Jack Kirkpatrick was born in 1892 at South Shields, North East England. In later years he changed
his name to John Simpson. He is usually known as John Simpson-Kirkpatrick.
Jack Kirkpatrick attended Mortimer Road School and also worked on the donkey rides on South
Shields beach. He lived in 10 South Eldon Street, later moving to 14 Bertram Street.
At thirteen Jack went out on the River Tyne in a sculler boat. The wind blew up and Jack fell
overboard. He was hauled out by his friend then fell in again, to be rescued a second time!
Also around this time Jack dived into the River Tyne and saved two drowning children.
All his life Jack loved animals; he worked with horses and donkeys and at home he kept rabbits and
pigeons. He was often seen with a dog following him around. In Australia he adopted a young
orphaned possum, feeding it and carrying it around tucked inside his shirt!
When Jack worked as a milkman he used a horse and milk float, delivering milk to
Dean Terrace, Alexandra Street, Francis Street, Florence Street, Conway Terrace, John Williamson
Street, Temple Street and Dean Road.
His father died in 1909 after a crippling accident. To provide for his mother and sister,
Jack (who was the only surviving son) went to sea. He took work on the SS Heighington, then the
SS Yeddo. Conditions on board the Yeddo were so bad that when the the ship arrived at Newcastle,
New South Wales, Jack and thirteen others jumped ship. This was a serious offence in the
Merchant Marine.
After working and travelling in Australia Jack then took a job on the Kooringa.
In December 1912 after a few months of illness, Jack took a job as stoker on board the SS
Tarcoola. Following a row with the chief of the Tarcoola he joined the Yankalilla.
Jack was yearning for home after being away four years. He wrote
that he intended to return to South Shields in eight or nine months. Jack never forgot his roots
and regularly sent home letters and money. He continued sending letters home under the name of
J. Kirkpatrick until he jumped ship for a second time in August 1914 when the Yankalilla steamed
into Fremantle and Jack found out that Britain and Germany were at war.
Jack saw his chance to do his duty and also get home more quickly. He expected
that he would be sent to Aldershot for training and then to France to fight the Germans.
From Aldershot he intended to travel to South Shields to see his family.
Fearing that a deserter from the Merchant Marine might not be accepted by the Australian Army,
Jack changed his name and enlisted as Private John Simpson.
Jack joined C Bearer Section, 3rd Field Ambulance as field ambulance stretcher bearer. He was
sent for training east of Perth, out in the bush.
Jack and his mates were sent to Europe, on board the SS Medic, as part of a convoy. During the
trip the SS Syndey, one of the other convoy ships, sank the German raider, the Emden.
The crews were given extra beer to celebrate and most went on deck to see what was going on.
While they were on deck Jack had a good drink of their ration as well!
The convoy stopped at Egypt instead of going to Europe because Turkey had joined the war and
taken sides with Germany. The Suez Canal had to be protected.
This was a great disappointment to Jack who had been looking forward to spending Christmas Day
in South Shields.
At the end of February 1915 the unit was ordered to Lemnos for special training. Britain's
military leaders had decided to launch an attack against Turkey by trying to capture the
Gallipoli Peninsula, then Constantinople, hoping to force Turkey out of the war. They expected
to relieve pressure on the Western Front in France and possibly shorten the war.
The Third Brigade was to lead the invasion of Gallipoli.
On April 15th, 3 Field Ambulance stretcher bearers were transferred to the troopship Devanha
in preparation for the invasion date of 25th April 1915. On the afternoon of the 24th the invasion
fleet steamed out of Mudros Harbour to the Gallipoli coastline.
Late in the morning the 3 Field Ambulance bearers were transferred to the destroyer Ribble.
Due to a navigational error the ANZACs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) were put
ashore approximately two kilometres north of their planned landing. As a result the soldiers
faced a hostile terrain, dense undergrowth, steep cliffs, a 100-metre rugged hill and Turks on
the plateau above firing down on them.
Jack's boat grounded almost opposite a rocky outcrop known as the Sphinx. He was the second man
out of his boat. The first and third men out, on either side of him, were killed.
He was supposed to go ashore with his bearer squad of four but sadly his three mates
were either killed or wounded.
Military leaders had expected that the Turks would give only token resistance, but the Turks
fought fiercely to defend their homeland.
By April 26th many of the wounded had been moved from what became known as ANZAC Cove and
taken out to the hospital and transport ships. A shortage of stretchers meant that bearers had
to manage by carrying wounded on their shoulders. The more seriously wounded were carried on
groundsheets.
Jack used an abandoned donkey to carry the wounded, using bandages to make a head stall
and a lead rope.
When the firing was at its worst orders were posted that ambulancemen must not go out.
