John Simpson Kirkpatrick Essay

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One of Australia’s many brave soldiers from World War One (1914-1918) is John Simpson Kirkpatrick. His representation of the ANZAC spirt has made him one of the most remembered Australian solider and his legacy will never die. John Simpson Kirkpatrick, also known as the man with the donkey, was a stretcher bearer with the 1st Australian division in the First World War, during the years 1914-1915. He was born July 6th 1989, in South Shields, a coastal town in England. Simpson was assigned the regimental number 202 and to the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance in the Australian Imperial Force. During his service in Gallipoli however, he died, on the 19th of May 1915, with the final rank of private. After his father died in 1909, John took …show more content…

Stretcher bearers would collect wounded and injured from the battle field and return them to safety so that they could receive the medical attention which they needed. Soon, Simpson saw a group of donkeys near where he was working and took one to help him carry wounded soldiers on. “From then on he became a part of the scene at Gallipoli walking along next to his donkey, forever singing and whistling as he held on to his wounded passengers, seemingly completely fatalistic and scornful of the extreme danger” (ANZACS.net 2017). Unfortunately, on the 19th of May 1915, Simpson was killed by a Turkish bullet in the back, on one of his mornings retrieving the injured. Amazingly, in that twenty-four days John was able to rescue over 300 men down Monash Valley. Although died during war, post war, Simpson “grew fame to eclipse all other Australian war heroes” (firstworldwar, 2017). He left a legacy of displaying the true ANZAC legend, showing characteristics such as endurance, courage, determination, sacrifice, and mateship. He showed great bravery, putting the life of others before his own, helping many of his mates out. Because of this, he is a figure that is still relevant today, with books written on his story, statues all over the country of the famous “man with the donkey” and talked about

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