Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

PTE Cecil Raymond Griffith Bibliography

Cecil Raymond Griffith was born on the 16th of March in 1897 in Waterloo, New South Wales, Australia. At St. Paul’s Church of England on the 9th of April 1897, Cecil was baptised. Anne Stewart LOMAS and Arthur James Griffith were Cecil’s mother and father. Cecil’s father was an electroplater and his mother was assigned to house duties. Four years after Cecil was born, his younger sister would be born. 

Cecil grew up in Promenade, Sans Souci, NSW (1). Cecil was an intelligent boy, with fair skin and hair with grey eyes. Cecil proved this in 1912 when he was awarded a scholarship at Sydney Technical High College (2). After finishing school, Cecil settled on being a cabinetmaker (3). Cecil did not suffer the terrible working conditions many others faced, however, the wage of being a cabinetmaker was limited. So on the 10th of August 1915 after receiving his mother’s signature for consent, Cecil enlisted at Warwick Farm NSW to fight in the war (4). When Cecil enlisted he was 5 feet, 3 inches and weighed 104 lbs. 

As a private, Cecil participated in significant battles and was transferred between battalions. Cecil was first appointed to the 1st Battalion 10th Reinforcement on the 16th of September 1915. On the 8th of October 1915, Cecil and his unit embarked on the HMAT A69 Warilda from Sydney to Egypt. The ship Cecil onboard took a brief stop at Fremantle in Western Australia and on the 5th of November 1915 the ship arrived at Suez in Egypt and Cecil disembarked with his comrades. Cecil proceeded to undergo training in Egypt, at this time Egypt was considered a good place to train because of the Northern Hemisphere Winter (8). Cecil and his comrades worked hard; 8 hours a day for 6 days a week. The training consisted of drills, manoeuvres, and how to operate equipment. After his training, on the 13th of February 1916, Cecil was transferred to the 53rd Battalion from the 1st Battalion at the training centre Tel el Kebir Camp between Cairo and the Suez Canal (9). 

The 53rd Battalion arrived in France and entered the front line on the 10th of July 1916 (10). Every day Cecil would clean his rifle, prepare for weapon inspection, strengthen the trenches and many other day-to-day tasks. Nine days later would be Cecil’s first major battle on the Western Front, at Fromelles. This battle was an absolute disaster, and because the 53rd battalion was part of the initial assault they suffered high casualty rates which accounted for over three-fourths of the battalion's attacking strength. Cecil would stay in the Fromelles sector for two more months, fighting and not sustaining injuries.

On the 1st of September, 1916 Cecil was taken from his duty at the 53rd battalion for duty at the 14th battalion (11). Cecil took part in bloody trench warfare, which was traumatic because of the high amount of casualties, constant machine gun fire, and risk of being gassed. Cecil’s luck of not sustaining any major injuries ended on the 24th of April 1918 when he was wounded in action in France. He was injured when his battalion was helping to stop a German spring offensive in Southern Belgium from capturing Hazebrouck. Hazebrouck was a very important railway which allowed for the quick movement of men and supplies. The work of the 14th battalion proved to be very important as they managed to stall and stop the Germans from advancing and gaining the important railway link they needed to change the tides. However, this led to many injuries, like Cecil’s. Cecil was sent to Boscombe Military Hospital on the 14th of May 1918 for gas poisoning (12). A letter was sent to Cecil’s father informing him about Cecil’s injury. He remained there for 8 days and then was transferred to Harefield Hospital (13) for another 3 days. After healing from his injury, Cecil continued to fight till the end of the war staying with the 14th battalion. 

After the war ended, Cecil decided to take leave and go to Paris. On the 8th of April 1919, Cecil returned to Australia. After returning he was then officially discharged and was in good condition with no disabilities. Cecil Raymond Griffith married Edith Brokenshire on the 17th of April 1926, their wedding was celebrated at St. Paul’s Church, Kogarah. After their marriage, they both went to Tasmania for their honeymoon (15).

After years of enjoying time with his wife, Cecil was appointed as a Justice of Peace for New South Wales on the 19th of January(16). Sadly, on the 17th of August 1964, Cecil died instantly when he crashes into a fire engine on its way to a fire at Hurstville. Cecil is buried at Woronora Memorial Park, Sutherland, New South Wales. PTE Cecil Raymond Griffith is currently honoured on the Sydney Technical High School WW1 Roll of Honour, and he deserves recognition for his achievements and war effort. He fought countless battles and had received the 1914-15 Star Medal, the British War Medal, Victory Medal to celebrate his achievements (17). His legacy will be one to be admired by the future generations.

