John GRAHAM

John Graham was sworn in as a Constable in the Queensland Police on 2 September 1913. Alongside his friend Private Moynihan, Private Graham gained a leave of absence and embarked aboard the HMAT Themistocles A32 on 22 December 1914 as part of the 9th Infantry Battalion. He served with the rest of his Battalion in Egypt before being ordered to Gallipoli. The 9^th Battalion was part of the 3rd Brigade, a covering force first to land at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. His friend Moynihan was killed and Graham was seriously wounded by gunshot to the right thigh. Graham was evacuated to Egypt and was about to return to his Battalion when the Gallipoli campaign was abandoned and troops withdrawn. Graham and his Battalion next saw action on the western front when Private Graham distinguished himself during the Battle of Pozieres and Mouquet Farm between July and August 1916. Graham received the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM) "for conspicuous gallantry and devotion in action” as a stretcher bearer. He worked continuously for four days with less than six hours’ rest carrying the wounded across the open despite heavy artillery fire. Graham then spent six months recovering from an undisclosed illness before returning in June 1917 to his Battalion who were training for the 3^rd Battle of Ypres in Belgium. Private Graham was wounded in the back by shrapnel during a bombardment in the area of Glencorse Wood and evacuated to the Casualty Clearing Station at Poperinge where he died of his wounds on 22 September 1917, aged 25.