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Title: History of the 11th Field Company Australian Engineers, Australian Imperial Force Author: Anonymous Release date: October 2, 2018 [eBook #58005] Language: English Credits: Produced by Carol Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from scans of public domain works at The National Library of Australia.) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE 11TH FIELD COMPANY AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERS, AUSTRALIAN IMPERIAL FORCE *** Produced by Carol Brown, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from scans of public domain works at The National Library of Australia.) HISTORY of the 11th FIELD COMPANY AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERS Australian Imperial Force LONDON: WAR NARRATIVES PUBLISHING COY., 11, Pilgrim Street, E.C. 4. 1919. DEDICATION To the Memory of Those Who Fell. PREFACE. This History of the doings of a Field Company of Australian Engineers, this little book about a little unit in the Great War, has been written of the Company, by the Company, for the Company. It lays no claim to interest the outsider, but does hope to provide a framework on which the old member of the unit can build up memories of his days in the field with the A.I.F. Memories both grave and gay; mention of a dugout at so-and-so may recall that the job cost the life of a mate; the name of a village may raise a smile at the recollection of some good jest so likely to be conceived when high-spirited men are gathered together. The framework is admittedly bare, and the tale might have been made much longer, but it is necessary to restrict the cost of printing in order that the intention may be realised, of distributing at the expense of regimental funds one copy to every man whose name appears on the muster roll. The unit records show the address of the next-of-kin in Australia of every man, and to this address a copy is to be posted. The same considerations of expense prevent the inclusion of maps, but it is hoped that almost every home in Australia will possess a map of the war zone in France, to which reference can be made. Bernapré, Somme, France. March, 1919. CONTENTS. PAGE. CHAPTER I. EARLY DAYS 7 ” II. MESSINES, YPRES, AND AFTER 15 ” III. THE DEFENCE OF AMIENS 21 ” IV. THE GREAT OFFENSIVE 36 APPENDIX I. ROLL OF HONOUR 48 ” II. “LINE” SERVICE 49 ” III. STRENGTH STATEMENT 50 ” IV. NUMBER OF PRISONERS 50 ” V. VARIOUS STATISTICS 51 ” VI. ANALYSIS OF OFFENCES 51 ” VII. ROLL OF HONOUR (AWARDS) 52 ” VIII. NOMINAL ROLL (continuous service, FRANCE) 53 ” IX. MUSTER ROLL 54 EXPLANATORY NOTE 75 HISTORY OF THE 11TH FIELD COMPANY AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERS. CHAPTER I. EARLY DAYS. 1. AUSTRALIA, ENGLAND, AND FRANCE. The Company was formed in Australia, Headquarters and Nos. 1 and 2 sections being raised in the Fourth Military District, and two sections in the First Military District. Selection of personnel commenced in the beginning of March, 1916, but Officers had previously been selected and trained at the Engineer Officers’ Training School, Sydney. The O.C. (Captain R. J. Donaldson), 2nd in command (Lieut. O. B. Williams), and a number of N.C.O.’s and men came from the 12th Field Company A.E., C.M.F., at Broken Hill; 2nd-Lieut. J. M. Norton from the 11th Field Coy., A.E., C.M.F. (Adelaide); while 2nd-Lieut. S. W. Matters came from South Australia, and 2nd-Lieuts. R. W. Lahey and H. St. A. Murray, from Queensland. The quotas were collected and trained separately, that from South Australia at Mitcham Camp, near Adelaide, and the Queensland sections at Enoggera, near Brisbane, until 29th April, 1916, when the Company concentrated at Mitcham. Work was then carried on with the full Company, at the same time stores and equipment were slowly collected. Horses were issued from the remount depôt, not for overseas service but for training purposes, but proved so wild as to give the drivers more practice in colt-breaking and riding buck jumpers than in the routine of military horse mastership and drill. The technical stores of a Field Company are very extensive, but by ransacking Adelaide warehouses to fill the gaps in the available army supplies, Ordnance succeeded in almost completing the equipment. Two tool carts came from 12th Field Company, C.M.F., at Broken Hill (afterwards re-numbered the 11th), and one from a Queensland Field Coy. The pontoons were made at Cockatoo Docks in New South Wales, but the Weldon trestles, bridging wagons, and water cart were not ready in time. The Sappers were issued with green leather infantry equipment, but this was afterwards changed in England for web. No rifles were issued until the unit reached England. Embarkation took place at Outer Harbour (Adelaide) on 31st May, 1916, on H.M.A.T. A 29, s.s. “Suevic,” in company with the 11th Field Ambulance (Lieut.-Col. Downey). After a rough trip round the Lleuwin the “Suevic” arrived at Fremantle on 6th June, 1916, and embarked the 44th Battalion (Lieut.-Col. Mansbridge, D.S.O., who became C.O. troops). Crossing the Indian Ocean the vessel sprung a small leak which necessitated calling at Durban for the services of a diver. The stay was only twenty-four hours (21st June, 1916), but the troops had a route march through the town. Cape Town was reached on 24th June, 1916, and left on 27th. As was expected the yellow flag was flown and no leave was granted, but the troops had a route march and a sports meeting. The next port of call was St. Vincent, reached on the 11th July, 1916. No one was allowed on shore. The run from here was through the submarine zone, and was attended with the usual discomforts. The pontoons of the Company first saw service being installed on the boat deck as emergency lifeboats. Finally, after a long voyage, during which there was a considerable amount of sickness and the death of one member of the unit, disembarkation took place on July 21st, 1916, at Plymouth. The unit entrained to Amesbury and marched to Camp 20, Lark Hill, Salisbury Plains, joining up with the 3rd Australian Division, then slowly concentrating. The Company was the first of the Divisional Engineers to arrive, and at once came under the orders of Lieut.-Col. H. O. Clogstoun, R.E., C.R.E., of the division. Before commencing training, the members of the unit received four days’ disembarkation leave, which was keenly enjoyed after the confinement and discomfort of the troopship. Work had barely started at Lark Hill before orders were received to proceed to Brightlingsea, in Essex, for pontoon training, in the Engineer depôt there. No camp being available, all ranks were billeted on the townspeople, and were the first Australians to visit the place. Some surprise was expressed at the lightness of complexion and English speech of the visitors, and both the military authorities and the townspeople were agreeably surprised to find that their lives and property were not appreciably jeopardised by the wild Colonial soldiery. The visit, originally intended to last only until efficiency had been reached in pontooning, was afterwards extended to include a full course of R.E. training, and some work on the East Coast defences, and it was not until two months had elapsed that the Company rejoined the Division at Lark Hill. The unit took part in two sports meetings at Brightlingsea. In the first it was beaten by a Highland Field Company, R.E., stationed in the town, and in the second carried off a silver cup in competition with the local Naval Forces and with the 10th Field Company, which had arrived for training. After the return to the division at Lark Hill, training in field works in conjunction with infantry was undertaken; the trench system at Bustard will always be remembered by the original members of the unit. A specially interesting exercise was a route march, under tactical conditions, lasting five days, from Lark Hill, through Chitterne, Westbury, Devizes, Pusey, and back to camp. Another interesting experience was a fifteen-mile route march of the whole division with full transport. On another occasion, officers and senior N.C.O.’s took part in a divisional tactical exercise, which was memorable chiefly for the coldness of the wind, which preluded a fall of snow――the first many members of the Company had seen. Equipment was completed in every respect at Lark Hill, and horses and mules “taken on strength.” On the 24th November, 1916, after three months in England, the unit left for France with the 3rd Division, going by train to Southampton, and embarking there on the B.I., s.s. “Nirvana,” which reached Le Havre next morning. In pouring rain the company marched to the wretched Docks “Rest” Camp and distributed itself among sodden tents, thoroughly wet and uncomfortable. The field rations were first encountered in this camp, and the Sappers often laughed afterwards at memories of their eager search for pork in the first tins of pork and beans. The march to the railway station on the evening of the 26th was interrupted by numerous long and exasperating delays; the entraining arrangements were bad, and the journey by train very cold, and so much longer than was anticipated, that food supplies left much to be desired. It was not until noon on the 28th that Bailleul was reached. From there the unit proceeded at once to billets at Bleu near Vieux Berquin, the transport by route march, and the Sappers in grey-painted disreputable London ’buses. The exposure and discomfort involved in these first adventures in France――which contrasted so strongly with the expeditious and altogether excellent arrangements on the other side of the Channel――resulted in a good deal of illhealth in the unit, and when on the 30th a move was made to Steenwerck, where Divisional Headquarters had been established, a number of men were suffering from bronchitis and similar troubles. On the 3rd December, Company Headquarters and Nos. 3 and 4 sections moved into Armentières, and billeted in the tram sheds at L’Attargette, but Nos. 1 and 2 remained with the transport in the Steenwerck area, and were kept busy on hutments and stables for the division for some little time longer. 2. ARMENTIÈRES. When the 3rd Australian Division first went into the line east of Armentières, the 9th Brigade took over the right or L’Epinette sector astride the Lille railway, while the 10th Brigade was on the left or Houplines sector. The 11th Brigade was in reserve, and with it the 11th Field Company, which took over from the New Zealand Engineers of “Franks Force” the care of the Lys River bridges and also various jobs for the artillery covering the divisional front. The billets in the town were a great improvement on the dilapidated, damp, and entirely filthy hutments taken over by the division around Steenwerck. The mud around the stables and horse standings in the area was quite appalling, and the transport had no relief until the famous frost of the winter ’16-17 descended on the land and made all clean and dry for a time. The tramway sheds at L’Attargette, on the northern outskirts of the town, contained a number of cars, which were fitted up by the men of 3 and 4 sections as cubicles. Headquarters was established in the tramway offices, and when Nos. 1 and 2 sections joined up some two or three weeks later they found quite good quarters in the neighbouring Rue de Flandres. All the existing bridges over the river Lys around Armentières and Houplines had been prepared for demolition, but charges, fittings, and magazines all required a great deal of work. A number of emergency floating bridges――both pontoon and barrel pier――also required attention and repairs. To facilitate bridge inspection No. 4 section built a rowing boat. Another little job was the construction from salvaged material of a spring cart, which accompanied the unit in all its subsequent wanderings, and was always known as the Souvenir Cart. Work for the artillery consisted in the construction of O.P.’s and of gunpits among the ruins of Houplines and the outskirts of the town. Lieut. R. W. Lahey was wounded in the head by shrapnel while on this work and evacuated, but returned to the unit shortly afterwards. The 11th Brigade relieved the 9th Brigade on the 24th December, and at the same time the 11th Field Company took over from the 9th, after spending several days in acquiring knowledge of the trenches. Nos. 1 and 2 sections had previously moved to Armentières. Very vigorous work on trench improvements was at once commenced and an extraordinary amount accomplished. In spite of the unfavourable weather large numbers of dugouts for the accommodation of the garrisons were built, new communication trenches dug, barbed wire put up, and the drainage of the trench system greatly improved. Material was used in vast quantities――sandbags literally by the million, “A” frames, revetting material, duckboards, steel trench shelters, corrugated iron. All this had to be carted to the forward dumps, “Tissage Dump,” at Houplines, and “Fochaber,” near Chapelle d’Armentières, and night after night, for nearly three months, every available vehicle of the Company transport made at least one journey, without incurring a single casualty to man or beast. The first member of the unit to lose his life in action was Sapper Dahl, of No. 3 section, killed by a shell in the support line on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day was spent the same as any other day of the period, hard at work in the line. Shortly afterwards the frosty weather commenced, which was to make this winter the coldest known for many years. The Lys river froze over so completely that it could be crossed by troops in fours and by horses and wagons; the soil was frozen as hard as iron to such a depth as to almost preclude any digging; and the very breath congealed upon the faces of those who wore moustaches. Still the work went on, albeit more slowly, and the weather at least gave No. 2, the drainage section, some respite from their labours. The clothing issued by Ordnance helped all ranks to withstand the unaccustomed rigours of such a climate. Warm underclothing, extra socks, worsted gloves, and fingerless gloves of sheepskin were all appreciated, but the most useful “issue” was a sleeveless jerkin of leather, lined with flannel or something of the sort and worn over the tunic. This garment was extremely popular, as it kept the body warm, shed rain or snow, and did not interfere with the use of the arms. The active service rations, too, were much better than the unit had been accustomed to in England. The only serious shortage was that of fuel, but of course in a shell-torn country-side there were ways and means of improving the supply. At this time Armentières sheltered quite a large civilian population; Estaminets, cafés, and shops were numerous; and it was very strange to see the business of the town carried on so calmly within easy range of the enemy’s guns. It was quite the usual thing to have a cup of afternoon tea or a glass of beer in a café on return from the line, or to buy the daily papers (including an occasional “La Vie Parisienne”) at the little shop at the Five Corners. The proceedings in the trenches themselves were characterised by a certain amount of regularity. The hour of our daily artillery and trench mortar “strafe” was advertised beforehand to all concerned, except (we hoped) the Boche, and the garrison and working parties were largely cleared in time from the front line and tucked away in some spot sheltered from the enemy retaliation. The numerous raids by both sides were the chief cause of casualties, and the occasional intense Minenwerfer barrages put down by the enemy did a lot of damage to our trenches, besides causing loss of life. The “trenches” were really in most places breastworks built up above the level of the flat and ill-drained country, and were very susceptible to damage from shell fire, and required much labour to repair. The whole system of defence works in the Brigade area was carefully surveyed by the Company Surveyors, and a remarkable map produced, to a scale of 1 to 2,500. While engaged on this work one of the surveyors was arrested by some suspicious infantrymen and his section sergeant had some trouble in persuading them that they had not caught a spy at last. Spy hunting was very popular, as it was firmly believed that whoever caught a real one would receive a sum of money and be granted a fortnight’s leave! 