Orders, Decorations & Medals - Gallipoli

Lot 3635    Session 12 (11.30am Thursday 26 March)    Orders, Decorations & Medals - Gallipoli

Estimate $2,500
Bid at live.noble.com.au
SOLD $5,500

TRIO TO ONLY NZ ANZAC AT GALLIPOLI SENTENCED TO DEATH: 1914-15 Star; British War Medal 1914-18; Victory Medal 1914-19. 10/594 Pte. J.R.Dunn. N.Z.E.F. All medals impressed. Display court mounted, hairlines, very fine.

John Robert Dunn, journalist with Wairarapa Daily Times at Masterton, NZ, born 22 November 1888 at Tinui in Wairarapa Province, the son of Scottish immigrants - he was named John Robert after his two brothers, John and Robert, who died on the voyage to New Zealand in 1876; raised as a Roman Catholic, he grew up on the family farm 'Willowbank' and attended the local school at Whakataki near Castlepoint; Enl.01Aug1914 posted to 17 (Ruahine) Coy of Wellington Infantry Bn; Emb.16Oct1914 on HMNZT Arawa meeting up with Australian troop transport ships in Western Australia and departed from Albany 01Nov1914; on 09Nov1914 the Arawa wireless operator picked up a signal from an unknown ship in the area of the Cocos Islands. One of the troop convoy escort ships, HMAS Sydney, was sent to investigate. She discovered the German raider, SMS Emden, that had been stalking the convoy and in the following battle Sydney defeated Emden in the first naval action of WWI. This caused great excitement on the Arawa as they followed the progress of the battle from messages transmitted from Sydney; 15Dec1914 Zietoun Training Camp to qualify as Machine Gunner;12Apr1915 to Island of Lemnos to gather before the attack on Gallipoli.

Sunday 25Apr1915 5.30pm landed on beach at Gallipoli and could see the dead and wounded lying on the beach from a previous attack by the Anzacs; 27Apr1915 at Quinn's Post Dunn's unit made their way up a very steep hill under heavy fire, assisted by Infantry, several of their men were killed and the machine gun jammed on numerous occasions; 14May1915 his brother Matt, also a machine gunner, visited 'Jack' Dunn - Matt was wounded the very next day with shrapnel to his arm; 16May1915 taken by Fleetsweeper Newmarket and admitted to hospital suffering from pneumonia, then taken to Lemnos for specialist treatment; 15Jun1915 returned to duty where his unit was so close to the Turks they could hear them moving around in the trenches and this was where he was on sentry duty. He had not been relieved, he was still sick and consequently fell asleep after being warned not to and was discovered by an officer - by commentary on the circumstances another soldier was to say 'you are dead on your feet, and at night time when you are standing up you would give your soul for an hour's sleep'.

At a field court-martial Dunn was charged and he pleaded guilty. A sentence of death was laid down.

The judgement was remitted by General Sir Ian Hamilton Commander-in-Chief. There is a photo at the Australian War Memorial that shows Dunn on 5Aug1915 bareheaded and under armed guard and in front of his regiment, the sentence 'to suffer death by being shot' was read out and then remitted due to his previous good conduct and his health.; 8Aug1915 just three days after his reprieve, his unit was part of the attack on Chunuk Bair, initially having success but the Turks, after bitter hand to hand fighting, retook it. Sadly 700 men of the Wellington Bn died that day including John Dunn who was shot through the throat and died instantly; he has no known grave but is commemorated on the Chunuk Bair (New Zealand) Memorial.

John Dunn was one of the twenty-eight New Zealand servicemen who were court-martialled during the First World War. He was the first New Zealander in World War 1 to be sentenced to death by court martial, and the only one at Gallipoli. The guilty verdict of his court-martial sentence has never been revoked.

In the Wairarapa Daily Times, 10 September 1915 it was reported, 'Private "Jack" Dunn, of Masterton, who is reportedly in to-day's casualty list as "believed to be killed" was a very popular resident of the town. He was about 26 years of age, and was a son of Mr M. Dunn, farmer, of Whakataki. For years past he had followed journalistic pursuits, and was a member of the literary staff of the "Wairarapa Daily Times" when he enlisted in the Main New Zealand Expeditionary Force. Previous to that he had been on the staffs of the "New Zealand Times" and Levin "Chronicle". In athletic circles Private Dunn was well and favourably known. He was a well-known runner. He had been a member of the Wairarapa Amateur Athletic Club, serving on the management committee of the club, and was secretary of the Masterton Harrier Club at the time he enlisted. He took a keen and active interest in football, and had played for the Red Star Club. He had also played a good deal of cricket and hockey. The deceased was a very promising journalist, and had a bright career before him. He wrote several interesting letters to the "Wairarapa Daily Times" on the doings of the New Zealand troops at the front, the last appearing in our columns on Wednesday. The news of his death will be received with feelings of deep regret throughout the Wairarapa, and the sympathy of a wide circle of friends will be extended to the relatives in their bereavement.'

John Dunn's name is listed on the Tinui War Memorial constructed in 1924 at Wairarapa, alongside the names of all other local men who died while fighting for New Zealand in the First World War. He is also commemorated by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, along with 849 other New Zealand soldiers with no known graves whose names are listed on The New Zealand Memorial to the Missing on Chunuk Bair.

Several members of the extended Dunn family have explored the details of John Dunn's life including the artist Pat White, his great nephew, who created an exhibition based on Dunn's story through the Wairarapa Museum of Art and History, and wrote an accompanying paperback book, 'Gallipoli: in search of a family story', published by Red Roofs in 2005.