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Not Forgotten, 13684 Gunner James Frederick BRIGHT, 3 Field Brigade Ammunition Column AIF, World War 1
Subcollections
Overview
Commemoration of the military service of 13684 Gunner James Frederick Bright, 3 Field Brigade Ammunition Column AIF, died post-war.
Historical information
Private James Bright, a farmer at Wyalkatchem, was the son of James Bright of Mt Lonarch in Victoria. James Bright is listed by Paul de Pierres in his book Wyalkatchem & Districts War Service 1899-1976 as one of three Brights, listing A Bright and P Bright as well as James. James enlisted at Perth on 1 October 1915 at the age of 32, was placed in the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade and embarked at Melbourne on R.M.S. Malwa on 21 March 1916, disembarking on 20 April 1916 and joining Miscellaneous Reinforcements at Tel-el-Kebir in Egypt.
From there he was taken on strength of Combined Training and General Base Depot. From there Gunner Bright was taken on strength with the Division Ammunition Column and posted to No 3 Sect. (W.M.) France on the 16 June 1916. On the 24 January 1917 Gunner Bright was transferred to the 3rd Army Field Artillery Brigade Ammunition Column. Early April saw him sick with bronchitis and treated with the 7th Field Ambulance for 6 days before being hospitalized with the 56th Casualty Clearing Station for 6 days before passing through other hospitals. In mid-June he was transferred to England from A.G. Base Depot France and in mid-July 1917 detached for duty to be an instructor with the Australian School of Musketry at Tidworth.
In mid-July 1918 Gunner Bright was transferred back to the 3rd Field Artillery Brigade and in early December was returned to Australia on the Argyllshire classed as medically unfit with heart problems and exhaustion. Gunner James Bright was discharged on 9th March 1919. In 1939 James Bright was living in Kalgoorlie and applied to join the Returned Sailor’s Soldiers Airmen’s Imperial League of Australia (the forerunner of the RSL) and again in 1943 James Bright was living at Broad Arrow and applied to join the RSSAILA at Grant’s Patch near Ora Banda but had lost his discharge papers, so in both cases the branch wrote to Base Records asking about a copy.
Gunner James Bright was awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He died on 4 August 1951 and is buried in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery. James Bright is one of two men who served in the Great War but returned home, so their names by convention should not be listed on the War Memorial.
Details
Details
Registration number
cwa-org-65-M149
Inscriptions and markings
When the Great War broke out in Europe in 1914, Dowerin was an isolated farming district, several days travel by horse or by coach from Perth. Over the succeeding four years at least 176 men and one nurse served in the armed forces of the Empire. The names of the men who served can be read on the Honour Roll in the Dowerin Town Hall or can be accessed on the museum section of the Shire of Dowerin website.
Fifty-one men from the district died in the Great War and their names are inscribed on the Dowerin War Memorial which was unveiled on ANZAC Day 1936. Subsequent conflicts have seen more names memorialised and each ANZAC Day their sacrifice is honoured and remembered by the community.
Contextual Information
For some years Diane Hatwell had been intrigued by the names on the Dowerin War Memorial. Some were familiar with the families still in the district but some not so. Diane felt It was important for the community that when we said each ANZAC Day “We will remember them”, we had some idea of who and what we are remembering. She set about, to find out who they were, what they were doing in the Dowerin district, and where and how they died. These pages presented through Collections WA represent the current state of this ongoing research and community response.
Geotag
-30.740860559808, 121.45126753939
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Nearest geotagged records:
- World War 1, Australia, Western Australia, 3590 ARDAGH, 10 Light Horse (1.2km away)
- World War 1, Europe, VINE, 44 Battalion, 1917 (1.21km away)
- World War 1, Australia, Western Australia, 1386 FREEMAN, 10 Light Horse (1.42km away)
- World War 1, Europe, MCDONALD, 11 Battalion, 1917 (1.56km away)
- Locomotive at the Kalgoorlie Train Station (1.59km away)
- World War 1, Australia, Western Australia, 1992 ANGLESEY, 10 Light Horse (1.64km away)
- World War 1, Australia, Western Australia, 1162 BRICKNELL, 10 Light Horse (1.98km away)
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Medal group representative of medals awarded to James Bright for service in World War 1.
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