Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

# 3854 MONTGOMERY James Thomas                     26th Battalion
 
James Montgomery was the elder of two sons born to Mary and Thomas Montgomery at Laidley in the Lockyer Valley. While both boys were still young, the family relocated to Meringandan where James and his brother, John, attended Meringandan school.
 
When James attended the Darling Downs Recruiting Depot in Toowoomba on 8th September 1915, he stated his age as 21 years and occupation as farmer. James’ father was by that time deceased and his mother had remarried a Mr Lange of Meringandan. James journeyed to Enoggera where he was initially placed in a depot battalion before being assigned to the 9th reinforcements of the 26th Battalion, part of the 7th Brigade of the 2nd Division AIF. On 31st January 1916, the 9th reinforcements boarded the “Wandilla” in Brisbane.
 
The reinforcements disembarked in Egypt and went into one of the large Australian transit camps along the Suez Canal. James spent some time in hospital at Abbassia with bronchial trouble, a complaint that would plague him for the next few years. On 10th May, James boarded a transport in Alexandria for the six-day voyage across the Mediterranean to the southern French port of Marseilles. Once on French soil, the reinforcements were shipped in horse wagons by rail to the large British training and transit depot at Havre (Le Havre) at the mouth of the Seine River in Normandy. Here, in a camp referred to by the Australians as the “bull ring”, troops were drilled by British NCOs in preparation for being sent to the Western Front.
 
While the reinforcements trained at Havre, the four divisions of the AIF already in France spent time acclimatising to the rigours of trench warfare in the relatively quiet Armentieres sector near the Belgian border. Half of the AIF troops were Gallipoli veterans whilst the other half were new reinforcements.  General Haig, Supreme British commander on the Western Front planned a major offensive in the south of the British sector through the Somme River valley for the summer of 1916. It was to be the largest battle of the war so far, and was timed to commence on the 1st of July 1916. The attack was a disaster, with the British suffering 60,000 casualties on the first day, 20,000 of whom were killed. In spite of this setback, Haig was determined to push on. By the middle of July, with his reserves already committed, Haig ordered the 1st, 2nd and 4thAustralian Divisions south from the Armentieres sector to Albert to take part in the Somme offensive. 
 
The village of Pozieres half way between Albert and Bapaume, sat on the highest point of that part of the battlefield. The three AIF divisions entered their first major engagement of the war on the Western Front at Pozieres. Most of the village itself was taken by the 1st Division on 20th July. The 2nd Division’s objective was to take a blockhouse which had been built on the site of a ruined windmill in the village of Pozieres. The windmill was behind two lines of trenches, and provided a panoramic view of the surrounding countryside. The attack, the first major offensive by the 26th Battalion since arriving in France, was to begin just after midnight on the 29th July. The attack was a failure, with the 25th and 26th Battalions suffering many casualties.
 
Once the 26th Battalion and the rest of the 7th Brigade were relieved, stock was taken of the losses and reinforcements were called up from the depot at Havre. James Montgomery was taken on strength by the 26th Battalion on 2nd August; at the height of the battle for Pozieres. The 26th took part in a subsequent assault on the 5th August, and as a fresh reinforcement, James may have been apart of it. The Australians did finally take the heights at Pozieres and the 2nd Division were relieved by the 4th Division.
 
The entire 2nd Division were exhausted after Pozieres and the 26th Battalion alone had suffered 650 casualties. Time was spent resting, training, taking on new reinforcements and repairing equipment. There was also time for sports and recreation, as well as visits to the divisional baths to have uniforms cleaned and new underwear issued. In November, the 26th was ordered back into the line at Flers, on the approaches to Bapaume. By this time, the fiercest winter in 30 years had set in and the men were exhausted after struggling forward in pelting rain and mud. A number of attacks were ordered but all proved to be fruitless. The winter weather created a number of issues for the Australians, not least of which was that they were exposed to snow, sleet and frost while standing for hours on end in freezing mud.
 
As a consequence, sickness increased with instances of influenza, trench foot and bronchitis. James reported to his regimental aid post with a bad case of bronchitis on 7th January 1917. When his condition did not improve, he was invalided to a hospital in England. James was discharged from hospital on 21stFebruary and as was the usual practice, was granted a two-week furlough after which he reported to the 7thBrigade Training Battalion at Perham Downs on Salisbury Plain. In May he began the journey back to his battalion. James was taken on strength on 12th June 1917.
 
In July, the 26th Battalion began to practice battle techniques which would be used when the 2nd Division was called back to the front. In August, with the entire division re-equipped and at full strength and fit, the British Commander on the Western Front, General Douglas Haig, came to inspect the troops. Such activity was a sure indicator that the 2nd Division would be soon be on its way to the war once more.
 
In September, the entire 2nd Division began to relocate north to the Steenvoorde / Poperinghe area of Belgian Flanders in preparation for moving up to the ruined city of Ypres. After assembling around the eastern gate of the old city walls, the troops marched out to take up positions on the northern side of the Menin Road. The ensuing battle, known as the Battle of Menin Road was planned to be one of a succession of small advances using a “bite and hold” technique which would progress the British advance along the line of the Menin Road to a low ridge upon which lay the villages of Zonnebeke and Passchendaele.
 
