Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Australians prepare for an attack near Bullecourt, France, May 1917. [AWM E00454]

An account of one of the many otherwise unheralded acts of courage and the underlying sense of duty that is so evident in so much of the available literature, exhibited from the highest to the lowest ranking soldier.

AWM Image http://static.awm.gov.au/images/collection/items/ACCNUM_SCREEN/A02022.JPG Australian troops in the Turkish Lone Pine trenches, captured on the afternoon of the 6 August 1915, by the AIF 1st Brigade under Brigadier-General Walker. ID number A02022 Collection Photograph Object type Black & white - Glass original half plate negative Photographer Unknown Place made Ottoman Empire: Turkey, Marmara, Chanak, Gallipoli Peninsula Date made 6 August 1915 Description

Bullecourt church and Slouch Hat memorial. Stevve Larkins collection

A trench at Lone Pine on 8 August 1915. The scene captures something of the savagery of the action. Sergeant Apear de Vine, 4th Battalion, NSW, of Maroubra, Sydney, wrote of the dead: … they are stacked out of the way in any convenient place sometimes thrown up on to the parados so as not to block the trenches, there are more dead than living … [De Vine, quoted in Bill Gammage, The Broken Years, Ringwood, 1990, p 84]

A sketch map depicting the orientation of the Pozieres / Mouquet Farm battlefield. La Boiselle was the site of a failed British attack on July 1. Thiepval is the high ground that anchored this particular stretch of the Front. The German positions there were the tactical key to the battlefield and having captured Pozieres, the Australian attacks then shifted to Mouquet Farm (called Moo Cow Farm by the Australians) in an effort to outflank the German positions at Thiepval. Malcolm McInerney collection..

This photograph is of the 4th Pioneer Battalion New Zealand Army but it serves to illustrate the extent of preparation before the battle - this is rehearsal conducted prior to the battle of Messines. These men are advancing towards the start line for an attack. As they approach it in columns of route, they spread out quickly into 'artillery formation' as seen here so they are less vulnerable . This photo should be viewed in conjunction with the adjacent diagram and explanation. Image from tumatauenga.webs.com

This is a disturbing image of a destroyed German trench. In the foreground the limp bodies of dead German soldiers lie amidst the rubble. It is difficult to distinguish the soldiers from the chaos around them, but three bodies are clearly visible. One man, wearing a helmet, has been pushed forward by the blast and, although dead, appears to crouch forward. The entire scene is a maelstrom of mud, splintered wood and dead bodies. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Messines_-_destroyed_German_trench.jpg

For the first time since Gallipoli, the New Zealanders attacked alongside the Australians at Messines on 7 June 1917. Here New Zealand troops watch British tanks advance towards Messines Ridge. E01417

Official caption reads; "The graves of 13 Australian soldiers from the 10th Battalion who, unless stated otherwise, were killed in action on 19 May 1915. From left to right, the graves are those of 1398 Private (Pte) Charles Olsen; 1037 Pte William Cocks, killed in action on 23 May 1915; 894 Pte Albert Henry Davey; 1751 Pte Joseph Gurry; 984 Pte Charles Henry Allen; 1558 Pte Albert Beswick (actually Baswick); 101 Pte Walter Batley Seaman; 801 Private Arthur Sydney Johnson; 1357 Pte Sydney Brooke Holt, killed on 29 May 1915; 299 Pte Thomas Arthur Atwill; 1184 Pte Benjamin Thomas Thorpe; 1163 Pte John George Murphy; 1452 Pte William Altree, killed on 29 May. Post war investigation revealed that Pte Albert Baswick, coach trimmer, enlisted at Oaklands, South Australia and embarked from Melbourne on HMAT Runic on 27 November 1914; Albert Baswick was an alias of John Routledge, son of Thomas and L Caroline Routledge, of 4 Holt Terrace, Shell Street, Stanley Grove, Manchester, England" This group correlates closely with the CO's account of the battle (see Lock p46) plus three other men PTEs Cocks Holt and Altree who died in the days following the major counter attack. The CO's account indated that 11 men were killed. Ten are thus accounted for in this photograph with the eleventh perhaps succumbing to wounds in the evacuation chain. This group is now all interred in the Shrapnel Gully Cemetery. AWM Image http://www.awm.gov.au/view/collection/item/C02199/

The Tenth Battalion on parade at Torrens Parade Ground in Adelaide. It is believed to have been taken in October 1914 just prior to the Battalion's embarking for the Middle East. Torrens Parade Ground is an icon of the State's military history. Having been a militia training area since the early days of the Colony, beginning with the Boer War, many South Australian military contingents have paraded at Torrens Parade Ground prior to embarkation. These days, Torrens Parade Ground is the home of ANZAC House RSL SA State Headquarters.

