SAPPER JOHN HORNE
5555 – 1st Tunnelling Company
Born in 1885 in Newcastle, New South Wales (NSW), John Horne, the son of John and Grace Horn. The Horn family had a dairy at Toronto, NSW, and John enlisted at nearby Newcastle, NSW on 29 April 1916. A Miner aged 31 years and 4 months, he was 5ft 5½ins tall and weighed 142 lbs. He had a fair complexion, grey eyes and brown hair. He had undergone a medical examination at Newcastle on 29 April, which had found him to be ‘fit for active service’.
John gave his address as Killingworth, NSW and named as his Next of Kin his wife Mrs Elizabeth Horne of Killingworth via West Wallsend, NSW, and allotted three fifths of his pay for the support of his wife and children.
John spent from 3 May to 4 July 1916 with ‘A’ Company, Newcastle Depot Battalion and was transferred to the Miners Reinforcements at Seymour, Victoria on 5 July 1916 where he underwent training with the Miners until his embarkation for the European theatre.
516 Tunnellers Reinforcements departed Melbourne, Victoria on October 25, 1916 at 1.30pm aboard the transport HMAT A38 Ulysses, John Horne being one of them. The Australian coastline disappeared from view on October 30, 1916 with the port of Durban reached at 11.30am on November 13, 1916. They felt the effects of the wind going around the Cape and arrived at Cape Town at 7am on November 19. Freetown in Sierra Leone was the next port of call where they arrived on 29 November. Their departure was delayed until December 14, 1916 as it was not safe to proceed further. Ulysses arrived at Plymouth, England on December 28, 1916, after 65 days at sea, with the troops disembarking at 1.30pm and entraining for Tidworth, marching into the Australian Details Camp at Perham Downs on 29 December.
5798 Sapper George Oxman, (later of the 3rd Australian Tunnelling Company) recorded the voyage in his Diary:
Dec 5.It took 1½ hours to take 1000 men ashore for the afternoon. We have to pay 6d each for the loan of the punts. We were fastened with ropes with one punt to the other coming back, the rope broke and we were drifting out pretty quick but the tug boat soon had us back again. Not too clean of a place. The women stand in a stream and wet their clothes they are washing and place them on a flat stone and then belt into them with a flat piece of wood like a bat.
Dec 9.Had to get some coal and fresh water. The officers went ashore to buy some fruit to sell to us they wouldn’t let us buy off the natives so when they came back with the fruit - none of us would buy it off them.
Dec13. 29 Big boats in here now.
Dec 14.Left for England with four other transport auxiliary cruiser escorting us.
Dec 25.On the sea between Gibraltar and England it has been very foggy. We had roast pork for Christmas dinner and some baked scones. They were as hard as rock.
Dec 26.Very foggy torpedo boats came to escort us in the rest of the way. Got our kit bags out of the holds.
Dec 28.We had nothing to eat from 7.30am to 3.30pm. We had to buy some cakes during the last week on the boat. We held the Dead March on a roast they gave us (250 of us) for our dinner. We marched up to the top deck with it, all the rest of the men were watching us and laughing. We got roared up a bit after it but we didn’t care.
Got on the train at 4pm. Got to Perham Downs camp at 11pm. Nothing to eat from the military until 8 or 9 the next morning. Then we had two tablespoons of boiled salmon and spuds and a mug of tea. Mud from 1-6 inches deep.
Sapper John Horne proceeded overseas to France on 28 January 1917 and marched in to the Australian General Base Depot (AGBD) at Rouelles. He was attached to the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company (1ATC) on 6 February and taken on strength of that unit on 3 March.
John would have witnessed the firing of the mines at Hill 60 and Caterpiller on 7 June 1917 and worked on the ‘Catacombs’ dugout system on Hill 63.
On 1 October 1917 John was an eyewitness to the death of several Sappers of the 1st Tunnelling Company and whilst in hospital in England gave a statement to the Red Cross on 9 April 1918. His statement concerned in particular Spr. Spence:
“Spr. W.J. Spence was waiting to get on a lorry at Menin Road on Oct. 1/17, when a shell exploded near to us and he was evidently killed by it. He wasn’t seen afterwards, several men were killed then, and they were buried in military cemetery at Ypres.”
He reported to hospital on 25 March 1918 and was admitted to the 10th Stationary Hospital at St Omer with an undiagnosed complaint. He was transferred to the 7th Convalescent Depot with synovitis of the right knee on 2 April and then to the 3rd Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne. John embarked for England on 5 April and was admitted to the 2nd Eastern General Hospital at Brighton.
Discharged to furlough on 26 April, he was to report to No.4 Com. Depot at Hurdcott on 10 May. On 4 June he was in the Camp Isolation Hospital, returning to No.4 Depot on 10 June.
On 24 June he marched into the Overseas Training Brigade at Longbridge Deverill and proceeded overseas to France on 11 July 1918, marching in to the AGBD at Rouelles on 12 July and rejoining his unit on 19 July.
On 12 September John was returned to the AGBD and re-assigned to the Australian Infantry Base Depot on 16 September. He was appointed to, and taken on strength of, the 34th Infantry Battalion on 18 September.
Accidentally injured on 29 October he was admitted to 9th Field Ambulance with synovitis of the knee on 30 September. He was discharged to duty on 12 November and rejoined the 34th Battalion on the same day.
