John Henry Lavars was born in Ballarat and was a Gardner by trade when he enlisted in the 39th Battalion, C Company on 21 March 1916 at the age of 18. His unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A11 Ascanius on 27 May 1916. In September he was transferred to the 8th Battalion in France. In early 1917 he became ill and was eventually withdrawn to hospital in England, suffering from pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO). He rejoined his battalion in June. On September 20th 1917 he was wounded in action in Belgium. He sustained gunshot wounds to his right side and arm, and once again was evacuated to England. He returned to his unit in France in April 1918 but was again wounded on August 25th when he was gassed. He was hospitalised in France and rejoined his unit just three weeks before the fighting ended. He returned to Australia on the Norman and disembarked at Melbourne on August 18th 1919.
Tree No 2278