3. MESSINES PREPARATIONS. The Company left Armentières (which was, however, still held by the 3rd Division) on March 14th, when it crossed the river and commenced working in the Le Touquet sector, the defence of which was taken over at the same time by the 11th Brigade. The whole company, including transport, concentrated in Stuff Camp, Pont de Nieppe, which was taken over from the New Zealand Engineers. The Le Touquet sector was chiefly distinguished by drainage difficulties, and time did not permit of much improvement being effected, as on the 5th April the area including Plœgsteert Wood and St. Ives Hill was taken over and work started on preparation for the attack on Messines Ridge――the so-called “Magnum Opus.” The 105th Field Coy., R.E., took charge of the Le Touquet area on the 7th, leaving the 11th Coy. free to devote all its time to Messines preparations. These included a big programme of trench improvements and extensions and Battalion Headquarters for the various attacking battalions, well forward in our existing trenches. The Battalion Headquarters were made of concrete, chiefly in the form of blocks and steel girders and rails. The block construction was not very successful. As the 9th and 10th were to be the attacking Brigades, and the 9th & 10th Companies to be associated with them, these two Field Companies took over all these works from the 11th Field Company about 26th April, leaving the 11th free to devote itself to such work as the preparation of approach routes up to and through Plœgsteert Wood, signboards and fixed maps throughout the area, and further accommodation for various headquarters and command posts. Two sections―1 and 4―were taken up with artillery work――preparing the positions for the field artillery to be used in the attack; acres of camouflage screen were erected over battery positions, scores of splinter-proof shelters made for the gun crews, gun pits dug out and protected, and tram lines laid. A very strong dugout for use as a Divisional Command Post was made in the cellars of the lodge on the road from Hyde Park Corner to Messines, and a great deal of work was done fixing up the “Catacombs.” This was a very large dugout in Hill 63, dug some time before by the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company. It was big enough to hold some 1,400 men, but had been allowed to become rather dilapidated. It was cleaned out and improved in various ways so as to accommodate a Brigade Headquarters, Battalion Headquarters, and a battalion complete, together with a few stray detachments. The “fixed maps” already mentioned consisted of small maps, done in waterproof ink on linen and varnished on to boards, erected in correct orientation at trench intersections, road and track junctions, and all such places throughout the divisional area. They proved of great use, particularly to the numerous strangers which the approaching battle brought into the area. Another job of the Company Surveyors was a relief map or model of the battle area. This was carved out of wood to a scale of 1.2500 horizontal and 1.400 vertical, and shewed everything known of the enemy’s lines in great detail. It was used throughout the battle by the 11th A.I. Brigade in their headquarters in the Catacombs, and was subsequently sent to Australia. Dumps of Engineer stores for use during and after the battle were gradually built up in various forward positions, particularly in the north-east part of Plœgsteert Wood. One of these dumps in the wood was shelled one day and a sapper of the company, a tough old veteran of the South African Campaign, was hit in the leg by a splinter. He started to hobble down the duckboards towards an aid post, but after proceeding a hundred yards or so his indignation overcame him, and returning to the dump, he demanded his rifle in a voice choked with anger, saying, “I’ll make the ―― pay for this!” It was with some difficulty that the old warrior was smoothed down and started afresh for the aid post. Lieut. W. H. Thomas was in charge of the dumps during both the preparations and the battle itself, and he and his party of sappers and attached infantry had a bad time from gas, which was used in shells very largely by the enemy at this time, Plœgsteert Wood, in particular, being drenched with it immediately before and during the attack. For his work during the period, Lieut. Thomas subsequently received the Military Cross, but was evacuated suffering from gas shortly after the action. The increasing rain of shells of all calibre which was poured on the enemy defences in preparation for the battle, provoked heavy shelling in reply, particularly counter battery work, and while Messines village could be noticed visibly dwindling under the fire of our heavies, many farmhouses on our side of the line, which had hitherto escaped, were battered to pieces. Plœgsteert Wood, with its clean duckboard tracks and rustic cabins, was no longer a suitable spot to study the phenomena of spring. The scent of the violet became lost in the odour of lachrymatory gas, and the note of the cuckoo, while still to be heard, alternated with the whistle and the crash of shells. Pont de Nieppe and its vicinity were shelled on two or three occasions, and on June 6th, the day before the battle, the company lost four men killed and three wounded in Stuff Camp itself. Some little time before this the enemy had fired a few shells at the bridge itself, the Pont de Nieppe, on the main road into Armentières, and had succeeded in putting one shell through what appeared to be the crown of the arch. In reality, the arch had no proper crown, the central 23 feet or so of the span being bridged across by girders connected with brick jack arches. From underneath these girders looked like, and had always been taken for, steel, but the shell, which broke three of them, disclosed the interesting fact that they were only of cast iron. While just strong enough to take 3-ton motor lorries, there was certainly not sufficient margin of safety for heavier loads. The damage was repaired and the bridge incidentally strengthened by a party of sappers from the company, who stripped the damaged portion and replaced the broken cast iron beams with steel girders. These had to be slowly and painfully shaped by hand to fit exactly to the cast iron seating at each end. Part of the medical arrangements were carried out by the 11th Company, who built an R.A.P. near Hyde Park Corner and some extensions to other posts and dressing stations. Early in June the elaborate preparations were at last complete, and Z day was fixed for the 7th of the month. The 3rd Australian Division had reached the eve of its first large scale offensive. CHAPTER II. MESSINES, YPRES, AND AFTER. 1. THE BATTLE OF MESSINES. The 11th Field Company was reserve company in the first stage of the attack on Messines Ridge, and very early in the morning of the 7th of June, 1917, marched from Pont de Nieppe to Weka Lines, in the little village of Romarin, on the road to Plœgsteert village. With the company moved a party of attached infantry from the 9th Brigade, which had reported to Stuff Camp some days previously. The morning was still and warm and there was a good deal of gas about the battery areas, so that part of the march was done in gas masks, and until the sun rose all ranks solemnly sat around the camp wearing them. The attack opened at dawn, but the company saw little of the actual progress of events until the 9th, when the unit moved into Bunhill Row, in Plœgsteert Wood, and relieved the 10th Field Company, A.E. The company bivouac was shelled and gassed heavily all the first night, casualties being three killed and four wounded. Work was started immediately in the battle area north of the River Douve, and every effort was made to improve the communications through the “Crater Fields” in order to facilitate the advance of the 11th A.I.Bde., which had relieved the 10th A.I.Bde. in this area, and experienced hard fighting in advancing to the “Green Line,” and afterwards holding it. Enemy shelling was heavy, but the unit was fortunate enough to escape with very light casualties. During one heavy burst of shelling, two sections of the company sheltered in the same trench as a company of infantry; the infantry suffered 23 casualties, while the sappers escaped unhurt. A special feature of the arrangements for the attack was the organisation of a divisional pack train for the transport of ammunition, food, water, and R.E. stores to the newly-captured areas. The company contributed a considerable number of drivers and mules under Lieut. J. M. Norton, to this train. Pack mules were very successfully used independently by the company a little later for transport to forward jobs. Driver A. A. Paget received the M.M. for good work with the pack train, while 2nd Corpl. C. C. Jones and Lance-Corpl. W. W. Evans were similarly rewarded for devotion to duty with the sappers. On 12th June the company moved to La Boudrelle, south of Steenwerck, a most delightful place after the battle area, but on the 15th started work on the so-called Black Line, south of the River Douve, in the vicinity of Grey Farm. On the 20th this work was handed over to the New Zealand Engineers, and the company marched on the 21st to Neuve Eglise (camp at Stampkotmolen). On the 23rd, the Messines sector was taken over from the 25th Division and the company started work with the 11th A.I. Brigade, which was holding the forward system on the whole divisional front from the River Douve to the Blaupoortbeek. A very strenuous time ensued until July 11th, the infantry of the Brigade carrying out a vigorous policy involving pushing the lines forward and an enormous amount of digging, under bad weather conditions, and consistently heavy enemy artillery fire. The sappers, in addition to marking out much of the new trench system and working in the trenches themselves, sank several wells, repaired concrete dugouts, and improvised new shelters, erected signboards, and made reconnaissances and maps. Ferme de la Croix and Pine Avenue, Steignast Farm and Gapaard, will always be remembered in connection with this period, “the 19 days.” After relief by the 9th Field Company, the company had a few days training at Neuve Eglise, and then marched to La Boudrelle for pontooning on the Lys. While at La Boudrelle a very successful sports meeting was held. The unit then returned to Neuve Eglise and took part in the Windmill battle of July 31st. The preparations for this will be remembered as a rush job at the eleventh hour. It was about this time that night bombing by enemy aircraft first became troublesome. La Boudrelle was visited for the third time on the 15th, the division being in support, and work was started roofing in the big ammunition dump at La Creche, but before the task could be completed, the unit moved with the division to 2nd Army Training Area, south-west of St. Omer. Divisional Headquarters was established at Fauquembergues, and the 11th Field Company in the little village of Recquebrœucq on the River Aa. 2. A SHARE IN THE 3RD BATTLE OF YPRES. The visit to the training area was for the purpose of resting, training, and re-fitting, in preparation for more strenuous days to come; and lasted until September 25th. This was a very delightful period, the accommodation for all ranks being good, the country people very kindly, and the weather favourable. Opportunities for training were also good, and the unit was in a very good state when it started marching northward with the division on September 25th, to take part in the Third Battle of Ypres. Before leaving the training area the company attended two noteworthy parades, one on the 19th September, when the Divisional Engineers assembled with full transport, and carried out evolutions under the C.R.E., and another on the 22nd, when the whole of the 3rd Division, less artillery and transport, was inspected by the Commander-in-Chief, F.-M. Sir Douglas Haig. The march northwards with the 11th A.I. Brigade Group was viâ Blaringhem, Eecke and Poperinghe, to Ypres, which was reached on the 30th September. The company took over from the 529th Field Company, R.E. (3rd British Division) and billeted in cellars and shelters among the ruins just south of the prison. The horse lines were at Brandhoek, with, later, an advanced camp east of Ypres. The night of the harvest moon at Poperinghe will always be remembered for a remarkable display of bombing by enemy aeroplanes. Uncomfortable as the situation was for troops crowded in tents, some amusement was to be derived from the efforts of certain machine guns, which, chattering hysterically whenever a Boche ’plane was caught in the beam of a searchlight, threw streams of tracer bullets at a target some thousands of yards out of range. No doubt it relieved the gunners’ feelings. The great British offensive in the Ypres salient, to which the capture of the Messines ridge had been a prelude, had opened on July 31st, when the 3rd Australian Division captured “The Windmill” on the extreme south flank of the battle. After some pauses and delays, it was now, in the late autumn of 1917, in full swing. A constant succession of heavy, but comparatively shallow pushes, it might almost be called the Battle of the Roads, so much did the impetus of the attack depend on the use of the highways converging on the ruined town, and so enormous and impressive was the congestion of road traffic. The great road from Poperinghe to Ypres was covered day and night with streams of everything on wheels or feet which went to make or help an army, all dribbling in clouds of dust and profanity through the bottle-neck at Vlamertinghe. On the enemy side of Ypres the road best known to the 3rd Division was that which led to Zonnebeke. Here the congestion of traffic was complicated by the insistent attentions of the enemy artillery, which periodically pitted the route with shell holes and left the roadside littered with dead horses and broken vehicles, and sometimes with more dreadful wreckage. Besides the limbers taking ammunition to the nearer guns, ration limbers and wagons laden with Engineer stores, the forward road was thronged with pack animals, which in hundreds carried ammunition to the less accessible batteries. On the outward journey they were led by dogged men on foot; returning light with the men in the saddle, the cavalcade stood not upon the order of its going, and no matter the rank of the pedestrian, he unhesitatingly gave it the road. Particularly after the rain came was the road past Mill Cot to Kink Dump, Devils Crossing, and Zonnebeke, a place of evil memory. For three weeks the company, working from Ypres, was continuously employed in the battle area in the divisional sector north of the Zonnebeke Railway. The 3rd Australian Division delivered a very successful attack on October 4th, when the Broodseinde Ridge was captured. When it was relieved by the 66th Division, the company remained in the area working with this division until after its attack of October 9th. The 3rd Division then returned to the line and advanced again on October 12th. Early in the month the weather broke and torrents of rain converted the shell-torn earth into a dreadful quagmire. Tracks across the wilderness of mud and shell holes had to be reconnoitred, marked out and duckboarded wherever possible; roads patched up to carry the guns. The tracks were all marked by distinctive letters or names; two well-remembered ones were Jack and Jill. Strange materials were used for road making; the dead body of a mule or two might be seen tumbled into a shell hole and covered with the smashed up remains of some vehicle. Piles of shells were known to be used in emergency to hurriedly fill a hole in some urgently required roadway. Causeways were built for mules and men across the bog which marked the original course of the Zonnebeke stream, and many concrete dugouts repaired and made habitable. On all these arduous tasks the company was engaged and suffered a steady drain of casualties. Under these conditions the possession of ample comforts funds, supplied chiefly by friends in Australia, contributed considerably to the comfort and efficiency of the unit, as it rendered possible the supply of hot drinks and food at all hours to the different parties, and of emergency chocolate rations to parties on exposed work. Worthy of special note during this period was the work done by Lieut. J. M. Norton and a small party of surveyors in laying down an elaborate system of jumping-off tapes for the attack of October 4th, and a similar task carried out by Lieut. S. W. Matters previous to the attack of October 9th. On the 4th, Lieut. H. St. A. Murray and a party of sappers and attached infantry (the 11th A.T. Brigade had supplied a permanent working party of three officers and 100 other ranks who lived and worked with the company) pushed forward on the top of the Broodseinde Ridge immediately behind the attacking infantry, and dug and wired a number of strong points. The transport, both pack and wheeled, carried out very difficult and dangerous tasks under Captain O. B. Williams and Lieut. W. H. Thomas, M.C., and the work of the surveyors was also particularly arduous and valuable. Lieut. H. St. A. Murray received the Military Cross, 2nd Corpl. C. P. Atkins the Meritorious Service Medal, and 2nd Corpl. A. M. Stewart, 2nd Corpl. J. J. Mace, Lance-Corpl. W. G. Toft, Driver A. H. Furniss, and Sapper F. G. Bugden, the Military Medal. 