Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Norman Dudley Baruh was born in January 1887 in Paddington, New South Wales and was the only child of parents Matilda and L. Baruh. After migrating to Adelaide, he lived in Norwood and attended East Adelaide Public School. His occupation before enlistment was a Carpenter and lived at 32 Edward Street, Norwood.

Baruh was aged 28 when he was enlisted for World War 1 on the 2nd of August 1915, along with 165,911 other Australian within the year. He was enlisted as a Sapper and was assigned to the 6th Field Company Engineers. Upon enlistment, Baruh was single, 5 feet 7 ½ inches, 162lbs, an average build with a fresh complexion, hazel eyes and light-coloured hair.

He left Australia on the 24th November 1915 aboard the HMAT Ceramic A40, leaving via Sydney. He arrived at Port Said in Egypt as part of the 6th Filed Company Engineers, 2nd Division Engineers. Upon arrival, his unit entrained for Kantarra and was then transported to Ferry Post, where they would begin their training.

During the early months of 1916, the unit spent time training, building trenches, and constructing the Decauville Railways, which would be used for transporting weapons, food, blankets, uniforms and many other necessities to keep an army going. During this time, there was plenty of movement from the unit, going from Ferry Post to Moascar to Alexandria, eventually moving to Marseilles, France. The unit diaries, which kept record of what the company did in each day, explains the many jobs of the unit. “Building dugouts for 6th Field Ambulance… Laying brick floor at Blue Cross hospital… Erecting signallers’ dugouts… Wire entanglement…”

Throughout the rest of the year, Baruh and his unit spent time on the western front doing day to day trench and transport maintenance. Jobs included building and extending trenches, repairing transports, burying the dead, helping move the injured and maintaining weapons. Since Baruh was in an engineering unit, he spent most of his time in the communication and support trenches, company HQ dugout and the reserve area.

 

An animation of the layout and setting of trenches in World War 1

Trenches on the Western Front 2012, accessed 18 March 2017, http://ww1inthetrenches.weebly.com/trenches-on-the-western-front.html

 

During battles in WWI, although it doesn’t seem like it, many soilders found themselves in a state of absolute boredom. Not all soldiers were shooting guns and firing shells in the front line. Most were just sitting in the communication and reserve trenches with nothing to do. Being in the engineering company would have been especially boring because their main jobs were to build, maintain and repair things.

Throughout 1916 the 6th Field Company Engineers were involved the Battle of Pozieres and part of the Battle of the Somme. The unit was split into two during the period in which both battles were occurring simultaneously, so it is possible for Baruh to have been at either of these battles.

The Battle of Pozieres lasted for 2 weeks between July and August and was fought by the 1st, 2nd and 4th Australian Divisions. Its main purpose was to claim the village of Pozieres, a village in the Somme Valley in France. It was a costly and bitter battle between the Australian divisions and German army, resulting in 6,848 casualties on the Australian side.

The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, is known as one of the largest battles in the first world war and one of the bloodiest battles in military history, and resulted in 1.5 million casualties and missing persons. Fought between July 1 and November 1 of 1916, it was the first great offense of WWI for the British, and was fought to weaken the German army as the war progressed.

Moving on, 1917 was a very messy year for Baruh, as it was this year when his WW1 service concluded. From January through to March, the company spent time resting, training with weapons and constructing the ANZAC Light Railways, which would later become used to transport supplies quickly and with little maintenance. On April 11th, the First Battle of Bullecourt began. It was an Australian attack on the German trenches east of the village of Bullecourt.

During May of 1917, the 6th Field Company Engineers were involved in the First Battle of Bullecourt, their jobs being to design and build shell-proof shelters and extending trenches. During this battle, the Germans fired heavily upon the oncoming Australian troops and released an abundance of shell explosives. An entry from the unit diaries talks about what was going on during the battle. “Work started at 11pm, after heavy bombardment, in which the parties sustained several casualties…”

On the 7th of May, Baruh was transported out of the trenches to a temporary hospital approximately 20km from the battle. After 3 days, he was admitted into Winchcombe Hospital in the U.K., where he would spend a year recovering. 

Stretcher bearers of the 6th Field Ambulance carrying wounded to a motor ambulance, which will travel to the Casualty Clearing Station. Photo taken 2nd September 1918

WWI The Western Front 2016, Australian Army, accessed 18 March 2017, https://www.army.gov.au/our-history/history-in-focus/wwi-the-western-front

On the 12th of March 1918, Baruh returned to Australia, being qualified as medically unfit. He was officially discharged on the 28th of June and has recorded no military service since.

After his disembarkation, his unit continued fighting the war until its last days. Some of their experiences included being involved in the Battle of the Somme, First Battle of Ypres and being involved in an Aussie Rules Football Tournament against other units, including the 5th and 7th Field Company Engineers.

