John (Jack) Francis Healy (ANZAC)

• Birth Notes
  • Qld Birth Cert No. 1895/C010557 John Francis HEALY - Father's name was Michael HEALY and his mother's name was - Ann HEALY nee  Halberstaedter
    

• Death Notes
  • Summary...
    Private JOHN FRANCIS HEALY - 441, 20th Bn., Australian Infantry, A.I.F.
    Died on 02 May 1917 on the eve of the 2nd second Bullecourt (3–4 May) battle in France.
    His final resting place is unknown.
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    Jack, joined the AIF, “A” Company 20th Battalion, 5th Brigade on the 26th June 1915 - service number 441.
    He saw service arriving at Gallipoli just as the August offensive petered out, the 20th’s role there was purely defensive. From 26 August 1915, until its withdrawal from the peninsula on 20 December, the 20th Battalion was responsible for the defence of Russell’s Top.
    After further training in Egypt, the 20th Battalion proceeded to France. It entered the trenches of the Western Front for the first time in April 1916.
    The 2nd Division, which included the 5th Brigade, took part in many offensives before the second Bullecourt (3–4 May) in France. Jack was killed while on a reconnaissance on the evening of the 2nd May, 1917.
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    Medals etc...
    1914/15 Star No. 18034
    British War Medal No. 15917
    Victory Medal No.15846
    Memorial Plaque No. 323861
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    The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) -Monday 4 June 1917 - War Casualties...
    "Mr. and Mrs. M. Healy, of Linthorpe, Petersham-road, Marrickville, have been notified that their second son, Private John Francis Healy, bas been killed in France. An elder brother, Maurice, was killed at the landing on Gallipoli."

• General Notes
  • Jack joined the AIF and fought with the 20th Battalion, A Company, service number 441, at Gallipoli. His battalion moved to France where he was killed on the eve of the start of the 2nd Bullecourt offensive on the 2nd May, 1917.
    Commemoration details...
    Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France.
    Villers-Bretonneux is a village about 15 km east of Amiens. The Memorial stands on the high ground ('Hill 104') behind the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Fouilloy, which is about 2 km north of Villers-Bretonneux on the east side of the road to Fouilloy.
    On this Commonwealth War Graves memorial, his name is spelt incorrectly as John Francis HEALEY. This has now been rectified on the CWGC web site database. To correct the spelling on the actual memorial will take a little longer.
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    The Brisbane Courier (Qld) - Thursday 4 November 1915 - "The Roll of Honour... 
    (along with many others reported ill.)
    Pte. J. F. Healy, 20th Btn., Marrickville."
    The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) - Thursday 4 November 1915
    "Ill - In Hospital - Malta
    Pte. J. F. HEALY, 20 B., Marrickville."
    The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) - Tuesday 23 November 1915
    "Embarked for England...
    Pte. J. F. HEALY, 20 B., Marrickville. "
    The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) - Monday 6 December 1915...
    "Pte. J. F. HEALY, 20 B., Marrickville (was in a Cambridge Hospital, England)."
    The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) - Saturday 8 July 1916
    "Returned to Duty...
    Pte. J. F. Healy, Marrickville"
    The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW) - Tuesday 5 June 1917 - Killed in Action...
    "Pte. JOHN FRANCIS HEALY, Marrickville, 2/5/17."