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Australia

Richard Delaney was born in 1880 in Galway, Ireland. He worked as a Sawyer in Melbourne, Victoria, when he enlisted in the AIF on 19 July 1915. Richard listed his aunt Delia Massina, living in East Melbourne, as his next of kin. On enlistment, Richard stated that he had nine years of military service with the British Army. He was allocated service number 3774 and embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT A40 Ceramic with the 12th Reinforcements, 5th Battalion on 23 November 1915. He had previously attempted to enlist with the AIF but was rejected due to an issue with his teeth.

Richard Delaney was taken on strength with 5th Battalion at Serapeum, Egypt, on 22 February 1916. Serapeum was located on the banks of the Suez Canal, and 5th Battalion had relocated the previous month from Tel-el-Kebir. It was now engaged in garrisoning outposts in the Sinai desert. Although there remained a remote possibility that the Ottoman Army might attempt another assault on the Canal, especially given the freeing up of their divisions after the British withdrawal from Gallipoli, the outpost duties undertaken by the Battalion in this zone served more as training rather than a defensive precaution. The 12th Reinforcements arrived shortly before the draft for the newly formed 5th Division departed from the 5th Battalion. This draft comprised half the Gallipoli veterans. With the doubling of the AIF, half the 5th was sent to form the 57th Battalion AIF, part of 5th Australian Division.

The battalion left the desert on 25 March and travelled via train from Serapeum to the port at Alexandria for embarkation to France. The unit history recorded that most men were pleased to leave the sandy wastes, heat and flies of Egypt behind.
The 5th Battalion proceeded from Alexandria aboard HMT Briton to join the British Expeditionary Force. The troops disembarked in Marseilles, France, on 30 March 1916. The journey was harsh and unrelenting, a cold and cramped 63-hour trip by train in cattle cars. The unit history recorded that the ordeal would be etched in the memory of every man. The Gallipoli veterans, however, had experienced far worse and did their best to ease the discomfort of reinforcements, sharing tips and advice to make the long ride more bearable. Given that Richard Delaney had already experienced nine years in the British Army, he may have been better suited to dealing with the challenging travel conditions than others in the battalion.

The friendly French locals welcomed them at each stop with chocolates and flowers. Around noon on 3 April, the Battalion arrived at Godswaertsvelde, France, three kilometres from the Belgian border. They were weary, cramped, and covered in the grime from the journey. The men had been briefed that this leg of the journey was a precursor to their formal training for the Western Front. This northern sector of the Western Front was a relatively quiet one. It served as a training ground for new arrivals and provided an opportunity to acquaint the men of the 5th Battalion with trench warfare.

The battalion marched to Steentje, a village 20 kilometres away. The journey to Steentje was gruelling. Days at sea and cramped train travel had sapped the strength of the men, and chafing and blisters began to take their toll. By the time they trudged into Steentje, they were a weary, dishevelled, exhausted group.
Billeting was arranged in farmhouses and outbuildings. These billets were an introduction to the rural accommodation that would define much of their time in France and Belgium. The smell of manure, the pigsties, and the stagnant ponds quickly became familiar sights. However, for all its discomforts, the straw bedding offered a surprising respite, and the men found themselves more comfortable here than they might have anticipated, settling in for a brief rest before the challenges awaiting them on the Western Front.

On 15 April, the 5th Battalion left their billets in the farmhouses of Steentje and marched to Erquinghem-Lys, where they stayed in wooden huts, sixteen men in each. They undertook extensive training in using the bayonet while preparing to enter the trenches.

By the end of April, the 5th Battalion was deemed to have completed enough training that it was ready to face the reality of the trenches. On 29 April, equipped with newly issued steel helmets to replace the slouch hats, the men set off for Fleurbaix.

Here, on this quiet stretch of the line known as "The School," the men of 5th Battalion learned the workings of the trenches: the defensive benefits of loopholes and parapets, the necessity of the firestep, and the layout of saps and traverses. They were drilled to remain vigilant and not let their guard down, even during lulls. The men were instructed in trench maintenance, to be alert against enemy advances, and their responsibilities on sentry and listening-post duty. This instruction was the last phase of their initiation into the rigours of Western Front warfare. Poison gas, unlike in Gallipoli, was a regular threat, and they were provided gas masks, which became as vital as their rifle.

