Skip to main content
state library of queensland
Blog
John Oxley Library

Jeffrey Law #7049A

By Marg Powel & Des Crump | 17 August 2017

John Coleman (aka Jeffrey Law)

John Coleman (aka Jeffrey Law), 49th Infantry Battalion. The Queenslander Pictorial, 19 January 1918

Indigenous Australian, John Coleman (Jeffrey Law), 49th Infantry Battalion

John Coleman (aka Jeffrey Law) was born in Gayndah, in 1891 to Dave Law (known as Coleman) and Kate. He was working as a Jockey when he enlisted in Brisbane in November 1917.

Initially assigned to the 26th Battalion reinforcements, Coleman embarked from Sydney on board the troopship HMAT Ormonde in March 1918. He was admitted to the ships hospital during the voyage with measles, and when he arrived in Egypt was again admitted to hospital for further treatment before joining his comrades at the Australian Camp, Suez.

In May 1918 Coleman embarked for training in England where he was transferred to the 49th Infantry Battalion. He reached France in August 1918  where the battalion was operating near Sailley Le Sec during the August '100 days' offensive.

The 49th Battalion took part in the initial fighting around Bray, the following month on 18 September 1918, the Battalion undertook its final offensive action as part of the reserve during an attack against the Hindenburg Line.

Coleman was briefly attached to the Australian Army Services Corps after the armistice, between December 1918 and March 1918 and was returned home in October 1919.

Read more ...

The information in this blog post has been researched by State Library staff and volunteers, it is based on available information at this time. If you have more information that you would like to share or further research uncovers new findings, this post will be updated.

Comments

Your email address will not be published.

We welcome relevant, respectful comments.

Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
We also welcome direct feedback via Contact Us.
You may also want to ask our librarians.