Corporal John French VC

John Alexander ‘Jack’ French was awarded the Victoria Cross while fighting against the Japanese during the Battle of Milne Bay in September 1942. A section – commanded by French – encountered heavy gunfire as it attempted to advance on three enemy machine-gun posts. Ordering his section to take cover, French advanced and silenced both the first and second gun positions with grenades, then moved toward the third machine-gun post, firing a machine gun from the hip. When his section pushed forward they found all enemy gun crews had been killed and Corporal French had died in front of the third gun pit.  He is buried in the Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery.