5293 Private John Cain
First (Queensland Mounted Infantry) Contingent,
6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen,
No. 5 Tunnelling Corps,
Australian Army Medical Corps.
by Robert Simpson
John Cain was born in Bendigo, Victoria according to his service records, but it was recorded at Sandhurst according to Victoria birth registrations. He was born in February 1867 but his service records have 1868. He was a son to John Cain and Margaret Cecilia Jeffries. They had been married in 1858. His mother died in 1870 at the age of only 38. Not much else is known about his early life and nothing about his father, as it was a common name at that time it is hard to find pertinent records of him. At some stage, he had moved to Queensland, possibly with his father.
He enlisted in the First (Queensland Mounted Infantry) Contingent in October 1899 and they departed from Brisbane on 1st November 1899 on the S.S. Cornwall. He was involved in many battles including Sunnyside and the relief of Kimberley, but nothing is specifically mentioned about him. Private J Cain No. 237, 1st Contingent, returned on the Orient, arriving at Brisbane on 16th January 1901 and staying at the camp there. On 11th January Dr Thompson had examined him and reported him to be in “good health and sound”. He was recommended to have one months full pay at Contingent rates. He was discharged on 23rd January 1901 and the discharge certificate was issued on 23rd April. His postal address was given as 297 Adelaide St Brisbane.
He married Mary Ellen Townsend on 6th August 1901 in Brisbane. Mary was born in 1856 in Liverpool England, a child of Thomas Blakey Vernon and Sarah. She had a brother John, but it is not known if she had any other siblings. Mary married John Thomas Townsend in December 1876 in Liverpool. Sometime between then and 1883 they migrated to Australia, but it is not possible to confirm when. They had three boys and three girls while in Queensland between 1883 and 1893, possibly all in Rockhampton. John died in 1900 in Brisbane and was buried in Toowong Cemetery, so they had shifted to Brisbane beforehand. Some of the children moved back to Rockhampton later on as they died there. John Cain did not adopt them as they all kept the Townsend surname.
As Private 637, John enlisted in the 6th Queensland Imperial Bushmen as part of their 1st Reinforcement draft and then in Doyle’s Australian Scouts. One of his medal cards headed Doyle’s Australian Scouts stated his service was from 12th December 1899 to 13th December 1900 (1st QMI), 21st September 1901 to 26th March 1902 (6th QIB) and 27th March 1902 to 31st May 1902 (Doyle’s Scouts). There is also a medal roll for the KSA which lists him in Britannic Details as Private 637 with note to his previous regiments and service number as above. It may refer to the ship the first group left Sydney on. The medal roll has 5th QIB for all entries, but he was part of the 6th which was reinforcements for the 5th.
The Electoral Roll of 1905 has them living at 297 Adelaide St, Brisbane with his occupation as a hatter and the same applies to the 1908 roll. Mary was listed as a lodging-house keeper. By 1913 they were living in Hutton Lane and he was a labourer and Mary had home duties.
In 1916, he had moved to Melbourne and was living at 13 Evelyn St. St Kilda as noted on his enrolment form. Why he had moved to Victoria is not known, especially when the rest of the family remained in Brisbane. A letter from Mary in 1917 adds he went from Brisbane to Melbourne to enlist, but does not give a reason. Maybe it had something to do with the regiment he joined or his age? On 4th March 1916 he enlisted at Prahran, Victoria as 3928 Private John Cain in the No. 5 Tunnelling Corps. His service number was later changed to 5293 and there is also a number V26778 which is also crossed out. His age was stated as 48 years and 1 month old, and he was a labourer by trade. He listed his wife as next-of-kin at the above address, but that was later changed to their Brisbane address. John’s previous service was listed as 10 years in the Victorian Militia and 2 years Active Service. His height was 5 feet 6 and 3/4 inches tall, weight 136 pounds, chest measurement 35 to 38.5 inches, a fresh complexion, blue eyes and grey hair. His religion was Roman Catholic. He had 4 vaccination marks on his left arm and scars on his lower chest. On his medical examination certificate it was written that he was referred to the Medical Board for varicose veins to see if he was fit for the Mining Corps and he was passed on the 8th. He also needed dental work. John was with the 5th Tunnelling Company from 13th March until 5th July 1916 and he did not embark on the A69 Warilda with them on 23rd May as he was medically unfit. The A69 took members of the 4th, 5th and 6th tunnelling companies to England. From the 6th he was with the Miners Replacements at Seymour.
