Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Henry Wheeler Western was born in January 1885 in the small country town of Mount Pleasant, South Australia. Prior to the war, he worked as a labourer. He was single and had no children. He enlisted on January 14 1915, at Oaklands, aged 30, nominating his mother Louisa as his next-of-kin. During his medical examination upon enlistment, he was measured as 5 foot 3 inches tall and weighed 157 pounds. His physical appearance was described as fair-skinned, with light hair and grey eyes and he was Christian of the Church of England. Henry was assigned to the 5th reinforcement of the 10th Battalion under the 3rd Brigade, 1st division nicknamed the “Adelaide Rifles” (Larkins, 2013) with service number 2035.

Henry departed from Adelaide on April 20 1915 aboard the HMAT A20 Hororata alongside 244 other soldiers from Adelaide (Australian War Memorial, 2024). Their journey took over a month, and in May 1915, they arrived in Egypt for training and preparation. Henry and the 10th Battalion then moved to Gallipoli in July as reinforcements, where the battle was still ongoing having started 3 months earlier.

On 30th August, he was taken to hospital with influenza, ending up at hospital in Cairo. He rejoined the unit on 25th November. After the evacuation at Gallipoli the Australians returned to Egypt for further training, where members of the 10th Battalion were stationed from December 1915 to March 1916,

In April 1916, Henry arrived in France, although he quickly fell ill and was taken to hospital. After his recovery, he was transferred to the 3rd Light Trench Mortar Battery, composed of men that were reassigned from the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th Battalions. Initially, light trench mortar batteries were formed two per brigade in April 1916 but in June, they were combined into one battery and manned by the infantry. They generally followed their parent brigades (Mallett, 2010).

Being a part of a Trench Mortar Battery was a major and significant role as it was crucial in providing support for the troops on foot. They played a vital role in the context of the war. It took incredible courage and bravery to be part of a mortar battery, as they were usually deployed close to the front line and therefore vulnerable to fire from the opposition. Members of the 3rd Light Trench Mortar Battery used 3 inch Stoke Mortars, which was revolutionary new technology at the time because of their light weight and easy portability, only weighing around 100 pounds and able to be carried by 2 soldiers (Weir, 2006). This allowed the unit to fight at one place and then pack up and move to the next.

In the later months of 1916, Henry alongside other members of the 3rd Brigade were involved in multiple battles on the Western Front in the larger battle of the Somme. They fought at places such as Bernafay Wood, Dernancourt, Villers-Bretonneux, Buire and Raine-Ville. Henry’s final battle on the Somme was the battle of Flers, a gruelling and bloody battle which was a turning point in his experience of the war.

The battle of Flers was a significant battle in the context of the ongoing battle on the Somme and is known for being the first battle where Tanks were used (Robertshaw, 2016). During the battle, Henry was wounded badly by multiple gun shots to his head, shoulder and hand. He was promptly admitted to hospital in the nearby town of Rouen and transferred to hospital in Birmingham, England to be treated for his severe and possibly life-threatening wounds.

Henry was in hospital for around 4 months before he rejoined his unit. In May 1917, members of the 3rd Light Trench Mortar Battery moved to the Hindenburg line, where they were set up in a reserve position, behind the front lines but fortunately were not required to be called upon. They were then a key part of the attack at Polygon Wood on September 26 1917, which was Henry’s final major battle in the war.

The battle of Polygon Wood was another major attack on the opposition and of key importance in the context of the war. The attack was successful and supported by the heavy artillery fire, which Henry and his unit contributed to significantly. “The infantry advanced behind a heavy artillery barrage - the noise of this was compared to a roaring bushfire,” (AWM, 2024). In the later months following this attack, the battery was used to support the Scottish Lines near Ypres and conduct raids on the opposition during the 3rd Battle of Ypres. The unit then moved south into Southern Belgium where they remained until the end of the war.

Henry departed England on the 17th of January 1919 aboard SS Kildonan Castle and returned to Australia on the 21st of March, bringing his total service abroad to 4 years and 18 days.

Bibliography

Australian War Memorial, London. (n.d.). Polygon Wood: ‘Roar of a Gippsland Bushfire’. [online] Available at: https://www.awmlondon.gov.au/battles/polygon-wood.

Awm.gov.au. (2016). AWM4 Subclass 23/27 - 10th Infantry Battalion. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1339170.

Awm.gov.au. (2024b). AWM4 Subclass 13/116 - 3rd Australian Light Trench Mortar Battery. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1339011 [Accessed 8 Sep. 2024].

Awm.gov.au. (2024c). AWM8 23/27/2 - 10 Infantry Battalion - 1 to 8 Reinforcements (December 1914 - September 1915). [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1378982 [Accessed 8 Sep. 2024].

Awm.gov.au. (2024f). Private Henry Wheeler Western. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10796789 [Accessed 8 Sep. 2024].

Genge (2022). Gallipoli Campaign 1915. [online] Anzac Portal. Available at: https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/where-australians-served/gallipoli#1.

Iwm.org.uk. (2024). Life story: Henry Wheeler Western | Lives of the First World War. [online] Available at: https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7626854 [Accessed 8 Sep. 2024].

Knighton, A. (2018). Everything You Need to Know About WWI Mortars. [online] WAR HISTORY ONLINE. Available at: https://www.warhistoryonline.com/world-war-i/mortars-in-world-war-one.html.

Mallett, R. (2024). Light Trench Mortars. [online] Adfa.edu.au. Available at: https://aif.adfa.edu.au/OrderOfBattle/Light_Trench_Mortars.html [Accessed 27 Sep. 2024].

Memories.net. (2018). Memories. [online] Available at: https://app.memories.net/memorials/henrywheeler-western-21351 [Accessed 8 Sep. 2024].

Robertshaw, A. (2016). The Battle of Flers-Courcelette. [online] The History Press. Available at: https://thehistorypress.co.uk/article/the-battle-of-flers-courcelette/.

Terrace, V. (2024). View digital copy. [online] Naa.gov.au. Available at: https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8381780&S=2&R=0 [Accessed 8 Sep. 2024].

Vwma.org.au. (2024a). 3rd Light Trench Mortar Battery. [online] Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/363 [Accessed 8 Sep. 2024].

Vwma.org.au. (2024b). 10th Infantry Battalion: (SA) ‘The Adelaide Rifles’ 3rd Brigade, 1st Division, AIF. [online] Available at: https://vwma.org.au/explore/units/1/people?page=19 [Accessed 8 Sep. 2024].

www.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). | The Australian War Memorial. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/U51450.

www.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). AWM4 Subclass 23/3 - 3rd Infantry Brigade. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1339148.

www.awm.gov.au. (n.d.). Battle of Flers. [online] Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84320.