With thanks to Anne Betts for her contribution to this story.

William John Howard, known as Jack, was born on 11 December 1868 in Yambuk, Victoria, the third youngest child of William John Howard (1832–1877) and Sarah Payne Baseden (1835–1900). In 1872, when Jack was just four years old, his father lost his position as manager of Yambuk Station. The family relocated to Colac, hoping to stay near Sarah’s extended family. But not long after, William Sr. left, and was never heard from again. His mother, Sarah, raised the children alone, moving them to Echuca, where she worked as a midwife and teacher to support the family.

William was one of eight surviving children:

Family stories recall a quiet, kind-natured boy. Jack received little formal education but later trained in Melbourne as a painter, serving a five-year apprenticeship under a Mr Wilson. After completing his training, he headed north and spent many years working as a farmhand, drover, and stockman. He was known as a capable horseman, often employed on rural properties throughout Victoria and New South Wales.

By 1915, Jack was living in South Woodburn, on the Richmond River in northern NSW, working for Mr James Palmer. He was single, had no children, and had long since left Melbourne behind. Australia was calling for volunteers, but Jack was already 46 years and 6 months old — over the enlistment age of 45. Unwilling to let that stop him, he took matters into his own hands. On 15 July 1915, he enlisted in Brisbane under the name John (Jack) Morley, claiming to be 44 years old and born in Calcutta, India.

Anne believes that before he left, William confided his secret to one person — his younger sister, Clara:

After enlisting as John Morley on 15 July 1915, Jack was posted to A Company of the newly raised 31st Battalion. The unit was made up of recruits from Queensland and Victoria and would become part of the 8th Brigade, 5th Division AIF. Jack and the other Queensland enlistees travelled south by train, reaching Broadmeadows Camp in Melbourne in late July. Here they met their Victorian counterparts, and together began their initial training.

Broadmeadows was already packed with new units in various stages of preparation, and conditions were basic — dusty in the dry, muddy in the wet. The men were issued uniforms, attended route marches, musketry drills, bayonet practice, and discipline parades. For Jack, aged 46 and not long off the land, the physical demands must have been considerable.

Despite this, he appears to have settled in well. During these weeks, he had a formal portrait taken in uniform and posted it to his nephew Lewis Smyth. On the reverse, in steady handwriting, he wrote “Dear Lewis, With Luck. From your Uncle Jack Morley. No. 258, A Coy, 31st Batt.”.

In early November 1915, the battalion embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Wandilla. They sailed via Albany and Colombo, arriving in Suez on 7 December. Disembarking at the Egyptian port of Zeitoun, the 31st Battalion moved to Ferry Post camp near Ismailia, along the banks of the Suez Canal. The weeks in Egypt were spent in further training under harsh desert conditions — hot days, cold nights, wind-blown sand, and occasional outbreaks of illness. Soldiers manned defensive outposts along the canal and undertook company field exercises.

The training schedule was demanding, and for older men like William, it would have been both physically and mentally taxing. On 23 April 1916, William was noted in battalion records as being “improperly dressed on parade (unshaven).” Captain G.G. Robertson awarded him one extra guard duty.

The Australian divisions in Egypt underwent reorganisation in early 1916, and in June the 31st Battalion was notified they would be sent to the Western Front. They departed Alexandria on 16 June aboard HMT Hororata and disembarked at Marseilles a week later, on 23 June. From Marseilles, the battalion endured a 60-hour train journey north through the French countryside, packed tightly into cattle trucks marked “Hommes 40, Chevaux 8.”

They arrived at their billets near Hazebrouck in late June, and for the first time, the men of the 31st were within marching distance of the front. Settling into the Fleurbaix sector, the 8th Brigade relieved the 4th Australian Division in early July. The 31st Battalion rotated through trench systems for orientation — learning the layout, handling trench stores, and adjusting to the constant presence of German artillery.

New sounds, new smells, and the closeness of the enemy made it clear, this was not Egypt. This was war. The men trained for a planned offensive, undertaking rehearsals in reserve and constructing replica trench systems behind the lines. Artillery fire became a daily occurrence, and German aircraft were frequently seen over the lines. The terrain was flat, muddy, and exposed — the same Flanders clay that would bog down countless advances to come. By mid-July, the battalion knew a major assault was imminent. Morale was mixed. Some men wrote home with confidence, others sensed the scale of what lay ahead. The bombardment began on 16 July and intensified over the following days.

