GREEN, John Victor

John Victor Green was born in 1887 at Williamstown, Victoria. He was the youngest of two brothers and four sisters, of John Vanham Green and Charlotte Una West.  He married in 1910, to Jessie Dunford Andrews and in 1911, they had a son, John Vanham Green.

John Green was employed at the Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade on Eastern Hill, Melbourne, and living with his wife at 108 Albert Street, East Melbourne, when he enlisted on 13 September, 1915. He wrote on his enlistment form that he was 30 years and 8 months old, but exaggerated by two years.  He was placed in the newly formed Australian Remount Unit, No. 1 Squadron, one of two Remount Units dispatched to Egypt in 1915 to take charge of the horses of the Light Horse regiments serving as infantry at Gallipoli. The Remount Units were selected for their experience with horses and not considered as fighting soldiers, so the age level was set to fifty years. The original units were reformed in Egypt as one, with a Depot Headquarters and two squadrons drawn from both units. Because of the relatively high age level, many of the original men to enlist were returned to Australia. One factor in their speedy return was that by the time they had landed in Egypt, the Australian troops at Gallipoli were preparing to withdraw from the Gallipoli Peninsula and the Light Horse soldiers would be back with their horses. In the meantime, the Remount Unit took charge of 356 horses and 716 mules.

John Green, along with the rest of the Remount Units, embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT Orsova A67 on 12 November, 1915. He must have been conisdered a competent man, as he was ranked as a Corporal. On arrival, they were sent to Zeitoun. On 15 February, he was ill with otitis and admitted to the 2nd Australian General Hospital at Ghezirah. He was discharged six days later, and rejoined his unit. Two months later, he left the Remount Unit, transferred to the 46th Battery, where he was taken on strength on 1 April, 1916. On 24 April, he was back in hospital, this time with diarrhoea, and sent to the 3rd Australian General Hospital at Cairo. From here, he was sent to England, where on 14 June, he was admitted to hospital, then given almost two months furlough, from 19 August to 17 October, when he marched in to be taken on strength at the No. 1 Command Depot, Perham Downs. By now, he had lost touch with both the Remount Unit and the 46th Battery and had to be placed in a different position. On 19 November, 1916, he was transferred to the Australian Army Training Depot at Parkhurst, then on 29 March, 1917, was sent to France. Here, on 10 June, 1917, he was taken on strength with the 12th Australian Field Ambulance, but was found not to have the necessary qualifications for the job. The commanding officer recommended that he be sent back to his old unit, the 1st Australian Remount Unit. However, he was transferred, more or less on trial, to the 13th Light Horse Regiment as a supernumerary for a month. Again, he was found unsuitable, the officer in charge writing that ' This NCO is not suitable ... is it possible to transfer him to a remount unit?' Instead, John Green was transferred to work at the Vetrinary Hospital at Calais for another month's trial. 

He was obviously unhappy, as this letter, written on 7 September, 1917 to the authorities in London demonstrates

'... my wife has entered the Theatrical Profession and I am far from satisfied that our child, a boy of six years, is receiving proper attention.' He claimed to have been invalided from Egypt with Enteric Fever and heart trouble amd to have served a short period in France, where he was evacuated with heart disease. In fact, his medical records make no mention of heart disease and his illness in France was V.D.H.

The reports on him in early 1918 are not impressive: on 12 January, 1918, Sergeant W.L. Hindmarsh wrote 'I have to report that this NCO who was posted to No. 5 Section on trial, is unsuitable. He is, in my opinion, inefficient and has no command over men.' This was corroborated by Lieut. Colonel Whitfield: '...In addition to lack of command he has no initiative whatever and when given work to do requires to be watched quite as much as any private.' On 23 January, 1918, John Green was returned to Administrative Headquarters in London for return to Australia and discharge. On 12 March, 1918, he was taken on board the Kenilworth Castle for return and on 5 june, 1918, was discharged from further service.  

In 1919, John Victor Green was living alone at 'Ensor' in Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, and back at his pre-war job as a fireman. He later moved, alone, to Prahran, but later was at 'Ypres', Beach Street, Hampden. He died at Oakleigh in 1949, aged 62.