Sergeant James Ham, 34th Battalion, AIF
Australian War MemorialJames Ham was born on 24 March 1884 to John and Ann Ham of Giants Creek, New South Wales. He was educated at the local school and went on to work as a labourer in the district.
James Ham enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1916 at the age of 29. He underwent a period of training in Australia before leaving for active service overseas with the newly-formed 34th Battalion. Ham arrived in England in June 1916 and continued training as a member of a machine gun section in the 34th Battalion before being sent to the Western Front in late November.
Ham arrived on the battlefields as the fighting of 1916 was slowing to a halt for the winter. That winter would become one of the coldest on record, and Private Ham remained with his battalion rotating in and out of the front line in harsh conditions for several months, with the exception of a period in hospital with the mumps. He proved an able soldier, and received a series of promotions in the new year.
In May 1917, the 34th Battalion was in the front line in a quieter sector of the front in the north of France. On 17 May the Germans conducted a raid against the 34th’s lines, sending between 80 and 100 men over the top after a heavy artillery bombardment. They never made it into the Australian front line, and instead were stopped by machine-gun and artillery fire. The following night the enemy attacked again, with an even stronger force. Again the attack faltered in no man’s land, but this time five out of the 200-strong raiding party made it into the 34th Battalion’s position, bombing the Lewis gun bay and wounding four men.
Two machine-gunners were left, Lance-Corporal James Ham and a Private Taylor. Under heavy shell-fire, Ham continued working his gun, killing three of the attacking Germans in the trench, and the remaining two as they scrambled back over the parapet, single-handedly taking care of the only Germans to get into the Australian position from the raid of 18 May.
For his “gallantry and devotion to duty” during that action, Ham was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. His medal citation noted that “his initiative and his courage in working the gun so effectively has aroused the admiration of his officers and comrades.”
A few months later the 34th Battalion was sent to Belgium to participate in the great British offensive of that year that would become known as the Battle of Third Ypres, or Passchendaele. On 1 October 1917 the battalion was in the trenches near the Belgian village of Zonnebeke. Their position came under heavy artillery fire on A Company’s position that morning, causing the deaths of 54 men. One of the men killed that day was Sergeant James Ham.
His gravesite was lost, and today he has no known resting place. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres, not far from where he died. He was 30 years old.
- AWM Roll of Honour https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1636496
