James Bushby was born at Horsham, VIC, in 1877, to John Bushby and Jane Semple. His brother, Robert John, lived in the Bacchus Marsh district.
He was a farmer at Horsham, when he enlisted at Melbourne in the AIF, on the 30th of January 1915, aged 39. In May he embarked aboard the HMAT A38 Ulysses with the 21st Battalion and arrived in Egypt in June.
James proceeded to Gallipoli in late August. It was an eventful trip - the battalion's transport was torpedoed near the island of Lemnos and had to be abandoned. The battalion finally landed at ANZAC Cove on 7 th September. It was a relatively quiet time at Gallipoli, as the last major Allied offensives had been defeated in August.
At the end of January 1916 James was transferred to the Camel Corps and a month later promoted to Lance Sergeant. In April he was thrown from a horse with no apparent injuries. However as time went on he started developing headaches which became increasingly worse. In June he was in hospital with Rhinitis - a result of his previous fall from a horse. James was discharged from hospital at the end of July and proceeded to join the 21st Battalion in France.
At Etaples, France, he was again hospitalised, with Atrophic Rhinitis, for three weeks, before joining the 21st Battalion in October 1916. In March 1917 he was again hospitalised at Etaples, France, before being transferred to hospital in England, for two months, with Ethmoiditis.
James was discharged from hospital in May 1917 and embarked for Australia, aboard the SS A29 Suevic in September, arriving in the middle of November. At the end of December James was discharged from the AIF, medically unfit - still suffering headaches.
James Bushby died at Horsham Hospital, VIC, in 1920, aged 43(2).
He is listed on the Shire of Bacchus Marsh Roll of Honour, the Bacchus Marsh & District Roll of Honour, the Bacchus Marsh Roll of Honor and the Dimboola Memorial High School WWI Honor Roll, Dimboola.
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Last updated by lee, Thu, 06 May 2021 15:53:24