1939-45 Star : Corporal J H Edmondson, 2/17 Battalion

1939-45 Star. Unnamed as issued.

NX15705 Corporal John Hurst Edmondson was born in Wagga Wagga, NSW on 8 October 1914. The only child of Joseph William and Maud Elizabeth Edmondson, John was educated at Hurlstone Agricultural High School. He was a farmer in the Liverpool area before his enlistment into the 2/17th Infantry Battalion at Paddington on 20 May 1940. Due to previous militia service with 4 Battalion (Australian Rifles), he was promptly appointed to the rank of corporal. On 20 October, the battalion sailed on HT 'Queen Mary' from Sydney, arriving in Palestine, via Fremantle and India, on 25 November. Edmondson was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross for his actions in the 'Easter Battle', during the Tobruk siege by General Erwin Rommel's forces in 1941. He is buried in grave no. 3.J.8 in the Tobruk War Cemetery.