He embarked on A23 Suffolk from Melbourne on 30th September 1916 and disembarked at Plymouth on 2nd December 1916. After being stationed in Perham Downs with Tunnelling Reinforcements they proceeded overseas to France on the SS Arundel from Folkestone on 1st January 1917 and he was attached to the 1st Anzac Entrenching Battalion on the 12th. He did not last long at the front; on 22nd January, he was sent from the field at the casualty clearing station to hospital as sick (varicose veins). Arriving at Rouen on the 24th, he was admitted to the 3rd Stationary Hospital and sent to the 2nd Command. Depot afterward. At the 5th Infantry Base Depot at Etaples he arrived on 7th February 1917. On the 9th he was marched in to Base Details from the hospital and on the 13th he was transferred to England for permanent base duty. He arrived in England at No 2 Com. Dep. at Weymouth on 17th February.
John transferred to 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital as Private 5293 on 13th March 1916. Another record states he was attached for permanent duty to the 1st A. A. H. from the 2nd Tunnelling Company on 30th March. On 30th June 1917, his transfer was recorded as being transferred to the Australian Army Medical Corps from ex 2nd Tunnelling. Another form recorded on 12th August states taken on strength of Harefield as from ex 2nd Tunnelling. A correction is noted that he was taken on strength of Australian Medical Corps and attached to 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital for duty 12th August 1917. It also notes he was on strength at the 1st A.A.H. on 1st January 1918.
On 27th February 1918, he was admitted to hospital at Harefield, sick with boils. He was returned to Australia on 8th April 1918 per HS Dunluce Castle for discharge with the reason gives as old age and chronic bronchitis. The ship arrived at Suez and he had to wait there for a time until he embarked on Port Darwin in July 1918 for Australia.
Base Records replies to a query from Mary Cain about an allotment being paid to her from John’s pay, as 3 shillings per day being paid in to her Commonwealth Bank account number 94364 in Brisbane, on 7th June 1917. Her letter, dated 23rd May, also asked if she would be notified of his death or injury and on his return. She assumed he would arrive back in Melbourne and so wanted to meet him there when he returned.
On 20th August 1917, Mary also writes to the Military Commandant in Melbourne asking him if a Sapper J Cain who was mentioned in the Daily Mail (Brisbane) on 17th July as having received a French War Cross for bravery was her husband and for what “noble deed he was decorated”. She also applied for the nearest female relative badge. (Unfortunately, it was not him but a Sapper Joseph Cain 1898, and the award was the French Croix de Guerre.). A reply from Base Records on the 29th stated that they had received no advice so far and she would be contacted if they did.
On 10th June 1918 Mary wrote to Melbourne asking if there was any notification of her husband coming home as the Queensland Division Australian Red Cross Society wrote to her saying he had left England in April. She was asking for the necessary passes and date of his arrival in Melbourne so she could be there. Base Records replied on the 23rd indicating they had received no notification of his return and she would be advised when they were.
A letter from William Finlayson, Member for Brisbane in the Australian House of Representatives, was sent to the Officer in Charge Base Records on 29th June 1918 referring to a letter written by Mrs Cain to him about John. He was asking if they could forward any information to him. The reply from Base Records advised him that Private J Cain was in Egypt awaiting transport to Australia and when they had definite information they would notify Mrs Cain.
