A century on from the end of World War I we acknowledge their service …
Lest we forget.
Trooper John Thomas Maher
Born: 29 July 1896 Buchan. Died: 17 October 1970 Tower Hill.
Enlisted: 14 June 1915 aged 21.
Served: Egypt Palestine.
Jack enlisted on 14 June 1915, the second of the Maher brothers to do so.
Jack appears to have served with the Light Horse at Gallipoli, before returning to Egypt. Being part of the 8th Light Horse, Jack remained in the Middle East, while many other Australian units were redeployed to the Western Front.
He later served again with the Light Horse in Palestine, where he contracted malaria.
Jack arrived back in Australia in August 1919 and was welcomed home to Pakenham with a social gathering at his parents’ home.
With around 20 other soldiers, Jack was then officially welcomed home to Pakenham and presented with a gold medallion in October 1919.
Jack was living at Warrong, near Warrnambool Victoria when he claimed his war medals in 1921.
He married Lillian Jones.
Jack served in the Army again during WWII with the 22 Employment Company and attained the rank of Sergeant.
His WWII service included a period in New Guinea, where he lost his WWI medals somewhere between Port Moresby and Lae.
This is an extract from Patrick Ferry’s book A Century After The Guns Fell Silent – Remembering the Pakenham District’s WWI Diggers 1914-18.
For more details on this and other profiles in the book, head to the website www.pakenhamww1.com