3. REVISITING OLD HAUNTS. On being relieved in Ypres by the 12th Canadian Field Company Engineers, the company moved on the 22nd of October back to Recquebrœucq (dismounted by train, transport by road), and rested and re-fitted until 12th November, 1917, when the division once more went into the line, in Flanders, re-visiting one of its old haunts in the Le Touquet――Pont Rouge and Warneton sectors, taking over from the 8th British Division. The 11th Field Company A.E. was placed in reserve, took over a camp near Wulverghem (28 T.10.a.5, 9), and commenced work on pipe burying, artillery positions, drainage, and the like. Regular winter warfare conditions commenced, and much useful work was effected. While the company was in Wulverghem Camp (which by the way, the sappers scornfully christened “Gutza Camp,” from its forlorn appearance, but which proved not so uncomfortable) several daylight bombing raids by enemy aeroplanes in force took place, and on one occasion the company suffered the loss of Corpl. Gray, killed, and C.-S.-M. Brander seriously wounded. After a month in the line, the division was relieved by the 2nd Australian Division, and went into Corps reserve, with headquarters at Meteren, and the 11th Field Company, A.E., moved into Mahutonga Camp, on Waterloo Road, near Neuve Eglise. A programme of training was commenced, but most of the available strength was soon absorbed on various back areas works, and finally the division somewhat unexpectedly took over the Armentières sector from the 38th (Welsh) Division. This unit went into the line with the 11th A.I. Brigade on the right, and billeted in the big jute factory near the emergency bridge over the Lys, on the outskirts of Armentières. As usual, there was no lack of work for the sappers. The trench system required a great deal of development, particularly with a view to a step by step defence in depth, and a number of dugout jobs were taken over from the 38th Division. Lys river bridges again came under the company’s care, but on a stretch of the river a little south of the crossings familiar during the previous winter. Charges had to be overhauled, leads repaired and tested, magazines rebuilt. The billets were comfortable, but, as usual, throughout the cold weather, the fuel supply was a “burning” problem. In the jute factory it was not incapable of solution, as alongside the boiler house there were a large number of coal heaps. These were watched over by the factory caretaker and liberally placarded with notices, “Not to be touched,” but if each sapper in a section moving from cookhouse to billets casually picked up a lump of coal, the section stove need never go cold. A holiday from the line work was granted on Christmas Day, and full advantage was taken of it for seasonable feasting. The officers and sergeants, who attended first their section dinners, and afterwards the meals in their own messes, had rather a trying day. The town of Armentières was much changed since the previous visit. With the exception of a few caretakers, all the inhabitants had gone, and dreadful tales were told of their experiences when the Boche shelled the place heavily with high explosive and gas about the time of the Messines Battle. The stay in this sector was quite short, the 57th Division (British) relieving the 3rd Australian Division on 3rd January, 1918, the 11th Field Company, A.E., returning to Mahutonga Camp. The next move was into the Le Touquet――Pont Rouge sector with the 11th A.I. Brigade, the 11th Field Co., A.E., taking over from the 5th Field Coy., A.E., 2nd Australian Division, on 31st January, 1918. With the help of a permanent working party from the 11th A.I. Bde., great progress was made in improving the drainage and the whole system of defences of the area. The Company lived very comfortably in the familiar Weka Lines at Romarin, with the transport in the same camp. The wagons had a busy time on this sector and delivered large amounts of material to the dumps at Motor Car Corner and Le Gheer. The old German system of trenches west of the river, which had sheltered the enemy during the Company’s tenancy of this sector the previous spring, were now occupied by us and were very little damaged, having been quietly evacuated by the Boche after Messines. It was very interesting to study his methods, and the concrete dugouts in particular were a monument to his industry. In less then 3,000 yards of line, in the front and support trenches alone――i.e., in a strip of country not more then 300 yards deep――there were found over 70 concrete dugouts and shelters. Many were small, but the smallest involved a great deal of labour in this exposed and water-logged region. The 3rd Australian Division was now due for its turn in the training area and was relieved by the 2nd Australian Division on March 3rd. The 5th Field Company took over Weka Lines and the sector from the 11th, which moved by train and road for dismounted personnel and transport respectively, to Bainghem-le-Comte, about 14 miles from Boulogne. CHAPTER III. THE DEFENCE OF AMIENS. “Every position should be strengthened as far as time admits with the object of reducing the number of men required to hold it, and of thereby adding to the strength of the general reserve.” _Field Service Regulations._ 1. THE MOVE. The month of March, 1918, found the 3rd Australian Division enjoying a well-earned rest in billets between St. Omer and Boulogne. Every division considers its every rest well earned, but after the long winter in the line on the Belgian border with even its turn in reserve broken by an excursion to the old trenches south of Armentières, the 3rd had settled down with a particularly comfortable feeling of conscious rectitude. The 11th Field Company had reached its obscure little village of Bainghem-le-Comte on March 6th, and by the middle of the month was comfortable, judging comfort by the standard of soldiers in the field, to whom a rude bunk of saplings in a reasonably weatherproof barn, with a tin can stove, represent the best which can be hoped for. Spring came early; on southward hillsides the sun shone warm at noon, and not even a bomb disturbed either work or play. Then came the German offensive, of which the first hint was the ugly throbbing of distant heavy gunfire. At short notice the division commenced to move, and the dismounted portion of the company entrained on the 22nd at Lottingen and Desvres, while the transport under Lieut. Rutledge took to the road. In the strenuous pilgrimage of the next few days, the first stage was towards the north; detraining at Caestre (north of Hazebrouck) the company marched to Eecke (night of 22nd-23rd). Then on the 24th the direction was reversed, and by march and motor ’bus it moved to Wardrecques, east of St. Omer. Meanwhile the transport had moved to Esquerdes, and thence to Renescure, and on the 24th rejoined the company, and the whole proceeded to a thorough overhaul of all stores and equipment, and the rigorous discarding of all non-essentials. The news from the battle area in the south came through in brief outline in rare newspapers and much more vividly by word of mouth, in startling rumours; but all of it was serious. Nevertheless the general feeling was one of relief, almost of elation; the long-talked enemy blow had fallen and we were to help the counter-stroke which all were convinced must sooner or later be delivered. The war-like activity in all this familiar region behind the Flanders front was sufficiently exhilarating in itself. In addition to the 3rd Australian, the New Zealand and the 4th Australian Divisions were on the move. Battalions marched and counter-marched across the country with bands playing in the thin sunshine, and the pavé roads literally swayed under the torrent of motor lorries and ’buses. Such animation in the war country is always accompanied by one or other of the twin banes of the foot soldier, mud or dust; on this occasion cold clouds of the latter added to the joys of “full marching order with blankets.” Very early in the cold and frosty morning of the 26th the company moved again, all tuned up in readiness for that open warfare which we were expected to experience. As throughout the whole move it came under the orders of the 11th Brigade Group, and was commanded by Capt. O. B. Williams, the O.C., Major R. J. Donaldson being acting C.R.E. After something more than the usual delays, entrainment took place at Arques, including transport, about three p.m. Detrainment was at Doullens, and took place at 12.30 next morning, after several hours in the train waiting just outside the station, while Boche planes energetically bombed the neighbourhood. From Doullens the company marched at once some six miles to Thievres, where the sappers were picked up by motor ’buses and taken to Franvillers, between Amiens and Albert, debussing at 7 a.m. The long wait at Arques, and again at Doullens, the toilsome march to Thievres, and the bitterly cold ’bus ride (for the morning of March 27th deserves to be remembered for its searching wind alone), all combined with the absence of hot food and drink to make the journey one of the most arduous in the history of the unit. But the scenes on the road that bleak March morning were enough to stir the thinnest blood. The pitiful flight of a civilian population before an advancing enemy has often been described; it is enough to say that to all ranks first came a full understanding of war and a common anger against the enemy. Also there came no little pride of country, so extreme was the relief with which the people welcomed the arrival of “les Australiens.” A halt at Franvillers allowed of the preparation of welcome food, and even more welcome hot drink. Meanwhile, the transport, after a cold and foodless all night march, arrived and established itself in a little wood west of the village. Early in the afternoon Company Headquarters and 1, 3, and 4 sections moved on again a short distance to Heilly, on the river Ancre, and chose billets among the deserted houses. The 3rd Australian Division had now arrived in the Somme country and there was much satisfaction in the knowledge. Just as in Australia no miner can claim to have travelled unless he has been to Moonta, so no good Australian knew anything of war until he had been “on the Somme.” The sapper’s eye saw other causes for satisfaction; the steep dry banks invited the dugout builder, and the streams wanting bridges, and the bridges wanting demolition charges, spoke of real engineering work to be done. The Officers of the Company at this time were as follows:―Major R. J. Donaldson was in command, but for a few days more (until March 31st) was acting C.R.E. vice Lieut.-Col. T. R. Williams, D.S.O., on leave. Capt. O. B. Williams was second in command. Capt. G. L. A. Thirkell had charge of No. 1 section, Lt. S. W. Matters No. 2, Lt. W. H. Thomas, M.C., No. 3, while Lt. R. W. Lahey was painfully hurrying from leave in the South of France to resume command of No. 4. Lt. R. G. Rutledge was in charge of the transport. The company was at full strength and still had nearly one half of its original members. G. Brodie was C.S.M., H. G. Whitrow (who held the position throughout the whole history of the unit) C.Q.M.S. (somewhat irreverently known as the Quarter-Bloke); and W. Russel, mounted Sergeant. 2. BETWEEN THE SOMME AND ANCRE. On its arrival in front of Amiens, on the 27th March, 1918, the 3rd Australian Division was ordered to hold a line running from Sailly-le-Sec on the Somme to Mericourt l’Abbé on the Ancre, to prevent the enemy advancing along the high ridge which lies between the two rivers and runs down to the town of Corbie at their confluence. This ridge commands a wide view to the westward, the cathedral at Amiens being clearly visible. The situation was obscure, but the proximity of the enemy was indicated by his intermittent shelling of the road from Franvillers to Heilly with high velocity guns. Straight from their fatiguing journey the troops took up their positions, the 11th A.I. Brigade on the right of the main Bray road; and early in the evening working parties of the 11th Field Company moved out from Heilly and commenced trench digging. The task ahead was enormous. A new defensive system had to be established, and there were no R.E. dumps of tools and material, very few maps available, very little information of any kind. Reconnaissance for tools and material, of bridges and streams and water supply, was thus of the highest importance, and was put in hand early. Other work, more important than trench digging, soon developed for the sappers. The map will show how important in this sector were the river-crossings, and accommodation for various commands was urgently required. The bridges in Corbie, La Neuville, and Bonnay had been roughly prepared for demolition, chiefly by the 173rd Tunnelling Coy., R.E., and the 1st Field Squadron, R.E., but a great deal of work was called for, both to ensure certainty and completion of destruction in case of necessity, and reasonable safety under normal conditions. This work was put in hand, No. 2 section first moving to Bonnay and starting it, the remainder of the company also proceeding there for convenience of control on the evening of the 29th. On the 30th, No. 3 section moved to Corbie and took over the Corbie, La Neuville group of bridges. It was on this day that the enemy attacked our line from the direction of Sailly Laurette, but was beaten off with heavy loss. While the attack was on Capt. O. B. Williams with a small party was engaged in an examination of the steel bridge over the Somme at Bouzencourt, near Sailly-le-Sec. The vicinity of the bridge came under heavy shell fire, and as the party approached it one shell hit and detonated a demolition charge which was on the bridge, blowing down the towers of the lifting span, but not destroying the bridge. For his work in connection with this reconnaissance Corpl. Johns received the Military Medal. Under the conditions of modern warfare, reasonably secure accommodation for the Headquarters of Brigades and Battalions is of great importance, and in particular these centres required to be able to maintain their signal connections and carry on their work at night without exposed lights to attract enemy aircraft. In the chalk country deep dugouts provide the best accommodation, and the company was soon busy on a number of these, in “Shrapnel Gully,” in the banks south of Marrett Wood, at 11th Brigade Headquarters, in the wood near the gravel pits north of Corbie, and in a number of other spots. At first the lack of suitable material, and to some extent the inexperience of the men at this work, were handicaps, but they were neutralised by sheer hard work. Before the programme could be more than started, another aspect of the bridge question demanded attention. The available crossings over the Ancre were few and well known, and would certainly be heavily shelled in the event of a Boche attack. To ensure the supply