Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

 
# 1825 FRESHWATER Arthur John                 41st Battalion
Arthur Freshwater was born to John and Annie Maria Freshwater at Chingford, just north of London on 15thApril 1871. He attended Rendelsham Road Board School in London. Arthur told his recruiter that he had trained for three years with Mr Thompson of South London as a blacksmith and wheelwright but it then appears that he enlisted in the 1st Battalion of the Royal Berkshire Regiment; serving eight years in Ireland, Malta, Bermuda and Halifax Nova Scotia. It is likely that while serving in the military, Arthur married Ada Victoria Taylor.
The Queensland immigration records from the 1890s show Arthur and Ada, as husband and wife, arriving on the Jumna in 1898. The immigration records also reveal that a number of people with the surname Freshwater arrived in Queensland between 1893 and 1898, and a number of them settled in the Kingaroy area, as evidenced by the number of burials in the Taabinga Cemetery during the first half of the 20thCentury.
With a number of relations already established in Kingaroy, Arthur and Ada were able to settle in quite quickly on a farm at Stuart Valley just south of Taabinga. It is possible that Arthur returned to his trade of blacksmithing and wheelwright as he gave this as his occupation when enlisting in the AIF. A son, Ernest was born around 1900 and a second son Bernard was born around 1906. A daughter, Edith, did not survive infancy. Both sons of Arthur and Ada continued to live in the district and are buried at Taabinga, as is Ada and infant daughter Edith.
Arthur Travelled to Brisbane to enlist in the AIF on 26th January 1916. He reported his age as 44 years (the maximum age for enlistment was 45) and named his wife Ada Freshwater of Kingaroy as his next of kin. During his previous military service with a regular army regiment, Arthur had acquired a number of tattoos on his forearms and chest. He also sported a rather spectacular black moustache.
Arthur was placed in a depot battalion at Bell’s Paddock, Enoggera, where he began training as an infantryman. He was drafted into the 2nd reinforcements of the 41st Battalion, part of the 11th brigade of the 3rd Division AIF, and in company with the other 100 odd reinforcements boarded the “Boorara” in Brisbane on 16th August 1916 for the voyage to England via Capetown and the Cape Verde Islands. Upon arrival in Plymouth, the echelon of reinforcements proceeded to the 3rd Division Training Depot at Larkhill on Salisbury Plain. The reinforcements were taken on strength by the 41st Battalion on 21st November 1916 and three days later proceeded via Southampton and Havre to billets at Bailleul in French Flanders. Soon after arriving in France, Arthur was promoted to Lance Corporal.
After the conclusion of the Mediterranean Campaign in 1915, the AIF Gallipoli veterans were withdrawn to Egypt where they formed the basis of a greatly expanded AIF comprising 4 divisions. These four divisions went directly to the Western Front. Unlike the four divisions raised in Egypt, the 3rd Division was raised in England with recruits coming directly from Australia. The 3rd Division was trained under the watchful eye of a new divisional commander, Major General John Monash. While the other divisions of the AIF were in action on the Somme, Monash’s division was being prepared for a major campaign to take place in Belgian Flanders in the summer of 1917. It was generally agreed that when the 3rd Division did arrive on the Western Front, it was probably the best trained division at that time.
The British Field Commander, General Haig, planned a totally British campaign, which included Dominion troops, in the Ypres salient in Belgian Flanders aimed at spearing through the German defenders to the Belgian ports on the English Channel. To do so he planned for a series of battles in the summer and autumn of 1917, each of which created a stepping stone to the next objective. The first of these stepping stones was a ridge line which was occupied by the enemy and overlooked the ground that was to be used for the build-up of British forces. The ridge ran almost due south from a position just outside Ypres, where spoil from a railway cutting had been dumped (the famous Hill 60) towards the village of Messines and on to Warneton on the French border. It was marked on maps as Messines Ridge.
 
The preparations for the Battle of Messines were carefully planned. Large scale models of the terrain to be covered were constructed and all troops who were to take part were walked through the models to familiarize themselves with their objectives. The general in charge at Messines had three and a half million artillery shells at his disposal which would be fired in the days leading up to the attack. In addition, British and then Australian tunnellers had been undermining the Messines Ridge for almost 18 months and had placed underground charges in tunnels directly underneath the German defences. In May 1917, Arthur was posted to a Lewis Gun School where he learnt to operate the Lewis Light Machine Gun with its distinctive pancake ammunition magazine. By the time that he returned to his unit on 17th June, the battle of Messines was already raging.
 
On the night of 6th June 1917, the men of the 41st Battalion who had been holding the line for several weeks moved out of the front-line trenches to make way for the rest of the division to line up on the start tapes which had been laid by the intelligence officers in preparation for the signal to commence the advance. At 3:10 am on the 7th June, 19 of the underground mines beneath the Messines Ridge were fired simultaneously. The men of the 41st would have been waiting for the explosions as they arrived at their billets. The explosion of the 19 mines was the largest man-made explosion in history (up until that time) and the noise could be heard in London. The 3rd Division’s advance was virtually flawless in its execution and a new front line was established. On the 1st July, the 41st was sent back to the new front line to relieve the 43rd Battalion. Arthur and his gun team were then facing an enemy that was determined to win back the ground that had been conceded in the preceding three weeks.
 
On 7th July, Arthur received a gunshot wound to his left thigh. He was transported by stretcher bearers to a field ambulance and then to a Casualty Clearing Station. His wound was considered severe and he was transported to the 83rd General Hospital at Boulogne on 9th July. On 13th July, Arthur was loaded on to the Hospital Ship “St Denis” and upon arrival in England was admitted to the Southwark Military Hospital in South London.
 
A mix up caused in all likelihood by garbled cable communication on 25th July advised Ada in Kingaroy that Arthur was in Tooting Military Hospital and was “progressing favourably.” At that time, Arthur was dangerously ill and his wound had turned gangrenous. In an effort to save Arthur’s life, surgeons amputated his wounded leg but he died on the 9th August 1917 from infection and loss of blood.
 
News of Arthur’s death quickly reached Ada in Kingaroy, probably through relatives who had been visiting Arthur in Hospital. She sent a terse cable to base records “Received word that one eight two five freshwater a.j. 41 battn died 9th August. Is this correct?” Formal notification soon followed.
 
Arthur was buried in the Brookwood Military Cemetery in London on 11th August 1917 with full military honours including a flag draped coffin, a firing and burial party. A bugler played the last post and a temporary oak cross was erected. Arthur’s brother and sister in law attended representing the family.
 
Ada was granted a widow’s pension of two pounds a fortnight and Bernard was granted one pound. Elder son Ernest did not qualify for a pension because of his age of 17 years. Ada and her sons continued to live at Stuart Valley near Taabinga. In 1922, the Imperial War Graves Commission began erecting permanent headstones in the Brookwood Cemetery. Ada chose the following inscription for the limestone headstone: UNTIL THE DAY DAWNS AND THE SHADOWS FLEE.
 
Ada eventually remarried and continued to live in the Kingaroy district until her death in 1939. She is buried in the Taabinga cemetery.