In July 1916, the men of the 31st Battalion, found themselves in the trenches of northern France, preparing for their first major battle on the Western Front. Many came from rural Queensland and Victoria—farmers, labourers, clerks, miners, and tradesmen—united by duty but unaware of the catastrophe that awaited them at Fromelles. Even before going over the top, disaster struck. German artillery heavily shelled the 31st Battalion’s lines, destroying their ammunition and bomb dump. Around 400 men—nearly half the battalion—were wounded or killed before the assault even began. The same bombardment hit battalion headquarters, wounding signallers, orderlies, and medical staff, further complicating communications.

At 5.58 PM on 19 July, the attack commenced. A and C Companies led the first two waves, followed by B and D Companies. The preliminary bombardment had damaged the German front line sufficiently for many in the leading waves to enter the trenches, but confusion quickly took hold. German counter-attacks and machine-gun fire from the flanks inflicted heavy losses, especially as men attempted to cross open ground.

Lieutenant-Colonel Toll personally advanced to the front line to assess the situation. He sent back urgent pigeon messages, reporting that he could hold the captured German trench—if reinforcements were sent quickly. None arrived. Throughout the night of 19–20 July, isolated groups dug in where they could under relentless fire. Some managed to reach the German second line, but lacking bombs and ammunition, they could not hold it. With communications severed and flanks exposed, German forces counter-attacked by morning. Orders were eventually issued to withdraw:

Private Jack Morley (William John Howard) was among those reported missing in the aftermath. The German death list dated 4 November 1916 confirmed his fate, and his identity disc was later returned via Geneva. A note added to his service record read:

“Buried Fleurbaix, Sheet 36 NW. Cert. by Captain Spedding’s List.”

Source: AWM Red Cross Wounded and Missing File – John Morley

He was one of several 31st Battalion men recorded on that same map reference, alongside Corporal Haslem Kendall, CSM Harold Woodman, and Private Henry Victor Willis who were later identified at Pheasant Wood.

Jack was listed as missing in action following the disastrous assault at Fromelles. For many weeks, his fate was unknown. Then, in November 1916, his name appeared on a German death list received by the British Red Cross Wounded and Missing Bureau. The entry read simply:

His identity disc was recovered and returned from Germany via Geneva on 24 February 1917. In October 1917, his personal effects were forwarded from Germany via London to his nominated next of kin, Mr. J. Palmer of South Woodburn. These included a religious medallion and locket — but some items were notably missing. Jack’s brother, Frederick Thomas Howard, later wrote to authorities stating that Jack had also had upon him the following:

Neither the locket with his mother’s photo nor the ring was ever recovered. Frederick also advised that although Mr. Palmer had originally been listed as next of kin, Jack had changed this while serving in Egypt. A note in the pay book — now lost — reportedly named Frederick as both next of kin and beneficiary. The matter was reviewed by the Public Curator’s Office, which wrote in 1917:

In 1921, Frederick Howard provided a formal declaration confirming Jack’s true identity:

While his brother was trying to locate missing personal items, his sister Clara inserted a touching tribute in the newspaper, commemorating their mother Sarah, her two sisters and Jack together:

Jack’s burial location remained unknown for decades. Then in 2009, a mass grave was uncovered behind German lines at Pheasant Wood. It contained the remains of 250 soldiers buried after the battle. In 2010, DNA testing confirmed his identity. His remains were reinterred with full military honours at the Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery.

For ninety-three years, Jack’s grave remained unknown. Though his identity disc had been returned from Germany and records confirmed his death, his body was unaccounted for — buried far from home, under another name, with no headstone to mark his place. That changed in 2009, when a mass grave was discovered at Pheasant Wood, near Fromelles. It held the remains of 250 British and Australian soldiers who had been hastily buried by German troops after the battle. Among them was Jack.

Through a combination of archaeology, forensic anthropology, historical research and DNA testing, Jack’s identity was finally restored. He was one of the first group of soldiers to be positively identified in 2010. Jack was reburied with full military honours at the Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery, in Plot IV, Row E, Grave 3.

His name — long hidden under the alias “Morley” — now also appears on his headstone as W J Howard, and his family stood beside it when he was laid to rest. His family—including great-great-grand-nieces Anne and Helen—travelled to France for the official dedication ceremony on 19 July 2010, 94 years after the battle. It was a solemn and historic event, attended by Prince Charles, Governor-General Quentin Bryce, and thousands of descendants and dignitaries. Anne read a poem she had written for the occasion titled “Brave Jack Morley”, restoring both his name and his place in history.

Anne reflects fondly on the process:

Jack is also commemorated at:

His name lives on—no longer missing, no longer forgotten.

For nearly a century, Jack Howard was listed as missing, one of the many Australians with no known grave after the Battle of Fromelles. But in 2010, his identity was confirmed through DNA, and he was laid to rest at Pheasant Wood under his real name. His family finally had answers. Today, Jack’s name is no longer lost. He is remembered—by his relatives, on his headstone, and in the records that now tell his full story.