of ammunition to the guns east of the river, emergency crossings were obviously needed, and were reconnoitred and put in hand. A crossing north of Bonnay, with two trestle bridges over the main streams of the Ancre, a number of culverts, and a long length of rough corduroy, was started by the 11th Field Company on April 3rd and finished on the 5th. On the evening of the 5th a sudden demand was made for a crossing south of Bonnay. All ordinary working parties were already employed, but a hasty gathering up was made of all batmen, cooks, a few spare drivers, the O.C.’s groom, and so on, and with this party, Lt. Matters threw a three-bay pontoon bridge and a two-bay Weldon trestle bridge across the two main streams, in pitch darkness. The bridges were in use by midnight, and the men concerned were more than a little proud to be the first to put the company’s bridging gear to real use. Meanwhile the enemy had pressed forward on the south side of the Somme, and was reported to be very close to the steel bridge at Bouzencourt already mentioned. It was decided that the bridge should be destroyed and this was done early in the morning of the 6th by a party from No. 1 section, under Capt. Thirkell and Sergt. Oliver, assisted by C.S.M. Brodie. The main span of the bridge was cut and dropped into the canal. Sergt. Oliver received the Military Medal. Sketches of this bridge and of the bridges over the Ancre, of panoramas from O.P.’s, and other features of interest, were made by Spr. Vasco, of the unit, well known as a caricaturist, and were used to illustrate the war diary. Unfortunately, Spr. Vasco died of disease in England before the end of the summer. The war at this stage was not without its compensations. After the plains of Flanders the broad views from the downs were refreshing, and it was interesting to be able so frequently to see your enemy in the open. Billeting in the deserted villages was good, and the abandoned live stock of the country-side added variety to the menu. No. 3 section kept a poultry farm at their billet in Corbie and paid tribute to Company Headquarters in the produce thereof. They were also in the possession of a cow tended by “Bluey” Graham, the section Q.M. More than one revolution occurred in No. 3 after that time, and several Q.M.’s were deposed, but Graham can still claim to be the only section Q.M. who ever kept a vache. Unfortunately, while leading it along the road by a string one day he met a member of the French Mission…. On the 8th April No. 1 section moved into a rough bivouac in a chalk quarry overlooking the Somme, in order to be nearer their work. The 2nd Australian Tunnelling Coy. took charge of the various bridges on the 18th, thus releasing Nos. 2 and 3 sections, and next day No. 2 joined No. 1 in their riverside quarry. With more men available, the dugout industry increased apace. Meanwhile the difficulty of supplying the industry with timber had become acute. Salvage operations in Corbie and neighbouring villages had yielded small supplies, and corps managed to send a little from time to time, but the demand increased much faster than the supply. Two or three Queensland bushmen from No. 4 section were early set to work with pitsaws in one of the woods, and helped appreciably, but the problem was not solved until a steam saw milling plant was “souvenired” from Corbie, repaired, and erected on the banks of the Ancre near Bonnay. This developed into quite a prosperous, if entirely unofficial concern, and large quantities of sawn timber were produced from the plantations along the river. On the 24th the enemy delivered his attack on Villers-Brettoneux, and the 3rd Divisional sector was heavily shelled. Company Headquarters and 3 and 4 sections were shelled out of Bonnay, losing several horses, but otherwise escaping without serious loss, but 1 and 2 sections in their quarry position were less fortunate, both Lieut. Matters and Lieut. Melbourne (who had just taken over No. 1 section) being wounded rather badly, and several men gassed. Driver J. H. Cannell subsequently received the Military Medal for rescuing a badly wounded man in Bonnay under very trying circumstances. After this experience an open-air life seemed preferable to the somewhat damaged billets in Bonnay, so a camp was established in an open valley just west of Heilly. The first site chosen was rather unfortunate, as within a day or two a battery of 8in. hows. planted themselves alongside, and a move of three or four hundred yards along the valley had to be made to avoid these noisy neighbours. A new Brigade Headquarters being called for in Heilly, it was decided to burrow into a huge old retaining wall which ran round part of the Chateau grounds. The sappers were not without hope of finding buried treasure――preferably in the shape of a well-stocked and forgotten wine cellar――behind this mysterious old wall, but all they found was loose and treacherous filling, making the work slow and arduous. The work of the section cooks deserves to be mentioned, particularly under the conditions which prevailed on this sector, when each section was split into parties working various shifts on dugouts and other work, coming and going and expecting meals at all hours of the day and night. No. 2 section will always remember the hot roast meal prepared for them in the quarry on the 24th April by Sapper Castle, literally cooked between bursts of shelling and the cook most of the time in a gas mask. The unit was issued with its first Lewis gun on this sector, for defence against low-flying aircraft, and shortly afterwards had an object lesson in the efficacy of the weapon when the famous German airman Von Richtofen was shot down by a Lewis gun belonging to an Australian Field Artillery Battery. His bright red triplane crashed quite close to a party of sappers of the company. On the 1st of May the 9th Field Company, coincident with the relief of the 11th Brigade by the 9th Brigade, took over the work in forward areas; the plans prepared by the company surveyors of the old French trenches partly occupied by our troops, and of the extensive new works dug by them, were handed over. Work was continued at the saw mill, at the “Hole in the wall” above-mentioned, and a good deal of work was done in various Headquarters’ dugouts in the extraordinary series of trenches which had been dug under corps supervision between the Ancre and the Hallue. A good deal of the novelty of the situation had now worn off, the supply of adventitious aids to the rationing had failed, and a regular trench warfare routine had been established when the 3rd Division was relieved by the 2nd and the 11th Field Coy. by the 7th, on May the 10th. The 3rd Division passed into close reserve, and the 11th Field Company moved to Pont Noyelles on the Hallue, and took over various Corps jobs from the 6th Field Company. 3. PONT NOYELLES. The few days rest in the valley of the Hallue will be memorable to members of the company chiefly by reason of the glorious weather and the beauty of the country-side in its garb of late spring. Even thus early in what was destined to be a hot and dry summer, the sun shone warm enough to make the deep lagoons along the river attractive to bathers. The quarters taken over were all crowded practically under one roof right on the main cross roads in Pont Noyelles, and as the Boche bombing planes were rather active, the greater part of the company was shifted out of the village into two tented camps by the riverside. Work was not very exacting, and consisted of improvements to the bridge crossings over the Hallue and the development of the trench system designed as a bridge head defence in front of Pont Noyelles and Querrieu. The 86th Labour Company, R.E., supplied parties for these works, supervised by the 11th Field Company. It has frequently been remarked, throughout the history of the unit, that release from strenuous line work was generally followed by an increase of sickness. No doubt the rest following heavy and absorbing work brought about re-action, physical as well as mental. This occasion was no exception to the rule, as an outbreak of influenza, or some such disease, led to the evacuation to hospital of a considerable number of men, a total of 34 being lost to the unit in this way in five days ending May 15th. No. 1 section suffered particularly severely, and a number of original members of the unit, men rather advanced in years, after surviving two winters, were invalided out of the service as the result of this outbreak. While the Division was out of the line it was inspected by the Commander-in-Chief, F.-M. Sir Douglas Haig, a Brigade group at the time, and the dismounted portion of the 11th Field Company took part in the 11th Brigade parade. Very short notice was received, and right up to the morning of the inspection there had been no opportunity for even a proper section parade, since leaving the rest area in March. Nevertheless, the Company, rising to the situation, carried out the necessary movements, including a march past, with precision and success. The transport were not on this parade, but were carefully inspected about the same time by the A.A. and Q.M.G., 3rd Division, and the C.R.E. Pont Noyelles was left on May 21st, when the 3rd Division relieved the 4th Australian Division in the Villers Brettoneux sector. The 4th Field Company A.E. took over the Corps works in the Hallue valley, and the 13th Field Company A.E. was relieved in the line. Company Headquarters was established in a railway cutting just north of the Bois l’Abbé, near Villers Brettoneux, together with 2, 3, and 4 sections. The remainder of No. 1 section went to Blangy-Tronville, together with some of the surveyors, for whom there was no accommodation suitable for map work in the cutting, while the horse lines were established at Lamotte, a little further along the river. 4. SUMMER AT VILLERS BRETTONEUX. The line held by the 3rd Division at Villers Brettoneux, which junctioned with the French on the right opposite Monument Wood, was so close to the town that the support line actually ran through one corner near the railway station. The possession of the town with its command of the Somme valley was of great importance; the enemy had captured it once, only to be turned out again; and signs were not wanting that he intended to attack again, and soon. These considerations enjoined a more than ordinary alertness on the defence, and a vigorous artillery programme of counter preparation. The 11th Field Company had a direct interest in the artillery programme, because a fine pair of 8in. “hows.” lived just outside their railway cutting, and were very active. Such neighbours naturally “drew crabs” (as the saying was, i.e., attracted enemy fire), but fortunately no great harm was done during the company’s tenancy. The camp in the railway cutting was, as a matter of fact, soon made reasonably safe against shell fire by burrowing into the solid chalk. Gas was a more insidious danger; gas shelling was frequent, and sometimes extraordinarily heavy, as on the night of the 25-26th, when Villers Brettoneux, the Bois l’Abbé, and the valley between were literally drenched with mustard gas from many thousands of shells. Fortunately the immediate vicinity of the camp escaped the worst of it, and the vigilance of doubled gas guards prevented casualties in the camp itself. Although a number of shells, both high explosive and gas, fell at different times right in the cutting, the most serious damage resulted from a mysterious something which screamed into the camp one night, broke all the crockery in the officers’ mess kitchen, and set the shelter on fire. The gas sentry standing near by was seriously perturbed by this new engine of war, but it turned out to be merely a mis-directed message rocket. The chief work of the sappers on this sector was again accommodation in the form of deep dugouts in the chalk, but general trench improvements, the new support line through the town, tank blocks, tunnels under the main roads to Warfusee, and the inner defences of “Villers Brett,” all made demands on sapper labour. The 11th Field Company throughout worked in the right brigade area, astride the main road, where the line was held first by the 11th Brigade, and afterwards by the 10th, then by the 11th once more. The weather throughout was “fine and warm,” so warm as to make shirt sleeves quite sufficient, and tin hats almost intolerable. Arrangements for the regular supply of materials by Corps had now allowed of standardisation of dugout design, and a great number of roomy shelters were rapidly excavated. Before the division moved out there were over 120 deep dugouts in its sector, many of them large enough to accommodate two or more platoons. The inclines or stairway entrances, at least two to each dugout, were timbered with standard timber slabs; the chambers were supported by 9ft. standard 5in. by 3in. rolled steel joists, about 18in. apart, held up by pit props. Bunks were fitted throughout, and elaborate gas-proof doorways. In addition to the Field Companies, portions of the Pioneers, and two English and one (the 2nd) Australian Tunnelling Coys. were at different times employed on the works. As regards the 11th Field Company, sappers worked three shifts of seven hours at the face, and were generally assisted by infantry parties in getting rid of the spoil. The pit props required for the chambers mostly came from the Bois l’Abbé, and in the same wood a small party of sappers from the company, with a few infantry, ran a very useful industry, manufacturing large numbers of hurdles and brush wood mats, the latter being chiefly used for hiding the chalk spoil heaps from aerial observation. The support line through Villers Brettoneux was a difficult job and No. 3 section expended a considerable amount of labour pushing down walls with Wallaby jacks, in order to clear a field of fire. The same section also constructed a novel tank block on the railway near the station, as the enemy had already used tanks in this area, and it was feared he might send one down the big railway cutting. The inner defences of the town itself consisted of a series of so-called “keeps,” or defended posts, among the buildings, wired round, loop-holed, and with strengthened cellars in which the garrisons lived. Part of the time the garrisons consisted of detachments of Pioneers, who carried out their own works, but when infantry was in occupation, sappers from the company shored up cellars, loop-holed walls, fitted gas-proof doorways, and strung barbed wire among the shattered buildings of the ruined town. While on this sector the company had an officer (Lieut. Raynsford) and four sergeants of the 6th U.S. Engineers attached for instruction. Noteworthy dugout jobs of the company were the double Battalion Headquarters at the Monastery, in the Bois l’Abbé; extensions to the headquarters in the quarry on the western outskirts of Villers Bretonneux; a Company Headquarters near the gas works, and extension to Brigade Headquarters on the railway line. Two very large dugouts, begun by the 4th Division, were completed in the notorious Gas valley, between the Bois l’Abbé and the town; a dugout was completed near the main road in the wood for a Trench Mortar Battery, and a couple of jobs were started east of the town. Tunnels under the main highway which runs from Villers Brettoneux to Warfusee Abancourt, where the various trench lines intersected it, were commenced with some interest, as the road was said to be of Roman origin, and it was thought that remains might perhaps be disclosed illustrative of the methods of the great road builders. Nothing of interest was discovered, the road consisting of quite a thin shell of ordinary macadam resting on loam. This was the only period when the 3rd Division held the line alongside the French. The relations between the two were at all times very cordial. The Australian exchanged cigarettes for a share of the Frenchman’s “pinard” (issue wine), while the poilu was not slow to appreciate the “buckshee” (free) cocoa of the Y.M.C.A., or “imka” as he pronounced it. The railway cutting inhabited by the 11th Field Company was an international post in itself, as in addition to the company it was used by the headquarters of a French battery, and the cookhouse of the British 8in. hows. detachment already mentioned. What helped to endear the French soldier to the Australian was a fellow feeling arising from his noticeable readiness to appropriate to his own uses, in cheerful contravention of rules and regulations, such trifles as railway sleepers and rails, also anything which he could find to his liking in Villers Brettoneux. International posts in the line were a favourite subject for official photographers; international foraging parties in the ruined town might have provided much more interesting unofficial pictures, if only private cameras had been allowed. The Company Transport, working from Lamotte, had a busy time on this sector. All supplies, including water, had, of course, to be taken to the railway cutting, but in addition, the transport of engineer material from the motor lorry dump to the various dugouts kept teams going constantly in the pontoon and G.S. wagons. Although the Corps supply of timber was good, it was never sufficient for requirements, and three or four sappers were kept working pit saws on a big pile of logs on the canal bank near the horse lines. The Villers Brettoneux sector was taken over by the 2nd Australian Division on June 27th and the 11th Field Company handed over to the 7th Field Company and marched back to Rivery, a suburb of Amiens. 