Portrait of 1620 Sergeant (Sgt) John Leslie Berry, groom, of Ballan, Victoria. He enlisted as a ...

Portrait of 1620 Sergeant (Sgt) John Leslie Berry, groom, of Ballan, Victoria. He enlisted as a Private (Pte) in the 59th Battalion on 8 February 1916 and embarked from Melbourne on HMAT Port Lincoln on 4 May 1916 for Suez. The battalion sailed from Alexandria to Marseilles on 2 August 1916 and he then proceeded to England for training where he was promoted to Corporal (Cpl) on 21 January 1917. Cpl Berry sailed for France on 14 June 1917 and was transferred to the 58th battalion. He was promoted to Sergeant on 13 August 1917 and was wounded in action for the first time in September 1917. His injuries were eventually diagnosed as shell shock which required several months of hospitalisation and convalescence until he was able to rejoin his unit on 2 May 1918. Sgt Berry was wounded in action a second time on 2 September 1918 at Mont St Quentin and died of wounds received on 16 September 1918 in No 3 Hospital, Rouen, France, aged 34.