The battalion arrived in Fleurbaix under the cover of darkness, moving quietly through the town and onto a narrow lane that led them into a field. Following the duckboards—the wooden walkways laid out to navigate the waterlogged trenches, they moved forward with their heavy equipment across open fields, streams, and marshy ground. Occasionally, the light of distant flares illuminated the path ahead.

The 5th Battalion took up their positions in the trenches with the Germans 275 metres away. When daylight broke, the men could see the peculiar nature of these trenches, not dug into the earth but constructed above it and reinforced with sandbags. The trenches in this part of the line were built above ground because the water table was close to the surface, meaning any digging into the ground would quickly cause flooding. Veterans assured the newcomers that this relatively undamaged sector was seldom subjected to heavy shelling, as evidenced by the well-kept parapets and shallow trenches.

A 5th Battalion sharpshooter, positioned in a loopholed stance, became the Battalion's first casualty, killed by a German sniper who shot him in the head. Despite such moments, life in the trenches settled into a routine. During the day, fatigue parties were tasked with the upkeep of the trenches and parapets, while ration fatigues were conducted at night. Men would follow the communication trenches to the supply dumps, where wagons brought supplies in. They loaded the rations onto small carts and navigated the wooden tramline that ran back to the front lines. This nighttime journey was treacherous, as the men hauling supplies were exposed to sporadic rifle and machine-gun fire, turning the "pushing party," as they were called, into an unpleasant and unpopular task.
The battalion received its first experience of Western Front shelling on 1 May 1916. Shells began to rain down on the rear trenches more heavily than the front, a targeting that may have been intentional or merely a result of errant shooting. The 5th Battalion remained relatively unscathed, suffering only minor casualties.
On 13 May, the 5th Battalion was relieved by 7th Battalion AIF and returned to billets at Fleurbaix. The fatigue duties resumed there, with the men primarily digging support trenches and hauling supplies up to the forward supply dumps. The work was often interrupted by sudden scrambles for cover as German artillery engaged in intermittent, unpredictable barrages. On the night of 31 May, the battalion was sent back to the line for ten more days. On this tour, three men were killed, and thirteen were wounded.

On the night of 9-10 June, 5th Battalion was again relieved and moved back into billets scattered across villages behind the line, though none were far from the front. In these billets, the constant threat of stray shells meant that even behind the lines, Richard Delaney and the other men of 5th Battalion were not necessarily safe. Several men were killed or wounded in the weeks behind the lines. On 19 June, the unit began a move into Belgium to Ploegsteert Wood via Neuve Eglise, where they spent three weeks in a rigorous cycle of training interspersed with fatigue duties. The need for fresh reinforcements on the Somme front brought about a decision for I Anzac Corps, which included the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Australian Divisions to be moved into the line. On 12 July, 5th Battalion and the rest of 1st Australian Division began a southward march through the French countryside toward the Somme.

I Anzac Corps was given the objective of capturing the village of Pozieres and the ridge beyond it—the highest point on the battlefield. This ridge would allow the British forces a commanding view over the German defences and rear positions if captured. British forces had already made four attempts to take Pozieres between 13 and 17 July. Each had failed. General Sir Hubert Gough, the army commander, initially planned for the Australians to assault Pozieres on the night of 18 July. However, the I Anzac General Officer Commanding (GOC) William Birdwood insisted on additional preparation time, citing the failures of the previous rushed attempts. The Australians secured a few more days, and the attack was rescheduled for 12:30 am on 23 July.

The German defences around Pozieres were formidable. Their first line, known as Pozieres Trench, ran along the village's southern end, while a second line lay about 450 metres to the rear, known as the Old German, or O.G. Lines. This system consisted of two parallel trenches—O.G.1 and O.G.2—spaced 90 to 180 metres apart and running along the crest of the ridge northeast of Pozieres, linking back to Pozieres Trench about 460 metres east of the village. Within the village, the Germans had transformed the ruins into fortified positions, with deep dugouts carved from the cellars beneath shattered buildings.

The attack would be led by 1st Australian Division, with 1st and 3rd Brigades at the front and the 2nd Brigade (of which 5th Battalion belonged) held in reserve. In the days before the assault, Pozieres was subjected to a continuous artillery barrage.

