ANZAC Sons
Page 69
* * *
The deeds of the Australian soldiers of the Great War transformed a nation. They established a tradition, creating a unique identity and giving a young nation its soul. But this came at an unimaginable cost. The spirit of those who never came home lives on in their legacy. Those who survived are no longer with us to tell their stories, but their memories are very much alive in their letters and their words. May they and their stories live on in the hearts of those they leave behind, for they forged a legend that we can never forget.
Have you forgotten yet?
Look up and swear by the green of the Spring that you’ll never forget.
Siegfried Sassoon, Aftermath, March 1919
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allison grew up on a farm near Pyramid Hill, the small Victorian town where she was born. She travelled 24 miles to school at Kerang on an ancient bus – top speed 40mph. Her interest in the service of her ancestors began over 30 years ago when she was studying to become a teacher. She used a selection of their letters to complete an assignment. The dream to honour them by telling their story was ignited.
Allison undertook the writing of this story from a sense of empathy with her great-grandmother, whom she never met, and a deep conviction that the story needs to be shared with others. She began researching and transcribing the letters 12 years ago, however, it was not until she visited the Western Front in 2011 that she could gain a greater understanding and move forward with a purpose.
This book is Allison’s undertaking that the sacrifice her family made will never be forgotten. It is also a testament to all those who served in the Great War, and the families who supported them. She hopes the reader will be inspired to research their own families and share their knowledge with others.
Allison has worked as a teacher/librarian for the past 18 years. She currently lives in Queensland on the Sunshine Coast with her husband and family. When she is not reading, reviewing children’s books, writing or planning a holiday she can be found walking the dog or cooling off in the pool.
ENDNOTES
Chapter 1
1.C.E.W. Bean, Anzac to Amiens, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, 1946, p. 23.
2.Not be confused with the infamous Hill 60 of the Western Front. Hills were routinely named for their height above sea level.
3.Interview with Albert Wishart, ‘Northaven’, Kerang, Victoria, 1985.
4.The Cheyne, Mahoney and Gibson families are all relatives of the Marlow family.
5.Zeitoun — throughout George’s letters it is spelt Yeitoun.
6.See P. Stanley, Bad Characters: sex, crime, mutiny, murder and the Australian Imperial Force, Pier Nine, Sydney, 2010.
7.‘CB’ — ‘confined to barracks’ was a form of military punishment for minor misdemeanours in which the miscreant was literally confined to the barracks area and all local leave cancelled.
8.A pictorial magazine of the time which later evolved to become the Australasian Post.
9.The Dripps were residents of Pyramid Hill.
10.Pearl Clee of Bendigo — Charlie Marlow’s girlfriend.
11.Eddie Cheyne was a cousin of the Marlows. Eddie enlisted on eight separate occasions but was refused each time. He suffered an unspecified condition which affected his legs.
Chapter 2
1.G.J. Downie, NAA B2455.
2.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 213.
3.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 18 February 1916.
4.The fountain is a well-known landmark in the centre of Bendigo.
Chapter 3
1.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, pp. 197–98.
2.Les Carlyon, The Great War, Macmillan, Sydney, 2006, p. 35.
3.The German salient at Fromelles covered an area of higher ground facing north-west known as the Sugarloaf which provided excellent observation of no man’s land on either flank. A salient is a position which bulges into enemy territory. While salients were often vulnerable from enfilading fire and sometimes at risk of being cut off, those which included high ground presented a major advantage. Salients existed all along the Western Front, most infamously around the beleaguered cities of Verdun and Ypres.
4.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 202.
5.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 28 April 1916.
6.From 6 May 1918, recruits between the ages of 18 and 21 could enlist without parental approval.
7.The Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 28 April 1916.
8.Kalma was a Bendigo photographer.
9.Bill Gammage, The Broken Years, Penguin, Ringwood, 1982 (1974), pp. 133–55.
10.C.E.W. Bean, Official History of Australia in the War 1914-18, Vol. III, The A.I.F. in France 1916, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1941, p. 203.
11.The families of the sisters of Charles senior who had remained in England.
12.The Anzac Book was a trench publication produced at Gallipoli which was first released to the public in 1916.
Chapter 4
1.Edgar Rule, 1916, quoted in Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 249.
