John Anderson Reid was born at Subiaco, Western Australia, in 1897 to Alfred Lewis Reid and Mary Ann Reid (née Miller). Reid was working as an engineer’s apprentice in Melbourne when he enlisted on 1 March 1915. He had been in the Senior Cadets, and was allotted to the 23rd Battalion as a private, service number 226. After two months in camp, Reid embarked from Melbourne aboard the troopship HMAT Euripides on 10 May 1915.

After time in Egypt, the reinforcements were sent to Gallipoli where Reid joined “A” Company of the 23rd Battalion in the trenches of Lone Pine. His diary describes what he considered the worst artillery bombardment they had ever endured. Early in 1916, the regiment was in Egypt and was reinforced for deployment to the Western Front. Reid recorded his daily routine, including route marches, sports, and the battalion band. The 23rd Battalion left Egypt in mid-March; in July, after a relatively gentle introduction to the Western Front, the battalion was involved in the costly fighting around Pozières and Mouquet Farm, losing almost 90 per cent of its original members. Reid was a stretcher bearer and his diary records the extensive casualties and the dead from both sides.

On 7 November 1916, he received a gunshot wound to the left arm. He was treated in England and was discharged in mid-January 1917 but did not return to his unit until January 1918. In April, the 23rd Battalion helped to halt the German spring offensive, and later took part in the battles that would mark the beginning of Germany's defeat: Hamel, Amiens and Mont St Quentin. Reid returned to Melbourne in May 1919. He died on 28 September 1923, aged 26, at Melbourne, from what is believed to have been the effects of gas poisoning during the war. He was engaged to Ellen Short at the time.