Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Alfred Want DYKES and Julia Anna Thom nee FORREST

James Dykes reported for enlistment at Alderley on 31st May 1915. This was around the time that the first reports of the Gallipoli landings were being reported in Australian newspapers and as a result recruiting numbers surged. The authorities had decided to raise a second infantry division to cope with the numbers and one of the first battalions raised as part of the new division was the 25th Battalion into which James was drafted as one of the first recruits with a rather low regimental number of 85.

James reported on his attestation papers that he was 20 years old, single and lived with his parents at Logan Road, Mt Gravatt. He stated his occupation as labourer.

After only a brief period of training at Enoggera, the 25th in company with several companies from the sister battalion, the 26th, marched down Queen Street to Brunswick Street in a farewell parade before embarking at Pinkenba Wharf on the “Aeneas” on the 29th June 1915. James and his comrades arrived in Egypt on 4th August and went into training camps in the desert before being despatched to Gallipoli on 11th September. The Gallipoli front was relatively quiet during this period with both sides settling down to static warfare after the costly August offensives. Nevertheless, shelling and bombing continued and in October James was struck by a stone fragment caused by an enemy shell and reported to the Field Ambulance. The wound was not severe and he was back in the line two weeks later.

James’ parents were informed of his wounding by telegram and wrote to Base Records requesting more information, which was not forthcoming. The entire ANZAC front was evacuated in December 1915 and James was back in Egypt by early January of the following year. The training camp must not have held much interest for James as he went Absent Without Leave for three days in late January and was given 14 days detention.

After receiving reinforcements, the 25th embarked for Marseilles in March 1916. The battalion was the first Australian unit in France and they proceeded to the Armentieres sector of the front for acclimatisation to the routines of trench life. During this period, James was again to fall foul of his superiors when he was caught in the nearby town of Hazebrouk without a leave pass. The punishment he received of forfeiture of pay must have taught him a lesson as he did not transgress again for the rest of his service.

The somewhat tranquil life in the “nursery sector” was shattered when the division was called south to the Somme to continue Haig’s grand offensive at the village of Pozieres where the battalion suffered heavy casualties. James’ military records have no entries between 1916 and 1918 with the exception of a two week leave period to England. This means that he remained a front-line infantryman for three and a half years. During that time the 25th saw action at Flers and Bullecourt on the Somme before switching to Flanders in 1917 for the battles of Menin Road, Polygon Wood, Broodseinde Ridge and Passchendaele.

At the beginning of 1918 the 25th were resting in Flanders but soon word spread of a German spring offensive planned to take advantage of a superior number of German Divisions on the Western Front. Operation Michael kicked off in March 1918. This was Ludendorff’s great gamble to split the British and French forces before the American Divisions that were arriving in France could swing the balance in the allies’ favour.

Operation Michael surged back westward across the old Somme battlefields recapturing the towns of Bapaume and Albert and pressing towards the strategic railway town of Amiens. The entire AIF which had been preparing in Flanders was rushed back to the Somme to meet the threat which was halted at Villers Bretonneux by two Australian Brigades. Once the advance had been held at Villers Bretonneux (ironically on ANZAC Day 1918) the 2nd Division was employed in a series of raids and small actions that would keep the Germans guessing as to where a counterattack would be launched.

On 4th July 1918, Monash (Now commander of the entire Australian Corps of five divisions) opened the counteroffensive at Hamel. This was a famous battle for a number of reasons. Monash had the use of 800 troops from the 33rd Division of the Illinois National Guard (on American Independence Day). The battle had been planned meticulously with coordination of artillery, aircraft for spotting and ammunition drops, tanks and infantry. Monash estimated it would take 90 minutes to reach the objectives set; in fact, it took 93 minutes. The 25th Battalion for its part in the battle was awarded one Military Cross, One D.S.O. and four Military Medals.

The battle of Amiens in August 1918; another triumph for Monash and one described by Ludendorff as the “blackest day”, followed by Mont St. Quentin (where the 2nd Division Memorial is located) soon followed upon one another. By this time the 25th Battalion was almost spent as a fighting force. Since its inception in March 1915, the battalion had been reinforced 21 times, and still the fighting strength was down to less than 650 (A battalion would normally have a strength of 900 to 1000 all ranks). Many other infantry battalions were in a similar situation. Reluctantly, the decision was made in the AIF to reduce the number of battalions in each brigade from four to three, with some units to be disbanded and amalgamated with other battalions; due to a severe lack of manpower. The 25th was targeted for such a move which led to an awkward situation (sometimes described as a mutiny, even though it wasn’t) within the battalion when on 25th September 1918, the ranks held a meeting and decided to refuse to obey the order to disband the battalion. The feeling expressed was essentially: “if it was good enough to have fought as the 25th for almost four years, then they would go on as the 25th until either the war ended or the battalion was wiped out.” Division backed down and advised that a final decision would not be made until after the next action.

The next battle; which would prove to be the last for the 25th, was against the Hindenburg Line at Beaurevoir. In spite of the so-called mutiny of September 1918, the remaining members of the 25th were subsumed into the 26th Battalion, but continued to wear the 25th colour patch and retain their original companies. Throughout the course of the war, the 25th Battalion would experience the heaviest casualty toll of any A.I.F. Battalion. When the battalion was disbanded in late 1918, the roll of honour listed 2821 wounded and 1026 killed.

James Dykes was indeed fortunate to have survived almost unscathed through three and a half years of constant frontline action. He returned to Australia in the middle of 1919. Presumably James got on with his life as many of those young men did. The last entry in his military file is dated 1967 in which he applied for the Gallipoli Medallion (granted belatedly to original ANZACS to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of Gallipoli) and to which as an original 25th man, he was entitled. At the time, James gave his address as Dorothy Street, Camp Hill. James Dykes died in 1985.