Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

#420 MARSHALL Arthur Reid                         42nd Battalion
 
Arthur Marshall was one of six children but the only son, born to Thomas and Helena (Lena) Marshall. The family lived in Toowoomba for a time and Arthur attended Toowoomba North State School. Once he left school, Arthur may have sought employment in the rural districts around Toowoomba. When he presented himself for enlistment at the Darling Downs Recruiting Office in Toowoomba on 25th October 1915, he gave his address as Millmerran. He may have been living with his sister, Mary Louisa Pimm, at the time.
 
Arthur gave his age as 21 years and stated his occupation as labourer. He named his sister, Mary Louise of Millmerran as his next of kin. Arthur travelled by train to Brisbane and then on to the Enoggera Camp where he was originally placed in the # 8 Depot Battalion before being assigned to a newly formed battalion, the 42nd Battalion. Once the 42nd was at full strength and partially trained, the battalion travelled to Sydney by train to embark on the “Borda” on the 5th June 1916. The embarkation roll shows that Arthur had allocated 4/- of his 5/- a day overseas pay to his sister.
 
The 42nd reached Southampton on 23rd July and moved directly to Larkhill, the training camp for a brand-new division, the 3rd Division AIF, into which the 42nd would be placed. Unlike the other four divisions of the AIF which were already in France, the 3rd Division was comprised exclusively of recruits direct from Australia. The Divisional Commander was a newly promoted Major General, John Monash, who would spend almost six months training the division which, apart from four brigades of infantry, included field artillery, transport, signals and headquarters.  The 3rd Division’s existence on Salisbury Plain caused a great deal of interest among the British public and on one occasion, King George V travelled down from London on the Royal Train to inspect the Australians. Monash and the King struck up an immediate rapport as they sat astride their horses while 20,000 men marched past.
 
While in camp at Larkhill, Arthur was granted a five day leave pass to visit London. He returned to camp three days late and was fined three day’s pay and spent 2 days in shackles in the guardhouse. On 25thNovember 1916, the entire division was deployed to the Armentieres sector of the Western Front. This sector was considered a quiet part of the of the front as the boggy ground was unsuitable for large infantry movement. Most of the newly deployed Australian battalions as they arrived on the Western Front spent time in the Nursery sector at Armentieres.
 
Although there were no whole scale offensive operations, the sector was still under regular artillery bombardment. On 28th December 1916, Arthur received a contused shoulder during an enemy barrage on the front line. He was evacuated, also suffering from shock, to the Australian General Hospital at Wimereux near Boulogne. Arthur returned to his battalion after a month’s rest.
 
To prepare the newly arrived Australians for the work ahead, trench raids were encouraged. These took place at night with a party of between 40 and 150 under the leadership of junior officers. The purpose of the raids was to secure intelligence, cause disruption in the enemy lines and, if possible, capture prisoners for future interrogation. The 42nd sent out raiding party on 12th February resulting in German casualties. Two days later, the enemy retaliated with a raid of their own during which 8 ordinary rank soldiers were killed; one of whom was Arthur Marshall.
 
Arthur was buried in the Cite Bonjean Military Cemetery in the centre of Armentieres. A headstone was later erected with the inscription THY WILL BE DONE.