Private James Buchanan Henry

Service Number: 6507

Description

James Buchanan Henry was born at Canelon, Scotland, in approximately 1895, to James and Isabella, née Taylor. It is not known when he arrived in Australia, but by 17 August 1914, he was working as a labourer in the Ipswich area. He gave his age as 23 years old when he was one of six men who presented to the local recruiting officer on 2 May 1916. He was accepted for service in the Australian Imperial Force and gave his occupation as an assistant boiler-maker.

One of the men with whom he enlisted is believed to be his younger brother Andrew Dow Henry. His brother also served in the 15th Battalion initially, before transferring to 4th Division Headquarters on 28 April 1918. Their older brothers John and Thomas later enlisted together on 27 January 1917 and joined the 3rd Machine Gun Company. John later joined the younger two brothers in the 15th Battalion, while Thomas joined the 41st Battalion.

Together, Andrew and James Henry embarked with the 21st reinforcements of the 15th Battalion at Brisbane on 21 October 1916, aboard HMAT Boonah. James Henry left Folkestone, England, to join the 15th Battalion in France on 10 April 1917. While on active service, James Henry also served with the 15th Battalion Band as a cornet player. James Henry returned to Australia aboard HMAT Beltana on 2 June 1919.

All four brothers returned to Australia after the war. James Henry returned to the Ipswich area and resided at Bundamba until moving to another Ipswich suburb, Bremer, in 1925. In 1924, he married Alice Ann Parkinson in Queensland. James Henry continued to live at Bremer until he died on 5 September 1943.

Details

First name/s

James Buchanan

Last name

Henry

Service Number

6507

Final rank

Private

Date of Birth

c.1895

Date of Enlistment

13/05/1916

Date of Embarkation

21/10/1916

Date returned to Australia

02/06/1919

Date of Death

05/09/1943

Ranks held

Conflicts

People

Units

15th Australian Infantry Battalion

Tags and Groups

Rolls

Roll Type	Unit	Rank	Conflict
First World War Embarkation Roll		Private	First World War, 1914-1918
First World War Nominal Roll	15th Australian Infantry Battalion	Private	First World War, 1914-1918

Timeline

13/05/1916: Date of enlistment
21/10/1916: Date of embarkation
02/06/1919: Date returned to Australia
05/09/1943: Date of death

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