As you may know, war wasn’t a pretty sight. Bloody battles and watching your mates die was inevitable, and took a toll on soldiers’ health. The reality was that seeing their friends die revealed to them what situation they were really in. Many being volunteers and untrained, they were never full prepped for war. This meant that some soldiers would no longer want to be a part of the war and would act out to get away. Baruh was one of those men. During his service, he was constantly absent without consent, drunk, disrespectful to his uniform and suspended for weeks at a time due to misconduct, the most being 28 days. Possibly, the harshness of war had affected him psychologically.

Despite all this, Baruh still went on to win the 1914-1915 star, for his service in both years, the British War Medal for his service in the First World War, and the Victory Medal, for serving on the winning side. In 1918, Baruh was married to Phyllis Julia Huffa in Adelaide. He died at the age of 68 and was buried Centennial Park Cemetery, SA the next day. His wife died a few years later and as buried beside him on the 19th on July 1962. On this very day, Norman Dudley Baruh still rests beside his wife, forever known as a survivor of the Great War.

 Photographs/Images

The patch worn by members of the 6th Field Company Engineers, 2nd Division

6th Field Company Engineers n.d., RSL Virtual War Memorial, accessed 10 March 2017, <https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/units/338>.

 

British War Medal (BWM)

British War Medal n.d., Photograph, Australian Government - Department of Defence, accessed 12 March 2017, http://www.defence.gov.au/medals/imperial/wwi/British-War-Medal-1914-20.asp

 

 

1914-15 Star

1914-15 Star n.d., Photograph, Australian Government - Department of Defence, accessed 12 March 2017, http://www.defence.gov.au/medals/imperial/wwi/1914-15-Star.asp

 

 

Victory Medal

Victory Medal n.d., Photograph, Australian Government - Department of Defence, accessed 12 March 2017, http://www.defence.gov.au/medals/imperial/wwi/victory-medal.asp

 

 

The HMAT A40 Ceramic

HMAT A40 Ceramic 1915, Photograph, Australian War Memorial, accessed 12 March 2017, http://www.defence.gov.au/medals/imperial/wwi/victory-medal.asp

 

 

The SS Field Marshall, the ship which took Baruh back to Australia

Looking for the Evidence 2015, accessed 18 March 2017, https://sites.google.com/site/archoevidence/home/ww1australianwomen/sea-transport-section-staff

 

 

 

Men smoking and playing games out of boredom in one of the many trenches on the Western Front.

Trench Warfare n.d., BBC, accessed 18 March 2017, http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/worldwarone/hq/wfront1_02.shtml

 

 

 

Victims of a gas attack being dumped into trenches, an occurrence in almost every unit. The rotting corpses created a very foul smell, making living in the trenches an even bigger challenge.

Western Front 2012, Great War Photos, accessed 18 March 2017, https://greatwarphotos.com/tag/western-front/

 

Refrences

Researching a Person PDF Links

1.  Norman Dudley BURUH 2016, UNSW Australia – AIF Project, accessed 3 March 2017, <http://www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/bullecourt/what-happened-here.php>.

2.  First World War Embarkation Rolls: Norman Dudley Baruh n.d., Australian War Memorial, accessed 3 March 2017, <https://www.awm.gov.au/people/rolls/R1781771/>.

3.       ----

4.  Record Search - BARUH 2006, National Archives of Australia, accessed 3 March 2017, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ListingReports/ItemsListing.aspx>.

5.  Trove Australia n.d., National Library of Australia, accessed 3 March 2017, <http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/232130620/25061474>.

6.  AWM4 Subclass 14/25 - 6th Field Company, Australian Engineers n.d., Australian War Memorial, accessed 6 March 2017, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/RCDIG1000386/>.

7.  Same info as source 2

8.  Search - d:(6th Field Company Engineers) n.d., State Library of South Australia, accessed 12 March 2017, <http://www.catalog.slsa.sa.gov.au/search~S1?/X(d%3A(6th+Field+Company+Engineers))&searchscope=1&SORT=D/X(d%3A(6th+Field+Company+Engineers))&searchscope=1&SORT=D&SUBKEY=(d%3A(6th+Field+Company+Engineers))/1%2C9%2C9%2CB/browse>.

 Other Links

World War I Pictorial Honour Roll of South Australians 2013, accessed 12 March 2017, <http://ww1sa.gravesecrets.net/bam---bar.html>.

Battle of the Somme 2017, History.com, accessed 18 March 2017, <http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/battle-of-the-somme>.

Battle of Pozieres n.d., Australian War Memorial, accessed 18 March 2017, <https://www.awm.gov.au/military-event/E72/>.

The Bullecourt Digger – Bullecourt, France 2016, accessed 16 March 2017, <http://www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/bullecourt/what-happened-here.php>.]

6th Field Company Engineers n.d., RSL Virtual War Memorial, accessed 10 March 2017, <https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/units/338>.

 

Son of Matilda and L BARUH