5. RIVERY. The town of Amiens, an important railway junction, the possession of which was accepted as a token of our successful resistance to the enemy attempts to separate the British and French Armies, was in June, 1918, almost completely deserted by its civilian population. An almost nightly target for heavy bombing, it was also consistently shelled with long range guns, the huge shells from which rushed down the river valley making noises even more menacing than those of ordinary shells, and crashed into the unfortunate city. The neighbourhood of Rivery, where the 11th Field Company took over billets and works from the 5th Field Company, was entirely deserted. The billets were quite good, and lay alongside one of the lagoons or “billabongs,” which are such a feature of the Somme in this region. The weather was glorious, and opportunities for river bathing much appreciated. All through June the Somme canal had been bathed in by swarms of Australians enjoying short periods of rest from the line, but the 11th Field Company had lived continuously in the railway cutting far from the river, and had been forced to postpone such pleasure until the divisional relief. As usual, the sappers passed directly from line work to Corps or back area work, but this time it was chiefly guarding bridges and road mines around Camon, Longueau, and Cagny, and improvements to the demolition charges. Many of the bridge guards had excellent quarters among pleasant riverside gardens, where a little fruit was still to be gathered from the bushes, to the improvement of the ration scale. All through the 1918 campaign of the 3rd Division on the Somme, the soldier was much more isolated from the amenities of civil life than had been his lot, except for comparatively short and violent periods of battle, in Flanders. There numerous estaminets close enough behind the line to be within easy reach of reserve troops supplied, as welcome addition and variety to the Army ration, eggs, chipped potatoes, even fresh meat; as witness the well-known sign in old Bailleul, Steak and Shipseggs. Such opportunities were almost entirely wanting in the Somme area, and as will appear it was not until very near the end of hostilities that the men of the 3rd Division had a chance to experience the civilising influence of even a glass of thin French beer in a café, with a joke or two exchanged with Madame, and, perhaps, a little love-making with Madamoiselle. Under these circumstances members of the 11th Field Company will always have a kindly feeling for the efforts of Sapper Monk, the canteen steward, in foraging on their behalf. In his dusty mess cart, drawn by that incorrigible wind sucker, “Jews Harp,” he penetrated (it can be safely admitted now) into many towns and villages where his presence was entirely contrary to various routine orders; but he brought back the beer to the thirsty troops. If the gardens of Rivery provided but small supplies of fruit and vegetables, they were very rich in bright flowers, and most of the men’s billets were gay with them. The “diggers” tastes are not confined, as some would say, to leave and beer, and souvenirs. The capture of Hamel took place while the company was at Rivery. This brilliant little operation was carried out by the 4th Australian Division, assisted by a brigade of the 2nd Division and the 11th Brigade of the 3rd Division. Some American troops also took part, and also tanks. A party from the 11th Field Company, under Lieut. E. H. Rhodes, laid out the jumping-off tapes for the 11th Brigade in “No Man’s Land,” and another party carried out various small dugout jobs in connection with the operations. The necessary “previous reconnaissance” was rather arduous, carried out from such a distant base as Rivery, and in a spell of exceptionally hot weather, but “the line” was not without interest. A roadside quarry in the front trench gave a splendid view of the sector over which the 11th Brigade had to attack, and of the “No Man’s Land” in which the tapes had to be laid the night before the battle. Gently undulating cornfields were clothed thick with wheat, in heavy ear, but still green and interspersed with the scarlet poppies and blue cornflowers, which made a brave show in all this country throughout the summer. Beyond lay the Somme, marked by a dense band of trees, and beyond again the chalk hills first held by the 3rd Division in March. For a while before the battle, artillery activity on both sides was small, and the country-side seemed to brood under a blazing sun in mysterious unnatural lifelessness. The opposing forces were indicated only by the straggling lines of red earth which marked the trenches through the crops; barbed wire and shell holes were alike hidden by the thick growth. That all was not well with the world was hinted by the holes clearly visible in the roof of Corbie’s fine church, and by the scarred and battered and entirely sinister ruins of Hamel appearing through equally scarred and battered trees. Beyond Hamel lay the ridge which dominated much of our position, and which our infantry and tanks seized on the 4th of July. While this battle was pending, the company was called on to supply various parties for odd jobs, involving the distribution of the unit into a multitude of details in the manner characteristic of Field Companies. One party built a small motor-transport bridge in Corbie, another erected some experimental camouflage over a bridge over the canal near Lamotte, while improvements to the hutments at Corps Headquarters at Bertangles, gave employment to a number of carpenters. In accordance with the usual cycle of reliefs, the 3rd Division relieved the 4th in the line astride the Somme (including the newly-captured Hamel). On July 11th and 12th, the 11th Field Company on this occasion relieved the 12th, and became reserve company, with headquarters in shelters along the railway embankment near La Neuville, and horse lines at Bussy. The 12th Field Company took over the Rivery billets and works. 6. CORBIE. The work of the reserve Field Company of the Division holding the line where it crossed the Somme valley, between Sailly Le Sec and Sailly Laurette, was spread up and down the Somme, from Bouzencourt to below Daours; and from just below Bonnay on the river Ancre to its confluence with the Somme at La Neuville. On first undertaking it, the 11th Field Company had its headquarters in a camp alongside the railway embankment near La Neuville, a position which it shared with the headquarters of the 10th Field Company, then in line on the right of the divisional front. No. 1 section was up the river at Vaire, No. 2, with section headquarters in the familiar gas works, was in Corbie, No. 3 at La Neuville itself, and No. 4 at Daours. All were employed on various tasks in connection with bridges, but as some of the work was merely guarding, and as sappers were urgently required for other work, a party of some 50 odd infantry were attached to the company from the 11th Brigade. No. 2 section, reinforced with infantry, with section headquarters remaining in the gas works, took over from No. 1, and No. 4 similarly added No. 3’s tasks to its own. Most of the original bridges in the care of the two sections, as well as the temporary steel or wooden structures erected by the Army to provide alternative crossings, had been fitted with an excellent system of demolition charges in sealed tins by the 12th Field Company A.E., but further work of the kind remained to be done, and there were electric circuits to test, leads to bury, and numerous improvements to be carried out. Altogether there were about eight bridges prepared for demolition near Daours, the same number near La Neuville, and ten at Corbie. In addition there was a number of barrel pier foot bridges across the Somme, chiefly between Bouzencourt and Corbie, calling for a good deal of maintenance, some dummy bridges, a couple of stand-by pontoon bridges, and the night bridge at “Circular Quay,” near Vaire. This was a pontoon bridge to take field artillery, put in position every night at dark, and dismantled and hidden at dawn. A detachment of sappers lived in the cellars of Vaire to do this, and generally had the assistance of a party from a regiment of U.S. Engineers, who for the sake of the experience, marched every night from some place in the rear, helped build the bridge, departed in the morning, after persuading the 11th Corporal in charge to teach them a few knots and splices, and were replaced by a new party next night. The bridge was very largely used each night by both infantry transport and gun limbers. Shortly after the company took over, one of the bridges at Daours was hit by a shell which blew out the abutment from under one girder. The girder was jacked up and the abutment repaired in brick. The living conditions on these bridge jobs were quite good. The Corbie billets had a good billiard table, La Neuville possessed an excellent piano, and there were plenty of opportunities for swimming. Had the Boche attacked on this front, the position of the bridge guards would have been very unenviable, but fortunately he did not do so, and the company sustained no serious casualties on this work. The sappers relieved off bridges by the employment of attached infantry were immediately occupied with other tasks. No. 3 section worked at a water point――engine and pump and tanks and standpipes――at a spring on the road from La Neuville to Daours; helped the 11th Brigade to improve the dugouts in their reserve positions, and made some experiments in the art of building shelters in chalk banks, with the idea of developing the best method of housing the corps for the winter. No. 1 provided a party, under Lieut. Valentine, which was attached to Artillery Group Headquarters to supervise work on gun positions, chiefly more dugouts; the remainder of the section extracted the charges from a number of road mines near Fouilloy, and on July 18th started preliminary work for a proposed pile bridge across the Somme canal, west of Vaire. This last was quite an ambitious project. Piles were cut and shod, a long stretch of corduroy road laid down, and a monkey was improvised by “borrowing” a 9.2 shell from a battery, extracting, not without difficulty, the solid T.N.T. bursting charge, and filling the cavity with lead. All was in readiness for driving the first pile when orders came to suspend operations. These orders were the first hint of the approaching offensive, and were followed by instructions received on August 2nd to send the attached infantry home, after partly dismantling the demolition arrangements, and to concentrate most of the sappers, leaving a few men to patrol the groups of bridges. Detonators and primers were removed from the circuits and stored separately; the leads and fuzes of fixed charges were concealed. It is quite possible that a proposal for an attack with limited objectives, and on a small scale, would not have been very popular with the troops, tired as they undoubtedly were after nearly five months’ strenuous warfare; but the plans for the proposed battle, as outlined in the first days of August, fired the imagination. This was to be a “stunt” worth doing. To follow the first attack at once with a second, and so to penetrate some five or six miles within the enemy lines; thus to capture most of his guns; and to play around in his back areas with light tanks and armoured cars and cavalry; such schemes as these must help to win the war. The first definite battle instructions marked the end of the great programme of works carried out to stem the German advance; thenceforward our labours were to fulfil the requirements of our counter-stroke; and the preparations for the first blow may best be included in the tale of the attack itself. The last bridge had been mined, the last deep dugout dug. CHAPTER IV. THE GREAT OFFENSIVE. 1. THE 8TH OF AUGUST, 1918. A narrative of the experiences of a small unit in the Great War most properly should include only those facts and aspects of the struggle, which the unit learnt in the field from its own observation and adventures. A keen student of the newspapers in London, or even in Melbourne, will have a more complete knowledge of the progress of events, and a more comprehensive view of the general situation than the soldier in the field, whose view is curtailed by the “Fog of War,” and who, besides, is too absorbed in the problems of his own immediate sector to have the leisure of the arm-chair strategist. For the members of the formation to be engaged, the eve of the battle of Amiens was, however, one of the exceptional cases where even a hint of coming events illuminates the whole military position. It was obvious that the enemy had lost the initiative in the failure of his attempt to force the Marne, and that the violent battles on the French and American sectors in July marked its definite passage to the Allies. August the 8th was to be the first real occasion of its use by us and the first ambitious attack by the British Army for 1918. There were few in the 3rd Division who did not realise this, scanty as was the information possessed by any but very senior officers as to the concentration of troops, tanks, and guns, and more particularly as to the elaborate precautions taken to disguise such preparations as the move of the Canadian troops to the Somme area. The task of the 3rd Division was to initiate the attack on a front of some two miles immediately South of the Somme, and to penetrate about 2½ miles. Through it would then pass the 4th Australian Division covered by mobile artillery. A similar programme was to be carried out by the 2nd and 5th Australian Divisions on the Villers-Brettonneux sector to the South; south of them were the Canadians, and then the French. The 1st Australian Division arrived from the north on the eve of the battle, and was Corps Reserve in the early stages. The British Division holding the line north of the Somme was to swing forward its flank along the river. No preliminary bombardment of the enemy positions was to take place, and the commencement of operations was to be in effect a surprise attack delivered under a heavy barrage. This was the first occasion in which the five Australian Divisions were engaged together in an offensive action. The preparations as far as Engineers were concerned were not elaborate. Various dugouts required for headquarters and medical posts had to be hurried to completion, but no trench work was required, as the approach routes to the assembly position for the attacking troops were overland. Four tracks were cleared and carefully marked by the 11th Field Company, two starting near Fouilloy, and two near Hamelet, and, as already mentioned, the bridge demolition arrangements were partly dismantled. Owing to the depth of the proposed attack it was not considered advisable to form Engineer dumps in the existing trench system; instead, a system of dumps on wheels was devised. The