Career
Born in Brisbane, Queensland to Irish parents, Carroll moved to Western Australia while still a child. He worked as a labourer and railway guard before enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force as a private in April 1916. Joining the Australian 3rd Division, Carroll was originally a reinforcement for the West Australian 44th Battalion before moving to the New South Wales 33rd Battalion in November 1916.
He then noticed a comrade in difficulty and went to his assistance, killing another of the enemy.
Next, he single-handedly attacked a machine-gun team, killing three of them and capturing the gun. Later, two of his comrades were buried by a shell.
In spite of heavy shelling and machine-gun fire, he managed to rescue them. These stories first appeared in the Perth Daily News on 2 November 1927 and the source of the story would seem to be Carroll himself.
He was in hospital after an industrial accident in which one of his feet was amputated.
Just out of surgery and still in pain he was interviewed by a reporter who does not seem to have checked the veracity of the stories. Carroll was severely wounded at Passchendaele in October 1917. Carroll died on 4 October 1971, at the age of 80, and is buried in Karrakatta Cemetery, Perth, Western Australia.
The John Carroll ward at the former Repatriation General Hospital, Hollywood is named in his honour.