She the wrote to Senator “Harry” Foll on 1st August 1918 again asking if he would get Base Records to notify her when John was arriving so she could be in Melbourne when he arrived. The Senator then wrote to the Department of Defence asking, as a personal favour, if they could send her a wire when John arrived. A reply dated 13th August informed him “this matter is receiving attention and you will be further advised”. Another letter on 17th August to him from Base Records advising that the Assistant Adjutant General, Victoria Barracks, Melbourne would communicate with Mrs Cain on the probable arrival date of her husband. A letter containing those details was also sent to the Assistant Adjutant General on that day.
A minute paper dated 24th August 1918 to Base Records 3rd Military District stated “This correspondence was not received until after ship had disembarked”.
Finally, a latter to Mary dated 27th August from Base Records advised her the letter from Senator Foll did not arrive to that office until the 16th although it was dated the 8th. The short time meant the Assistant Adjutant General did not have sufficient time to notify her of John’s arrival in Melbourne on the 17th. (It arrived in Sydney then anyway!). They also let her know if she had not been in contact with him the address they had for him was the St. Kilda address on his service records.
One of Mary’s brothers also served, Edmund Simpson Townsend, although he enlisted under Edward Townsend as Private 7152 15th Battalion in 1916.
He received his pair and acknowledged that with the receipts dated 10th November 1922. They were impressed Sapper 5293 J Cain, Tunnelling Company.
From the 1925 Electoral Roll, they were back in Brisbane and still living at Hutton Lane but he was now a painter.
Mary passed away on 12th January 1926 in Brisbane and was buried the next day in Toowong Cemetery, Portion 5 section 12 Grave 1/2. This seems to be the Townsend/Irwin family plots. The funeral left their house in Hutton lane at 3.30 pm on the afternoon of Wednesday the 13th for Toowong cemetery and it was a motor service. It would appear they had no children while together. The Brisbane Courier of Monday 2nd August 1926 has an estate claim for Ada & Elizabeth Townsend with the transfer of Mary Ellen’s house to them. It notes both of them were spinsters. In The Brisbane Courier on Thursday 12th January 1928 a memoriam was entered by two of her daughters, Ada and Lizzie in her memory.
John passed away on 18th March 1930 in Brisbane and was buried on the 20th in Toowong Cemetery, Portion 5 Section 12 Grave 1. Funeral notices were placed in the Brisbane Courier on Wednesday 19th and Thursday 20th by Alex Gow’s Funeral Parlour with “the funeral of the late John Cain, of Hutton-lane, city, late 2nd Tunnelling Battalion A.I.F.” leaving the funeral parlour, “Queen St. Petrie Bight, This (Thursday) Afternoon, at 2 o’clock, for the Toowong Cemetery”.
He was entitled to the Queens South Africa medal with Paardeberg, Dreifontein, Johannesburg, Relief of Kimberley, Cape Colony, Orange Free State and Transvaal clasps, King’s South Africa medal with South Africa 1901 and South Africa 1902 clasps, British War and Victory medals.
Cut off this-
There is some confusion with Mary Ellen’s death record; Queensland BDM has no parents listed while Ancestry has them listed as Charles Simpson and Ellen Spates. There are records for a Charles Simpson and Ellen Speight (maybe a spelling error on death form?) who had a daughter Mary Ellen as follows: –
She was a lot older, being born in 1859 in Wakefield, Yorkshire. Her maiden name was Simpson and she came from a rather large family, having 10 siblings. She married John Gledhill on 5th June 1881 in Wakefield. They had migrated to Brisbane Australia on the British Consul from Plymouth, arriving on 27th February 1882. What happened to change her name to Townsend is not known yet!?
After arriving in Brisbane, they seem to vanish and are not found in any Queensland records afterwards? There is only one death record for a Mary Ellen Cain, so did they get the parents names wrong on Ancestry and why no parents names on Qld BMD?
Certainly, M E Vernon fits better with the relation to the Townsend graves and the newspaper articles, but it still leaves the death entry question.
ANZAC Biographies
On our website you will find the biographical details of ANZAC (as well as British) servicemen & women
whose medals or other memorabilia form part of the collection belonging to the
Maryborough Military & Colonial Museum,
Maryborough, Queensland, Australia.