Pontoon wagons of the three Field Companies were collected and loaded with a variety of stores, including a number of simple shelters for erection under suitable chalk banks, and delivery points were selected in the territory to be captured. The 11th Field Coy. made 50 bank shelters and 500 signboards. Much depended on the early repair of all roads leading forward into the enemy territory. This work was undertaken by Corps, who withdrew two Field Companies and the Pioneer Battalion from the 3rd Division for this purpose, leaving the 11th the only Company under Divisional command. Two companies of the 2nd Australian Pioneers were lent to the Division for the operation, and under these circumstances the Field Company was necessarily widely distributed. No. 1 section was allotted to the 9th Brigade, which was to attack on the right, and No. 2 to the 11th Brigade on the left; No. 3 was in reserve (as was the 10th Brigade, which held the whole divisional front before the battle), and No. 4 had the special task of looking for sources of water supply. Very heavy rain fell two or three days before the attack, and threatened to interfere with the work of the tanks, but the 7th was fine and warm, and the chalky soil dried very quickly. The rain was really very helpful, as it served to hide the gathering forces from enemy aviators. By the 7th all was ready; long rows of tanks sheltered under hedges, guns of all calibres lurked in every suitable position, and men and horses rested quietly within the shade of groves of trees. The evening before Z day saw Company Headquarters and 1, 2, and 4 sections established at a dugout and bivouac near Hamelet, but during the night the various parties moved forward to a trench near Hamel. Just at “Zero hour” (4.20 a.m.) a thick mist arose, and it was through this natural screen that the attack pushed forward, and that the various parties of Sappers groped their way to their various tasks soon after. The results of the day’s fighting are too well known to need mention, but the cheapness of the victory may be gauged by the losses of the Company――which were――none at all. The dumps on wheels moved forward under Lieut. Matters to their appointed destinations early in the morning; Nos. 1 and 2 sections built shelters for various headquarters in the new captured divisional area, and No. 4 located several old wells and started putting them in order, and also constructed, out of salvaged materials, a most useful horse-watering point at Gailly Lock on the Somme. A number of Germans surrendered to the sappers, but as they were considered to be “second hand,” they were carefully searched for pistols and such-like souvenirs and turned adrift to find their own way to the rear. One subaltern of the Company was approached in mist by a Boche who was tugging violently at something in his pocket. Thinking it was a pistol, the officer drew his revolver, but the German’s hand came forth with nothing more menacing than a tin of bully beef, which he handed out as a peace offering. It was a great day for souvenirs, and the sappers collected quite an arsenal of German automatic pistols, daggers, and such-like coveted articles. 2. UP THE VALLEY OF THE SOMME. The breaking of the German line on the 8th August marked the end of the old “sit down” trench warfare, and to no one did this represent a bigger change than to the sappers. Instead of settling down for a month or more at a time in a camp or bivouac, with a regular programme of work, a system for the supply of engineer stores, and no sign or hope of an end to the proceedings, the Company now commenced to experience conditions approximating to those of open warfare, with troubles and discomforts all compensated for by victory, and at least a hope of peace to come. That Company Headquarters was established in twenty different places in the ensuing two months gives only a partial indication of the migrations of the sappers, as sections developed a habit of moving independently, each complete with its own transport, and the Company was rarely united. Work naturally changed; bridges, water supply, roads and signboards became most important; trenches and wire were rarely thought of; dugouts were searched for booby traps, cleaned and repaired, instead of new ones being started. During the period of most rapid advance the Division gained little advantage from some of the Sappers’ labour, but such people as the heavy artillery and transport units following behind were not inappreciative, particularly of signboards and water supply arrangements. On the 9th of August Company Headquarters and 3 and 4 Sections moved to a bivouac near Bois de Hamel, and on the 10th to a large dug-out and bivouac near Bouzencourt――a camp generally known as “Pip 4 Ack” from its map location, where the horse lines were also established. In the meanwhile Nos. 1 and 2 sections had been living and working in the newly captured area, complete with section transport, and late in the evening of the 10th they were ordered to accompany the 10th Brigade in a night operation along the main road which runs east through Lamotte-en-Santerre. The operation did not develop, and the sappers were not required, so the two sections went into bivouac in a deep valley just south of the main road and north of Harbonnieres. They suffered no casualties at this stage, but are not likely to forget the bombing along the road on the night of the 10th/11th. On the 11th the remainder of the Company moved to a valley South of Morcourt on the Somme and relieved the 12th Field Coy., but were in turn relieved by the 93rd Company, R.E. the following night, and returned to P.4.a. Short as the time was in this area No. 3 section built a new Battn. Headquarters and an R.A.P.; No. 4 section investigated and improved a considerable number of wells. Both the vicinity of the Coy. camp near Morcourt, and the valley near Harbonnieres occupied by 1 and 2 sections, had been largely used by the Germans for battery positions and living accommodation, and it was very interesting to study their methods so soon after their very hurried departure. They had done very little work near their front line, but the numerous dugouts started in their gun zone, and excavated stables in course of construction, seemed to indicate an intention to organise an elaborate system of defences. The impression thus formed was confirmed afterwards by the enormous amounts of engineer materials in their main dumps. Sappers were pleased to find that the German dugouts, and much of his other work, were inferior to our own, both in design and execution. All sorts of interesting souvenirs were discovered while exploring the dugouts and camps, a number being dispatched to the Australian War Museum. Similarly, a large number of maps were collected and forwarded to the General Staff. Horses enjoyed extra rations of Boche fodder, and some of the men drew clean underclothing and new boots from a Boche Quartermaster’s store――in the absence of the Quartermaster. A number of wagons were collected and loaded with Engineer materials, thus forming a “Dump on German wheels,” in readiness for another advance, but were handed over to the 93rd Field Company. On the night of the 12th/13th, some wandering tanks took shelter in the gully occupied by 1 and 2 sections, and were apparently marked down by a Boche plane, which showered bombs on the camp. Driver W. Thomas, who was noted for his pride in his two horses, and who used to remark frequently that wherever his team went, he went also, was saying good-night to his charges when a bomb fell alongside and killed the man and both his horses. The whole Company concentrated at P.4.a on the 13th, and refitted, bathed, and dug bomb pits for the horses until the 19th, when work was started fixng up accommodation for Divisional Headquarters in the well-remembered Shrapnel Gully near Sailly-le-Sec. On the 20th the Division went into the line North of the Somme, and Coy. Headquarters and Nos. 2 and 3 sections moved to Mallard Wood, N.W. of Chipilly. The Division attacked at dawn on the 22nd, forming a flank for operations to the North; on the 23rd it captured La Neuville near Bray, and on the 24th Bray itself fell to the 10th Brigade. On the 25th the 9th and 11th Brigades captured the high ridge of Ceylon Wood east of Bray, and thenceforward the advance progressed so rapidly, in spite of enemy resistance, that by the end of the month the Division had captured Suzanne, Curlu, and Cléry, and had reached the Bouchavesnes――Mt. St. Quentin road, some ten miles East of Bray, and 15 miles east of the line of August 8th. During the early stages of this advance the roads had sustained a good deal of damage from shell fire, and a portion of the Company was employed filling in shell holes and removing fallen trees and dead horses. In order to relieve the main roads, cross-country tracks were much used. They were in good condition, thanks to the dryness of the summer, but required marking with numerous signboards. Throughout the whole period water supply was of the highest importance. Wells had to be located, tested, often cleared of rubbish and fitted with new windlasses. Fortunately the Boche had not troubled to destroy wells, but had devoted all his energies to blowing up railway lines. As evidence of his enthusiasm for this work it may be mentioned that the Company removed misfired or unexploded charges to the number of some hundred from a comparatively short length of line near Hem. Horse watering was of course done from the Somme, but horse troughing had to be erected, as a number of horses were drowned while attempting to water from the treacherous swamps and lagoons along the river. Dugouts, whether of German origin, as those around Bray, or built originally by the French, as were a number near Suzanne and Hem, had all to be carefully searched for mines and booby traps before being used by various Headquarters, and generally required repairs. An interesting task was making an inventory of the various German dumps captured. There were several very large ones round Bray, containing enormous quantities of mining and other timber, steel girders, barbed wire and pickets, corrugated iron and malthoid, and all sorts of interesting odds and ends. One dump, for instance, in addition to much timber, had hundreds of sets of door hinges and fastenings and window fittings, which would seem to indicate that the German contemplated a big hutting programme in this area. There was a large dump near the railway at Hem Wood, and this the Company was camped alongside at the end of the month. Two dumps contained small workshops for the manufacture of anti-tank mines, and a long train laden with timber, malthoid, iron and paper sandbags lay in the Bray station yard――with every axle-box destroyed with explosives. Intermediate Coy. Hdqrs. camps since leaving Mallard Wood had been along a bank near Bray; in some German huts in Ceylon Wood; and along a bank facing the Somme at Hem. At the Bray camp site, just before the unit moved in, the C.S.M., G. Brodie (D.C.M.), was wounded by a shell and died soon after. In the advance the division crossed, between Suzanne and Curlu, the original front line of 1916, and passed on to the area devastated by the fighting of that year. The desolation of this region of shell-holes, dead woods, and villages represented by a few broken bricks has often been described; suffice it is to say that all ranks were pleased that progress across it was rapid. On Sept. 3rd the Divisional front was cut out by the 2nd Australian Division and the 74th Division joining across it, and the Company started improving accommodation for the 11th Brigade in the area around Curlu. As there seemed some possibility of a short stay in this dismal locality, the 11th Brigade Concert Party――the “Blue Gums”―was brought up, and the Company improvised a concert hall, with stage and seats for 450, out of the ruins of some huts at Curlu. Work was also continued on water supply arrangements. The area had been too far behind the Boche line for him to make much use of it during the summer, and he had done nothing to improve and little to maintain the old wells sunk in 1916, which proved scarcely able to cope with the demands of the concentration of men and animals now living in the vicinity. Fortunately the 74th Division, which here overlapped the 3rd, had only recently come from Palestine, and being thus familiar with the problem, helped a great deal to improve the conditions. But the Eastern sky indicated with increasing clearness that the warlike stream would soon move forward. The strong position about Peronne had been breached by the 2nd Australian Division’s capture of Mt. St. Quentin, and the glow of many fires by night, and huge columns of smoke by day, showed that the enemy was burning everything possible in the country behind him, preparatory to a retreat to the Hindenburg line. So no one was very surprised when on Sept. 5th orders were received to move once more. 3. UP THE VALLEY OF THE COLOGNE. The Cologne is a small stream which, rising in the high ground which separates the headwaters of the Escaut or Scheldt from the Somme, runs in a westerly direction and joins the latter river at Peronne. It flows through a broad open valley, and is quite a small stream, but with a wide, marshy bed in many places. In the summer of 1918 it had no surface water above Tincourt. For the pursuit of the enemy beyond Peronne the 11th Brigade Group, with the addition of the 3rd Pioneers as an extra Infantry Battalion, and some British Horse Artillery, was organised as an advance guard, and moved forward after very short notice on the afternoon of the 5th. The 11th Field Company attached No. 2 section (Lt. Rhodes) to the 42nd Battalion in the vanguard, No. 1 section, with its own transport and No. 2 transport to the 41st Battalion (main body). No. 3 section, with Coy. Headquarters, moved with the 11th Brigade H. Qrs., and No. 4 was allotted to the special task of repairing a bridge at Peronne. The move was slow and difficult owing to the congestion on the roads, and if ever the enemy bombing ’planes missed an opportunity they did so that night. Company Headquarters established itself in a trench on the Northern slopes of Mt. St. Quentin, and it says a great deal for the “Bump of locality” of the unit generally that touch was maintained throughout, and not one of the numerous detachments into which the Company was split got lost or mislaid in the darkness, in strange country rendered most difficult to traverse by old trenches and barbed wire. It would be tedious to trace the movements of the various sections and detachments during the next few days, when the 11th Brigade pushed rapidly forward on the heels of the enemy, and captured Buire, Tincourt, and Roisel. No. 2, split into detachments, searched fruitlessly for booby traps and patched up accommodation for Battalion Headquarters. No. 3 did the same for Brigade, and also repaired an important bridge near Mt. St. Quentin and opened up a well or two. No. 1, after some smaller jobs, started work on repairing the river crossing at Courcelles Mill leading to Cartigny, and was joined by No. 4, whose bridge at Peronne had been found not necessary, and who did quite a lot of walking in the meantime. By noon on the 7th two bridges across the branches of the Cologne stream, each strong enough to take 17-ton axle loads, had been completed. The transport which had started from near Curlu succeeded in keeping in the race, and in delivering supplies to the sections. Company Headquarters moved to Three Tubs Wood, N.E. of Doingt, on the 6th, and on the 8th to the outskirts of Boucly, across the river from Tincourt. The Boche had been driven too rapidly from the neighbourhood of Peronne and Doingt to have time to carry out demolitions; not only were the bridges at Doingt untouched, but there were many useful hutments in the vicinity. Further up the Cologne valley, however, all the extensive hutments built by us about 1917 had been burnt, and every bridge was destroyed between Doingt and Tincourt. A small bath house near Brusle had been deemed worth a charge of explosives. In Buire an enamelled bath in an officers’ bathroom had been thoroughly perforated with an axe, as had the large copper used in conjunction with it. A