Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Henry Mahaffey MM and Bar #361 9th Battalion

Henry Mahaffey was the first of the three brothers from his family to enlist. Henry reported he had been born at Milford, a farming community just south of Boonah. He attended Boonah State School and then proceeded to train as a carpenter. When war was declared in August 1914, young men flocked to the recruiting depots. Henry was among those first enlistments, presenting himself at Enoggera on 3rd September 1914.

Henry stated his age as 25 years and provided the address of Mrs Jensen of Woolloongabba as his landlady, but this was later amended to a Boonah address. He named his mother as his next of kin. Henry was allocated to “C” Company of the 9th Battalion. The 9th Battalion, in conjunction with the 2nd Light Horse, would constitute the initial contribution from Queensland to the AIF.

Only three weeks after enlisting at Enoggera, Henry and the rest of the 9th Battalion boarded the “Omrah” at Pinkenba Wharf, bound for overseas. After a delay in Melbourne due to a possible threat by a German Cruiser Squadron, the troop ships carrying the first contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops sailed from Albany in WA, bound for the Suez Canal. While at sea, the convoy learned that Turkey had entered the war on the side of Germany and Austria Hungary.

The newly arrived Australian troops were accommodated in tents in an outlying Cairo suburb. They began training in the hot conditions while decisions were made about how best to use them. Once the Dardenelles campaign became official policy, the AIF was included in the order of battle. Fine tuning of the planning determined that the Australians would land on the western shore of the Gallipoli Peninsula.

The Australians left Egypt in March and would spend the next month or so practising boat drills in Mudros Harbour on the island of Lemnos. The plan for the 25th April called for the 3rd Brigade of the AIF to be the covering force (first ashore) with the 9th Battalion taking up the far right position, closest to the Turkish shore batteries at Gaba Tepe. It is broadly accepted that the first ANZAC ashore on the 25th April was an officer of the 9th.

Henry’s had been designated as a stretcher bearer. Sometime during that first day ashore, He received a gunshot wound to his left arm. He was evacuated from the beach to a hospital ship and taken to the 1st Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis on the outskirts of Cairo. Once treated, Henry returned to Gallipoli on 10th September. On 30th September 1915, Henry was again wounded; this time a shrapnel wound to his right hand. He was evacuated to the 1st Australian General Hospital. When Henry was discharged from hospital on 28th December, the Gallipoli adventure had been brought to a close. When the survivors of the 9th Battalion arrived back in Egypt from Gallipoli, Henry joined them in a new camp at Tel-El-Kabir. On 1st February, Henry was promoted to Lance Corporal.

The early months of 1916 were taken up with a reorganisation and expansion of the AIF. Battalions like the 9th would be divided in two to create the cores of two battalions, with numbers then being made up from the huge number of reinforcements that were in Egypt. Henry remained with the 9th Battalion but many of his mates no doubt were then in the new 49th Battalion. The expansion of the AIF was at the request of the British authorities who required the troops to be available for deployment on the Western Front. The newly reinforced 9th Battalion landed in Marseilles on 3rd April 1916 and proceeded to the Armentieres sector of the front.

Douglas Haig’s Somme offensive began on 1st July 1916. The results were less than spectacular, with 60,000 casualties on the first day for very little forward gain. Nevertheless there was no thought of changing the plan and the “Pals” Battalions of Kitchener’s New Army continued to be pushed into the inferno. By the middle of July, a major obstacle to any further British advance was a ridge that ran from Theipval to Pozieres, and which commanded the highest position on that part of the battlefield.

Three Australian divisions would eventually be injected into the battle for Pozieres. The 1st Division; which included the 9th Battalion, were brought south from Armentieres on 20th July and successfully captured the village of Pozieres. The battalion was relieved on 27th July and went into a rest area before entering the battle again which had moved a few hundred metres along the ridge towards Mouquet Farm. The 9th Battalion War Diary records that between the 18th and 22nd August, Henry Mahaffey was in charge of a squad of stretcher bearers. The squad was being harassed by heavy artillery fire as they attempted to dig out men who had been buried by shell fire. Henry sustained an injury to his left eye and although the wound was bleeding profusely he continued to rescue wounded comrades. Henry was recommended for an award for his bravery and devotion to duty.

Henry spent some time in a hospital at Boulogne having his eye treated before being discharged on 23rd September. On 4th October, it was officially announced that Henry had been awarded the Military Medal for his actions at Mouquet Farm on 22nd August. On 20th October, Henry was transferred to the 49th Battalion, presumably as a stretcher bearer. The 49th Battalion was engaged in a minor action at Flers on 20th November when Henry Mahaffey was listed as Killed in Action.

No details of Henry’s death are contained in official records. A second commendation for bravery and devotion to duty resulted in a Bar to the Military Medal being awarded posthumously. There is no record of Henry’s burial so it may be assumed that his remains were never recovered.

Henry Mahaffey is commemorated on the limestone tablets of the Australian National Memorial at Villers Bretonneux, as is his brother Andrew.