Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Albert was a quiet man who served in France at the battle of Pozieres where he was awarded the Military Medal after helping wounded back to the allied lines under fire.

He was listed as missing after the Battle of Bullecourt when he was last seen in a German trench with a wound to the throat and other injuries from a bomb explosion. No wounded were removed when a withdrawal took place .

His body was never found and he was presumed to have died of wounds where he lay. Witnesses saw him wearing his Military Medal ribbon as they passed by as he lay wounded in the trench, they could do nothing to help other than apply a bandage due to the intense fighting all about them. 

Albert is still sadly missed by his family who could only list his name on a family headstone in his hometown that still remains.  

Contributed by Kingston Community School

Ticklie was born to John Ticklie and Elizabeth Ticklie (maiden name Shrubsole) on October 10, 1889. A child of a big family, Ticklie was the 12th out of 13 children to John and Elizabeth. Ticklie's father, John had a unique background, he was born in Java and Migrated to Australia at a young age.4 Ticklie's Mother Elizabeth was born at Goudhurst Kent, England and Migrated to Inman Valley 20 km North East of Victor Harbour. Ticklie grew up in Encounter bay, 3 km West of Victor Harbour and attended a Victor Harbour School. After graduating School he moved to Armadale, a town close to Perth, Western Australia to work as timber hewer with his brother, James. A timber hewer was a labour intensive job, involving cutting wood using a traditional hand tool such as axes, saws and other tools to make boards and beams. Tickle was using his brother's horse to bring timber to his workplace; he worked for 3-5 years as timber hewer.

Ticklie was one of 73 men from Victor Harbour and one of 152 men from Arma dale to have enlisted in the AIF. He attended a Blackboy Hill Camp which was located in Darling Ranges 300 km East from Perth for 2 months to get ready for the front line in Europe. The Blackboy Hill Camp was the largest Western Australian military training, which involved over 32,000 Australian troops training from 1914 to 1918. After attending camp, Ticklie was placed into the 16th Infantry Battalion.

The 16th Infantry Battalion was formed on September 16, 1914. Two weeks after the outbreak of World War 1 as part of a volunteer battalion, it was formed by South Australian and Western Australian servicemen. All of the battalions were required to be between the ages of 18-60, and height requirements being 5 foot 4 which is 167.6cm; this later changed to 5 feet which is 152.4 cm. The 16th Battalion had just retreated from Gallipoli and battalions were at Alexandria, Egypt, to join the Western Front at France. In January 1916, Ticklie left Perth on ship H,T Runie, on February 6, 1916. Ticklie Disembark at Alexandria Egypt, 5 days later and was then transferred to the 48th Battalion.10 The 48th Battalion was raised in Egypt on March 16, 1916, the purpose was to "double" the AIF. More than half of the recruited soldiers were Gallipoli veterans, and the other half were fresh reinforcements from Australia. After completing 5 months of training in Egypt, Ticklie left for Alexandria on June 2,1916. He embarked at HMT Caledonia, on June 26,1916. Tickle Disembarked HMT Caledonia in Marseille France, ready to march into the Western front.

In 1916, the Australians arrived at the Western Front where French, British and German soldiers had been fighting for almost two years. The first counter attack by the Germans was on July 23, 1916 where Australia suffered a devastating 5,285 casualties. This was followed by the first and the second counter attack on August 2, 1916. Australians suffered from the heavy bombardment suffering another 6,848 casualties. The 48th Battalion were involved in heavy fighting at Pozieres between August 5-6, 1916. Pozieres was known to be the German's stronghold as they featured significant trench lines. The battle was sustained for 6 weeks, however, the Germans were not going to give it up easily. The Battle of Pozieres was also the deadliest battle in World War 1, with some 23,000 casualties and 6,800 men killed in action, some left to die from their wounds; 700 of these men were from South Australia. Ticklie carried wounded men for 450 metres of open land under heavy machine gun fire and made it back to allied lines. In the battle of Pozieres, Ticklie was wounded by German gunshots to the thigh. He left the frontline and was sent back to Etapies town, 100 km east of Pozieres on August 8, 1916. After the battle, while Ticklie was in hospital recovering from injury, he learned of the death of his father John.

Ticklie rejoined the 48th Infantry Battalion on September 28, 1916, a week later October 4, 1916. Tickle was awarded a military medal and promoted to Lance Corporal on October 6, 1916. 