Jack ignored orders and continued his rescues. Jack would leave the donkey waiting
under cover, while he crawled through the thick scrub to the injured man. He would then dash back
to the donkey with the soldier on his back. When the casualty was under cover with the donkey then
first aid was given.
Using his donkey and working all day and into the night Jack was making between twelve and fifteen
trips a day. The other two-man stretcher teams were making about six trips a day.
Jack used a number of donkeys which he called Murphy, Abdul and Queen Elizabeth. His favourite
name and the name he used for the first one was Duffy. A number of donkeys and passengers were
killed by enemy fire right next to Jack as he made his trips. He replaced each donkey as it was
killed, but only ever used one donkey at a time.
Jack only carried men who could sit on the donkey with assistance. He had to leave the serious
chest and abdomen wounds to be stretchered down to the beach.
Jack refused to go back to his own unit at the end of each day's work, despite being ordered to
return by his section sergeant.
Jack fed his donkeys by tying them up next to the mules of an Indian artillery unit. He camped
and ate with the Indians of the 21st Kohat Mountain Battery. The Sikh gunners called him
"Bahadur", which means the Bravest of the Brave.
Commanding officer Lt-Colonel Alfred Sutton was told that Jack was a using a donkey to carry the
wounded. Instead of ordering his court martial for desertion he praised Jack's initiative,
and allowed him to live away from his unit, on condition that he reported back regularly to have
his name marked off the unit roll.
Sutton also demonstrated his admiration for Simpson by taking off his Red Cross armband and tying
it around the donkey's head. He told the men that as the donkey was now a member of the unit he
would make it official.
When Captain Buchanan became the Bearer Officer he warned Jack officially of the dangers of his
donkey trips. Jack chose to continue.
At the beginning of May 1915 one of Jack's passengers was an Englishman from the the Royal Naval
Division. He had a bad thigh injury and kept losing consciousness on the way down the valley.
Jack never realised that it was his childhood friend, Billy Lowes.
Months later when Billy was home in South Shields, he wrote to Jack’s mother,
telling how he remembered being rescued on a donkey.
On the morning of May 19th 42,000 Turkish soldiers launched an all out attack against
the 17,356 strong Anzac line. The Turks were caught in the open, 3,000 killed and 10,000 wounded.
The Anzacs lost 168 men.
Jack was making his way down Monash Valley with a casualty and, as he approached the
place where Major General Bridges had been shot four days earlier, a signaller warned him of a
Turkish machine gunner.
Jack was hit in the back by machine gun fire. He was thrown forward and ended up face down in
the dirt with his donkey standing next to him. He was only 22. The fate of Jack's last
passenger remains uncertain, because of conflicting accounts.
John Simpson-Kirkpatrick rescued about three hundred wounded soldiers during his twenty-four days
of donkey trips down Monash Valley.
Jack was buried at Hell Spit, a clergyman officiated and the grave was marked with a simple wooden
cross with only his name on. After the Armistice Jack was remembered with a headstone in the
Beach Cemetery at ANZAC Cove.
Jack was recommended for the Victoria Cross officially, through his unit, on June 3rd 1915.
He was also recommended for the highest military honours by Colonel (later General Sir John)
Monash.
Following Simpson's death Lt-Col. Sutton wrote of Simpson that "He was a splendid fellow and went
up the gullies day and night bringing down the wounded on donkeys. I hope he will be awarded the
D.C.M."
On June 1st Sutton wrote "I think we will get a V.C. for poor Simpson."
Then on June 4th he wrote "I have been writing up poor Simpson's case with a view to getting some
honour for him. It is difficult to get evidence of any one act to justify the V.C., the fact is
he did so many."
Unfortunately, the senior medical officer at Anzac gave faulty instructions to the junior
officer preparing Simpson's citation. Jack was recommended under the wrong category of heroism
and the V.C. request was denied.
In July 1967 Australian leaders tried to correct the error by sending a petition to the British
War Office. They requested that a posthumous Victoria Cross be awarded to Private John Simpson
Kirkpartrick.
The request was denied, on the grounds that it would be setting a dangerous precedent. This was
incorrect as a precedent had already been set. In 1907 two British officers, Lieutenants Melvill
and Coghill were posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for their actions in South Africa,
twenty eight years previously.
The ANZAC battlefield was evacuated in December 1915 at the end of an eight month campaign which
they lost.
The final death toll was:
Australians 7,300,
British 25,000,
French almost 10,000,
Turks 87,000,
New Zealanders 2,400.
A horrific total of almost 131,700 men killed.
A monument to John Simpson-Kirkpatrick stands at Ocean Road, South Shields, outside the museum.
There are five statues around Australia honouring the Man with the Donkey, including one outside
the Australian War Memorial and one in Melbourne.
The above is a only a brief summary of the life of John Simpson-Kirkpatrick. For more information
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