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John Alexander Franklin - Information

John worked as an engine driver in Camden, watching many of his friends leave for war. He was born in Brownlow Hill on the 20th of September 1875 to carpenter John and Louisa Franklin. He grew up in the area with his many siblings, later completing a 5 year apprenticeship with H. Bull Co. NSW. On the 21st of September 1898, he married Elizabeth Starr at St Marks in Picton. They began their family with Henry Frederick Roy (1899), Lillian Irene (1904), Dorothy Louisa (1910), and John Alexander (1911). However, after the war started, John and Elizabeth were no longer together. Claiming his father as his next of kin, he enlisted in the AIF in Brisbane on the 13th of August 1917, declaring he was only 33. He commenced his training with No. 1 Depot Company Compound in Lytton, and in October, was posted as a Sapper to the Engineers. He received technical instruction at the Equitation School in Roseville and the M & D Depot in Liverpool. He was shipped out from Sydney onboard the HMAT Runic on the 22nd of March 1918.

John had caught syphilis in Sydney before he shipped out, reporting to sick bay onboard the vessel. When he disembarked in England, he was admitted to the 1st Bulford Hospital. He had recovered by June, and set out to complete Engineer Details at Sutton Veny, Parkhouse and at Weymouth Depots throughout the year and into 1919. He returned to Australia on the 10th of April. By the 1930s, John had relocated to 140 Crown St in East Sydney.