Allison, John Edmund
John Edmund Allison’s grandparent’s, James Allison and Elizabeth Allion, emigrated from England and settled in the Jamberoo district in the late 1850s, where they had John's father, Charles Allison, and six siblings.
John' parents, Charles and Elizabeth 'Mabel' Fagan (originally from Dublin, Ireland), married on 23 April 1886 in Nowra. Charles Allison worked as a quarryman in Kiama, and he and Elizabeth had a family comprised of two sons and three daughters. John was the youngest, born 10 February 1900.
The first reference to John Allison relates to an unfortunate incident documented in the Kiama Independent. At the age of 15, John, more commonly known as Jack, was responsible for the accidental shooting of his mother. Sadly, his mother died as a result.
Following the death of his wife, John’s father Charles Allison remarried on 1 December 1916, to Mary Stewart, a 51-year-old cook who had been living on Shoalhaven Street, Kiama at the time of their marriage.
Prior to enlisting to serve in WW1, John Allison worked as a Telegraph Messenger for the General Post Office and was an active member of the Militia. When John Allison enlisted, he was aged 18 years and 2 months old. As he was underage, the consent of his father was required. It is interesting to note that on the army personnel record held by the National Archives, there is not an example of John’s father signature that matches the signature on these enlistment papers. He had applied to join a number of times and there were multiple versions of his ‘father’s' signature. It is possible that John Allison had tried to enlist without his father’s consent/knowledge.
Regardless, John Allison was finally accepted with a rank of Private. He was described on attestation papers as being 5’7½”, 133 lbs with a fair complexion, blue eyes and fair hair. Scars were noted on both his left thumb and right thigh.
It was a very short period of time between enlistment and embarkation on active service. The WWI Nominal Roll identifies that he enlisted on 28 April 1917 and the Embarkation Roll enlistment is 30 April 1917. Prior to embarkation, John Allison spent a few days, 7-9 June 1917, in Liverpool Field Hospital for treatment of a bursa on his left wrist.
John embarked 16 June 1917 on HMAT A27 Beltana as a part of the 17th Infantry Battalion, 20th Reinforcements. Within a week of departure, John Allison was reported as suffering from seasickness and was hospitalised for two days.
John disembarked at Plymouth on 25 August 1917 and, following training in England, proceeded overseas to France (Le Havre) on 19 March 1918. It is noted that he was taken on strength from the 17th Battalion 20th Reinforcements to the 20th Battalion on 24 March and travelled to Belgium. There were three major German attacks on the Western Front from late March to May 1918, known as the Kaiserschlacht (Kaiser’s Battle) offensive. The second attack, in April, centred on Lys in Flanders. As a part of the 20th Battalion, Private John Edmund Allison was killed in action on 23 April 1918 in northern France (noted on casualty list no. 406).
John is memorialised in the Bousincourt Ridge British Cemetery. The cemetery is northwest of the town of Albert (north of Amiens).
A last will and testament was included in his service file (extracted from the paybook), indicating that all property and effects were to be left to his father. John’s effects were recovered from the 3rd Echelon France 22 May 1918, and included two wallets, a silver cigarette case, photos, letters, cards, religious book and two stamps. They were to be returned to Australia on the SS Barunga on 20 June 1918, however the ship was struck by a torpedo on 15 July 1918. While all those onboard, including 800 sick and wounded, were saved, the ship sank and its cargo, including John’s personal effects, were lost at sea.
Private John Edmund Allison’s record book M.8 was received by the Kiama Area Officer on 23 December 1918. While the family was advised of the death of John, confirmation having been cabled from early May 1918, information on where he was buried was not immediately available 'owing to the magnitude of the task with which the Graves Registration Committee is confronted, considerable delay is inevitable in many cases' (23 January 1919). It was not until 1922 that his final resting place was confirmed.
John’s older sister, Caroline (Carrie), repeatedly wrote to the Defence Department seeking information on her brother's fate. In most cases, the response to Carrie’s letters indicated that the next of kin was the person to whom any information would be provided, in the first instance, however, it was possible for her to receive information following the initial notification. These letters to Department Defence were triggered by the following notice which appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald in 1918. Shockingly, this was the first time Carrie had heard of her brother’s death.
It would appear from these letters that family relations had broken down following the marriage of their father, Charles, to Mary. The initial letter from Carrie explains her enquiries because 'I am not friends with my father who is his next of kin'. Within John Allison’s army personnel records are a number of these letters, catalogued here with the response sent:
- 28 May 1918 - Response confirming her brother had been killed in action.
- 10 July 1918 - Carrie requested her name be added to his record for information to be forwarded. The response indicated that is was not possible.
- 8 August 1918 - Carrie once more appealed to the authorities to request information regarding her brother, stating: 'I am not friends with my father who is the next of kin that is why I am writing to you – we have a stepmother perhaps you will understand why I do not hear anything from father'. The response indicated that no further information was available at that stage.
- 9 October 1918 - Response advised that particulars of burial were yet to be confirmed.
- 17 January 1919 - Response once more explained that particulars of his burial had not yet been received from abroad.
- 10 October 1920 - Carrie requested that responsibility as next of kin be changed to allow her to respond regarding the headstone inscription, based on no response from their father. A letter was subsequently sent to John’s father suggesting that if he didn’t respond he could 'forego his claim', which would then allow his daughter to respond.
- 10 October 1921 - Response confirmed that Charles Allison had provided information for the memorial inscription, although there was no further evidence what his directions were.
John’s Memorial Plaque (345220) was received by his father, Charles Allison, on 10 November 1922, the Memorial Scroll (345220) and Kings Message was received on 27 November 1922, and the Victory Medal (56761) received on 14 March 1923. John Edmund Allison was also awarded the 1914/15 Star and British War Medal (57761).
Charles Allison passed away in 1935.
Confusion also surrounded John Allison’s rank. His death notice as well as a letter on file indicated that John Allison was a signaller, however most records indicate Private.