John Charles McMaster was born in Belfast and arrived in Adelaide with his family at the age of 16 in November 1912. He found employment as a carpenter and was playing soccer with the Tandanya club when the 1913 league season commenced. The “Tans” folded up the following year and he joined South Adelaide.
Just two weeks after the season ended John was enlisting in the AIF at the Morphetville camp, on 12 September 1914. He may have put his age up by one year on his enlistment papers. Tragically his war was to be a short one, lasting less than two years. With the 16th Battalion, he was wounded early In the Gallipoli fighting and evacuated to a hospital in Manchester. Upon recovering he was returned to his unit at Gallipoli in time to be evacuated with the rest of the Allied forces. He arrived on the Western Front in 1916 as a member of the 4th Brigade machine gun company. John McMaster was fatally wounded at the Battle of Pozieres and died a day later on August 9th 1916.
Adelaide Register reported on 16 September 1916:
LATE PTE. J. C. McMASTER. Mr. John McMaster, of Frederick street Maylands, has been advised by the mili tary authorities that his son Pte. John Charles McMaster, died on August 9 from wounds received in France. The deceased left Melbourne at the beginning of November, 1914, and was wounded at Gallipoli and afterwards returned there. He would nave been 21 years of age next month. He was well known in British Association football circles, having played for South Adelaide. He arrived in this State four years ago with his parents from Belfast, Ireland. Another brother is at present with the colours in France.