2.Camps were at Perham Downs (eight camps for the 1st Division), Larkhill (19 camps for the 5th Division and artillery), Rollestone (four camps for the 2nd and 4th divisions) and Parkhouse (four camps). A Machine-Gun Depot was located at Tidworth.
3.Les Carlyon, The Great War, Macmillan, Sydney, 2006, p. 120.
4.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 4 August 1916.
5.J. Stone, NAA B2455.
6.J.F. Stone, NAA B2455.
7.The Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 21 July 1916.
8.Sarah Marlow’s brother Arthur Mahoney served in the Boer War and remained in South Africa for some years before returning to Australia. It is likely that he had already returned to Australia and this reference is possibly to beat the censor. Allan had sent an earlier letter that mentions Durban and Cape Town and this letter may not have been passed by the censor. Indeed many soldiers paid locals to post their letters while in port.
9.Carlyon, The Great War, pp. 26–27.
10.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 225.
11.Ron Austin, Our Dear Old Battalion: The Story of the 7th Battalion, AIF 1914-1919, Slouch Hat Publications, Rosebud, Victoria, 2004, p. 133.
12.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 238.
13.Bean, Official History, Vol. III, The A.I.F. in France 1916, p. 590.
14.Bean , Anzac to Amiens, p. 24.
15.The British 48th Division attacked to the west of Pozieres.
16.Bean, Official History, Vol. III, The A.I.F. in France 1916, p. 593.
17.Ibid., p.724.
18.Austin, Our Dear Old Battalion, p. 238.
19.A.D. Bailey, NAA B2455.
20.H.G. Burrows, NAA B2455.
21.A.H. Haw, NAA B2455.
22.W.T. Alford, NAA B2455.
23.Bean, Official History, Vol. III, The A.I.F. in France 1916, p. 787.
24.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 262.
25.Jonathan King, Great Battles in Australian History, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest, 2011, p. 110.
26.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 264.
Chapter 5
1.D.R. Leed, NAA B2455.
2.C.H. Cockroft, NAA B2455.
3.The Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 4 August 1916.
4.Ibid., 26 August 1916.
5.Grandfather William Marlow was buried at Bringhurst and ‘Aunty’ was living in one of the nearby villages — either Uppingham or Corby.
6.‘Bobs’ was a block of land the Marlow family had purchased east of the Terrick Terrick Forest.
7.K. Laird, NAA B2455.
8.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 2 July 1916, ‘Profiles of our Past –Obituaries from the Pyramid Hill Advertiser 1910-1919’.
9.A.J. Gibson, NAA B2455.
10.R.W. Campbell, NAA B2455.
11.Allan would have been surprised to discover that Albert Jacka had not died of the wounds he received in his astonishing act of courage at Pozieres. While in hospital in England, Jacka sent a reporter away, asking another patient to tell the reporter he was dead. His fellow soldier obliged and suddenly, according to newspaper repor
ts, Albert Jacka VC had passed away. Allan also mentions learning that 2700 Australians had been put out of action the day prior to his letter. He refers to the final action of the 4th Division in its attack on Mouquet Farm before its withdrawal on 5 September. See Carlyon, The Great War, p. 205.
12.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 289.
13.Hughes was expelled from the Labor Party in New South Wales in September 1916.
14.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 293.
15.The Saville family managed the Mologa Post Office.
16.A.G. Ferris, NAA B2455.
17.W.E. Guinane, NAA B2455.
18.W.T. Stevens, NAA B2455.
Chapter 6
1.P.J. Ryan, NAA B2455.
2.The Argus (n.d.), newspaper clipping found among the letters.
3.Will Hare was a local from Mologa; he was not an enlisted soldier but had passed away in Melbourne in 1916.
4.The 3rd Division was initially required to wear the slouch hat with the brim down and the rising sun badge at the front. To their great relief the order was reversed in November 1917 when the Australian Corps was formed. The 3rd Division no longer stood out from the other four divisions and could wear their hats with the brim up and the badge on the side.
5.Lighter clothing issued for the sea journey.
6.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 3 November 16.
Chapter 7
1.The Ox refers to the town of Durham Ox, Victoria.
2.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 294.
3.Ibid., p. 267.
4.Ibid., p. 268.
5.C.L. Fyffe, NAA B2455.
