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John Richard Lewis

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John Richard Lewis
Lewis John Richard 1.jpg
Lewis John Richard 2.jpg
King's Park Memorial walk
Personal Information
Date of Birth not known
"not known" contains an extrinsic dash or other characters that are invalid for a date interpretation.
Place of Birth Williamstown, Victoria
Death 3-6 Nov 1916
"3-6 Nov 1916" contains more than three components required for a date interpretation.
Place of Death The Maze Gueudecourt, France
Age at Enlistment 19 years, 3 months
Description 5'3¼" (1.61m) tall ; 111 lbs
50.349 kg
; fair complexion ; blue eyes ; fair hair
Occupation Horse driver
Religion Church of England
Address Jarrahdale, Western Australia
Next of Kin Mother , Mrs Minnie Lewis
Military Information
Reg Number 3177
Date of Enlistment 26 Jul 1915
Rank Private
Unit/Formation 28th Battalion, 7th Reinforcements
Date of Embarkation 18 Jan 1916 ‒ 16 Feb 1916
Ship Embarked On HMAT A7 Medic
Fate Killed in Action 3-6 Nov 1916
Monument Jarrahdale Honour Roll
Villers-Bretonneux Memorial
Australian War Memorial
Medals British War Medal
Victory Medal



Pre War

War Service

John entered camp on 26 Jul 1915 and was allocated to the 7th reinforcement draft for the 28th Battalion on 1 Nov 1915. Training completed, they sailed for Egypt from Fremantle on 18 Jan 1916 aboard HMAT A7 Medic, disembarking in Alexandria on 16 Feb 1916. The battalion was preparing to move to the Western Front, and on 21 Mar 1916 they departed for Marseilles aboard SS Oriana, landing there on the 27th. On 5 May 1916 he was posted to the 2nd Division's Base Depot for further specialist trench training.


On 6 May 1916 while in Étaples he was taken to the 26th General Hospital with pleurisy. Discharged from hospital on 5 May 1916, he was taken on strength by the 28th Battalion on 16 June 1916 and allocated to 'B' Company. On 25 Sep 1916 he was charged with being absent from 9:00am to 9:30am on the previous day, for which he was awarded 24 hours fatigue duty.


From 3 - 5 Nov 1916 the 28th Battalion was involved in an attack on enemy trenches near Gueudecourt known as 'The Maze'. In atrocious conditions of rain and mud the attack failed and the battalion took substantial casualties - 59 killed, 169 wounded, and 50 missing. There is nothing in the war diary or John's individual records to give us an insight into how or where on the battle field he was killed during that period.

  • Villers Bretonneux Memorial 2015 photo Linton Reynolds
  • Part of the 28th Battalion panel Linton Reynolds photo

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