Australian War Memorial Collections Database H06501

SOLDIER RESEARCH

Soldier’s Name John Auguste Emile Harris

Rank Lance Corporal

Service 2251 Number Regiment/Unit 2nd Battalion

Place of Birth Camberwell, Sydney, NSW

Date of Birth 1899

Place of Liverpool Enlistment Age at 15 Enlistment Family Details Alfred Harris (father)

Alphonsine Harris (mother)

Date of Death 6 August 1915

Place of Death Lone Pine

Cemetery or Lone Pine Cemetery, Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey Memorial Name Grave or Special Memorial C.41 Memorial Number

Australian War Memorial – Collections Database – H06501 http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/H06501

Lance Corporal John Harris 2251 2nd Battalion

Australia was a young and inexperienced country, romanced by the idea of war, by the adventure, the glory and honour they thought it entailed. Thus, at the outbreak of the First World War, men of all ages and backgrounds flocked to enlist. It wasn’t just men who wished to take part in this brave quest; the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll recognises at least 58 boy soldiers or sailors who died while serving our country in the Great War. These are 58 boys who never became men, who never became husbands, who never became fathers.

One story grabbed my attention: Lance Corporal John Auguste Emile Harris who was just 15 years and 10 months old when he was killed in action at Lone Pine Gallipoli. When I discovered his story, I was of a nearly identical age. This baffled me a little, because at 15 years and 8 months old, I was busy planning my future, thinking about graduating and getting a job, growing up and one day having a family. I struggled to comprehend the fact that John had willingly sacrificed not only his life, but his future.

Before the war, John attended Cleveland Street High School in Sydney and worked as a clerk. He lived with his parents Alfred Thomas Harris and Alphonsine Anna Camille Nee Prudthomme at 165 Denison Street, Waverly, and is believed to have attended the Church of England.

He also had reached the rank of 2nd Lieutenant of the 28th infantry in the New South Wales Senior Cadets. But John left all of this behind when he enlisted for the Australian Imperial Force on 2 June 1915. John’s age was given as 18, Alfred Harris signed the parental consent form for his son’s enlistment and a mere 2 weeks later, John embarked on the HMAT A63 Karoola; final destination Gallipoli.

Arriving at Gallipoli a meagre 17 hours before the August Offensive began, John and his great friend and perhaps mentor, 33 year-old 2nd Lieutenant Everard Digges La Touche, had little time to accustom to trench life. Involved at the charge at Lone Pine, John Auguste Emile Harris was last seen at 4:30pm on 6 August.

Speculation surrounds the date of John’s death, some official records recording it as 6 August while others recording it as the 8th. A logical explanation for the error is that the 2nd battalion was relieved by the 7th battalion on the 8th, making it an appropriate time to do a “head count” of sorts. It seems probable that John died on 6 August, and this is backed up by witness accounts, and notes stating that he and Lieutenant La Touche died on the same day. La Touche was mortally wounded on 6 August, but supposedly lived long enough to order that John’s military service tags be removed, and mailed home to his father.

It is believed that John August Emile Harris only has a headstone because the return home of his dogtags proved that he fell at Lone Pine. Red Cross Wounded and Missing files claim John’s body was left where it fell and that he received no burial.

John’s story of sacrifice emphasises the importance of the continuation of the Anzac spirit among young people from generation to generation.

SOURCES /BIBLIOGRAPHY

Ancestry.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013. .

"August Offensive." Australian War Memorial. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013. .

Australian Imperial Force Nominal Rolls 6th Reinforcements. Digital image. Australian War Memorial. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013. .

"Boy Soldiers on the Roll of Honours for the First World War." Australian War Memorial. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2013. < http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/boysoldiers/first/>.

"First World War Embarkation Rolls - John Auguste Emile Harris." Australian War Memorial. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013. .

"First World War Embarkation Rolls Introduction." Australian War Memorial. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Dec. 2013. .

John Auguste Emile Harris. Rep. no. 1280110D. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Australian Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau Files. Web. 10 Jan. 2014. .

John Auguste Emile Harris. Rep. no. 4764863. N.p.: n.p., n.d. National Archives of Australia - Digital Copy of Military Records. Web. 29 Dec. 2013. .

Jones, Faithe. "H." WWI Pictorial Honour Roll of New South Wales. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Dec. 2013. .