6.C.S. Wales, NAA B2455.
7.J. Cocking, NAA B2455.
Chapter 8
1.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 17 November 1916.
2.Eric Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F.: The Story and Official History of the 38th Battalion A.I.F., Bendigo Advertiser Pty Ltd and Cambridge Press, 1920, pp. 7–9.
3.Ibid.
4.Ibid., p. 10.
5.Ibid., pp. 11–12.
6.Cousin Eddie Cheyne, who had attempted to enlist eight times, had now been accepted. He was discharged within weeks.
7.George and Arthur Mahoney, relatives of Sarah.
8.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, p. 88.
9.J.R. McDonald, NAA B2455.
10.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 9 September 1921.
Chapter 9
1.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 316.
2.Carlyon, The Great War, p. 319.
3.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 315.
4.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, p. 12.
5.J.H. Lockett, NAA B2455.
6.J.C. Lewis, NAA B2455.
7.E. Butler, NAA B2455.
8.W.L. Jones, NAA B2455.
9.E.M. Jones, NAA B2455.
10.W. Teale, NAA B2455.
11.S.F. Maslen, NAA B2455.
12.H.S. Rumble, NAA B2455.
13.W.E. Wormald, NAA B2455.
14.J.E. Fiven, NAA B2455.
15.J.E. Adams, NAA B2455; G.T. Fowler, NAA B2455.
16.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, p. 13.
17.A.E. Brookes, NAA B2455.
18.G. Mossop, NAA B2455.
19.Carlyon, The Great War, pp. 296–97.
20.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, pp.14–15.
21.‘A Mologa Family’, Bendigo Advertiser, 25 November 1916, p. 4.
22.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 317.
23.W.P. Mowat, NAA B2455.
24.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, p. 18.
25.R. Paterson, NAA B2455.
26.F. Dee, NAA B884, V13043.
27.C.A. Mills. NAA B2455.
28.E. Kerr, NAA B2455.
29.G.G. McKay, NAA B2455.
Chapter 10
1.Archie was now on his way to England having been shot in his left leg, the second time he had been wounded. He recovered and returned to the front in July.
2.R.W. Campbell, NAA B2455.
3.F.M. Hannasky, NAA B2455.
4.E. Tracey, NAA B2455.
5.Commander of AIF Depots in England.
6.Lawrinsky, Hard Jacka, pp. 260–90.
7.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 334.
8.J.T. Price, NAA B2455.
9.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 2 July 1916, ‘Profiles of our Past –Obituaries from the Pyramid Hill Advertiser 1910-1919’.
10.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 336.
11.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, p. 19.
12.D. Glass, NAA B2455.
Chapter 11
1.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, p. 20.
2.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 334.
3.A.H. Haw, NAA B2455.
4.A.E. Johnson, NAA B2455.
5.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, pp. 20–21.
Chapter 12
1.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, pp. 345–49.
2.H.T.S. Dabb, NAA B2455.
3.Chapter 10 third Image.
4.A. Duncan, NAA B2455.
5.A. Chisolm, NAA B2455.
6.Chapter 10. Third image.
7.E.G. Swainston, NAA B2455.
8.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, pp. 351–52.
9.Ibid., pp. 352–53.
10.Carlyon, The Great War, p. 421.
11.T.S. Roberts, NAA B2455.
12.Chapter 10. Third image.
13.H. Harnell, NAA B2455.
14.L.C. Taylor, NAA B2455.
15.Chapter 10. Third image.
16.T.C. Burt, NAA B2455.
17.H.J. Jeanes, NAA B2455.
18.L.W.H. Cant, NAA B2455.
19.P. Owens, NAA B2455.
20.G.H. Collison, NAA B2455.
21.Chapter 10. Third image.
22.T.W. Dickinson, NAA B2455.
23.J. Reid, NAA B2455.
24.W.S. McKinnon, NAA B2455.
25.A. Sinclair, NAA B2455.
26.J. Sinclair, NAA B2455.
Chapter 13
1.J.F. Steele, NAA B2455.
2.G. Brittain, NAA B2455.
3.H.E. Hawkesworth, NAA B2455.
4.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, p. 28.
Chapter 14
1.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 361.
