As Charlie wrote his letter home, he was unaware that Albert had arrived in France the same day. It would be several weeks before they were reunited:
5th May
1917
Dear Jim,
… we are out of the trenches and the weather is grand, this week has been weather like we have in October in Australia, the last time in the trenches it was not too bad at all. I got a letter from Geordie a few days ago he is getting on fine, Albert is still in Lark Hill and expects to be over here very soon, all his company are over here …
Albert wrote to his family at the first opportunity:
France
Sunday May 6th 1917
Dear Jim,
Just a line to say I got here without being hit by any tin fish, we got here on Thursday and had to march [censored] miles with our full packs up from where we landed to this camp. The roads were rough as blazes and dusty & as the country is very hilly, it was a stiff march. We are camped near a town right on the sea-shore, have to do a few days training before we go up to join the batt. We are treated very well here & get well fed. We passed through a lot of towns on the road here & got a great welcome. The town is quite close here, but we are not allowed to go into it …
France
May 7th
My Dear Mother & Father,
Just a line to say I am quite well & hope you all are the same. I got here last Thursday to this camp. We were the first lot of troops that marched from where we landed to here, a distance of [censored] miles over hard dusty roads & hot as hell, just my luck as usual. But we got a great welcome coming through the towns, kids following us asking for pennies & selling chocolates & fruit. We expect to be here a few days before we go up to join the battalion, I haven’t heard how the boys are getting on, but 5 of our company have been wounded. I hope to get some letters when I get over with the battalion. This place is on the coast & is all sandhills. We have a holiday this afternoon because we are going out tonight all night for manoeuvres. I got leave to go into town yesterday afternoon, but it is a very tame place. We get well treated here in the tucker line. Our parade ground is a 3 mile march from the camp, we drill in our steel helmets & carry our gas masks. I like here tip-top, we get treated far better and the O.C. doesn’t come round to see if we are clean shaven etc …
On 13 May the 38th Battalion relieved the 40th and moved up the line to support the 37th in trenches in front of Ploegsteert Wood, Belgium. On 22 May, as Albert arrived to take his place with his brothers, the battalion entered the front line. Six days later, on 28 May, members of the 38th were involved in a raid on the enemy line. It was on this night that Light Horseman Bert Wishart was to lose his brother Rex. Of the 221 men involved, 60 were killed or listed as missing, another 65 were wounded. Many of the casualties had been caught in their own artillery barrage.5
AUSTRALIA, MAY
A local friend, Myrtle Forsyth, wrote to George while she holidayed at Corryong. Her familiarity hints that perhaps George had more than one love interest prior to his departure. Nonetheless, Myrtle provides a glimpse into life at home as they waited for news from their loved ones at the front. George would not have received this letter until July or later. Myrtle would later pen a rather bemusing letter to Allan.
Willow Bank
Towong P.O.
Near Corryong
May 23rd 1917
Dear Tenny
I received your most interesting letter last mail and was very pleased indeed to hear from you, I had been looking for a letter and was beginning to think that my letters hadn’t interested you enough to answer them but of course your letter has reassured me in that respect. You have indeed seen numerous countries in your travels and I am glad to know that you think Australia equal to any of them. Yes Tenny there are many changes over here and things are not just what they used to be, but still compared to what the other countries are going through we are not so badly off, but oh the suspense of waiting for news of “one never knows what” is very depressing. You will see by the above address that I am still on holidays, I think I wrote you a short letter after I arrived here. I have been away for two months and intend returning home on 30th. I have enjoyed the change amongst the mountains very much and my friends have been most kind to me so that it would have been impossible for me to do anything else than enjoy my trip especially in such a pretty place. There are not many entertainments now to go to Tenny, in fact only patriotic ones, anyhow we don’t feel inclined for frivolities. I went to hear the “blind soldier poet” lecturing in Corryong I don’t remember if I wrote you since the lecture, or before, but the lecture was very interesting and it seemed such a pity for one so young and handsome as Signaller Tom Skeyhill to be blind for the rest of his life. He is touring the world lecturing and it is unusual for him to visit such a small township as Corryong but did so on account of it being such a splendid recruiting district. Fancy your three brothers being together in the trenches. Percy writes at times but he never said they were all together, the last letter I had from him he had just come out of isolation from the mumps, they are raging around