AUSTIN, JOHN


Source

CWGC

SDGW

Uttoxeter Advertiser

Other

Parents

His grandparents were Charles and Catherine Lowndes




1a

Where born

Uttoxeter, Staffordshire


Yes


1a

When born

About 1898





Address

Uttoxeter in 1901




1a

Spouse






Children






Employment Before Joining up






Where Enlisted

Blackburn, Lancashire


Yes



Regiment

East Lancashire

Yes

Yes


3

Unit

1st/4th Bn


Yes



Rank

Lance Corporal

Yes

Yes




Private




3

Service Number

1521

Yes

Yes


3

Date of Death

10th Jun 1915

Yes

Yes



Age at time of death

17 or 18




2

19

Yes




Where Killed or died

Gallipoli


Yes




How he died

Killed in Action


Yes








Location of Grave or Memorial

Will be added to the Addenda Panel of the Helles Memorial

Yes




Awards

1915 Star: Roll H/1/10 2B Page 246





Victory Medal: Roll H/1/10 2B Page 246





British Medal: Roll H/1/25 B Page 2





John has proved difficult to trace in the records, and the details presented here are our best attempt, given the material that is available.

Until recently he did not appear in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission database, but this omission is being corrected. His record on their website carries the following note:

“ This casualty has recently been accepted for commemoration by the Commission. However, it will not be possible to add his name to the Memorial immediately. Please contact the Commission before planning a visit, for more information.”

His name will eventually be added to the Helles Memorial,

John may have been orphaned at a young age because the 1901 Census shows him living with his grandparents (Charles and Catherine Lowndes) and uncles (George and Harold Barnes Lowndes) during the night of the census. On the other hand, he may have been simply staying with them for the night.

John enlisted into the 1st/4th Battalion of the East Lancashire Regiment and served as a Private, Service Number 1521.

He embarked for Foreign Service on 9th May 1915 and died at Gallipoli on the 10th of June, barely a month later.

If the date of birth given in the 1901 Census is correct, John was a year or two underage for service abroad when he died at Gallipoli.

This family was hit with double tragedy because Harold Barnes Lowndes, who was his uncle and also living in the same house at the time of the 1901 census, was also killed during the war - he died on 18th October 1918, only a month before the end of the war.

John was awarded the 1915 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal.