Private John Forrest - a Ryde soldier among those recently identified at Pheasant Wood, Fromelles, France.

 In July 2012  nine Australian World War One soldiers were given final honour on 96th anniversary of the Battle of Fromelles at a headstone dedication ceremony .

One of those nine, Scottish born, John  Robertson Forrest (3064) was living in the Sydney suburb of North Ryde when he enlisted. He was 'Killed in Action' on 19 July 1916. We had already identified him as one of our 'Ryde goes to War' soldiers because his name is listed on the Eastwood War Memorial, the memorial in St Anne's Anglican Church Ryde and the Ryde Council Memorial Book (located in the Ryde Civic Centre). We only recently discovered that he was among those recently identified at Pheasant Wood and finally given a headstone.

The dedication ceremony, Fromelles, France.

Photo: Kim Phillips, July 2012.

Name	Unit	Address at Enlistment	Occupation at Enlistment	Place of Enlistment	Date of Enlistment	Age at Embarkation	Marital Status	Comments
PTE John Forrest	54th Battalion	North Ryde, Sydney NSW	Carter	Liverpool NSW	2 Jul 15	24	Single	Born in Scotland Previous service in 6th Gordon Highlanders, British Army

 
 Further details:
http://www.minister.defence.gov.au/2012/07/20/parliamentary-secretary-for-defence-australian-soldiers-given-final-honour-on-96th-anniversary-of-the-battle-of-fromelles/


John Forrest, joins another 'Ryde goes to War' soldier already identified with a headstone Pheasant Wood, Fromelles, France. Laurence Harriott (4509), also a member of the 54th Battalion was also  'Killed in Action' on 19 July 1916.  A photo of Laurence is available on the Australian War Memorial Website. http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/H06405

Laurence Harriott headstone
at Pheasant Wood, Fromelles, France.
Photo: Kim Phillips, July 2012.