Footnotes;

1. Cecil Raymond Griffith. Virtual War Memorial | Cecil Raymond GRIFFITH. (n.d.). https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/222606

2. Google. (n.d.). Griffith Cecil ray.docx. Google Docs. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N2OG9CFJYRDJ1l4SUzc2VDtWgmXLuFPr/edit

3. lbid

4. Session expired: RecordSearch: National Archives of Australia. RecordSearch. (n.d.). https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=4711825&isAv=N, First Image

5. lbid

6. Australian recruitment statistics for the First World War. (n.d.). https://www.naa.gov.au/students-and-teachers/student-research-portal/learning-resource-themes/war/world-war-i/australian-recruitment-statistics-first-world-war#:~:text=The%20motivations%20of%20Australians%20who,mates%20in%20the%20same%20battalion 

7. World War I: “Psychic shock”: HDS News Archive. Harvard University. (n.d.). https://news-archive.hds.harvard.edu/news/2018/11/10/DNH_WWI#:~:text=Dean%20David%20Hempton%3A%20Perhaps%20not,defense%20of%20a%20righteous%20cause

8. corporateName=Department of Veterans’ Affairs; address=21 Genge St, Civic/Canberra City, ACT 2601; contact=+61 2 6289 1133; [email protected]. (2023, May 18). Training Australian army recruits during World War I. Anzac Portal. https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/military-organisation/training

9. Session expired: RecordSearch: National Archives of Australia. RecordSearch. (n.d.). https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=4711825&isAv=N, Page 4

10. 53rd Australian Infantry Battalion. Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-c). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51493

11. 14th Australian Infantry Battalion. Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-b). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51454

12. Session expired: RecordSearch: National Archives of Australia. RecordSearch. (n.d.). https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=4711825&isAv=N, Page 24

13. Acknowledgement of traditional custodians. Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-f). https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/harefield

14. Acknowledgement of traditional custodians. Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-e). https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/1918/soldier/french#:~:text=Many%20Australian%20soldiers%20took%20leave,destroyed%20and%20had%20little%20themselves

15.  Google. (n.d.). Griffith Cecil ray.docx. Google Docs. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N2OG9CFJYRDJ1l4SUzc2VDtWgmXLuFPr/edit, Page 5

16. lbid

17, Session expired: RecordSearch: National Archives of Australia. RecordSearch. (n.d.). https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=4711825&isAv=N, Page 36

Bibliography

14th Australian Infantry Battalion. Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-b). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51454

1st Australian Infantry Battalion. Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-a). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51441

53rd Australian Infantry Battalion. Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-c). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51493

Acknowledgement of traditional custodians. Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-d). https://www.awm.gov.au/official-histories/first_world_war/volV_introduction

Acknowledgement of traditional custodians. Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-e). https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/exhibitions/1918/soldier/french#:~:text=Many%20Australian%20soldiers%20took%20leave,destroyed%20and%20had%20little%20themselves

Acknowledgement of traditional custodians. Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-f). https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/encyclopedia/harefield

Acknowledgement of traditional custodians. Views | Australian War Memorial. (n.d.). https://www.awm.gov.au/learn/glossary/r

The AIF project. Unit Details. (n.d.). https://aif.adfa.edu.au/showUnit?unitCode=INF1REIN10   

Australian recruitment statistics for the First World War. (n.d.). https://www.naa.gov.au/students-and-teachers/student-research-portal/learning-resource-themes/war/world-war-i/australian-recruitment-statistics-first-world-war#:~:text=The%20motivations%20of%20Australians%20who,mates%20in%20the%20same%20battalion

Cecil Raymond Griffith. Virtual War Memorial | Cecil Raymond GRIFFITH. (n.d.). https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/222606

corporateName=Department of Veterans’ Affairs; address=21 Genge St, Civic/Canberra City, ACT 2601; contact=+61 2 6289 1133; [email protected]. (2023, May 18). Training australian army recruits during World War I. Anzac Portal. https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/military-organisation/training

Cwgc. (n.d.). Operation georgette and the cost of the battle of the lys. CWGC. https://www.cwgc.org/our-work/blog/operation-georgette-and-the-cost-of-the-battle-of-the-lys/#:~:text=The%20Battle%20of%20the%20Lys%20begins&text=The%20German%20attack%20zone%20covered,at%20Armenti%C3%A8res%20in%20the%20centre

German spring offensive. Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-g). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84296

Google. (n.d.). Griffith Cecil ray.docx. Google Docs. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N2OG9CFJYRDJ1l4SUzc2VDtWgmXLuFPr/edit

Google. (n.d.). Griffith Cecil Raymond. Google Drive. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1jxxW64UipRC3PCR6139q7Aey8xoxp21P

Registers of st. paul’s Church of England, Cleveland Street, Sydney, N.S.W., 1855-1963 [microform]. Catalogue. (n.d.). https://catalogue.nla.gov.au/catalog/6151608

Session expired: RecordSearch: National Archives of Australia. RecordSearch. (n.d.). https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/DetailsReports/ItemDetail.aspx?Barcode=4711825&isAv=N

Tel El Kebir Camp between Cairo and the Suez Canal. Australian troops came here after the ... Tel el Kebir camp between Cairo and the Suez Canal. Australian troops came here after the ... | Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-a). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C00207

Tel El Kebir Camp between Cairo and the Suez Canal. Australian troops came here after the ... Tel el Kebir camp between Cairo and the Suez Canal. Australian troops came here after the ... | Australian War Memorial. (n.d.-b). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C00207

World War I: “Psychic shock”: HDS News Archive. Harvard University. (n.d.). https://news-archive.hds.harvard.edu/news/2018/11/10/DNH_WWI#:~:text=Dean%20David%20Hempton%3A%20Perhaps%20not,defense%20of%20a%20righteous%20cause