The assault by 1st and 3rd Brigades on Pozieres was successful. At two minutes before zero hour, the Australian and British artillery fired a rapid barrage, which the infantry followed closely, moving as near to the German positions as they could without exposing themselves. The Australian troops surged forward when the artillery fire lifted, catching the Germans off-guard. The Australians pushed through the village by maintaining close proximity to their own barrage, overwhelming German defences and forcing many of the enemy to retreat to the O.G. Lines. Most objectives were secured. The landscape, marked with craters and trenches, proved confusing at the O.G. Lines. Australia's official war historian, Charles Bean, described it as "a choppy sea," where trenches were "untraceable" amidst the destruction. Despite the challenges, the capture of Pozieres marked a significant victory for the Australians.

The Germans launched several counterattacks in an attempt to recapture Pozieres. The Australian and British artillery and infantry repelled these. The Germans then applied an unrelenting artillery barrage on the village itself. Beginning at dawn on 24 July, this bombardment reduced Pozieres to a wasteland of churned earth and shattered stone.

On the same morning, the 5th Battalion moved into reserve at Bailiff Wood, just southwest of Pozieres. From their position, they observed the aftermath of previous battles. The ground was littered with the remnants of the previous fighting with the blackened corpses of fallen soldiers. That afternoon, a four-hour tear-gas bombardment made it highly uncomfortable for the men of 5th Battalion. Although issued goggles for protection, the men found them ineffective, leaving them with burning eyes, sore throats, and, in some cases, vomiting.

Orders arrived for a follow-up operation. On 25 July, 5th Battalion and two companies from 7th Battalion were tasked with capturing the O.G. Lines. The 5th Battalion's Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Frank LeMaistre, commanded the attack. The 5th Battalion was assigned the sector between Pozieres Trench and the nearby railway, while the companies of the 7th covered the area between the railway and the Pozieres-Bapaume road. The assault was planned for a pre-dawn attack on 25 July. Tape lines were laid in no-man's-land to mark the start positions. However, during the night, the tape layout went askew because one of the men responsible for laying the tape was wounded. This misalignment would later complicate the advance.

Confusion set in in the dark as the troops filed through the trenches to their forming-up positions. The companies of 5th Battalion inadvertently moved ahead of the 7th, resulting in delays and disorder. The ground the men were traversing to the jumping-off point was a nightmare—a maze of damaged trenches filled with bodies. The stench from the dead was overwhelming, with corpses embedded in the trench walls.

Despite the chaos, 5th Battalion reached their approximate jumping-off positions. At 1:58 am, the covering barrage began, with Australian and British artillery sending shrapnel shells onto the O.G. Lines. At 1:59 am, the officers gave the order to advance. Under heavy German machine-gun fire, the troops moved forward across a landscape filled with craters. As the assault line veered left due to the misplaced tape, groups splintered off, some heading southeast, others northeast, searching for the trench. Eventually, the troops located O.G.1 and rushed in, finding only a few dead Germans —the rest had fled. Consolidating an objective before moving on to the next one was normal practice. Instructions had been given to 5th Battalion's company commanders to consolidate O.G.1 before advancing on O.G.2. However, the left flank company mistook a break in the barrage as the signal to commence the attack on O.G.2. Their premature movement prompted the rest of the battalion to follow. German machine-gun fire was received from several directions. However, O.G.2. was taken, and the men began to dig in.

However, since the consolidation of O.G.1. had not been completed effectively, Germans were able to bomb their way along that trench and get behind the main body of the battalion, forward in O.G.2. Consequently, the 5th Battalion men ahead in O.G.2. were in danger of being cut-off. The decision was made to evacuate O.G.2 and concentrate the remaining men of the Battalion in O.G.1.
Eventually, reinforcements arrived, bringing with them a resupply of bombs. Charles Bean recorded the fight in O.G.1. as 'one of the most desperate bomb fights in the history of the AIF'. Brigadier General Ewan Sinclair-MacLagan of 3rd Brigade AIF committed every available man in the brigade's 9th and 10th Battalions in support of 5th Battalion's defence of O.G.1. By mid-morning, barricades had been constructed at either end of the O.G.1 trench line secured by the mixed 5th, 9th and 10th Battalions. In all, about a fourth of the intended objective had been secured. That night 5th Battalion was relieved by 17th Battalion. The attack had cost the 5th Battalion a total of 13 officers and 458 other ranks as casualties, including six officers and 39 other ranks killed. Those casualties were approximately 50% of the battalion, an indication of the severity of the fighting.