number of small pumps were eagerly rushed by the water supply sappers, but each had had an essential lug or something of the sort broken off with a hammer. The camp which the Company occupied near Boucly had not been destroyed, possibly because the shelters were steel, the German equivalent of our “Large English” or Elephant shelters. The park in which this camp was situated was full of an extraordinary assortment of German vehicles, many in good order. There were wagons light, heavy, and extremely heavy; field cookers and field bakery ovens, ambulances, patent telescopic observation towers on wheels, and other curiosities. The Company annexed from this collection a useful light wagon and a brand-new cooker. The villages in this area had all been systematically destroyed by the Boche in his retreat of 1917, and had never been rebuilt. It was quite easy to see that many of the houses had been burnt out, and not destroyed by shell-fire. In some places all the trees along the road side had been cut half through with axes, evidently at the same period, and had subsequently had the gashes filled with cement and strapped with iron. Most of them seemed to be flourishing. On the South side of the valley there were mine craters at most road junctions. On the evening of the 7th, when No. 3 section moved to Boucly, its attention was drawn by a certain battalion to a suspected mine on the road near Brusle. It was useless explaining that the section with its transport had just marched right over the place; the Battalion H. Qrs. was insistent, so the section officer and a couple of his men went back to investigate. The Boche had evidently intended planting some anti-tank mines, and had dug holes across the road for them, but had been disturbed or had changed his mind. There was nothing in the holes but loose stones. Very early the next morning the O.C. of the Company, on his way to visit No. 3, saw the holes, and, not knowing of the previous night’s incident, got off his horse and investigated. He had just finished raking the stones back when a Pioneer Company Commander, whose men were filling in some craters a little further back, panted up on a bicycle, saying he had heard there was a mine about somewhere, and he was responsible for roads, so he also investigated. Later in the morning the O.C. met two subalterns of another Field Company, who asked if he had heard anything of a road mine near Brusle, because they had special orders from the C.R.E. to examine it thoroughly and report. They were directed to the spot, and when last seen were carefully removing the stones from the holes. While the caution shewn in this was perhaps excessive, that care was necessary was evidenced by the delay action mine which blew up where the main road crossed the railway at Roisel, long after the division had left the area. The Causeway which crossed the valley from Buire to Brusle had 5 gaps blown in it, and of these three were bridged by the Company with strong footbridges. While the narrow gauge lines were intact, the broad gauge railways had been thoroughly destroyed. In one place there was a long length of track newly laid with heavy rails branded Krupp 1917, and every rail had been broken in two or three places with explosives. There was some satisfaction in seeing the enemy’s own material treated in this way. A number of deep wells on the South side of the valley had been blown in, and a start had been made trying to repair one or two when the Company was relieved by the 1st Field Coy. A.E. This was on the 10th. Divisional Headquarters remained at Doingt and work was started immediately repairing hutments in the vicinity to accommodate the division. The Company made itself a small camp to Courcelles Mill, and Headquarters moved there on the 13th, and remained in this same place for a fortnight. The enemy bombing from aeroplanes was very vicious in the beginning of the period, but a number of his planes, caught in our searchlights, were shot down in flames by our night flying machines, with coloured lights shooting in all directions from the burning Verey ammunition, greatly to the delight of the watching crowds. Quite an elaborate theatre for the “Blue Gums” was arranged by No. 4 section in Doingt, in an old hut, and the Company took part in sports held by the 11th Brigade Group; with such amusement added to an occasional aeroplane shooting display, time passed quickly until orders to dump packs and surplus stores heralded another move. 4. THE HINDENBURG LINE. On the 27th of September the 3rd Division left the Doingt area and moved once more towards the line, to take its part in another great attack. The 11th Field Company, with the 11th Brigade Group, marched some 8 miles on the night of the 27th/28th to a bivouac about a mile West of Templeux-le-Guerard at the head of the Cologne valley, while the transport settled at Longavesnes. This region at the time was held in force by the 27th U.S. Division, with the 30th U.S. Division on its right. The general position may be roughly described as follows:― The enemy, endeavouring to stand on the line of early 1918―really an outpost line to the main Hindenburg Line――had been violently hurled back from it by an attack by the 1st and 4th Australian Divisions, but was holding strongly to the Hindenburg Line proper. Indeed, he had succeeded in recovering portion of the outpost ridge, in the face of the American troops holding the sector, and it was evident that he intended to offer a desperate resistance. The Hindenburg Line east of Peronne, followed generally the line of the St. Quentin Canal, but opposite the sector held by the two American Divisions the canal ran into a tunnel for some four miles from Bellicourt to Le Catelet, and the line really constituted a very strongly defended bridge head across this gap in the obstacle formed by the canal. To make use of this natural bridge offered the best chance of quickly penetrating the Hindenburg system with a large force of all arms, but it was obvious that the enemy would be prepared for such an attempt, and that the whole organisation, carefully thought out during his previous occupation of this country, would be designed to frustrate it. The general plan of attack somewhat resembled that of August 8th. The two American Divisions were to attack at dawn under an intense barrage, and penetrate to the green line, over a mile east of the canal, while the 5th Australian Division on the right, and the 3rd on the left, were to follow through and exploit success to the “Red Line,” some three miles further. The weather changed on the 28th, and became very cold. This was really a blessing in disguise, as the supply of water to such large concentrations of horses and men in this high, streamless, country, where the wells and bores were so deep that only those with power installations yielded a useful flow, was a difficult problem. Fleets of motor tanks supplied drinking water, but horses had to travel long distances to watering points, and wait hours in long queues, four deep, and extending literally miles along the roads. The early development of all sources of supply in any area captured was thus of great importance, and No. 2 section was told off to this task in the zone allotted to the 11th Field Company, with instructions to pay particular attention to the canal tunnel, where springs were reported to exist. No. 1 section was allotted to roads, No. 3 to clearing cross-country tracks for the artillery, and No. 4 was split up over the 11th Brigade and its battalions, to search dugouts and look after accommodation generally. The attack developed at dawn on Sept. 29th, but was not immediately successful. Apparently the American assault troops broke through the German line under cover of the barrage, but neglected to “mop up.” The consequence was that large numbers of Germans, as soon as the barrage and the closely following attacking wave had passed, emerged from their numerous dugouts, and manned machine guns and anti-tank defences. The 3rd Division, moving forward in readiness, came under heavy artillery and machine gun fire before it reached the old outpost line, and was in effect faced with the task of attacking the complete Hindenburg defences without the help of artillery, which could not be used on account of the uncertainty as to the position of the Americans. Under these circumstances, progress was naturally slow. Fortunately the attack had been more successful on the right divisional front, and the 44th Battalion on the extreme right of the 3rd Australian Division had succeeded in getting a footing in the Hindenburg line proper, and making a flank to the north. The sappers attached to the Battalion Headquarters became involved in various tasks somewhat different to those for which they had been allotted; an attempt to make the best use of a stray tank led to some exciting incidents, which only ended when the Boche, with a field gun at point blank range, put the tank out of action. No. 3 section succeeded in clearing a short length of artillery track, but generally speaking, very little of the sapper programme was accomplished, and the sections spent the night in the trenches three-quarters of a mile south-east of Ronnsoy. On the 30th the 3rd Division continued the attack, and on the 1st of October succeeded in taking Bony, a small village right in the main Hindenburg line and almost over the canal tunnel, chiefly by means of persistent bombing along the network of trenches. After this good progress was made. The sappers meanwhile had discovered an extensive old British minefield, part of which had been noticed by No. 3 section on the 29th, when several of our tanks were put out of action by it. Large numbers of mines were removed and de-detonated from the field, which, curiously enough, was marked by danger notices both in English and in German. On the 1st a party of No. 1 section made an investigation of the whole of the canal tunnel, working from the Southern or Bellicourt end. On the 2nd dugouts in the main Hindenburg line were searched and cleared; a number of notice boards erected, and an O.P. constructed East of Bony; while the investigation of the tunnel was continued, through a number of the various entrances made by the Germans along its length. The tunnel, which is some four miles in length and 25 feet in diameter, was dug in the time of Napoleon, and was found to be in good order, and equipped with pumps (but without engines) and piping to deliver water to the surface at a number of air shafts. The water was tested, and found to be drinkable after treatment, with the usual small quantity of chloride of lime, but before the Company could do anything towards making it available, the 3rd Division was relieved on Oct. 3rd by the 50th British Division, and the Coy. evacuated the bivouac which it had occupied at Toine Wood, close to the trenches in which the sections sheltered on the night of the 29th. The Company Transport had moved east of Templeux-le-Guerard on the 30th. Exploration of the famous Hindenburg system had been full of interest, not only because of the tunnel, with its German-made stairway entrances, its concrete entrance defences, and its long line of barges used for the living accommodation by the Boche during his previous tenancy, but now damp and dilapidated; but also on account of the fame attaching to the trench system itself. To some extent this was disappointing; the trenches, although very wide, were not well made, and the dugouts were numerous, but not elaborate. The barbed wire, however, was astonishing in its extent and density. The casualties in this, destined to be the last action in which the unit took part, were 11 wounded (including gas), of which one subsequently died. For good work on the morning of the 29th Sappers Chapman and Gallwey received the Military Medal. On the evening of the 3rd the whole Company bivouacked in a pleasant, peaceful wood near Liercourt, and on the 5th entrained at Peronne, less transport, which proceeded by road and joined the unit in billets in the little village of La Leu, near Airaines, in the lower Somme valley. On October 9th the Company moved to Forceville, South of Abbeville, and was training and refitting in this peaceful area when the armistice was signed. * * * * * As this is a war narrative it will not be necessary to describe the change from military training to civil education; the drifting away of members for early repatriation or non-military employment in England; or the departure of demobilisation quotas and the winding up of the Company; but a fitting termination may be made by referring to the third and last Christmas spent in France. The unit at the time was at Bernapré, a few miles S.W. of Forceville, where it had moved on Dec. 10th. Each section had a rough and ready messroom, lavishly decorated with holly and mistletoe for the occasion, and each was the scene of great feasting and jollification, quite free at last from the black shadow of war, and doubly pleasurable because of the conviction that the next Christmas dinner would be in Australia. Geese and ducks in large numbers and other good things to eat, together with liquids appropriate to the season, were purchased from funds supplied by friends in Australia. The energetic efforts of the unit’s supporters, chiefly in South Australia and in Queensland, resulted altogether in the sum of £378, which was added by instalments to the Company’s funds. The possession of this money rendered possible Christmas feasts, sports gatherings, and other distractions, and, above all, a regular system of subsidies to section messes, which helped greatly to improve the standard of living. This opportunity is gladly taken of expressing the Company’s sincere and grateful appreciation for the labour of its friends. APPENDICES. I. “ROLL OF HONOUR.” _Killed in Action._ Reg. No. Rank. Name. 9445 Sapper Dahl, J. 9533 ” Paxton, W. H. 9537 ” Rooke, R. J. 9640 ” Le Leu, F. E. 9534 ” Power, R. 9661 ” Petney, F. F. J. 9529 ” Murray, D. A. 9465 ” Simpson, D. M. 10984 ” Merton, C. H. T. 9457 ” Lenham, H. 9443 ” Duckling, E. J. 2743A ” Lahey, N. A. 9434 2/Cpl. Renwick, A. J. 9544 Sapper Francey, S. 3333 ” Darvall, A. H. 9447 ” Flay, E. C. 9690 ” Wakefield, B. B. 9634 Driver Howe, H. W. C. 9450 T/Cpl. Gray, G. W. 16466 Sapper Geddes, J. C. 9682 Driver Thomas, W. C. 9438 C.S.M. Brodie, G. C. (D.C.M.) 17792 Sapper Richardson, T. _Accidentally Killed._ 392 L/Cpl. McKay, D. _Died of Disease._ Driver Noghran, J. 16136 Sapper Vasco, L. 9671 L/Cpl. Smith, C. 9612 Driver Cunningham, T. W. 17839 L/Cpl. Haddow, A. II. STATEMENT OF LINE SERVICE OF UNIT SHEWING INCLUSIVE DATES:― (a). _In Front Area._ From. To. Armentières Sector 19/12/16 13/3/17 Le Touquet ” 14/3/17 6/4/17 St. Yves and Le Touquet Sectors 7/4/17 5/6/17 Messines Sector 9/6/17 11/6/17 ” ” 23/6/17 11/7/17 ” ” 29/7/17 4/8/17 Ypres ” 30/9/17 21/10/17 Le Touquet, Pont Rouge, La Basse-Ville Sectors 13/11/17 16/11/17 Chapelle D’Armentières Sector 20/12/17 3/1/18 Le Touquet, Pont Rouge ” 1/2/18 3/3/18 Sailly-le-Sec ” 27/3/18 1/5/18 Villers Bretonneux ” 22/5/18 28/6/18 Somme Battle. First Phase 8/8/18 12/8/18 ” ” Bray ” 21/8/18 1/9/18 Tincourt, Rosières ” 5/9/18 10/9/18 Hindenburg Line ” 29/9/18 2/10/18 (b). _In Support Area._ Armentières Sector 4/12/16 18/12/16 St. Yves and Le Touquet Sector 6/6/17 8/6/17 Messines ” 12/6/17 22/6/17 ” ” 12/7/17 28/7/17 Plœgsteert Area 17/11/17 19/12/17 Heilly ” 2/5/18 10/5/18 Corbie ” 13/7/18 7/8/18 Hem Dump ” 2/9/18 4/9/18 (c). _In Rest Area. Training._ Travelling etc.; from U.K. included in Period 24/11/16 3/12/16 Recquebrœucq Area 5/8/17 29/9/17 ” ” 22/10/17 12/11/17 Bainghem-le-Comte Area 4/3/18 22/3/18 La Leu, Forceville, Bernapré Areas 3/10/18 31/12/18 (d). _In Rest Area. Working._ Neuve Eglise Area. (Mahutonga Camp) 4/1/18 31/1/18 Cæstre to Franvillers. (Travelling from Northern France to Somme Area) 23/3/18 26/3/18 Pont Noyelles Area 11/5/18 21/5/18 Rivery ” 22/6/18 12/7/18 Hamel ” 13/8/18 20/8/18 Courcelles ” 11/9/18 28/9/18 III. STRENGTH STATEMENT SHEWING:― (a.) _Total Number of_:― Officers. O.R. 1. 15 429 Who have served to 11/11/18. 2. 15 405 ” ” in France to 11/11/18. 3. 4 46 ” ” throughout in France to 11/11/18. (b). _Total Action Casualties_:― Officers. O.R. 1. 23 Killed in action, etc. _Note._―1 O.R. not shewn in Total was accidentally killed. 