John marched out to the Base Depot to begin his repatriation journey on 12 March 1919. He marched into 3rd C.P. Codford, England on 27 March.
Leaving London on 11 May 1919 on board Borda, John arrived on 27 June 1919 at Melbourne and then travelled by rail to Sydney.
On 4 July 1919 he wrote to Base Records from Killingworth requesting a copy of his medical history. His letter was stamped as received by ‘Deceased Section’ on 9 July 1919. John repeated the request on 19 August 1919.
Sapper John Horne was discharged from the A.I.F. in Sydney as medically unfit on 19 September 1919.
He was entitled to wear and was issued with the British War Medal (59978) and the Victory Medal (58099).
On 25 January 1946 his WW1 documents were sent to the Repatriation Commission, Sydney.
In all, five children of John and Grace Horn enlisted for service in World War 1. All enlisted using the spelling ‘Horne’. Four of the brothers are commemorated on the Killlingworth War Memorial.
William Horne, b. 1889 at Wallsend, NSW. A single Miner he enlisted on 28 December 1915 and was assigned the service number 103. William may have had second thoughts as on 2 February 1916 a Warrant was issued for his detention as a ‘deserter or absconder or absentee without leave’. William embarked on 1 May 1916 with the 54th Infantry Battalion. He proceeded overseas to France on 30 September 1916 with the 17th Battalion. He joined 54th Battalion on 17 October. He reported sick on 30 November and was admitted to 5th Australian Field Ambulance on 7 December with ‘Mental deficiency’. Admitted 8th General Hospital at Rouen, France on 26 January 1917, William was transferred to England on 3 March and admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley. Transferred to Dykebar Hospital, Paisley on 10 March, he was transferred again to Lord Derby War Hospital, Warrington on 29 August. William returned to Australia per Beltana on 13 December 1917 suffering ‘delusional insanity’ and was discharged 23 January 1918. (NOK John Horne, Broadway St, Killingworth).
James Horne, b. 1891 Newcastle, NSW. A single Mine-Wheeler by trade he enlisted on 29 December 1915. Several infringements for riotous behaviour and being absent without leave led to his discharged on 6 March 1916 (no number issued – no effective service – no medals). (NOK John Horne, Broadway St, Killingworth).
David Horne, b. 1893 Wallsend, NSW. A single Schoolteacher he enlisted on 1 May 1915 and was assigned the service number 4404. David embarked on 15 May 1915 with the 3rd Australian General Hospital on board RMS Mooltan. He served with the 1st Light Horse Field Ambulance. David returned to Australia from the Suez per Margha, arriving 5 March 1919 and was discharged on 1 May 1919. (NOK John Horne, Broadway St, Killingworth). It is believed David died in 1962 at Rockdale, NSW.
Clarence Horne, b. 1898 Adamstown, NSW. A single Mine-Wheeler by trade, his father had given written consent on 11 July 1915 for him to serve with the expeditionary forces. He enlisted on 15 July 1915 and was assigned the service number 3054. His embarkation details are not known. While with the 56th Infantry Battalion, Clarence reported sick on 2 March 1916 at Tel-el-kebir, was diagnosed with appendicitis and admitted to No.2 Australian Stationary Hospital. He was transferred to the 3rd Australian General Hospital at Abbassia and admitted on 17 March 1916, and then transferred to Montazah Convalescent Depot, also at Abbassia, on 23 March. Clarence was discharged to the Agricultural Hall, Ghezireh on 15 April and marched out to Tel-el-kebir on 2 May, rejoining his unit on 3 May at Ferry Post. He was admitted to the 1st Australian Stationary Hospital at Ismalia with acute peritonitis on 9 June 1916, and died the same day, aged just 19. Clarence is buried in the Ismalia Military Cemetery, Egypt. His 1914/15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medalm as well as the pamphlet “Where The Australians Rest”, Memorial Scroll, King’s Message and Memorial Plaque were received by his father in the following years. (NOK John Horne, Broadway St, Killingworth).
Tunnelling Company family connections:
5555 John Horne 1ATC married 1906 at West Wallsend to Elizabeth Walker, the sister of 5854 William Walker.
5854 William Walker 3ATC married 1912 at West Wallsend to Sarah Ann Punton, the sister of 5811 Alfred & 5812 John Punton, both of 3ATC.
5812 John Punton married 1920 at West Wallsend to Ellen Walker, the sister of 5854 William Walker.
The story goes that William Walker and John Punton met up during their time in France and the love of a little drink or three resulted in their being AWOL. An officer stood up for them and no charges where issued, as they were actually with their unit when they passed out.
John Punton and John Horne met up as well and there are 2 versions of the following story:
It seems that the diggers were told that the safest place to be if caught in open ground during artillery fire was in a shell crater.
After a particularly heavy bombardment of their position in the trench sap, John Horne, John Punton and othersset up an ammo box for a table in a large shell crater and started playing cards. During the game the shelling started again and a large shell landed in the crater but didn’t explode. One of the men was heard to say: "lucky we were in the bloody crater or we'd have been buggered for sure"
The other story goes that it was John Punton and William Walker while being shelled on the way to their position. John and William jumped into a crater in which a shell landed and didn’t explode.
John Horne was supposed to have been a real character. The three families all tell the story.
Family folklore states that William Walker and John Punton were able to sink vertical shafts in sand without bracing of any kind, a technique used by them in WW1.