Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Edward Snigg, a saddler, enlisted for the war when he was 39 years old, which is considerably older than the average age of WW1 diggers. He was, however, far from the oldest. Many WW1 troops continued to serve as efficient soldiers well into their forties. Each infantry reinforcement group has roughly 10 to 15 people in their late 30s to mid 40s, and their age doesn't appear to affect their ability to do their duties. 

Edward enlisted on July 16, 1915, stating his six years as a member of the Adelaide Rifle Club as previous relevant experience, but he did not go overseas to fight until later. To begin with, he spent two days (August 24th-26th, 1915) in Mitcham Camp Clearing Hospital with influenza. On September 29th, he deserted Mitcham Camp and a warrant was issued for his arrest, but he was never seen again until he surrendered to authorities (The SA Police Gazette, 8 March 1916, p. 88, reports the warrant's cancellation after the fact.). He was declared Absent Without Leave from 29 September to 30 October 1915 when he returned to camp, and he was discharged from the Australian Imperial Forces as 'unlikely to become an efficient soldier'.

Edward was undeterred, and on December 30, 1915, he re-attested and was accepted into the AIF. He said he'd been fired for being absent without leave, but he was reassigned anyway. On the 11th of August 1916, he made it to the boat and to the front with the 10th Reinforcements of the 27th Battalion, arriving in France. One month later, on September 11th, he was back to his old ways, taking an afternoon off without pay while also forgetting to 'take dixies (cooking/eating dishes in the army) back to cooks when directed to'. He was fined and given a wage cut of 29 days. He hadn't even been there for 29 days yet.

On the 21st of October 1916, Edward complained of a whitlow (painful cold sore) on his finger and was sent to hospital, where he was also diagnosed with a GSW (gunshot wounds) to his right hand. He claimed he was wounded on October 15, 1916 (a reasonable period for the eruption of a whitlow originating from the wound), despite the fact that his military record shows he was not treated by a Casualty Clearing Station or Hospital for the wound when it was received. He most likely suffered a minor injury that did not require medical attention, and the infection that causes whitlow normally enters the body through skin lesions that come into touch with infected body fluid from another individual. While a cold sore may appear insignificant in comparison to the serious wounds suffered by some soldiers, whitlows are very contagious, and a medic who diagnosed one would not want to leave someone on the battlefield who could spread the disease to other soldiers. Edward spent nearly a month in the hospital. He wrote to his mother at this time, informing her that he had been injured in the hand and that his vision had been damaged.

After being released from the hospital, Edward was transferred to different English depots and given a two-week leave, but he would not see action again. As he had told his mother, his eyesight was now bothering him. Despite the fact that his finger had healed with some weakening, the staff at Wareham Hospital in England opted to discharge him due to his poor eyesight and advanced age. They said he had "no disability from his wounds," a sentence that would come back to haunt him later, and he was sent back to Australia on the troopship HMAT A37 "Barambah." Edward reported in hospital on the 'Barambah' that he had presented after being 'blind' for five weeks (perhaps in one eye - the record is largely illegible, and the notes are unclear). On the troopship, he was given bromide treatment, and when his eyes were examined, they were both normal (and not very good at that).

Even though there is no record of Edward Snigg serving in a specific battle on the Western Front. There are dates and information showing he was on the Western Front in France. It can be assumed by looking through dates and the 10th reinforcement 27 battalion records that Edward Snigg may have fought in the battle of Pozières which took place from the 23 July to the 3 September 1916. These dates match up to information about Edward Snigg which we can assume he fought in this battle. This battle took place in northern France around the village of Pozières, during the Battle of the Somme. The costly fighting ended with the British in possession of the plateau north and east of the village, in a position to menace the German bastion of Thiepval from the rear. The Australians managed to capture the village of Pozières, whereupon they were subjected to relentless artillery bombardment that reduced the village to rubble and inflicted a heavy toll among the allied troops. During this battle a total of 5,500 Australian soldiers and 2,000 British soldiers were killed or wounded.

Edward’s complained about being temporarily blind. Edward could have been lying which isn’t out of reach for Edward Snigg due to the fact that he was always trying to leave the war but this time he wasn’t lying as he had trachoma, which is a result of poor sanitation and hygiene, he could’ve contracted this due to the poor sanitation on the battle field and in the trenches. During the rest of his service he complained that his eyesight was becoming worse they were not records of Edward Snigg receiving anymore medical attention, it can be assumed though by getting the whitlow finger, he also contracted trachoma which was not diagnosed or treated. It also can be assumed that when he was on the HMAT A37 'Barambah' he received bromide which could have caught the trachoma and reversed Edward Snigg’s temporary blindness.

Edward snigg died on the died 9th of May 1928 and was buried in Adelaide. 

In his one year and 222 days of service, Edward Snigg did not see much action. He was never the fit, young specimen of the ideal Aussie Digger, and he was already on the back foot after being Absent and kicked out back at Mitcham when he initially enlisted. Edward Snigg, on the other hand, tried again and refused to give up. While Edward Snigg did the wrong thing many times by absenting himself, he was honest when he declared his previous Absent Without Leave at reenlistment, unlike some soldiers who were discharged and reenlisted without declaring the reason or stating an alternate untruthful reason because they so desperately wanted to go. Edward Snigg does not appear to be a liar, and there is no reason to disbelieve his claims about his vision and temporary blindness. Edward Snigg’s character was described as 'good' upon discharge, so the military authorities couldn't have had too many reservations about him.

Bibliography

(Cancellation of the warrant is reported after the fact in the SA Police Gazette 8th March 1916 p. 88)

Army Museum of South Australia, (provided general research assistance)

WW1 Gawler Honour Roll

National Archive of Australia

https://www.flickr.com/photos/87343585@N08/22330692356

https://www.netmeds.com/health-library/post/herpetic-whitlow-causes-symptoms-and-treatment

https://southaustraliaswar.history.sa.gov.au/monthly-posts/191509-september-1915/

https://birtwistlewiki.com.au/wiki/HMAT_A37_Barambah