John "Barney" Hines (1878–1958) was a British-born Australian soldier of World War I, known for his prowess at taking items from German soldiers. Hines was the subject of a famous photo taken by Frank Hurley that depicted him surrounded by German military equipment and money he had looted during the Battle of Polygon Wood in September 1917. This image is among the best-known Australian photographs of the war.
Born in Liverpool, England, in 1878, Hines served in the British Army and Royal Navy, and worked in several occupations. He arrived in Australia in 1915 and volunteered for the Australian Imperial Force in August 1915. Although discharged due to poor health in early 1916, he rejoined in August that year and served on the Western Front from March 1917 to mid-1918, when he was discharged again for health reasons. During his period in France he proved to be an aggressive soldier, and gained fame for the collection of items that he amassed, but was undisciplined when not in combat and frequently punished. After the war, Hines lived in poverty on the outskirts of Sydney until his death in 1958.
Early life
Hines was born Johannes Heim on 11 October 1878 in Liverpool, England to German immigrant parents Jacob and Dora Heim. His father, Jacob Heim, was one of many Germans who emigrated to England to work in the sugar refining industry. Hines married Hannah Maher at Our Lady's Church in Eldon Street, Liverpool in 1899. They had two children together.
He moved to New Zealand in the early 1900s. By the time of his first criminal conviction in New Zealand, in November 1904, he was using the alternate surname Hines. He had a very bad criminal record in New Zealand. After over a decade in New Zealand he moved to Australia. He worked his passage to Australia as a fireman on the ship Somerset under the name J Heim. The ship arrived at Sydney, Australia on 18 August 1915.
World War I
Hines first joined the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 24 August 1915, falsely claiming to be 28 years of age. In the year before he joined the Army he had worked as a seaman, engineer and shearer. He was discharged from the AIF as medically unfit on 20 January 1916. On 8 May Hines successfully rejoined the AIF, this time giving an age of 36 years and seven months. By this stage of the war medical requirements were less strict due to the need for reinforcements to make good the AIF's casualties. Hines was assigned to the 45th Battalion and departed Sydney for Europe onboard HMAT A18 Wiltshire on 22 August 1916.
After completing training in England, Hines joined the 45th Battalion on the Western Front in March 1917. In June that year he captured a force of 60 Germans during the Battle of Messines by throwing hand grenades into their pillbox, and was later wounded. He returned to his battalion in time for the Battle of Polygon Wood in September, where Frank Hurley photographed him on 27 September surrounded by the loot he had captured. Hines was an aggressive soldier and it has been claimed that he killed more Germans than any other member of the AIF. Though brave in battle and admired by his fellow soldiers, his behaviour was erratic at times. The wartime commander of the 45th Battalion, Arthur Samuel Allen, described Hines to a journalist in 1938 as "a tower of strength to the battalion ... while he was in the line".
Hines' enthusiasm for collecting German military equipment and German soldiers' personal possessions became well known within and possibly outside of his battalion, and earned him the nickname of "Souvenir King". Although he collected some items from battlefields at Ypres and the Somme region, most were stolen from German prisoners of war. He kept the items he collected for himself, and there are no records of any being handed over to the Australian War Records Section, the AIF unit responsible for collecting items for later display in Australia. Hines sold some of the items he collected to other soldiers, including for alcohol. The photograph of Hines at the Battle of Polygon Wood was published in late 1917 under the title Wild Eye, the souvenir king and became one of the best-known Australian photographs of the war. Many soldiers identified with Hines and were amused by his collection of souvenirs. The photograph was used as propaganda, and a false story developed that the German Kaiser Wilhelm II had become enraged after seeing it.