John Mackenzie joined the main 26th Battalion training group and was consequently allocated to the 12th Battalion on the 1st March 1916 and proceeded overseas on HMAT Warilda to Alexandria in Egypt. He trained here and finally with the 12th Battalion went on to France at Marseille, arriving in April 1916 .
He was involved in bitter trench warfare during the next 2 years. He would have taken part in battles at Pozieres on the Somme and at Ypres.
On the 11th May 1917, he was wounded in action. After spending time at a hospital in Rouen and leave spent in England he returned to Belgium and was promoted to Lance Corporal on the 6th October 1917. He suffered trench fever and again was repatriated to England for a time before returning once again to Belgium and returned to his unit on the 27th April 1918.
Just four days later on the 1st May in operations around Caestre as part of the allied counter-offensive he was killed while resting at Borre North siding when a shell landed on a hut and killed 14 men.
Source: https://youtu.be/ka9D5YuKp-w?feature=shared Visit the grave in France
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