The men of the 26th, in conjunction with the other three battalions which comprised the 7th Infantry Brigade, set off on 20th September 1917, under the protection of a creeping artillery barrage to take the Gheluvelt Plateau and Westhoek Ridge. Battalions advanced and dug in on a designated line to be leapfrogged by a following wave from another battalion. In this way the front advanced to the edge of Polygon Wood. The battle was a great success but came at a cost of 5,000 Australian casualties; one of whom was Charlie Martyn, an aboriginal man who was an acquaintance of James’ from Meringandan. James wrote to Charlie’s mother promising to make sure his grave was properly marked. James was one of a number of 26thBattalion who were recommended for a Mention in Despatches Award on account of their “conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty” during the action at the Gheluvelt Plateau and Westhoek Ridge. The award was not granted.
 
The success of Menin Road was quickly followed up by a further advance at Polygon Wood, positioning the Australians at the approach to Broodseinde Ridge and the village of Zonnebeke. On 4th October, the 26th as part of the 2nd Division was back in action at Broodseinde Ridge. The village of Passchendaele was almost in sight when torrential rain began to fall, turning the battlefield into a sea of cloying mud in which men, vehicles and animals sank. Artillery pieces sank into the ooze after firing only a few rounds. The entire campaign had come to an inglorious halt.
 
The British Commander, ignorant of the conditions his army faced, ordered the assault to capture Passchendaele to continue. This decision, more than others during his career, marred his reputation for the rest of his life. Men slogged, suffered and died in a sea of misery and mud. While resting briefly out of the line, James was promoted to Lance Corporal. The 7th Brigade had been heavily subjected to gas shelling during its time in the line at Zonnebeke. Many of the 26th were “sick with gas” and the battalion was relieved to go into warm comfortable billets. There was no training undertaken so that those affected could slowly recover. James was admitted to a casualty clearing station suffering from the effects of gas before being discharged back to his battalion on 22nd November where he was made temporary corporal.
 
No offensive operations were planned for the British forces during the winter of 1917/18 and the Australians enjoyed a period of rest, recreation and sports. In December 1917, James was sent to the Divisional Bomb School (Mill’s bombs - more commonly known as hand grenades). Upon his return to the battalion, the rank of corporal was made permanent. Between the 5th and 15th February, James enjoyed a period of leave in Paris. A week after his return, he reported to the RAP with a dose of venereal disease. VD caused a serious problem for the military authorities because suffers were treated in special hospitals, often called dermatological hospitals. During that time, all pay was stopped as a punishment for what was considered a self-inflicted illness and perhaps an attempt to avoid front line service. James was in a VD ward in Rouen for a total of 55 days.
 
While James was away from his battalion, his commanding officer submitted a recommendation that James be awarded the Military Medal for his bravery under shell fire while acting as a battalion runner. The action mentioned in the recommendation was Broodseinde and Zonnebeke which had occurred five months previously. The Military Medal was not awarded. In May 1918, another recommendation was put forward, this time for the Meritorious Service Medal, a general catch all for bravery and devotion to duty over a long time, rather than a specific incidence. James was awarded the MSM in June 1918.
 
Of greater significance during James’ absence was a dramatic change in the strategic situation on the Western Front. On 21st March, the German Commander Ludendorff, launched a number of offensives, the largest of which was Operation Michael, aimed at the boundary of the British and French Armies along the Somme. The vital communication hub of Amiens was threatened and Haig rushed four of the five AIF divisions that were in Belgium to take up hurriedly prepared positions on either side of the Somme. By the time James rejoined his battalion in May 1918, the initial threat had been met but the enemy was far from being defeated.
 
In June, the 26th was engaged in “peaceful penetration”, a version of the trench raiding that the Australians had excelled at in 1916. At the same time, all five Australian divisions were combined into a single corps (previously, divisions had been attached to British corps) under the command of the newly promoted Lieutenant General John Monash. Monash began to plan a series of offensives to drive the enemy out of high ground which overlooked his preparations. The first of these offensives was an attack on the Wolfsberg position which overlooked the village of Hamel. The battle was scrupulously planned by Monash incorporating combined artillery, aircraft, tanks and ten battalions of Australian infantry supplemented with a company of Americans from the Illinois National Guard. The attack was planned for the 4th July 1918 (American Independence Day) and was planned to take 90 minutes; it in fact took 93!
 
The 26th battalion had the task of holding the left flank at Hamel while the main assault proceeded. As such, James would have had a front row view of the battle. With the Wolfsburg in friendly hands, the way was now clear for the 26th Battalion to advance south east towards Monument Wood on the outskirts of Villers Bretonneux. On 14th July, the 26th Battalion came across an abandoned German AV7 Tank named Mephisto, which had pitched into a shell crater on 24th April. The 26th claimed the tank as a war trophy and painted their insignia on the tank which would eventually become a prized exhibit of the Queensland Museum.
 
Three days after capturing Mephisto the 26th was still in Monument Wood engaging with a number of German strong points. A limited attack was launched but according to the battalion war diary, the accompanying artillery barrage was too weak to protect the advancing troops resulting in 60 casualties, 8 of which were men killed in action. One of those killed was Corporal James Montgomery. He was 24 years old.
 
James was buried by his battalion in a small cemetery on the outskirts of the wood, which became Crucifix Corner Cemetery. At the end of the war, the little cemetery was greatly expanded to accommodate isolated graves of those who fell on the Somme between July and August 1918. Permanent headstones were erected by the Imperial War Graves Commission and James’ mother chose the following inscription: HIS DUTY BRAVELY DONE R.I.P.
 
James’ sister Eileen was the sole beneficiary of her brother’s will. James’ brother John survived the war and returned to Meringandan. He was probably present when the Goombungee War Memorial was dedicated in December 1920.