Cox, John William
PLACE OF BIRTH
Bristol England
OCCUPATION
Labourer
PLACE OF ENLISTMENT
Cairns, QLD
DATE OF ENLISTMENT
28-10-1916
NEXT OF KIN
(mother) Alice Cox, Gloster House, Shirehamilton, Bristol ,England
LINK TO DOUGLAS SHIRE
Address on Embarkation Roll given as Mossman, QLD
REGIMENT 1
52 Infantry Battalion
REGIMENT 2
49th Battalion AIF
RANK
Private
DATE DISCHARGED
12-5-1919
OTHER INFO
52nd Battalion 8th Reinforcement. British War Medal No.26144; Victory Medal No.25123
STORY OUTLINE
John William Cox embarked at Sydney on 23-12-1916 with the 52nd Infantry Battalion on board HMAT Demosthenes A64 and disembarked Plymouth England on 3-3-1917. He was taken on strength with the 52 Infantry Battalion in France on 16-7-1916 and was transferred to Queen Alexandra's Military Hospital at Millbank because of severe trench fever (the term refers to the crowded conditions in which troops fought in during World War I causing bacteria through contact with body lice, overcrowding, and conditions which interfere with good hygiene including regular washing of clothing). In February 1918 he trained with 4th Division Signal School before joining the 49th Battalion at Codford near Salisbury England for further training in July. He embarked for return from Liverpool England to Australia on board S.S. Orca on 19-2-1919, arriving Brisbane on 6-4-1919. He was discharged as medically unfit from Brisbane 12-5-19. The Cairns Post reported that he was welcomed back to Mossman, together with other returned soldiers, on 28th August 1919 and lived at Miallo until his death in 1935 attributed to war injuries.
SERVICE NO
3135
