Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Vivian Cyril Monks was born on the 9th of May 1895, he had a mother, Jane, who was his next of kin. He was 5 foot 6 inches, with a fair complexion and blue eyes. He was not married at time of enlistment, and worked as a Machinist and he was of Methodist faith.

Monks enlisted on the 19th of August 1914 at the age of 19. He embarked from Adelaide on board the transport unit A11 the ‘Ascanius’ on the 20th of October in the same year. He was initially deployed in the 10th Infantry Battalion where he fought at Gallipoli in 1915 as a Private. At Gallipoli the 10th battalion was one of the first groups to arrive, which meant they didn’t know what they were heading into. According to an extract from a war diary written at Gallipoli, the battalion arrived at 4.15am, on the 25th of April 1915 where they had to climb shrapnel hill on foot. As they pushed over shrapnel ridge it hit about 8:00am. The fighting was brutal, and they suffered heavy losses. The heat of this battle lasted 96 hours before many of the men slept. In October of 1915 Monks was admitted to hospital ‘sick’ with no further specifications of his ailment. After Gallipoli, Monks was promoted to the rank of Corporal in December of 1915 and rejoined his unit after discharge from hospital.

Monks was transferred to the 3rd Infantry Brigade Machine Gun Company on the 13th of March 1916 after training. He served in the 3rd infantry Brigade for 1 year, where they served as a ‘support’ unit and travelled to Egypt with the 1st Machine gun Company. Monks was promoted to Sargent of his unit on the 27th of March in 1916. On the 9th of January 1917 Monks travelled to the Australian Machine Gun Training Depot in Grantham. After his Training Monks was transferred to the 1st division Machine Gun company on the 17th of March 1917. Later that year Monks embarked on ‘Velle de Liege’ for England where he was gassed and emitted to 1st Birmingham war hospital. He was later transferred to 3rd Auxiliary hospital. Much of the work Monks did with machine gun units was very dangerous, as they were always within close proximity to the battle. Machine gun units were also prime targets for enemy fire, so casualties were heavy. Often the Machine gun units would be referred to as ‘suicide squads’ due to the high probability that they would be killed in action. The 3rd Infantry Brigade Machine Gun Unit often travelled to different locations, and were used to support larger armies rather than fighting as a smaller brigade.

Monks spent the majority of the war fighting in the 3rd Infantry Brigade Machine Gun Unit and was recognized for his service. On the 17th of October Monks was rewarded with a letter of recommendation for his selfless and brave acts in battle. The letter included a description of how he had stayed at his post, waiting for the relief team even after he and his commanding officer had been wounded by enemy shells. The letter stated that “By his devotion to duty and disregard of personal safety he set a splendid example.” He was awarded with an honorable mention of ‘Splendid example of devotion to duty and personal bravery’. Later in his service his mother and next of kin Jane Monks, was also sent a letter informing her of another special mention he received regarding the conscientious way that Monks serves in his Unit, and this mention appeared in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Over the duration of the war, the medals monks were awarded includes: 1914-15 Star, British war Medal and the Victory medal. His final rank was Warrant Officer (class II).

Monks returned to Australia on the 12th of May 1918, making the duration of his service just shy of four years. Tough he did spend a lot of time in hospital his bravery and selflessness in his service were well recognized and rewarded. When he was back in Adelaide, Monks became a farmer. It is known that he did fight in World War two, and survived the entire duration of the battle. He died on the 23rd of March 1984 aged 89 and was buried in the Port Broughton Cemetery in South Australia.