A century on from the end of World War I we acknowledge their service …
Lest we forget.
Private John William Doyle
Born: 1884 Corindhap. Died: 16 June 1954 Pakenham.
Enlisted: 28 March 1916 aged 32.
Served: Western Front
Jack was the third son of John and Georgina Doyle to enlist in the AIF during WWI. He worked with the railways and came to Pakenham in 1907. It is said that he rode his bicycle to Gembrook South (now Pakenham Upper) to purchase a 20 acre property, Hillview, with a pocket full of sovereigns he had saved up. Doyle Road is named in honour of Jack.
Jack was an active member of the Pakenham Upper community. He played an important role in the building of the Pakenham Upper Mechanics‘ Institute Hall and played for the local football team along with Albert Nye, Robert Black, Ted Appleton and Charles Warner.
Jack left Australia in July 1916 and was taken on strength with the 59th Battalion in France in April 1917, serving in the same Battalion as brother-in-law Frank Wilson. While Jack was overseas, the Pakenham Upper Fruit Growers‘ Association formed a committee to look after his orchard, and special “ploughing bees” were periodically held “to get it into order whilst he is at the front”. He seems to have written home regularly. In one postcard to his sister Daisy sent from England, Jack mentioned seeing “flying machines” (aeroplanes), while in a letter from France, he mentioned the cold weather and heavy snow fall.
During Jack’s time with the 59th Battalion, it was involved in defending Allied gains at Bullecourt and later deployed in the Third Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele), fighting a major battle against the Germans at Polygon Wood on 26 September 1917. In late April 1918 the Battalion recaptured Villers-Bretonneux on Anzac Day. Jack sustained a serious wound to the face. He was invalided back to the UK and hospitalised in Oxford. When news of Jack’s wounding reached Pakenham, there was great sympathy for his mother Georgina, especially since his brother Frank had died of wounds only months earlier. By the time Jack rejoined his Battalion in October 1918, the war was almost over. Following the Armistice on 11 November, he remained with his Battalion in France and it was not until April 1919 that he was “marched out” to England for return to Australia.
In England, Jack married Edith Minnie Wood at St James’ Church West Hampstead London on 3 May 1919. Jack and Edith had met while he was recovering in England the previous year. Jack and Edith were picked up at Pakenham Railway Station by the Appletons and driven up to Pakenham Upper in a horse drawn wagon. There, they were accorded a “hearty welcome” at the Pakenham Upper Sunday School at an event to farewell Jack’s sister Daisy from the district. Also welcomed home was Bob Ramage, who had also only just returned to Australia with his English bride Amy.
After the War, Jack returned to orcharding. Although his friends and neighbours had looked after the orchard, there had been a fairly significant change while he was away: the Country Roads Board (CRB) had run the new Gembrook Road through his property! In the early 1920s, Jack sold four acres of the property to the Education Department so that they could build a new school and teachers‘ residence . Jack and Edith eventually raised six children. To help make ends meet, Edith operated the Pakenham Upper post office and telephone exchange for many years.
Jack became very active again in local affairs again, including serving on the Pakenham Upper Hall and School boards. He was also a member of the Pakenham Bush Nursing Hospital committee for a number of years.
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