here now, but I am hoping to escape them if for no other reason, because I have enough jaw of my own. So you see I am coming on since you seen me last, I see you still remember That Precious Dinner but you didn’t say how you come to remember it I daresay it was as I said “enough to make me feel hungry for ever” By the way how do you fare over there for meals one hears ever so many tales of the Menu some seem to fare far from well to say nothing of the mud and “company” in the trenches. Did I tell you in my last letter that I was taking lessons in riding since coming up here and I’m sure Tenny you missed a “sight” worth seeing by not being present to see me having my lessons, but I had hard work to convince them here that I had never been on horseback before so I couldn’t have been such an Awful Sight after all and I think I shall be risking my neck on some of our own horses, when I return home. I have been doing some hill climbing on horseback and waded through the creek a few times so I consider myself quite professional now. I had a letter from May last week, she is having a treat by way of driving the kiddies to Sth Calivil School and by all accounts they are not going to be successful in having the North Cal, one opened in a hurry. Wonder if you have any mice over in France they are working great havoc amongst the wheat stacks, when I left home they were something dreadful and one used to be afraid to go to sleep at night for fear of being eaten Do you believe that. They are not so plentiful here as this is a dairying district, but one plague at a time is enough and the fleas here are most annoying though until this year the folk here never knew what it was to be worried by them. I myself had never seen the creatures before and I am in no hurry to see them again either. I am looking forward very much to my return journey by car, I am leaving at 6 a.m. and am hoping it will be fine so as I can have the full benefit of the drive. It has been raining here this last fortnight and I am thinking that I may have a wet trip back. But until this last fortnight the weather has been ideal. Now Tenny I am sure I have tried your patience to its utmost so I will draw this to a close hoping this finds you still going strong, with plenty of luck.
With kind remembrances from Yours very sincerely
Myrtle Forsyth
TWELVE
GOD ONLY KNOWS HOW THE
THREE OF US GOT THROUGH …
THE WESTERN FRONT — MESSINES
The Spring Offensive had failed to achieve its objectives. The French army under Nivelle had begun to mutiny as Second Bullecourt raged on the Western Front. French casualties to the south along the Craonne Plateau were mounting, now around 120,000 men. With the failure of Nivelle’s planned breakthrough, he was replaced by General Petain whose task it was to rebuild the largely ineffective French forces. It took five weeks for successive mutinies to be controlled during which time, and for some weeks afterwards, the task of holding back the German forces fell to the British. General Haig, despite the opposition of British Prime Minister Lloyd George, now had the opportunity to im
plement his plan of 1916 to drive the Germans from their stronghold in the Belgian coastal ports of Ostende and Zeebrugge from which aggressive submarine assaults were launched. Prime Minister Lloyd George preferred an attack on the eastern Italian front where enemy forces were weaker. The British War Cabinet eventually approved Haig’s plan, despite the reluctance of the Prime Minister.
Haig’s strategy involved tactical ‘bite and hold’ offensives to wear down enemy defences and gradually drive the German forces from their strongholds. Limited objectives were set. Heavy artillery bombardments would precede a line of advancing infantry who would remain behind the protective curtain of their own artillery fire. Once an objective was gained, the artillery would move forward and the manoeuvre would be repeated. The strike was planned initially at the broken city of Ypres in Belgium. Enemy lines on the high ground to the east of the city at Polygon Wood, Broodseinde and Passchendaele would be breached, allowing Allied forces to strike to the rear of enemy forces, cutting off the German garrison positioned on the coastline. To achieve this objective the German front to the south of Ypres, along the high ground between Messines and Wytschaete, had first to be taken in an attack involving British, New Zealand and Australian forces under the careful planning of General Hubert Plumer whose responsibility it had been to hold the Ypres salient for the past two years. Plumer was a meticulous planner and knew the area well; he calculated carefully and his secret weapon was hidden deep beneath the German front-line trenches.1
The 3rd Division was well prepared for the offensive, with Lieutenant General John Monash ensuring that his men were highly trained and well equipped for what was to be, apart from the series of successful raids in the Armentieres sector, their first major test. This was a test the battle-weary soldiers of the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th divisions awaited with anticipation. The mettle of the new Australian division would be tested in its attack on the Messines-Wytschaete ridgeline.
