1917 there is mo mention of casualties, so it is unknown for sure how John received his wounds. The lack of a body indicates that he may have been a victim of what was described in the war diary as

"During digging operations in front of centre company, two very large explosions were heard and a quantity of earth thrown up near strong point, apparently land mines."

Memorialised on the Menin Gate Memorial (Panel 27).

Pension awarded to his mother Margaret of 40/- fortnightly from 18 Sep 1917. His father was awarded 30/- per fortnight from 30 Mar 1918.

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  photo Linton Reynolds 2015