John Freeman (SN 3028) born in Ballarat, was a 39 year old miner when he enlisted in Geelong on December 9th 1915. Assigned to the 29th Battalion his unit embarked from Melbourne aboard the Euripides on April 4th 1916. He was serving in France when in December 1916 he was transferred to hospital in England suffering from severe asthma and bronchitis. In April 1917 he faced the unusual charge of 'neglect of duty when in charge of an accused soldier allowing him to escape' for which he was awarded 10 days Field Punishment No.2. Soon after this he transferred to the 67th Battalion. On October 7th 1917 he married Mary Rice in Dorset and for much of 1918 was granted extended leave for family reasons. In July 1919 he sailed from England on the Indarra and disembarked at Melbourne on September 6th and was discharged on October 29th.

His brother Leslie also served in the AIF and is honoured with a tree in the Avenue.