John Woods Whittle, VC, DCM was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was awarded the award for two separate actions against German forces during their retreat to the Hindenburg Line in 1917. In the latter action, he attacked a machine gun crew, killing the group and seizing the gun. He died in 1946 at the age of 63, and was buried in a private ceremony in Hobart, Tasmania.
About John Whittle in brief
John Woods Whittle, VC, DCM was an Australian recipient of the Victoria Cross. He was awarded the award for two separate actions against German forces during their retreat to the Hindenburg Line in 1917. In the latter action, he attacked a machine gun crew, killing the group and seizing the gun. Born in Tasmania, Whittle completed twelve months active service during the Second Boer War, before returning to Australia and enlisting in the Royal Navy where he served for five years as a stoker. He later joined the Australian Army and was posted to the Army Service Corps, artillery, and Tasmanian Rifle Regiment prior to the outbreak of the First World War. Wounded three times during the war, he was the subject of two courts-martial due to his unruly behaviour. Discharged from the military in December 1918, he later moved to Sydney. Whittle died in 1946 at the age of 63, and was buried in a private ceremony in Hobart, Tasmania, where he had been born in 1882. The Victoria Cross is the highest decoration for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to members of the British and British Commonwealth armed forces. It was awarded to Whittle for his actions in 1917 during the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line. He also received a Certificate of Merit for saving a drowning boy in 1934, and served in the 1st Battalion, the Auxiliary Hospital, Harefield, during the 1930s and 1940s.
He is buried with his wife, Emily Margaret Roland, and their two children, James A. and James W. A. Whitt, who were born on 2 August 1882 at Huon Island, Tasmania. He enlisted as a private in the 4th Tasmanian Contingent during 1899, for service in the Second Boer War. He returned to Australia on 25 June 1902 and served as a sailor on the Australia Station. In 1907, he enlisted in the Australian army and was to serve in this position for three and a half years. On 6 August 1915, he transferred to the Australian Imperial Force to see active service overseas during the War. He joined the 12th Battalion in Egypt and embarked for the Western Front the following year. Embarked for the British Expeditionary Force upon arrival in France on 7 April 1916, and eight days later was promoted to lance sergeant. During an attack on the village of La Barque, he rushed a German trench and forced the men from the position; he was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal as a result. After recuperation, he rejoined his unit, which had returned to action on the Somme, on 26 February 1917. Following its involvement in the Pozières sector of France, he moved to the Ypres sector in Belgium. On 14 October 1917, he took part in the attack on the villages of La Barque and Ligny-Thilloy. In late November, he returned to hospital suffering from an illness; he died on 18 December.
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