FOX John

The above Photo is of Jack and Molly on their wedding day, kindly given permission to copy by Roy Sirl. Photo was in his private Photo Collection. Many thanks to Roy!

John Fox was born in the Manning River Area of New South Wales to parents Peter Joseph and Ann/Annie Caine/Kane in 1878. He was the older of 2 brothers and I believe the brothers may have moved to Queensland in the early 1900s.

On the 28th June, 1909 he married Amy Brown in Brisbane, Usual Residences on their Marriage Certificate lists both as living in Maleny at the time (Thank you Christine and Vicki for this information). In 1910 Amy gave birth to a stillborn son. Their second child a daughter Meral, was born 7th May 1911. Amy passed away on the 27th May 1911 - only a few weeks after he birth of her baby girl. Sadly little Meral only lived a few short months and died in the August of 1911, and is buried with her Mother.in the Toowong Cemetery. What a sad time for John. His father Peter is listed as his next of kin living at Eumundi in 1916, still there in 1919. A Peter Fox passed away in 1926.

His brother Martin Peter Fox was living in Eumundi in 1908 - 1913, and possibly his Father Peter, on the death of his wife moved to Eumundi as well.

John (also known as "Jack" & John Joseph) was a widower aged 37 when he enlisted on the 18th January, 1916. Memories from an oral history kindly shared with me - says his wife and two children had died prior to this.

He boarded the SS Hawkes Bay from Sydney on the 20th April, 1916, and proceeded to England. On 23rd August, 1916 he embarked overseas to France where he was attached to the Fourth Company of the Australian Army Services Corp, until May 1917. In July he rejoined the 12th Battalion in France until in November he proceeded to Belgium on leave - returning to France at the end of January, 1918 . He rejoined his unit, however soon became ill and was admitted to hospital in April and was returned to England on 3rd May, 1918. In October he again proceeded to France and rejoined his unit. In February 1919 he was appointed a Driver with the First Division Artillery Co.and left France on 6th May 1919.

He returned to Australia on KF August, on the 10th August, 1919. I believe he suffered from deafness as a result of artillery fire from the war.

On 1st December 1920 he remarried - Amelia (aka Molly) Ehlerth. Before his death of Heat Exhaustion in 1940, Jack is believed to have spent some time in the Railway, as well as the Main Roads. He is also believed to have had a bullock team at some stage of his life. In the Electoral Rolls, he is listed as a labourer - so this could include any of these occupations. Molly and Jack were very community minded and there are many articles in the Nambour Chronicle where they attended community events. He and Molly spent the rest of his years in Mooloolah and both are buried in the Mooloolah Cemetery. Molly, however, on Jack's death, moved to Conondale and spent the rest of her days with her daughter, who she had prior to her marriage to Jack.

Jack died on the 26th January 1940 in the middle of an acute heat wave - it is believed he lay under a tree and went to sleep - not waking when the shade passed - at the time it was reported that there had been 20 deaths from this event. John sadly was one of these. He was aged 61.

Many thanks to Kristine and Gayle for their information and their Dad Ron whose memories filled in a lot of the story, another thank you to Vick who has shared John and Amy's history

• France
• France
• France

Maroochy Shire Honor Roll, Shire Chambers, Bury Street, Nambour

Nambour (Maroochy Shire) Roll of Honor Scroll, Private Collection, Nambour (this scroll was available for sale to the public after the war)

Obi Obi Honour Board, originally located in the Obi Obi Hall

Kenilworth and District Honour Board, Kenilworth Community Hall

Eumundi & District Roll of Honour Board, Eumundi Memorial School of Arts Hall, Memorial Drive, Eumundi