2.Fred Smith was a member of the 38th Battalion. He was 30 years old, married and working as a clerk in Sydney when he enlisted in September 1916. He was wounded on 7 June 1917 but returned to the battalion in November that year. He was wounded again on 29 November 1917 and returned to Australia in April 1918.
3.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 2 July 1916, ‘Profiles of our Past –Obituaries from the Pyramid Hill Advertiser 1910-1919’, p. 75.
4.The death of Mrs Ogilvie, mentioned by the boys, was a tragic accident which reverberated throughout the local Mologa community. The Pyramid Hill Advertiser (29 June and 6 July 1917) reported that 30-year-old Alice Ogilvie of Yarrawalla was tending a fire in the open when her clothing caught fire. She was burned so extensively that she passed away a week later. She left behind a husband and two children.
Chapter 15
1.Carlyon, The Great War, p. 447.
2.G.T. Marlow, NAA B2455.
3.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 367.
4.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 12 October 1917, ‘Profiles of our Past –Obituaries from the Pyramid Hill Advertiser 1910-1919’.
5.Letters dated 8 to 10 July.
Chapter 16
1.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 369.
2.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, pp. 33–34.
3.C.E.W. Bean , Official History of Australia in the War 1914-18, Vol. IV, The A.I.F. in France 1917, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1938, p. 884; AWM 23-55-1 Part1, p. 6.
4.AWM 23-55-1 Part1, p. 6.
5.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, p. 34.
6.Bean, Official History, Vol. IV, The A.I.F. in France 1917, pp. 870–74.
7.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 372.
8.Ibid., p. 371.
9.AWM 4-23-55-1 Part1, p. 7.
10.Bean, Official History, Vol. IV, The A.I.F. in France 1917, p. 917.
11.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, p. 36.
/> 12.Ibid.
13.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 374.
14.Ibid., p. 375.
15.Ibid., pp. 375–76.
16.Carlyon, The Great War, p. 510.
17.A.G. Henderson, NAA B2455.
18.MS 883 Papers of Frank Hurley, 1912–1962 [manuscript] Series 1: Diaries, 1912–1961 Item 5 : My diary, official War Photographer Commonwealth Military Forces, from 21 August 1917 to 31 August 1918 http://www.nla.gove.au/apps/cdview?pi=nla.ms-ms883-1-5-s71-v and s72.
Chapter 17
1.W. Street, NAA B2455.
2.H. Street, NAA B2455.
3.H. Martin, NAA B2455.
4.D.L. Townsend, NAA B2455.
5.E. Kerr, NAA B2455.
6.D. Mullen, NAA B2455.
7.H.J. Mullen, NAA B2455.
8.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 13 August 1917.
9.Chapter 10 third Image.
10.T.C. Burt, NAA B2455.
11.E.G. Swainston, NAA B2455; Chapter 10 third Image.
12.A.E. Brookes, NAA B2455.
13.A. Sinclair, NAA B2455.
14.No Four finish and later written No pour fini would refer to the French pour finir meaning ‘finally’. I suspect Allan is answering a query from Jim regarding his romantic interest in Pyramid Hill which, it would seem, had now come to an end.
15.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, pp. 38–39.
16.R.W. Gollan, NAA B2455.
17.Bean, Anzac to Amiens, p. 375.
18.Ibid.
19.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 21 December 1917.
20.Harold Scott had sailed with Albert on the Port Lincoln.
21.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, p. 40.
22.W.R. Crossman, NAA B2455.
23.T.S. Crossman, NAA B2455.
24.N.F. Day, NAA B2455.
25.Pyramid Hill Advertiser, 5 April 1918.
Chapter 18
1.C.E.W. Bean, The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918, Vol. V, The A.I.F. in France 1918, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1941, pp. 1–13.
2.Fairey, The 38th Battalion A.I.F, p. 41.
3.Bean, Official History, Vol. IV, The A.I.F. in France 1917, p. 951.
4.AWM 4-23-55-1 Part 1, p. 17.
5.R.J. Hercus, NAA B2455.
6.C.E.W. Bean, Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-1918, Vol. V, The A.I.F. in France December 1917-May 1918, Angus & Robertson, Sydney, 1938, p. 47.
7.The owners, Mr and Mrs Charles Billyard-Leake, were originally from Sydney.