John Matthews
Hello, I have been checking in on your website over the last few years but have never left a message before :) . My wife, Claire Matthews is the great niece of 2nd Lt. John Harold McIntyre, who was killed by machine gun fire as he helped try to bring in the wounded after the disastrous night attack of the 5th/6th November 1916. Jack had only rejoined his Battalion a few weeks earlier after spending nearly a year in hospital recovering from wounds sustained in the battle of Lone Pine at Gallipolli on the 7th of August 1915. Like you, we have been to Gueudecourt and Flers and Villers Bretoneux, and we have wondered why his grave is unknown, as the records seem to indicate that the location was noted and marked for the war graves commission... In that little cemetary down the road outside of Guedecourt the nearest thing we could find was a tombstone dedicated to 'an unknown second lieutenant of an Australian regiment' ... It would be wonderful if we could one day have some small memorial to their sacrifice erected there. It is great to see other descendants as interested in unveiling this little known tragedy as we are, thank you, and please keep up the good work. Regards John Matthews.
Bronwyn Leonard
Thank you for the work you have done. My Uncle was 2nd Lieutenant John Harold McIntyre. Killed in France in the First World War. My niece Claire Helen Matthews nee Leonard has put a written memorial with his picture at the Remembrance site. He was wounded twice at Gallipoli and was being returned home to Australia when he jumped ship and rejoined the 1st Battalion in France where he was killed. I am at present collating and digitalising two albums of photos he took while at Gallipoli and in Lemnos and England. My brother John Leonard is doing most of the work!! It amazes me that they took their cameras to war. It shows their naivety and absolute ignorance of what they were about to face. Very sad. Makes their bravery the greater. I have letters he wrote home and particularly the last, written on a scrap of paper saying he had been promoted .I also have photos of his time training in Egypt and many photos of his friends and companions. I have a picture of the ship on which they sailed away from Australia and it is signed by every sergeant in the first Battalion. My mother (his sister) and I gave these, many years ago to the War Memorial. They copied them and returned them at my request. I now regret this as they are deteriorating rapidly -- so I am going to try and have them returned to the War Memorial Archives. His descendants will have to be happy with digital copies! There is great competition for these treasures! The War Memorial does not have copies of the time he spent in Egypt. I live just down the road from the National War Memorial at 54 Limestone Ave and my telephone number is 0262485481 should you wish to contact me. Thank you for your research. Regards Bronwyn.