1893-1916

Farm Labourer and Fireman

I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope²⁸

Finally, he was in safe hands, far away from the atrocities and savagery of the raging Somme offensive.  Now, in the relative tranquillity of the 12^th General Hospital Rouen³¹ John was fighting another battle, but this time it was for his life; his prospects of winning through were very bleak indeed³¹.

Born¹⁴ in Whattall, in the parish of Cockshutt² on 4^th October 1893¹⁰, John Edmund Rogers was the seventh of several children born to Farmer Edward Rogers and his wife Emma Annie³⁵.  On a busy farm and with his older siblings moving away from home³, young John would have grown up quickly, taking it for granted that chores had to be completed both before and after the school day whilst also minding his younger siblings⁴⁶.  The unexpected death of his fourteen years old sister, Sinah Annie¹⁶, would have impacted everyone and despite his own grief, nine years old John would have dug deep to support his parents⁴².

After leaving Cockshutt School²², John remained at the farm, working for his father³.  But with the effects of the agricultural depression still being felt⁹, life would have been tough; income hard to achieve.  So, at the age of eighteen²³, possibly in pursuit of better-paid work, John, along with his elder brother Arthur, embarked for a new life in Australia, sailing from London to Sydney on the SS Omrah²³.  Once settled in New South Wales³¹, he found employment as a Fireman³¹.

Before long, the shadow of war which had fallen over Europe spread worldwide, and the call for enlistment was heard throughout Australia.  Maybe it was a simple willingness to fight for King and country; perchance it was the lure of a being paid five shillings per day⁴⁵.  Whatever the reason, John enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force at Blackboy Hill on 15^th June³¹.

On 18^th October, Private John Edmund Rogers, Service Number 2698⁴³, embarked for Alexandria³¹ and his first major engagement in conflict.  The destination was Gallipoli³¹. Arriving with 16^th Battalion, he was immediately engaged in ferocious fighting, until the order for withdrawal in December⁴⁵.  Debilitated by sickness and exhaustion, John was admitted to hospital³¹ where he remained until early February 1916, before re-joining his Battalion in Egypt³¹.

A year on from his attestation, John was posted to the Western Front in the Somme valley³¹, with its full horror of bloody trench warfare. In the Battle of Pozieres such was the ferocity of fighting and loss of life that the Australian WW1 Correspondent CEW Bean¹¹ wrote that Pozieres ridge “is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth”¹¹.

It was here, on 11^th August 1916, that Private JE Rogers was wounded in action, with severe shell and gunshot wounds to his right leg, chest and left arm³¹.  Dangerously ill, he fought his last battle with every ounce of strength left; but it was a battle this grey-eyed, brown haired young man³¹ was destined to lose.  On 16th August 1916, four years to the day since leaving England for Australia, Private JE Rogers died from wounds; laid to rest in St. Sever Cemetery, Rouen⁴³, he was posthumously awarded the 1914/15 Star, The British War Medal and Victory Medal³¹.

In a final tribute, in the peace and tranquillity of SS Simon & Jude’s Churchyard⁴², John was reunited with his sister, when his name was added to her headstone¹³.  Among the few final effects returned to his parents, were his Devotional Book³¹ and, in a remarkable act of compassion, camaraderie and kindness, a photograph (of whom, we might never know) which had been retrieved on the bloody battlefield of the “The Peninsular”³¹ and forwarded to his Commanding Officer³¹.

We Will Remember Him.

Private John Edmund Rogers, 2698, 16^th Bn. Australian Infantry, A.I.F.

Died of wounds in France on 16^th August 1916.

Buried at St Sever Cemetery, Rouen, France. Grave B. 27. 12.

And it may be near, or it may be far,
And it may be a season of sun, or rain,
When we say farewell to the things that are,
With a hope that it has not been all in vain²⁷.