Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

31/12/1917 Joined 4th Section 3rd Div Signal Co. at Erquinghem on the border of Belgium, near Armentieres.
4 to 27 Jan 1918 Brigade in reserve at Locre.
28 Jan to 8 Feb Holding the line at Le Bizet sector near Armentieres. Signal office was in the cellar of the ruined Le Bizet convent and we were very comfortable - this was quite a picnic of a war.
Feb 9 to Mar 6 Back on main Brigade Headquarters [Nieppe]. Though only about three miles from the front line, plenty of civilians still living on there.
Mar 7 to 23 At rest in a little French village near Lumbres and not far from Boulogne. We had private billets with French people and were generally pretty comfortable.
March 23 Rest was rudely broken. We were bundled on the train and sent up north to near where we had come from. Then a motor lorry trip southwards and a days rest and our troubles started.
March 25/26 A short march and an all night train trip to Doullens. A rag-time breakfast and we shouldered our packs again and marched eastwards. I'll never forget that day. Fritz did not get near the place but everyone had the "wind up" and the road was crowded with refugees - some with carts others pushing barrows with the few things they had time to save. A few said "Tres bon Australie" but we got more "Anglais, no bon" from them. It was very pitiful. All the traffic we passed was going very hard in the opposite direction and no one had any idea where Fritz was. At least one of our staff officers rode along to say that the Uhlans were reported about four miles away (it turned out to be a false alarm later). As we were in front instead of in our right place behind our infantry - we beat our one and only retreat until we met our machine gunners when we stood to, under their wing. The heads discovered that all was safe that night and we made for our beds. Just as we rolled into our blankets - word came to shift again. With many pointed remarks we put on our gear again and marched another 6 miles till we reached our motor busses. I think we passed about 200 before we reached ours and they were still stretching on in front - it was some cab rank. On these we travelled all night, disembarked just at day break then a short march to the pretty little village of Heilly on the Ancre near the Somme. Headquarters was set up here at a fine old Chateau and for the next few days we faired well on poultry, sheep etc left behind by the Froggies. I hear the Austr. Govt had a pretty big bill to meet for that much champagne that mysteriously disappeared.
This was part of the front protecting Amiens and our infantry lads made a terrible mess of Fritz when he tried to continue his victorious march towards that city.
We were on this front till the 1st of May and then went back into reserve in the villages of Frechencourt and afterwards at Querrieu.
20 — 31 May Again in the line at Villers-Bretonneux and from then till 27 June back at Glissy [sic]. This was during the hot weather and we got plenty of bathing in the Somme and were unusually clean.
28 June Further back still at Allonville.
4 July At Vaux near Hamel where our own infantry took part in the successful attack on that day. My part was a cushy one working the switch board, but I had enough to make me swear. I would never get annoyed with ‘Exchange’ again when I get home.
6 — 10 July Back at Allonville.
11 — 31 July In reserve at Corbie where we had a most tres-bon time. Our Chateau had most of the furniture left which included a Billiard Table, piano, card tables and also a tennis court and a river at the back door - we forgot all about the war.
1 — 5 August In the line again. There were many rumours floating around and we could see batteries of big guns being brought up close to the line and tanks being assembled. We moved up past Hamel on the night of 7th August and the infantry went over the next morning and carried everything before them.
11 August We moved forward over what had been Fritz country to Morcourt.
13 — 21 August In reserve back at Hamel and Sailly-le-Sec.
22 — 23 August Again getting after Fritz
24 August Established near Bray.
30 August — 3 Sept Going forward again past Suzanne, Curlu and Hem.
5 Sept We were at Mt St Quentin and on the 6th came to rest in a wood near Peronne - just about dead beat. It had been a hard four weeks, short spells and then perhaps four or five days hard work and little sleep. I saw quite enough of war to convert me to a Pacifist. Villages turned into rubbish heaps - big towns like Peronne just a skeleton and hundreds and thousands of pounds worth of stuff including tanks and aeroplanes everywhere lying neglected. You soon get hardened to worse sight still, mainly I think because it gets impressed on you that a body is only a body.
We rested near Peronne till 26th Sept and on 27th Sept again went forward past Roisel and Templeux.
29 and 30 Our lads and the Yanks broke the famous Hindenburg Line and on 1st October we saw the big front line trench ourselves and had to marvel how the infantry ever got through it as none of the tanks that were supposed to wack and break the barbed wire ever got near it. This place just alongside the town of Bony was as far as we got and we pulled out on 3 October back to Peronne and then by train through Villers Brettoneux [sic] and Amiens to our Rest Area.
Coming back, except for the ruined villages - it was hard to realise it was the same country we had seen before, everything had been cleaned and straightened up so thoroughly.