John Finn (1886-1916)

John was born in Tralee in the County of Kerry, Ireland, in 1886 (reference; reference; reference). As a child, he was educated in Ireland and was brought up as a Catholic by his father, Michael Finn and his mother (reference; reference). Sadly, by 1915 when John enlisted into the army, his mother had died (reference). 

Concrete information on John is scarce. However, military records suggest that John came to Australia from Ireland when he was about twenty-two, leaving behind his father and sister (reference; reference). One sister, Hannah Mathews, moved to Western Australia and lived in Brunswick Junction (reference). His other sister, Mary Kennedy, was listed as his next of kin in his service records as having remained in Ireland (reference; reference).

John lived in Bunbury and worked for the Western Australian Government as a railway employee (reference; reference; reference). He was single and twenty-nine years old when he signed up for war (reference). John was described as 5 feet 9 inches with a medium complexion, blue eyes, dark hair and a ginger moustache (reference; reference). He also had a mole on the back of his neck (reference). 

On 28 September 1915, John enlisted into the Australian Army at Blackboy Hill (reference; reference). He was assigned service number 3525 (reference). He left Australia on 17 January 1916 on the HMAT Borda A30 from Fremantle with the 28th Infantry Battalion 8th Reinforcement (reference; reference). While initially assigned to the 28th Battalion, John was transferred to the 51st Battalion in March 1916 at Tel-el-Kebir, a military camp out of Cairo, Egypt (reference; reference; reference). In May, he joined the 13th Training Battalion but did not remain with them for very long (reference). He returned to the 51st Battalion to depart Alexandria, Egypt, for Marseilles, France (reference). According to a letter written by his sister, Hannah, John was part of the 51st Lewis Machine Gun Section (reference).

Two months after arriving in France, John was involved in heavy battle near Pozieres (reference). Initially, it was unclear what had happened to John after 13 August 1917 (reference). Having been reported as missing, the Australian Red Cross Society began investigating his case (reference). 

At first, it was reported by Sergeant Davies that on 18 August 1917 that John was wounded but not missing, having been taken to Number 5 General Hospital in London, England (reference; reference). This news managed to reach his sister, who was told John was in a London Hospital (reference). Unfortunately, Sergeant Davies had been mistaken, and John was not safe at a hospital in England (reference). 

Having determined that John was not at a hospital, the enquiry progressed to John being assumed wounded and missing (reference). The Red Cross began contacting those who last saw him, who helped piece together what had happened to John.

Private W Campbell, service number 3494 of A Convoy, said, "I saw him lying bandaged up in a shell hole wounded in the arm. A machine gunner named McCarthy who was with him, told me he was wounded again afterwards in the leg. I do not know what became of him (reference)." Private Campbell then gave a more detailed account when further questioned: "I saw him in a wounded condition, with another man, in a shell hole at Pozieres on August 13. This was out in No Man's Land. I saw him as I went past. He was wounded in the leg and the arm. That is the last I know of him. The name of the other man with him, who was unwounded, was Private McCarthy of the 51st Battalion. He could perhaps give further information (reference)."

Private McCarthy was contacted and asked about the last time he saw John. He wrote: "the last I saw of him he was taken into our front line by two stretcher bearers, after that I know nothing as I thought he was alright. He was a man about 5ft 7ins and nuggetty build, fair complexion, blue eyes and had an Irish accent. He was wounded in the arm and above the knee. That is all I know about him. You may find something about him by writing to J Eastland 4th Division M H Police (reference)."

Communication with Private McCarthy gave another lead, J W Eastwood (possibly James Wilkinson Eastwood), was written to: "I am sorry I can give you very few particulars. He went into an engagement shortly after I was transferred to 4th Australian Division Headquarters. Previously he was with me in C Company at Fleurbaix. I have written him but had no reply. He came from Bunbury, Western Australia, where he used to work for the W.A. Government Railways. His people, some of them at least, reside there, others in Ireland. The last I heard was that he was wounded in the arm and leg on the Somme. Description - about 5'7" in height; fair; hair thin on top; moustache; stout build; well set; pleasing countenance; pleasing disposition; good tempered (reference)."

The investigation led to a witness report from J Elliot, service number 2136 of the 51st Battalion (reference). Elliot says he saw John in the dressing station behind the firing line close to Pozieres. He said John had a broken leg and was also wounded in the arm but was unsure what happened to him (reference). Elliot heard afterwards that a bomb had hit the dressing station where the stretcher-bearers took John (reference). 

From these witness accounts, which took until May 1917 to collect (reference), it seems likely that John had his leg broken or injured above the knee. He then sought shelter in a shell hole in No Man's Land and was further injured in his arm. Two stretcher-bearers carried John to a field dressing station which was then bombed. The bomb was what would have killed John. This all occurred sometime between 14 and 16 August 1916. John's missing and wounded status was updated to killed in action in the army records (reference). He was thirty years old (reference). 

John Finn has no known grave (reference; reference). He is commemorated on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, the Brunswick Junction Memorial Hall Honour Roll, and the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, the Australia National Memorial in France (reference). 

After his death, his sister Mary received his belongings as per his will, and his father received his Victory Medal and British War Medal on 20 September 1923 (reference; reference; reference).