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Claude's parents were Martin Henry Warneminde and Ellen Elizabeth Collins. Claude's father was the licensed victualler of the North Pine Hotel in 1903. Claude attended North Pine State School. He enlisted 5 January 1915 at Brisbane and was a Corporal, after training he passed as 2nd Lieutenant. He was promoted to Lieutenant in England. Claude died of wounds in France aged 24. Two of Claude's brothers enlisted, Herman Martin Henry [64] and Leonard David [2654].

HE DIED A NOBLE DEATH BELOVED BY ALL

 
#237  WARNEMINDE Claude James                                                  11th LHR / 9th Battalion
 
Claude Warneminde was born in Hughenden to Martin and Ellen Warneminde. The family moved to North Pine (now Petrie) where Martin became the licensee of the North Pine Hotel. Claude and his two brothers attended North Pine State School after which the family relocated to Toogoolawah to take up farming at Apple Tree Farm. Edgar McConnel from the well-known pioneer family of Cressbrook established a Light Horse Troop in the Esk / Toogoolawah region. He was also instrumental in forming a troop of the Legion of Frontiersmen. The legion, formed in 1910, was a patriotic paramilitary organisation that had grown out of the sentiments of empire at the end of the Boer War. It espoused the ideals of outdoor skills and horsemanship being fostered to aid in the event of war. Claude advised his recruiters that he was a member of the Legion. Several men whose names are listed among the fallen on the Esk memorial were also Frontiersmen; Pat Chaille, Archie Hawthorn and Tom King.
 
Edgar McConnel organized a group of Frontiersmen to go to Brisbane as strike breakers during the General Strike of 1912 and some of those listed above, including Claude Warneminde, may have been included in McConnel’s strike breakers. The strike grew out of a labour dispute between tramway employees and operators over the right to wear the badge of the Tramways Union and snowballed into a period of community disruption. The Queensland Government of the time legislated for the introduction of a special force of constables, the Specials, who wore red armbands to assist with law and order.
 
On 5th January 1915, Claude attended the Enoggera Camp to join the AIF. He stated he was 20 years and 10 months old (close enough to 21 that he didn’t require parents’ permission), a farmer from Toogoolawah. Claude named his mother Ellen of Apple Tree Farm as his next of kin. Probably on the strength of Claude’s membership of the Frontiersmen, he was drafted into the 11th Light Horse Regiment. The 11th LHR was comprised of two squadrons from Queensland and one squadron from South Australia. Claude was promoted to the rank of corporal in time for the Queensland contingent to embark in Brisbane, without horses, on 16th June 1915. The embarkation roll shows that Claude’s pay was 9/- a day, of which 5/- was allocated to his mother. The troopers landed in Egypt in July where the regiment, then up to full strength, began training as infantry. The 11th LHR was landed at Gallipoli in August as reinforcements after the disastrous offences at Lone Pine, The Nek and the Sari Bara ridge. Claude’s squadron was attached to the 5th LHR to make up for losses due to enemy action or sickness.
 
On 9th October, Claude reported to the 2nd Light Horse Field Ambulance with a fever (pyrexia of unknown origin). On 13th October, he was taken off from Anzac to the Hospital Ship “Soudan” for transhipment to St George’s Hospital in Malta where his condition was recorded as “Enteric-severe.” Enteric fever or typhoid was a serious illness for which there was no cure other than bed rest. Showing signs of recovery, Claude was transported to the 1st Australian Hospital at Luna Park, Heliopolis, Cairo. There Claude had a relapse and it was decided by medical staff he should be returned to Australia for a period of three months, after which, Claude would go before a medical board to determine whether he should be discharged as unfit.
 
On 29th January 1916, Claude boarded the Hospital Transport “Suffolk” at Suez. He was allocated a hammock for the voyage to Melbourne, arriving on 8th March 1916. From Melbourne, Claude took trains to Sydney and then Brisbane before the final train journey to Toogoolawah. The time in hospital in Egypt and the voyage home had allowed Claude to recover and he was already quite well when he arrived home at Toogoolawah. On 6th April 1916, Claude went before a medical board in Brisbane which passed him as fit. He returned to duty in Brisbane that month.
 
There is a gap in Claude’s record for the 14 months between April 1916 and June 1917, however anecdotal notes give some clues. During this period, Claude was promoted to sergeant and then attended Duntroon Military College in Canberra. He passed out as a second lieutenant on 1st October 1916 and returned to 1st Military District Headquarters at Victoria Barracks, Brisbane. Around early 1917, Claude reported to Enoggera Camp to act as one of two junior officers in charge of the 25th reinforcements of the 9th Infantry Battalion. The 25th reinforcements completed their training and embarked on the “Hororata” in Sydney on 14th June 1917. The embarkation roll shows 2nd Lieutenant Claude Warneminde, aged 20, with a pay rate of 14/6d a day, 9/6d of which was allotted to his mother. The troop ship berthed at Liverpool on 26th August, having sailed from Australia to South Africa and then well out into the Atlantic to avoid German submarines. The reinforcements made their way to the 3rd Brigade Training Battalion at Sutton Veney where Claude spent some time at a school of instruction for officers.
 
The AIF had fought itself to a standstill in the closing battles of 1917 in Belgium and was moved to comfortable billets around the town of Poperinghe in Belgian Flanders for well earned rest. During the winter of 1917/18, no offensive action was contemplated by either side and the belligerents hunkered down to wait for spring. On 6th February, Claude received orders to join the 9th Battalion. In the centre of the battalion colour patch of his uniform, Claude displayed a small brass A, indicating he was an original Anzac and Gallipoli veteran. He marched in to the 9th Battalion lines on 14th February 1918 where he was promoted to Lieutenant 12 days later.
 
The 9th Battalion was at that time in billets at Neuve Eglise, training and performing fatigue work. Inter battalion sports competitions of rugby, soccer and tug of war provided a welcome relief from normal duties. On 28th February, the battalion moved up to Voormezeele and relieved the 11th Battalion in the support lines. On 1st March, the 9th moved into the front line near Hollebeke, not far from the Hill 60 and Caterpillar mine craters created during the battle of Messines in June 1916.
 
For the first few days of the rotation, things were relatively quiet. On 6th March, the enemy launched a gas shell attack which lasted for 4 hours. Nine officers and 150 ordinary ranks had to be evacuated due to the effects of gas. Claude Warneminde was one of the officers seriously gassed. He was taken to the 2nd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station at Outersteene where he succumbed to the effects of poison gas. Claude was buried in the Outersteene Communal Cemetery adjacent to the CCS. He may have just turned 24.
 
Claude’s personal items were packaged up to be returned to his mother in Toogoolawah. In the case of officers, the items included all uniform items as officer’s uniform had to be purchased, rather than issued as was the case with ordinary ranks. Some of the more unusual items included a golf ball, a whistle on a lanyard, a fountain pen and a pair of field glasses. Sadly, Claude’s personal effects never made it Toogoolawah. The baggage was loaded onto the S.S.Barunga in July 1918. In addition to the personal effects of almost 5,000 servicemen who had died, there was a number of returning wounded and discharged servicemen heading for Australia. On 15 July 1918 the Barunga was torpedoed by a German submarine south of the Scilly Isles off the Cornish Coast. She sank quickly with all cargo being lost but all survivors were rescued. Ironically, the Barunga was previously registered as the Sumatra, and had been confiscated from the German owners by the Australian Government when she was discharging cargo in Sydney in August 1914.
 
When permanent headstones were being erected by the Imperial War Graves Commission, Claude’s family chose the following inscription: HE HIED A NOBLE DEATH BELOVED BY ALL.