The 3rd had been nicknamed ‘the neutrals’, a reference to the division’s late entry to the war, the length of its training and its occupation of the relatively quiet Armentieres sector. But these men were also the ‘fair dinkums’, men who had enlisted not so much with the spirit of adventure of earlier volunteers, but largely from a strong sense of duty. They had seen the casualty lists and the wounded and maimed soldiers who had returned to Australia. Under the command of the meticulous General Monash they had become disciplined fighters, but did not lack spirit. Outwardly they were also set apart as they wore their hats bashed flat by order of their commander — not necessarily a preference shared by his troops. Despite the fact that they were now considered an effective and experienced raiding team, the men knew that their next ‘stunt’ would prove their real worth. Well aware of what was to come, the brothers wrote home with anticipation and, in Allan’s case, of another moment when luck proved on his side.
In the field
1-6-17
My Dear Mum & Dad & Jim
Well dear mum I am writing again today I hope you are all well as it leaves us at present. I believe there is another Aust mail coming in. No one knows how delighted we are to get it. Well dear mum we are still in the trenches and I won’t be sorry when we get a bit of a rest. We have been in for a few weeks now without a blow. Things are very very lively here now. I have never seen anything like it before but it’s nothing to what it will be in a few weeks. There is one thing we are having bonnie weather and everything is looking lovely and green. Well dear mum & Dad I had a shell come through my dugout last night and it blew everything to pieces. I lost my shaving kit and a few more things what Uncle Arthur and Dolly sent me. I had just gone out of it so I consider myself very lucky. The only thing I got out of it was my revolver. I got a parcel from Uncle Arthur & Dolly Mahoney the other day they were tra bon I can tell you. Albert came along about 10 days ago and he looks splendid he has grown such a lot. Percy is a lucky fellow. He and a lot more chaps went away about 3 days ago. I can’t tell you where they are but they are out of the trenches to billyo. They will miss something that I won’t. I was glad some of us went away I cant tell you what they will miss but you will hear about [it] soon enough. Some more of the boys from about Mincha & Macorna got knocked over the other night …
As Allan described to his family how significantly Albert had grown in the 12 months since they had last been together, Albert was writing his own letter. While he had yet to experience the front-line trenches, he was acquainted with the frailty of existence behind the line as many of his mates had already been wounded.
In the field
June 1st
My Dear Mother & Father
… Well Mum, I have had a very good time since I have been here, as I haven’t been in the front line at present but my mates have been unlucky. Young Dabb was wounded two days after we got here and yesterday Duncan & Swainston were wounded also Alex Chisholm another of my mates. Harry Street had a narrow go the other night too. A fellow doesn’t need to go to the front line to get hit. All those that I mentioned were wounded behind the line. We are supposed to go out tonight for a spell. Fritz has been shelling the Y.M.C.A. canteens, so now we cannot get cigarettes, or anything else. Uncle Arthur sent me a parcel of cigarettes and socks last week. We get clean socks every day here, so we don’t need to carry any about with us. We are having glorious weather here it has been so ever since Ive been here. I have been busy lately writing letters. Auntie Etta writes every week, besides a number of others, so I have plenty of letters to answer. Well Mum, Mologa must be very quiet now the hall is closed. It’s a pity Joey could not be patriotic enough to let the Red + [Cross] have it for nothing. Percy is away at present, he went away in a reserve company, I suppose he will be away for a few weeks. He will miss something too. It is pretty lively here at present but nothing to what it will be. It is amusing to watch the chaps hunting for chats. I have managed to dodge them so far, but Al & Charlie caught a few the other day. Well dear Mum & Dad, it is a job to find news here. All the boys are well & Geordie is also. I hope you all are the same. I will write again when I go out so I will say ta-ta for the time, with love from your loving son
Albert
I am writing this on my knee so excuse the scrawl.
