John Grieve LIMEROCK
John Limerock was born on 26 January 1895 in Windsor, at the ES&A Bank, Victoria. His parents were John and Elizabeth (née Cumming) Limerock. He attended Scotch from 1906 to 1912. John Limerock was a Prefect in 1912. He was in the school’s First Shooting team from 1910- 1912, and was team captain in 1912. He was also on the 1912 Committee for The Scotch Collegian. He passed his Senior Public exams with Honours in Mathematics and Chemistry. He was a keen Sergeant in the Senior Cadet Corps at Scotch. The current Year 11 prize for Excellence in General Mathematics (Further Mathematics) is named in his honour.
John was an engineering student at Melbourne University when he enlisted on 10 March 1915 at Melbourne. He served in the 7th Battalion with the rank of Lance Corporal. His Regimental Number was 2155.
John died on 8 August 1915 at Gallipoli. He was 20 years of age.
Service record
A keen pre-war cadet and member of the University Rifles, John or Jack Limerock enlisted in 1915 and within a month was promoted to Acting Sergeant in the 6th Reinforcements to the 7th Battalion. He was only 5’5 ¼” tall at a time when 5’6” was the official minimum. This would change in June 1915 to 5’2”.
Events moved rapidly once Jack reached Egypt. After just two weeks there he travelled to Gallipoli, where as was the usual practice he was reverted from Sergeant to Lance Corporal on arrival on 5 August. After just four days in the trenches he was killed at Lone Pine on the night of 8/9 August (officially 8 August but eyewitness evidence suggests it was early on 9 August).
One of his comrades, probably Private Kellow, wrote a letter in which he said that John and others of the 6th Reinforcements had been called into a trench to repel a Turkish counter-attack: ‘Five of us mounted a parapet on which only one man was left. We began firing at point blank range, as the enemy was only a few yards off, bombing us all the time. We managed to keep our position for nearly an hour, and by this time only four of were left. Jack was the next to fall, being killed instantaneously by a bullet. We beat the Turks back, but we had lost heavily. Of our 6th Reinforcements which numbered 131, only 28 were left.’ He concluded about Jack: ‘I am pleased to tell you how well-liked Jack was, by everybody alike. The men would do anything for him, as they knew he would not ask them to do anything he would not do himself.’
John Limerock is buried in the Johnston’s Jolly Cemetery (Special Memorial 10), Gallipoli. The list on which his name appears is preceded by the words: ‘Believed to be buried in this cemetery, actual grave unknown'.
Photographs and Documents:
John Limerock is seated at front right in this photograph of the Collegian Committee of 1912. Stan Neale and Boyd Cunningham would also be killed in the war.
Sources:
- Austin, Ron, Our Dear Old Battalion: The Story of the 7th Battalion AIF, 1914-1919, Slouch Hat Publications, McCrae, 2004
- Australian War Memorial – Roll of Honour
- Mishura Scotch Database
- National Archives of Australia – B2455, LIMEROCK, JOHN GREIVE (sic)
- Scotch Collegian 1915 and 1919
- The AIF Project - https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=176710