Fortunately, the battalion received 173 reinforcements when it moved back to La Boiselle for rest, reorganisation, and training. The battalion stayed out of the line until 14 August 1916. At that time, the 2nd Brigade, of which 5th Battalion was one of the four battalions, was used in a follow-up attack on Mouquet Farm, located to the north of Pozieres. The 5th Battalion, alongside 6th Battalion, were tasked with digging a new "jumping-off trench" east of the O.G. Lines. This trench would serve as the launch point for an assault by 7th and 8th Battalions on German positions located another 180 to 275 metres further east. The 5th Battalion took the right flank, positioned along the Pozieres-Bapaume road, while 6th Battalion held the left.

On the afternoon of 14 August, 5th Battalion reached La Boisselle and paused near the massive crater marking the start of the Somme offensive. They occupied reserve trenches here, waiting to move up to the line. The next evening, on 15 August, the battalion moved up to the O.G. Lines on Pozieres Ridge, under constant shellfire.

Upon arrival, the O.G. Lines were nightmarish. The trenches were mere remnants of what they had been, scarred by shellfire and littered with decaying corpses. German and Australian bodies lay exposed in the parapets and pathways. With constant shelling reducing the garrison, only small outposts remained in the T-head saps of O.G.2. A single company from each battalion occupied the dugouts in O.G.1, while the remaining companies sheltered in a trench west of O.G.1, safely positioned below the ridge's crest. Over 16 and 17 August, 5th Battalion endured heavy artillery fire, with the lightly manned forward positions taking the brunt of the fire.

The 5th Battalion was battered under the constant German bombardment until relieved by 7th and 8th Battalions the following evening on 19 August. The Battalion also experienced casualties while moving out of the line on 21 August. Between 15 and 21 August, the 5th Battalion lost eight officers and 240 men killed, wounded, or missing from an initial strength of 35 officers and 796 men. That tour of less than a week in the trenches at Mouquet Farm had resulted in almost 30% of the available men in the Battalion becoming casualties.

From September through mid-October, 5th Battalion spent a relatively quiet period in the Ypres salient. Much of their time was spent marching between billets and performing fatigue duties, primarily trench digging and carrying supplies to the forward lines. However, even in this quiet sector, 5th Battalion suffered losses. This period included two weeks spent in the front line from 13 to 26 September. The trench system in Ypres was far removed from the battered lines the 5th Battalion had endured at Pozieres. Describing the scene, the author of the battalion unit history, A.W. Keown, noted, 'The landscape showed but little signs of war, and the front line came quite unexpectedly into view.' Richard Delaney probably encountered the most well-built trenches he had seen so far. When compared to the trenches of Pozieres, they were undamaged by heavy shellfire. During this tour of the front line, 5th Battalion lost four men killed and 23 wounded, primarily due to German artillery and minenwerfers.

On 24 October, 5th Battalion arrived at Dernancourt in the Somme region, where they spent the night in makeshift billets. After dinner the following evening, they began a gruelling march through the rain-soaked roads of Mamentz and Fricourt Wood, finally arriving at Pommieres Redoubt. Continuous rain, relentless shellfire, and the heavy traffic of troops and supplies had transformed the area into a quagmire. Keown wrote, 'Men and horses splashed painfully through the mud, and constantly fell into fathomless pits of it. The struggling, sweating, trembling animals and dirty, cursing men, plunged miserably through.'

On 30 October, the battalion moved into support trenches behind the front line near Flers-Guedecourt, roughly three miles east of the Albert-Bapaume road on Pozieres Ridge. The march was challenging, with the men wallowing, wading, and crawling in the mud before finally stumbling upon their designated position in the trenches. Morning revealed it to be a ruined, waterlogged ditch with mud up to the knees, offering no protection from the elements. These were the conditions in Autumn on the Somme.

