Corporal John Edmondson

Accession Number: P09003.001

Corporal John “Jack” Edmondson VC, 2/17th Battalion, c. 1940. AWM P09003.001

Corporal John Hurst “Jack” Edmondson was born in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, in 1914, and later moved to Liverpool to work on his parents’ farm. In May 1940, aged 26, Jack enlisted in the army. Well-built and tall, he settled well into military life and was known as a quiet and efficient soldier. Some of Jack’s family members had served in the First World War, and Jack proudly wore his uncle’s Rising Sun badges and Australian shoulder titles on his uniform.

Jack was close with his mother, Maude, and on his suggestion she promised to keep a diary about the day-to-day happenings on the farm while he was away. On the day Jack left, Maude wrote:

Sat 5 October 1940 – Jack’s [final] leave over today. He left home this morning about 10 am. I did not go with him to Liverpool this time or to the city. I thought it best for him as I know the ordeal when saying good bye … We were both upset, then he said “Mother keep your chin up.”

After some time spent training in Palestine, Jack was sent to Tobruk in Libya. In April 1941, he and six others took part in a charge on a German position. Jack was badly wounded in the neck and staomach, but bravely defended his platoon commander against an attack by two German soldiers. His commander survived, but Jack died the next morning.

For his extreme bravery, which undoubtedly saved his commander’s life, Jack was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. His parents received the news of his award on 4 July 1941. Maude’s note about this was one of the final entries in her diary. Her son’s actions were widely acclaimed, and newspapers around Australia published tales of his bravery.

Maude kept newspaper clippings and pasted them into a scrapbook. Among them, a small cutting recounted the depth of his mother’s love:

Of course I am proud of him. I have always been proud of him. In a way, this great honour seems futile. I would rather have my son.

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