Arthur Blackburn, VC, arguably Australia's most remarkable citizen soldiers. Among the first ashore at Gallipoli and with another man reached farthest inland, he was later commissioned. He won a Victoria Cross at Pozieres in unrelenting fighting. He had a distinguished career in public life between the wars and commanded with distinction in the Middle East and Dutch East Indies in WWII becoming a POW after commanding 'Blackforce' in Java.

Corporal Phil Davey, VC, MM. He won the 10th Battalion's third Victoria Cross at Merris, northern France, on 28th June 1918. He destroyed a machine gun that that moments before inflicted casualties on other 10th Battalion colleagues in a neighbouring platoon, including Platoon Commander Lieutenant Jack McInerney.

Troops of what is belkieved to be the 10th Battalion on the deck of the battleship Prince of Wales in Mudros Harbour. This ship was part of the fleet which transported Australian troops to the Gallipoli landing at Anzac Cove. The Battalion was embarked on the Prince of Wales before transferring to the fleet small craft that took them ashore at ANZAC to carry out the landing.

The first 10th Battalion Headquarters at Anzac, taken soon after the landing. Reading from left to right the Officers are - Captain (Capt) Harry Carew Nott (RMO) Capt Francis Maxwell Lorenzo, Major Frederick William Hurcombe, and Lieut-Col S Price Weir, DSO, VD and Mention in Despatches.

A section of the 10th Bn Scout company. The fate of these men typified the high cost of the landing among the men who landed on 25 April 1915. Four died within days of the landing; Whyte, Stokes, Teesedale-Smith and Phil Robin, a former champion Norwood footballer. Wilfred Jose was killed in 1917. Of the survivors, Arthur Blackburn went on to become one of the standout citizen soldiers the nation has produced. Guy Fisher became a successful lawyer and judge. Eric Meldrum died at his own hand in 1922. John Gordon was commissioned in the Australian Flying Corps became an ace and survived the war assuming a senior RAAF role during WW2. Their story is more fully documented under their respective person pages on this site Arthur BLACKBURN; Guy FISHER; John GORDON; Wilfid JOSE; Eric MELDRUM; Philip ROBIN; Francis STOKES; Malcolm Teasdale SMITH; Thomas WHYTE .....and in an essay entitled "Flowers of the Forest" and held by the State Library of SA. http://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?c=5127

https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=417784&c=WW2

https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=440339&c=WW2

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6229180

rangeroad.pdf

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8214671

'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. This officer commanded his battalion in a difficult night operation with great ability. The battalion, having already marched six miles, was ordered to counter attack and retake a village. The ground was strange to every one, and there was no time for reconnaissance, but the approach march and deployment were carried out without a hitch, and the attack was a brilliant success. This officer moved about amongst the men encouraging and directing them, and, finally, established his headquarters in an open trench well forward, which was heavily shelled, but from which he was able to see and control his battalion.' Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 15 Date: 4 February 1919

'Lieutenant Colonel Salisbury has commanded the 50th Bn from 18 August 1916. As the direct result of his capabilities, energy and enthusiasm, the battalion has been raised to a high state of efficiency. While under his command the battalion has participated in active operations on the Somme, Ypres Salient, Flers and in the recent capture of Noreuil. The success of this latter operation was largely due to Liet-Col Salisbury's thorough preparation and his excellent handling of the battalion during the attack and subsequent consolidation. This officer's habitual cheeriness and devotion to duty has been most pronounced and a great inspiration to all with whom he has come in contact.' Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 189 Date: 8 November 1917

http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/720777/BATT,%20ARTHUR%20GEORGE

https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=1272736&c=VIETNAM#R

A specially modified Lancaster B1 of 617 Squadron overflies the Mohne Dam against which it has just released its 'Upkeep' depth charge bomb. The Mohne Eder and Sorpe dams were all attacked as part of 'Operation Chastise'.

https://nominal-rolls.dva.gov.au/veteran?id=691544&c=WW2#R

https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=6396132