The Germans were developing their massive defensive system known as the Hindenburg Line. The allied power was ready to attack a German defence system in Bullecourt, the attack was supposed to start on April 10, 1917.However, on April 8, 1917, the battle was postponed but some battalions did not receive the announcement. The 48th Infantry Battalion was involved in an attack at Bullecourt on April 11, 1917 which was occupied by Germany. Bullecourt is a lesser known battlefield, however, it was significant for Australians. Bullecourt was a village located in the north of France,

the town was heavily fortified by the Germans involving the Hindenburg Lines; the attack was planned to occur on April 10, 1917. First time at Western Front the attack proceeded without artillery bombardment. Tanks were used for the first time by the British 5th army with the Australian troops. However, it did not go ahead as 12 tanks did not arrive on time. The next day the attack began and Australian troops were involved in heavy machine gun firing, some Australian troops gained the enemy trenches, however, it was unsupported by their own artillery. The tanks were a failure for Australians as only one tank reached the front line, the rest of the tanks were destroyed."Bullecourt, more than any other battle, shook the confidence of Australian soldiers in the capacity of the British command; the errors, especially on April 10 and 11, were obvious to almost anyone. The poor planning resulted in more than 3,000 Australians being killed or wounded and more than 1,100 were taken to the prison20. Ticklie was at the Hindenburg Line which was one of the strongest defence lines that was made by German troops. Ticklie was fighting in the trenches until he had serious neck injury from bits of bomb that flew by exploding; Tickle was conscious along with other injured soldiers. The 48th Battalion and other battalions had to leave Ticklie at Bullecourt and retreat on April 20, 1917. Ticklie was reported as missing in action.

Some war soldiers reported that they saw Ticklie in the battle of Bullecourt. Lance Corporal H, Lane latar said to the Red Cross, that he saw Ticklie lying dead at Bullecourt, apparently killed by a high explosive; however Lane saw no wound, Ticklie was facing downwards. Lane did not turn Ticklie over because he believed Ticklie was dead,other Headquarters of Coys said to Lane that Ticklie was dead. Private A.E Smith from 1st Platoon A company reported that Smith saw Ticklie at B company and a HQ Bomber. Smith saw Ticklie lying with a bad wound at 2nd German line at Bullecourt on April 11, 1917 about 11:00 AM. Smith spoke to Ticklie, but Ticklie was left behind at Bullecourt. "None of the wounded soldiers were brought back from Bullecourt," Smith said.

Sergeant L W Sando said on April 11,1917 that he saw Ticklie in a trench known as the Hindenburg Line about 500m to the right of Bullecourt. Ticklei was badly wounded in the neck but conscious. This was about 11:30 am, Ticklie would have been taken to prison after battalions including Sando had to retreat from Bullecourt; Ticklie was conscious when Sando left. Ticklie was wearing a military medal ribbon.

Ticklie's body is still not found today. Tickle's death was mourned by Armadale and Victor harbour community also by his family who could only list Ticklie' s name on their headstone that still exist today in Victor Harbour. Ticklie is named in multiple war memorials including, Victor Harbour and Armadale War memorial and World War 1 Roll of Honour also Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France. Ticklie is still remembered by Victor harbour and the Armadale community today. Tickle was awarded a Military Medal which is awarded for acts of bravery, gallantry and devotion to duty under fire.

References

https://www.awm.gov.au/learn/schooIs/resources/1916/pozieres#:~:text=The%201st%20Division %20was%20the,toll%20among%20the%20allied%20troops. (Accessed: 25 May 2023}.
Albert Thomas Ticklie mm (no date) Albert Thomas Ticklie MM - Our Contribution. Available at: https://www.birtwistlewiki.eom.au/wiki/Albert_Thomas_Ticklie_MM (Accessed: 08 June 2023}. Albert Thomas Ticklie mm (no date) Albert Thomas Ticklie MM - Our Contribution. Available at: https://www.birtwistlewiki.eom.au/wiki/Albert_Thomas_Ticklie_MM#cite_ref-1 (Accessed: 20 April 2023}.
Ancestors name and description written by Betty Shrubsole( Corey) Ticklie's Great niece Bullecourt: Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney (no date) Bullecourt / Anzac Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney. Available at: https://www.anzacmemorial.nsw.gov.au/bullecourt (Accessed: 02 June 2023).

Design, U.W. (no date) Blackboy Hill commemorative siteprint page, Blackboy Hill Commemorative Site / Monument Australia. Available at: https://monumentaustralia.org.au/themes/conflict/wwl/display/60559-blackboy-hill-commemora    tive-site#:~:text=Blackboy%20Hill%20was%20the%20birthplace,there%20from%201914%20to%20 1918. (Accessed: 06 June 2023}.

First World War Battles of Bullecourt, 1917 (no date) Department of Veterans' Affairs. Available at: https://www.dva.gov.au/newsroom/media-centre/media-backgrounders/first-world-war-battles-b ullecourt-1917 (Accessed: 02 June 2023}.

History about Ticklie and Shrubsole written in 1999 Kearney, R. (2018) Valour & Violets: South Australia in the Great War. Mile End, South Australia: Wakefield Press.

National Archives of Australia defence records (No date) World War I: The Western Front. Available at: https://www. na a.gov.au/students-and-teachers/learning-resources/learning-resource-themes/wa r /world-war-i/world-war-i-western-front (Accessed: 27 May 2023).
The first and second battles of bullecourt (2018} Sir John Monash Centre. Available at: https://sjmc.gov.au/first-second-battles-bullecourt/ (Accessed: 01 June 2023}.

World War I (2023) Encyc/opcedia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/event/World-War-l (Accessed: 27 May 2023).

48th Australian Infantry Battalion (no date) Australian War Memorial. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51488#:~:text=When%20it%20came%20time%20for,disban  ded%20on%2031%20March%201919. (Accessed: 24 May 2023}.