Early on 1 November, orders came for the 5th to move up to the front line at Grease Trench and Biscuit Trench. The march was terrible, with exhausted men floundering through shell holes and deep mud. They were exhausted. The men spent five days in these trenches, with no dugouts for shelter and sleep possible only by dozing while standing up. Cold rations, constant wetness, and mud led to widespread trench foot, rheumatism, and respiratory issues. Eight men were killed, and 20 were wounded during this tour.

On 5 November, 5th Battalion was withdrawn from the front, returning through the mud to Bernafray Camp. They found some relief in large underground dugouts, where rum and dry clothing were provided. The men gathered around braziers, sharing the warmth. Keown described them as looking like "polar explorers" with their unkempt beards and thick jackets.

After a month's rest, the Battalion returned to the front on 6 December 1916. It was now winter on the Somme. The temperature had dropped, and the mud was now near-freezing, adding to their misery. Over five days, the 5th Battalion lost nine men killed and 35 wounded. From 14 to 20 December, the battalion engaged in fatigue work, carrying supplies to forward dumps. Fatigue work was still dangerous. Four men were killed and five wounded.

On 20 December, 5th Battalion returned to Bernafray and marched to Melbourne Camp near Mamentz the next day. They spent the last days of the year salvaging equipment from abandoned German dugouts, unloading trains, and sorting defective ammunition left in the mud.

On 10 January 1917, Richard Delaney was transferred to 1st Anzac Corps Salvage Section. During the First World War, the AIF established Salvage units to recover and repurpose military equipment and materials from battlefields. The 1st Anzac Corps Salvage Section, formed on 10 January 1917, was one such unit.

Therefore, Richard Delaney became one of the original members of the unit. At 37, he was among the older soldiers in 5th Battalion, which may have influenced his transfer to the Salvage Section. Although his service records do not indicate any medical issues, the physical strain of the past six months in the trenches may have resulted in him being no longer fit for a fighting unit. He was also a sawyer. Salvage operations often required men who could repurpose wood for construction, repairs, and creating supports or shelters. The need for materials like timber was constant, as it was used for trench shoring and duckboards.
He remained with this unit until taken on strength with 1st Australian Division Salvage Company on 14 April 1917. On 1 July 1917, Richard Delaney was found guilty of being absent without leave from 9:30 pm, 20 June to 10:15 pm, 21 June 1917. He was awarded 14 days' Field Punishment No. 2 for this infraction and forfeited 16 days' pay.

On 2 September 1917, he was sent to the United Kingdom on leave, returning on 15 September 1917. Richard Delaney had done well in not becoming sick during his first almost year and a half in France. However, he was admitted to 3rd Australian Field Ambulance Brigade and transferred to 3rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station on 4 November 1917. His service records indicate that he had suffered a PUO. This notation meant a pyrexia or fever of unknown origin. He was transferred to 8th Stationary Hospital at Wimereux on the Atlantic coast on 5 November 1917. Recovering, he was sent to the nearby No 1 Convalescent Depot at Boulogne on 25 November 1917. On 29 November 1917, he was marched into the Australian General Base Depot at Le Havre. It seems he suffered a relapse and was admitted to hospital in Harfleur, suffering from a urethral stricture on 4 December 1917. This illness resulted in a one-month stay until he was transferred to No. 4 Convalescent Depot on 3 January 1917.

Whilst in Convalescent Camp at Le Havre, the men were allowed a leave pass to visit the town. Unfortunately, on 14 January 1918, Richard Delaney was found guilty of (1) returning to Camp drunk at 8:15 pm and (2) being in possession of a bottle of liquor. For this offence, he was punished with forfeiture of 21 days' pay.
On 15 January, Richard was marched into Australian General Base Depot at Le Havre and three days later marched out to England. He marched into No. 4 Command Depot at Hurdcott, England, on 19 January 1918 and then moved to No. 2 Command Depot, Weymouth, on 14 February 1918. He had not recovered from his illness, and so it was decided to repatriate him to Australia. Richard Delaney commenced his return to Australia on board HT Kenilworth Castle on 12 March 1918. He disembarked in Perth on 15 May 1918 and was discharged on 4 July 1918 due to being medically unfit.

He was awarded the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service.

Notes: The National Archives has him incorrectly listed as 2774 Delaney, Richard. The correct service number is 3774.