John Baynton
John Baynton (Service No 1139) was born in Frome, England and had served 3 years full time and 9 years part time in the Royal Garrison Artillery. John had served in Gibralter and Malta before he travelled to Australia and had left England before his discharge had been finalised in July 1914.
At enlistment with the AIF, John was single, 31 years old, worked as a labourer and lived at Helensburgh, N.S.W.
He embarked from Melbourne on HMAT A40 Ceramic with D Company, 18th Battalion, on 25th June 1915. After arriving in Egypt he was sent on to Gallipoli and served until the evacuation. He was admitted to hospital on Gallipoli sick on 29th September 1915.
John arrived in France on 25th March 1916 and served on the Western Front with 18th Battalion until 18th December 1916 when he was transferred to 5th Machine Gun Battalion.
On 2nd March 1917 John was wounded in action and admitted briefly to hospital for treatment of a shrapnel wound to his head returning to duty on 6th March.
On 8th May 1917 John was promoted to Corporal.
On 21st September 1917 he was wounded a second time and evacuated to hospital in England for treatment of severe wounds to his knee and buttocks and returned to his unit on 27th August 1918.
John was returned to Australia in April 1919 and discharged on 30th July 1919.
In October 1920, John returned to England and married Florence Edgell in Frome. They raised 2 children.
John died in Bath, U.K. in 1975.