Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

# 4576 SULLIVAN James                     47th Battalion
 
James Sullivan was born in Rockhampton. His father, Thomas, was living in Nanango at the time of James’ enlistment. There is no record of his mother’s name.
 
James presented himself for enlistment at Brisbane on 9th September 1915. He was 21 years old and stated his occupation as labourer. James named his father Thomas of Nanango as his next of kin. James reported to camp at Enoggera where he was allocated to the 14th draft of reinforcements for the 9th Battalion. The reinforcements boarded the “Wandilla” in Brisbane on 31st January 1916 for the voyage to Egypt via Melbourne and Freemantle; arriving in Alexandria on 5th March.
 
The AIF camps in Egypt in the first months of 1916 had become home to the survivors of the Gallipoli campaign as well as a flood of recruits who had enlisted during the latter half of 1915. This abundance of manpower allowed the AIF to expand from the two divisions of the Dardanelles Expedition to four full divisions. To achieve this expansion, original battalions were split to provide a core of experienced officers and NCOs which could then be brought up to strength by the reinforcements in the camps.
 
By the time that James and the rest of the 14th draft arrived in Egypt, the 9th Battalion was already at full strength. The reinforcements went into the large infantry depot at Serapeum where they would await deployment. While in camp, James contracted mumps and was sent to the #1 Australian Hospital in Cairo. When he was discharged and returned to camp, the rest of his draft had already departed. James was then transferred to the 47th Battalion on 22nd April, part of the 12th Brigade in the newly formed 4th Division.
 
During March, April and May 1916, various brigades of the expanded AIF left the camps in Egypt for France and the Western Front. Since its inception when it was formed by the splitting of the 15th Battalion, the 47thsuffered from ineffective leadership and disciplinary problems. While stationed on the Suez Canal, some men of the 47th insulted the Prince of Wales during an inspection by counting him out like a boxing referee. The 47th was one of the last battalions to sail for France, leaving Alexandria on 2nd June 1917. During the voyage, a number of officers took advantage of liquor being available on credit and when the ship docked at Marseilles, Company Sergeant Major Koch was so inebriated that he had to be carried ashore. He was eventually dismissed. Ill-discipline continued within the battalion when the first pay was issued in France.
 
On 1st July 1916, General Douglas Haig, Commander of the British Forces in France and Belgium launched his big push with the opening of the Battle of the Somme. The battalions of Kitchener’s new army, mostly conscripts, suffered appalling losses; 60,000 casualties on the first day of whom 20,000 were killed. The gains of the offensive were minimal but Haig was committed to pushing on. By the middle of July, three of the four Australian divisions in France and Belgium were moved to the Somme where they would be thrust against the might of the German Armies. The primary objective was the high ridge on which nestled the village of Pozieres. The 1st Australian Division successfully took the village on the 24th July. The 2nd Division followed up over the next week finally capturing two lines of trenches and a blockhouse on the crest of the ridge above the village. Both the 1st and 2nd Divisions had been badly mauled and it then fell to the battalions of the 4th Division, which included the 47th to hold the newly won positions in the face of withering machine gun and artillery fire. The 47th Battalion moved up to the front line to relieve the 48th Battalion on 7th August. This was the first time the battalion had been in a sizable action. The battalion’s task was to simply occupy the trenches that had been taken by the 1st and 2nd Divisions and endure constant bombardment by artillery and machine gun.
 
On 8th August, James sustained a serious gunshot wound to his chest and was evacuated via the 3rdCasualty Clearing Station to a hospital in Rouen where he died of his wound 6 days later. He was buried in the Saint Sever cemetery in Rouen. The cemetery register contains no details of James except name rank number and unit. His father did not respond to any communication from the War Graves Commission and his headstone only records the bare details.