Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Robert Fielding was 43 years old when he enlisted on 15th October 1915. He stated his occupation as insurance inspector and gave his address as Dutton Park. He was married to Margaret but had no children. Robert named Margaret as his next of kin and she had moved to Sherwood while he was away to live with Robert’s brother, Thomas, who was the Headmaster at Sherwood State School.

Given Robert’s age and his background, it would seem that he was best suited to an administrative job; but as was often the case with military authorities, such factors were obviously ignored and Robert was drafted as a private in the reinforcements for the 15th Infantry Battalion. He embarked on the “Kyarra” in Brisbane on 3rd January 1916 and arrived at the Australian Camp at Serapeum in Egypt on 19th February.

The Australian forces were undergoing a huge expansion in Egypt in early 1916. Original battalions were split to provide a nucleus of Gallipoli veterans for two new battalions. The 15th Battalion, to which Robert had been originally assigned, was split to create the 47th Battalion. Robert, along with a number of new reinforcements were added to the 47th to bring it up to strength.

The 47th Battalion would earn a rather questionable reputation in the AIF. It was widely reported that when officers and NCOs were being assigned, the commanding officer of the 15th took the opportunity to unload a number of men who had proved less than worthy of command. In addition, the numbers of ordinary soldiers were made up of men from hospitals in Egypt, VD wards and in some cases defaulters from the stockade. One historian described the makeup of the 47th as a “bunch of toffs and wasters and street loafers.” It would be interesting to know what Robert Fielding made of this.

The 47th Battalion was one of the last battalions to leave Egypt for France, but not before the unit disgraced itself by not showing respect to the Prince of Wales when he inspected the troops. On the voyage to Marseilles, one of the senior officers drank himself senseless and would be eventually dismissed from the service. Alcohol continued to be a problem for the battalion when the first pay was issued in Northern France.

As part of the 4th Division, the 47th Battalion was moved to the Somme in July of 1916 to support Haig’s grand offensive at Pozieres. During the Pozieres campaign, Robert Fielding was reported as Missing in Action. His wife was duly informed and enquiries began to be made into the circumstances of his disappearance. Witnesses who were interviewed in various hospitals all reported that Robert was with the unit when they were evacuated and that he was quite well. Margaret Fielding even received a telegram from Robert dated 29th August (some three weeks after he had allegedly gone missing) stating that he was enjoying a “splendid leave” in England. Surprisingly this period of leave is not recorded on Robert’s file.

It was only after the Commanding Officer of the 47th sent a telegram to Australian HQ in September stating that Robert was with his unit that the matter was cleared up. Robert had been confused with another man in the 47th, Harold Fielding who had indeed gone missing. How such an error could be made is quite difficult to understand, given that witnesses described Robert Fielding as tall, thin, with grey hair and a grizzled moustache. Harold Fielding was 18 years old with red hair.

Undoubtedly the experiences of Pozieres and Mouquet Farm rattled the entire Australian force that had fought there. The three divisions sustained a total of 23,000 casualties and only a prolonged rest period and reinforcement would return the units to fighting strength.

In October 1916, while still in a rest area, the 47th would be again tainted with ill discipline linked to alcohol. Three officers; Judd, Odgers and Koch were found fall down drunk at the Sweet Lavender Tea Rooms. All three were court martialled (Koch had a previous charge of drunkenness from the boat voyage to Marseilles) and dismissed from the army. A new commanding officer was appointed to tighten discipline before the battalion went back into the line at Benafray Wood at Flers. Robert Fielding, as a strict Methodist, was no doubt horrified at the behaviour of his superiors.

The winter of 1916/17 was extremely harsh, particularly for troops manning the front lines. Mud and slush covered the bottom of the trenches to a depth of several feet. Neither side was interested in attacking raids but artillery continued to bombard positions, almost as a matter of honour. The 47th Battalion war diary records that while holding the line during the month of November 1916, 13 other ranks and one officer were killed; all from shell fire. Among those killed was Robert Fielding. He is buried, in company with two other 47th Battalion men who were all killed on 28th November 1916, in the Bull’s Road Military Cemetery near Flers.

Unlike the incident in August at Pozieres, it would seem that Margaret did not make any enquiries with the Red Cross into the nature of Robert’s death. Margaret received her husband’s personal effects which included a scarf and mittens as well as a testament and two gospels. From February 1917, Margaret received a war widow’s pension of two pounds per fortnight.

Courtesy of Ian Lang

Mango Hill