Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

A Grandfather to be Proud Of
(Posted on Perth DPS online 4/9/2024 by Gail Dodd)


Today was my memoir writing group afternoon and the homework topic was grandparents. Building on the story I posted on DPS a while ago about visiting my paternal grandfather's World War I posting at Treux in the Somme, Northern France, I thought some may be interested in a fuller story. Jenni Carder may also be interested to know that my grandfather returned from war service on the HMAT Boonah, the ship that previously brought soldiers infected with Spanish Flu to Woodman Point Quarantine Station. That story is captured by Ian Darroch in the book, The Boonah Tragedy.

Captain John Eric McGlashan MC (known as Eric)
My grandfather, Eric McGlashan was born in 1888 in Orroroo, South Australia and upon enlistment in August 1916 was working as a medical practitioner. He was nearly 29 years old, married and stood 5 foot 8 inches (153 cm). Eric was assigned to the Australian Army Medical Corps (AAMC) and appointed as a Captain. He embarked from Melbourne on 11 September 1916 on board the HMAT Euripides and arrived in Plymouth on 26 October the same year. Serving in various hospitals in the United Kingdom before departing for France in September 1917, Eric was briefly attached to the 3rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. Perhaps the Canadians needed extra medical officers due to heavy casualties incurred during the 3rd Battle of Ypres. He then returned to the AAMC in October and in March 1918 served with the 14th Australian Field Ambulance attached to the 5th Australian Division, 56th Battalion.

Eric was awarded the Military Cross and his medal is in my possession. The official citation states:
On the 4th July 1918 Captain McGlashan was in charge of the evacuation of the wounded South-East of Mericourt (south-west of Albert). He displayed conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in charge of the evacuation of wounded during an attack. He visited his various posts under heavy shell and machine gun-fire, and was largely responsible for the successful evacuation of the wounded. Much of his work was done in the open under enemy observation. He displayed ability and sound judgement in directing the evacuation, and by his self-sacrificing courage and devotion set a splendid example to his men. He was largely responsible for the successful evacuation of wounded in this sector.
Signed J Talbot Hobbs
Major-General
Commander 5th Australian Division

Approximately 25 years ago my husband, Keith and I were taken by a UK based friend and military historian to Mericourt only to discover later that there are several villages with the same name and we had gone to the wrong one! Whilst researching a later trip Keith came across the war diary of the 14th Australian Field Ambulance held by the Australian War Memorial. The diary contains a number of reports and detailed hand drawn coloured maps showing the exact location of the action on that day. The diary confirmed the unit was assigned to the front north and south of the village of Treux which is beautifully situated in a valley and sits on the banks of the Ancre River. It was being used in support of the Australian offensive against the German army in that area. Treux is a few kilometres south east of the town of Mericourt l’-abbe.

The official reports note that Eric was in charge of the southern medical posts and regimental aid post (RAP). The maps showed the position of the various aid posts and using certain reference points it was still possible utilising Google Maps to find the approximate positions Eric was likely to have occupied on the day he earned his Military Cross. A forest shown on the map to the south of the RAP still exists but is on much higher ground so the RAP must have been at the bottom of the valley just outside the present village boundary. To know that we were overlooking these positions and where Eric was serving was both exciting and humbling.

Eric returned to Australia in April 1919 and continued in his capacity as a medical practitioner (specializing in dermatology). Ironically given the coronavirus pandemic, Eric boarded the HMAT Boonah for his return voyage which some months earlier had been stranded outside the port of Fremantle due to an outbreak onboard of Spanish influenza!

Only a few kilometres away from Treux, where Eric served, is the town of Corbie. On its outskirts is the field where Baron Manfred von Richthofen (aka the Red Baron) crashed and died. Controversy still exists today as to who actually shot down Richthofen on 21 April 1918 although most ‘experts’ now suggest it was probably Sergeant Cedric Popkin (a Lewis Gunner with the Australian 4th Division) rather than Canadian pilot, Captain Roy Brown.

Having visited this site it was another fairly short drive to Villers Bretonneaux which is the Australian National Memorial and cemetery. It is also home of the recently opened Sir John Monash Centre which is built behind and below the main memorial. A visit to the Centre is highly recommended as it presents the sacrifices and suffering by the Australian forces on the Western Front in a very powerful and sometimes confronting way by the use of audio-visual techniques.

While returning to the city of Lille in order to catch the Eurostar train to London we visited the new Commonwealth War Grave at Fromelles. Readers may be aware of the of the identification of five mass graves in 2008 containing the remains of Australian and British soldiers killed in the Battle of Fromelles in July 1916. The battle was described as the ‘worst 24 hours of Australia’s military history’ with the Australians suffering 5,533 casualties including around 2,000 killed. Some 250 bodies were exhumed in 2009 of which 166 have since been identified using DNA techniques, as being Australians.

The Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Cemetery was opened and dedicated in 2010 and is the first Commonwealth War grave opened in over 50 years. A new museum has been built next to the cemetery that provides a comprehensive history of the battle along with many artifacts found around Fromelles. A somewhat sombre note on which to finish our trip to France.