John Samuel Gant was born in Whatfield a small village in Suffolk, England in 1887. He was known as Jack and was the second of seven sons born to John and Laura Gant. Jack was brought up at Mill Farm in Hintlesham (now a Grade II English Heritage listed building) and went to school in the village. Jack was a labourer and in the 1911 census his job was given as "Assisting with sheep".

On 31st July 1912, aged 25, he boarded the 1897 cargo liner "The Norseman" which took him, on a third class (aka "steerage") ticket, from London to Sydney, Australia. This would not have been a jolly holiday cruise to sunny climes. The Aberdeen Line vessel was notorious for packing in 2500 passengers (plus crew) on voyages to Australian ports that were non-stop, London to Melbourne, or at best with a short stay in Cape Town.

Jack's new life in New South Wales saw him living at Frederick Craven's property "Glenhurst", Lockwood about 10 kilometres north of Canowindra. There, they farmed sheep and wheat.

Jack enlisted on 25 March 1916 and following his medical he was described as being of "fresh" complexion, 5 feet six and a quarter inches high, with grey eyes and brown hair. Furthermore, his medical record noted that his right big toe was "slightly over-lapping".

Jack embarked from Sydney on HMAT A14 Euripides on 9 September 1916. The ship, which had been requisitioned by the Australian Government arrived in Plymouth following a seven week voyage and eventually docked in France on 13 December. Jack served on the Western Front and was wounded in the left thigh on 3 March 1917 resulting in his transfer to back to England where he was admitted to a hospital in Wandsworth, London.

In June 1917 Jack was deemed fit for service and returned to the front.

In the late summer of 1918 Jack was awarded the Military Medal the third ranked award for acts of bravery. The citation reads:
'During the attack on MONT ST. QUENTIN, near PERONNE, on 31st August 1918, this man was a company runner. The successful communication of the company with flanks and battalion Headquarters was absolutely dependent on runner, as owing to enemy pressure it was impossible to lay telephone wires. He worked incessantly for 18 hours, through heavy and continuous artillery and Machine Gun fire, and never once failed to deliver his message to the front line, although time and again, sniped at by the enemy, who overlooked the position from 100 yards distance.' (Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 115 Date: 10 October 1919.)

During the battle, Australian troops stormed, seized and held the key height of Mont Saint-Quentin (overlooking Péronne), a pivotal German defensive position on the line of the Somme. The Australian forces crossed the Somme River on the night of August 31, and broke the German lines at Mont Saint-Quentin and Péronne. The British Fourth Army's commander, General Henry Rawlinson, described the Australian advances of August 31 – September 4 as the greatest military achievement of the war.

On 3 October 1918 Jack was again wounded in action; this time receiving a gunshot wound to his head and injuries to his shoulder. Jack was treated at a hospital in Le Havre but died of influenza brocho-pneumonia, eight days after the Armistice, on the 19 November 1918. Jack is buried at Ste. Marie Cemetery, Le Havre. (The image at the top of the page is by artist John Goodchild and depicts the cemetery in Le Havre where Jack is buried. See here for more information.)

Jack is commemorated on the war memorial in his home village near Ipswich. He is also commemorated on a panel the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and on the plaques at the entrance of Canowindra Soldiers Memorial Hospital and at Canowindra Services Club.

Digital copies of Jack's service records are freely available online from the National Archives of Australia (NAA).

The NAA records show that Jack was likely to have died without knowing about his gallantry commendation as it was not gazetted until June, 1919. In any event the actual medal was not sent to his father until 1920. Sadly, it was returned to London unclaimed in March, 1920.

Jack's younger brother, Thomas, also died in the Great War.

---

This article is based on a transcription of Gerald Main's interview on BBC Radio Suffolk 17 January 2020. Edited and expanded 2023

---

Have we got something wrong or missed anything or can you provide more information? Contact us via the form here.

Have you got a story, documents or photos about Canowindra? We'd love to hear about them. Please contact us here