Stewart Dabb had been 20 years old when he sailed with Albert on the Port Lincoln. He was wounded on 27 May 1915 but recovered and joined the 38th Battalion in September 1916. He returned to Australia in February 1919.2
Alex Duncan from Kyneton had left the farm to enlist in October 1916 and appears in the photo postcard Albert sent home in March.3 He was shot in the back at Messines in the days leading up to the battle but survived his wounds to rejoin the battalion after Passchendaele in October 1917. He returned to Australia in August 1918. 4
Alexander Chisholm was born in Scotland but enlisted in Melbourne in October 1916 at the age of 31. He also sailed on the Port Lincoln with Albert. He recovered from wounds sustained on 1 June to return to the front on 20 October following the Battle of Passchendaele. Alexander had married in Scotland in April 1917 and it is unclear whether he returned to Australia. His records indicate that he left for Australia in 1919, but did not disembark. Perhaps he jumped ship to return to his new wife. He was later cleared of being absent without leave. 5
Gordon Swainston also sailed on the Port Lincoln and appears with Albert in the photo postcard sent home in March.6 An 18-year-old farmer from Green Hill near Kyneton, he was wounded four times. He sustained his first wound on 31 May 1917, returning to his unit two weeks later just after Albert wrote home with news of his wounding. At Passchendaele on 13 October 1917 he was shot in the leg and was not fit to return to duty until May 1918. Four months later, on 10 August, he was wounded again, but returned to the front after a week in hospital. On 8 September 1918 he was shot in the hand and classified as unfit for active duty. This remarkably resilient young man returned to Kyneton in January 1919. He was one of four brothers serving in the AIF.7
Percy wrote to his aunt to tell her that Albert had
arrived:
In the Field
June 2nd
Dear Auntie Florrie & All
… Albert has arrived here, he looks real well on it, I had a lot of letters for him. I received Uncle Arthur’s parcel, a few days ago and was very pleased to get it, the cigarettes were just the thing, I got one from Dolly Mahoney not long before that, so I was set, I gave Allan his cigarettes and socks. Well, it’s a lovely day, a pleasure to be out. It’s a bit lively here at times, they give Fritz all the shells he wants, when he starts. The place is nice and green now, and it looks quite a change from a few months ago. The French people, a few miles back from the line, have a lot of potatoes and beans in, they look real well, they are always working with them, women as well as men. We are out of the trenches now, after a good long run in them, I suppose we will be going back in a few days. Today is Sunday, and our dinner consists of rabbit, I do not know what way, but I suppose the same old tale, stew. Well, I suppose you have just about finished the cropping now, it does not seem no time since last cropping season. How are Grandfather and Grandmother keeping. I saw a paper today, first for about two weeks there was fairly good news in it. Well news is terrible scarce, so I will have to close.
With love to all
I remain your loving nephew
Percy
Charlie also wrote:
June 4th 1917
Dear Mother, Father & Jim,
… I got a letter from Geordie last week he was out for a spell and has been out for a fair while he seemed to be enjoying things by the way he wrote, he had met Tom Alford. I saw in the Anzac Bulletin where Tom had been wounded, but Geordie wrote since then and did not say anything about it, so it must have been a mistake, Amos Haw was not wounded badly and I don’t think Ewen Johnson was wounded badly. We are having grand weather over here now one would not know the place after the winter. I think it is the prettiest place I have ever seen the trees and hedges look grand every thing is so nice and green the crops of all kinds seem to grow very fast. I met Claude Piper the other day, he was up near the trenches he belongs to our division and enlisted in New South Wales there are two chaps that I know from Pine Grove Jim Hutching and Jasper. Percy has been picked out for a reserve or something of the sort at any rate not a bad job. I sent a parcel to Pearl last week I registered it so she ought to get it alright. I believe there is a chance of seeing Geordie shortly but only a chance. I would like to see him, Albert said he looked real well when he got to Salisbury Plains, he got his photo taken so I suppose he sent you one. I got a letter today from Flo Wilson I think I told you before that Flo’s father met with a very bad accident, but Flo said today he was getting on splendid and was out of bed I was sorry for him as he seems a very nice fellow. Auntie Edith’s little girl, her only girl, is very ill Ida said she thought it was meningitis and that there was not much hope for her she lost a little girl before with diptheria and Flo said today she was still very low …
ANZAC Sons Page 38