2. 6 78 Wounded in action. _Note._―2 O.R. not shewn in Total were accidentally wounded. 3. Nil Nil Prisoners, etc. (c). _Total Sickness Casualties_:― Officers. O.R. 1. 2 Died of Disease. 2. 7 Invalided to Australia, etc. 3. 6 432 Evacuated to Field Ambs. in France. (d). _Summary shewing the following proportions_:― (Officers and O.R. in percentages). Officers. O.R. 1. 5·67% Killed to Total (a) 2. 2. 40% 17·78% Wounded to Total (a) 2. 3. Prisoners to Total (a) 2. 4. ·493% Died to Total (a) 2. 5. ·466% ” ” (a) 1. 6. 1·72% Invalided to Total (a) 1. IV. STATEMENT OF NUMBER OF PRISONERS, etc. Nil. V. STATEMENT SHEWING:― Average age of Other Ranks who embarked on 31/5/16 34·57 years. Percentage of above:― _Married_ 33·64%; _Single_ 64·57%; _Widowers_ 1·80%. Average age of Other Ranks serving on 11/11/18 30·5 years. Percentage of above:―_Married_ 28·5%; _Single_ 71·1%; _Widowers_ ·4%. Average Service of above in A.I.F. 29·4 months. Average Service of above in the Field 13 months. VI. STATEMENT OF OFFENCES, etc., etc.― ----------------------------------+------------+----------+---------- |Present with|In France | Nature of Offence. | Unit In | but not |Elsewhere. | France. | present | | |with Unit.| ----------------------------------+------------+----------+---------- a. Desertion or absence to avoid | | | an action | ― | ― | ― a.a. Desertion or absence not | | | held to be disgraceful | 9 | 1 | 12 b. Offences against discipline― | | | showing insubordination | ― | ― | 2 b.b. Offences amounting to neglect| 5 | ― | ― c. Offences against property | | | (theft, destruction, etc.) | ― | ― | ― d. Drunkenness | ― | ― | 1 e. Miscellaneous | ― | ― | ― ----------------------------------+------------+----------+---------- Total | 14 | 1 | 15 ----------------------------------+------------+----------+---------- VII. “ROLL OF HONOUR,” for Service with the Unit. -----+--------+----------------+--------+-------------------------------- Reg. | Rank. | Name. |Honours | Remarks. No. | | | and | Date and Operation. | | |Rewards.| -----+--------+----------------+--------+-------------------------------- | Major |R. J. Donaldson | D.S.O. |(A.I.F. List No. 340 of 4/6/18) | ” |O. B. Williams | M.C. |(A.I.F. List No. 427 of 1/1/19). | Lieut. |W. H.Thomas | M.C. |On 7/6/17 at Messines. | ” |H. St. A. Murray| M.C. | ” 4/10/17 at Ypres. 9438| C.S.M. |Brodie, G. C. | D.C.M. | ” ” ” ” 9588| 2/Cpl. |Atkins, C. P. | M.S.M. | ” ” ” ” 9676| Spr. |Stark, W. | M.M. | ” 5/6/17 at Plœgsteert Wood. 9655| Dvr. |Paget, A. A. | M.M. | ” 7/6/17 at Messines. |(L/Cpl.)| | | 9521| Spr. |Jones, C. C. | M.M. | ” ” ” ” |(T.Cpl.)| | | 9448| L/Cpl. |Evans, W. W. | M.M. | ” ” ” ” 9509| Spr. |Bugden, F. C. | M.M. | ” 4/10/17 at Ypres. 9539| 2/Cpl. |Stewart, A. McL.| M.M. | ” ” ” ” | (Cpl.) | | | 9641| A/Cpl. |Mace, J. J. | M.M. |On night 7/8-10/17 at Ypres. | (Cpl.) | | | 9467| L/Cpl. |Toft, W. G. | M.M. | ” 4/10/17 at Ypres. 9722| Dvr. |Furniss, A. H. | M.M. | ” ” ” ” 9522| L/Cpl. |Johns, W. | M.M. | ” 30/3/18 at Sailly-le-Sec. |(T/Cpl.)| | | 9579| Sergt. |Oliver, R. B. | M.M. | ” 5/4/18 at Bouzencourt. 15070| Dvr. |Cannell, J. H. | M.M. | ” 24/4/18 at Bonnay. 9697| Sergt. |Williams, H. | M.M. | ” 22/8/18 near Bray-sur-Somme. 3549| Spr. |Gallwey, F. V. | M.M. | ” 29/9/18 S.W. of Le-Catelet. 20429| ” |Chapman, R. E. | M.M. | ” ” ” ” ” -----+--------+----------------+--------+-------------------------------- _Note._ Rank shewn in brackets denotes present Rank. 9514| Spr. |Collinson, F. G.|Belgium |On 6/12/17 at Le Bizet. | | |Croix de| | | | Guerre | 9574|C.Q.M.S.|Whitrow, H. G. | M.S.M. |(A.I.F. List No. 438 of 24/1/19) VIII. “NOMINAL ROLL” of all ranks who have served continuously during Service of Unit in France up to 11/11/18. Reg. No. Rank. Name. Major R. J. Donaldson, D.S.O. T/ ” O. B. Williams. Lieut. R. W. Lahey. ” W. H. Thomas, M.C. 9574 C.Q.M.S. Whitrow, H. G. 9591 Sergt. Bayer, C. E. 9473 F/ ” O’Keeffe, H. J. 9587 Cpl. Ashmeade, F. J. L. 9687 2/ ” Vonbertouch, R. 9507 L/ ” Ainsworth. N. J. 9586 ” Andrews, F. L. 9593 ” Blaser, G. 9512 ” Baird, T. W. 9543 ” Cunningham, J. G. 9544 ” Doyle, J. L. 9582 ” Ive, A. 9523 ” King, A. G. 9528 ” Monaghan, H. H. 9655 ” Paget, A. A. (M.M.) 9666 ” Rogers, P. C. 9674 ” Spurr, R. U. 9679 ” Tassell, A. W. 9685 ” Treloar, A. F. 9692 ” Walker, G. 9698 ” Williams, R. F. 9589 Spr. Aubertin, H. G. 9584 Dvr. Abernethy, E. J. 9592 ” Beck, C. A. 9600 ” Bull, G. J. 9612 ” Cunningham, T. W. 9440 ” Clancey, M. J. 9722 ” Furniss, A. H. (M.M.) 9449 Spr. Graham, W. J. 9628 . ” Harrip, E. 9631 Dvr. Hemple, W. J. T. 9633 Spr. Hollis, A. G. 9548 ” Johnson, J. 9638 ” Krollig, H. A. 9643 L/Cpl. March, H. 9645 Dvr. Moody, C. T. 9718 Spr. Merrett, W. B. 9462 Dvr. Monaghan, T. 9651 Spr. Olson, G. C. 9664 ” Richardson, H. 9669 ” Semmler, J. A. 9675 ” Stanley, M. J. 9695 Dvr. Way, F. W. 9694 ” Ward, W. R. 10373 ” Wilson, R. D. 9700 Spr. Wilson, J. G. W. Average number of days leave in England:―Officers, 24. Other Ranks, 14. IX. MUSTER ROLL to 31/12/18 of all Officers and O.R. shewing:― OFFICERS. --------+------------------+----------+----------------+-----------+ | | a. | b. | c. | | | Date of | | | Rank. | Name. |Enlistment|Date of Joining.| Date of | | | | | Leaving. | | | | | | --------+------------------+----------+----------------+-----------+ Capt. |G. L. A. Thirkell | 26/8/14 | 23/12/17 | | Lieut. |R. G. Rutledge | 8/6/15 | 4/2/18 | | ” |S. W. Matters | 1/7/15 |Form’t’n of Coy.| | ” |R. W. Lahey | 22/7/15 | ” | | ” |H. St. A. Murray | 28/7/15 | ” | | ” |E. A. Robinson | 30/10/15 | ” | | Major |R. J. Donaldson | 1/12/15 | ” | | ” |O. B. Williams | 31/12/15 | ” | 10/11/18 | Lieut. |H. E. S. Melbourne| 4/1/16 | ” | | ” |R. F. Massie | 2/2/16 | 6/6/18 | 3/8/18 | ” |E. H. Rhodes | 16/2/16 | 25/4/18 | | ” |H. C. Valentine | 17/3/16 | 12/5/18 | | ” |J. M. Norton | 23/3/16 |Form’t’n of Coy.| | ” |W. H. Thomas | 1/5/16 | ” | | Capt. |G. Smith | 2/9/15 | 21/9/18 | 10/11/18 | --------+------------------+----------+----------------+-----------+ OFFICERS. ------------------+------------+--------------------+---------------------- | d. | e. | f. | Period of | | Remarks, Promotions, Name. | Service | Immediate Awards | and Honours, |with Unit in| and Wounds. | other than (e). |the Field. | | ------------------+------------+--------------------+---------------------- G. L. A. Thirkell | 12m. 8d. | | R. G. Rutledge | 4m. 24d. | | S. W. Matters | 22m. 4d. |Wounded 24/4/18 | To Lieut. 1/1/17. R. W. Lahey | 25m. 3d. |Wounded 14/12/16 | ” H. St. A. Murray | 18m. 1d. |M.C. 4/10/17 | ” | |Wounded 20/10/17 | | |Rem. on D. | E. A. Robinson | 19m. 3d. | | 2/Lieut. 27/4/18. | | | Lieut. 27/7/18. R. J. Donaldson | 25m. 7d. | | D.S.O., A.I.F. List | | | 340 of 4/6/18. O. B. Williams | 23m. 16d. |Wounded 31/5/18 | Captain 2/10/16. | | Rem. on D. | Major 10/11/18. | | M.C., A.I.F. List | | | No. 427 of 1/1/19 | H. E. S. Melbourne| 15m. 21d. |Wounded 24/4/18 | Sergt. 6/2/17. | | | 2/Lieut. 23/2/18. | | | Lieut. 28/5/18. R. F. Massie | 1m. 27d. | | Lieut. 29/6/18. E. H. Rhodes | 8m. 6d. | | Lieut. 23/5/18. H. C. Valentine | 7m. 19d. | | J. M. Norton | 18m. 10d. | | Lieut. 1/1/17. W. H. Thomas | 24m. 27d. |M.C. 7/6/17 | 2/Lieut., A.I.F. | | Wounded 21/6/17 | List No. 136. | | | Lieut. 12/5/17. G. Smith | 1m. 19d. |M.B.E. (A.I.F. List | Capt. 10/11/18. | | No. 427 of 1/1/19)| Transferred from | | | Corps Workshops | | | to 10th Fld. Coy. ------------------+------------+--------------------+-------------------- _Note._―The Average Service of above in the Field 15·47 months. OTHER RANKS. ------+--------+------------------+--------+----------------+-----------+ | | | a. | b. | c. | Reg.| | |Date of | | | No. | Rank. | Name. |Enlist- |Date of Joining.| Date of | | | | ment. | | Leaving. | | | | | | | ------+--------+------------------+--------+----------------+-----------+ 422 | L/Cpl. |Meacock, L. K. | 23/9/14| 9/4/17 | 25/10/18 | 1919 | Spr. |Cliff, N. F. | 10/2/15| 22/3/18 | 26/12/18 | 9590 | ” |Bateman, S. D. | 23/2/15|Form’t’n of Coy.| 15/12/17 | 9574 | Q.M.S. |Whitrow, H. G. | 4/3/15| ” | | 71 | Pte. |Jenkin, F. H. | 5/5/15| 1/3/17 | 4/2/18 | 5350 | ” |Wright, C. | 11/6/15| ” | do. | 7822 | A/Cpl. |Denton, E. K. | 21/7/15| 17/2/17 | 27/10/17 | 2743 | Spr. |Lahey, N. A. | 5/8/15| 23/11/16 |D’d of w’ds| | | | | | 9/6/17 | 14673 | ” |Law, D. A. | 6/8/15| 9/4/17 | 10/6/17 | 6296 | ” |McSweeney, B. | 9/8/15| 11/2/17 | 25/3/18 | 16634 | ” |Senn, L. A. F. | 17/8/15| 9/4/17 | 5/8/17 | 2568 | ” |Rundle, C. H. | 20/8/15| 12/10/17 | 4/10/18 | 454 | L/Cpl. |Wilson, T. H. | 24/8/15| 25/8/17 | 10/12/18 | 9515 | Dvr. |Collins, E. P. | 30/8/15|Form’t’n of Coy.| 12/10/17 | 3391 | Spr. |Barclay, D. R. | 3/9/15| 11/2/17 | 11/9/17 | 9523 | L/Cpl. |King, A. G. | 6/9/15|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 18172 | Dvr. |Barton, R. D. | 9/9/15| 19/3/18 | 24/7/18 | 3952 | Spr. |Horne, A. | 18/9/15| 13/2/17 | | 9434 | 2/Cpl. |Renwick, A. J. | 22/9/15|Form’t’n of Coy.| 29/6/17 | 9519 | Dvr. |Fuller, S. T. | 29/9/15| ” | 25/9/17 | 9471 | Spr. |Westlake, H. | 2/10/15| ” | | 9432 | S/Sgt. |Barker, H. E. W. | 5/10 15| ” | 6/2/17 | 9573 | Sgt. |Thompson, W. |10/10/15|Form’t’n of Coy.| 25/4/18 | 9442 | Dvr. |Cawle, C. |11/10/15| ” | | 2064 | ” |Russell, J. G. |12/10/15| 17/9/17 | | 9507 | L/Cpl. |Ainsworth, N. W. |13/10/15|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 456N | Dvr. |Cronon, J. |16/10/15| 13/6/18 | 22/12/18 | 9503 | Sgt. |Staples, A. H. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| 22/9/18 | 9542 | Spr. |Whitaker, N. A. F.| ” | ” | 30/3/17 | 9613 | ” |Davies, W. L. |22/10/15| ” | | 9463 | ” |McNamara, W. T. |28/10/15| ” | 6/6/17 | 8950 | ” |Cameron, D. | 6/11/15| 12/10/17 | 3/1/18 | 9581 | Cpl. |Sibbick, G. W. | 7/11/15|Form’t’n of Coy.| 2/10/17 | 9591 | Sgt. |Bayer, C. E. |11/11/15| ” | | 9675 | Spr. |Stanley, M. J. |13/11/15| ” | | 9448 | Dvr. |Clancey, M. J. |16/11/15| ” | | 9517 | ” |Fletcher, A. W. |20/11/15| ” | 9/7/17 | 9458 | Spr. |Moore, W. P. | ” | ” | | 14500 | Dvr. |McMillan, R. E. | ” | 12/1/17 | 26/2/18 | 484N | ” |Lowth, T. J. |29/11/15| 24/1/18 | | 9466 | L/Cpl. |Scott, J. S. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9532 | Spr. |Mackay, G. | 2/12/15| ” | | 9578 | Cpl. |Moore, J. R. | 3/12/15| ” | 16/11/16 | 9511 | Spr. |Barclay, A. | 4/12/15| ” | 5/8/17 | 6674 | ” |Lamb, H. P. | 6/12/15| 11/2/17 | 12/12/18 | 9543 | L/Cpl. |Cunningham, J. G. | 8/12/15|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9529 | Spr. |Murray, D. A. | ” | ” | 6/6/17 | 9535 | ” |Pern, H. W. | 9/12/15| ” | 7/4/17 | 9444 | Spr. |Dahl, J. |10/12/15|Form’t’n of Coy.| 24/12/16 | 9508 | ” |Auld, A. L. |11/12/15| ” | | 14867 | Dvr. |Gibson, T. | ” | 10/6/17 | 15/10/17 | 9454 | Spr. |Jackson, C. A. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| 11/10/17 | 9512 | L/Cpl. |Baird, T. W. |13/12/15| ” | | 9468 | Spr. |Wegman, J. | ” | ” | 23/5/18 | 9603 | ” |Burnett, J. E. |15/12/15| ” | 11/10/17 | 9607 | L/Cpl. |Christie, T. | ” | ” | 2/8/17 | 9610 | Spr. |Coverlid, E. | ” | ” | 24/6/17 | 17617 | Dvr. |Eagar, D’A. H. S. |20/12/15| 12/2/18 | 21/4/18 | 9689 | Spr. |Wade, W. J. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| 15/11/16 | 9604 | ” |Byrne, J. |21/12/15| ” | 24/11/16 | 9625 | ” |Hammond, A. J. | ” | ” | | 9521 | Cpl. |Jones, C. C. |22/12/15| ” | | 9436 | Spr. |Adamson, T. G. |24/12/15| ” | | 9539 | Cpl. |Stewart, A. McN. | ” | ” | | 9449 | Spr. |Graham, W. J. |27/12/15| ” | | 10889 | Dvr. |Browning, R. J. |28/12/15| ” | 7/12/16 | 9448 | L/Cpl. |Evans, W. W. | ” | ” | 9/6/17 | 9518 | ” |Fowler, P. C. | ” | ” | 23/11/17 | 9722 | Dvr. |Furniss, A. H. |22/12/15|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9473 | F/Sgt. |O’Keeffe, J. H. | ” | ” | | 9546 | L/Cpl. |Horne, M. J. |31/12/15| ” | 5/8/17 | 9533 | Spr. |Paxton, W. H. | ” | ” | 16/2/17 | 9692 | L/Cpl. |Walker, G. | ” | ” | | 9451 | Cpl. |Hewitt, J. | 3/1/16| ” | 30/9/18 | 9459 | T2/Cpl.|Meeson, H. T. | ” | ” | | 9688 | Spr. |Wachsmuth, H. | ” | ” | 16/11/16 | 15620 | ” |Wilson, A. W. | ” | 9/4/17 | | 15066 | ” |Whitehead, A. H. | ” | ” | | 10904 | Dvr. |White, W. R. | ” | 28/6/17 | | 9602 | Spr. |Bunn, H. | 4/1/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| 28/4/18 | 9669 | ” |Semmler, J. A. | ” | ” | | 9469 | ” |Walker, T. H. | ” | ” | 30 3/18 | 9470 | ” |Wilkes, W. | ” | ” | | 9439 | ” |Band, A. H. | 5/1/16| ” | | 9450 | T/Cpl. |Gray, G. W. | ” | ” | 12/12/17 | 9461 | Spr. |Marshall, W. J. | ” | ” | 31/8/18 | 9462 | Dvr. |Monaghan, T. | ” | ” | 3/12/18 | 19897 | Spr. |O’Sullivan, J. | ” | ” | 19/12/16 | 9662 | Spr. |Porteous, A. McK. | 5/1/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| 14/10/17 | 9715 | ” |Symonds, H. | ” | ” | | 9472 | T/Sgt. |Gardner, G. A. | 6/1/16| ” | | 10900 | Spr. |Stevenson, J. H. | ” | 29/3/17 | 3/12/18 | 9686 | ” |Villepastour, H.L.| ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9547 | ” |Lace, W. H. | 7/1/16| ” | 6/6/17 | 19588 | ” |Lyall, J. | ” | 20/11/16 | | 9657 | Dvr. |Parham, B. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| 8/6/17 | 9464 | Spr. |Roberts, D. | ” | ” | | 9465 | ” |Simpson, D. M. | ” | ” | 6/6/17 | 9433 | 2/Cpl. |Taylor, J. | ” | ” | | 9694 | Dvr. |Ward, W. R. | ” | ” | | 9438 | C.S.M. |Brodie, G. C. | 10/1/16| ” | 26/8/18 | 10882 | Dvr. |Burton, A. E. F. | ” | 24/3/17 | | 9618 | Spr. |Emerson, J. J. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| | | | | | 5/8/18 | | 9544 | ” |Francey, S. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| 6/7/17 | 9660 | ” |Penrose, R. L. | ” | ” | | 9522 | T/Cpl. |Johns, W. | 11/1/16| ” | | 9524 | Spr. |Kennedy, J. | ” | ” | 13/5/18 | 2863 | 2/Cpl. |Newton, G. L. | 11/1/16| 12/10/17 | | 9676 | Spr. |Stark, W. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| 21/8/18 | 9540 | L/Cpl. |West, B. | ” | ” | | 9541 | Spr. |Wallace, W. | ” | ” | 23/9/17 | 9606 | ” |Castle, A. E. | 12/1/16| ” | | 9443 | ” |Duckling, E. J. | ” | ” | 9/6/17 | 9447 | ” |Flay, E. C. | ” | ” | 4/10/17 | 9446 | ” |Gunn, N. A. J. | ” | ” | 16/9/18 | 9452 | Dvr. |Johnsen, J. A. | ” | ” | | 9453 | Spr. |Jopling, J. V. | ” | ” | 26/1/17 | 9456 | ” |Melrose, J. | ” | ” | | 9528 | L/Cpl. |Monaghan, H. H. | ” | ” | | 9525 | Spr. |L’Estrange, T. | 13/1/16| ” | 23/9/17 | 9536 | Dvr. |Pope, J. G. | ” | ” | | 9513 | Spr. |Cowe, J. | 14/1/16| ” | 15/1/17 | 9444 | L/Cpl. |Doyle, J. L. | ” | ” | | 9617 | Spr. |Eley, C. T. | ” | ” | 5/8/17 | 9634 | Dvr. |Howe, H. W. C. | ” | ” | 15/10/17 | 9548 | Spr. |Johnson, J. | ” | ” | | 3701 | L/Cpl. |Angell, A. N. | 13/1/16| 24/11/17 | 21/9/18 | 9436 | ” |Hutton, F. W. | 15/1/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| 23/9/17 | 9575 | Cpl. |Benham, C. B. | 17/1/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| 13/6/18 | 9601 | Spr. |Bunn, G. L. | ” | ” | | 10883 | L/Cpl. |Barrie, P. H. | ” | ” | | 9627 | Spr. |Hansen, H. B. | ” | ” | 3/9/18 | 9718 | ” |Merrett, W. B. | ” | ” | | 9467 | L/Cpl. |Toft, W. G. | ” | ” | 5/4/18 | 9534 | Spr. |Power, R. | 19/1/16| ” | 6/6/17 | 9597 | Dvr. |Bray, R. T. | 20/1/16| ” | 25/8/18 | 9649 | Spr. |McArthur, J. A. | ” | ” | 28/1/17 | 9530 | L/Cpl. |Monca, C. H. | ” | ” | 14/5/18 | 9592 | Dvr. |Beck, C. M. A. | 21/1/16| ” | | 9509 | Spr. |Bugden, F. C. | ” | ” | 14/5/18 | 9516 | Spr. |Doyle, D. J. | 21/1/16| ” | 23/9/17 | 9633 | ” |Hollis, A. G. | ” | ” | | 9520 | Cpl. |Hunt, W. | ” | ” | 29/10/18 | 10893 | Spr. |McLean, N. | ” | 25/5/17 | | 9663 | Cpl. |Richards, H. E. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| 5/8/17 | 9537 | Spr. |Rooke, R. J. | ” | ” | 2/4/17 | 9572 | C.S.M. |Sloan, B. | 21/1/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9699 | Spr. |Williams, W. T. D.| ” | ” | 5/12/16 | 9514 | ” |Collinson, F. G. | 22/1/16| ” | | 9545 | ” |Horder, W. | ” | ” | | 9460 | ” |Monk, E. T. | ” | ” | | 10902 | ” |Townsley, A. | ” | ” | 18/5/18 | 9506 | 2/Cpl. |Darnell, T. E. | 24/1/16| ” | 14/3/18 | 9724 | Dvr. |Jones, S. | 24/1/16| ” | | 9658 | ” |Pearce, A. V. | ” | ” | | 9672 | ” |Smith, H. E. | ” | ” | 29/10/17 | 9455 | L/Cpl. |Kay, H. I. | 25/1/16| ” | 18/5/18 | 9457 | Spr. |Lenham, H. | ” | ” | 9/6/17 | 9702 | ” |Wiley, E. | ” | ” | | 7411 | ” |Boys, A. A. | 26/1/16| 9/4/17 | | 9644 | ” |Merrett, A. F. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9665 | Dvr. |Rogers, L. C. | 27/1/16| ” | 4/10/17 | 9666 | L/Cpl. |Rogers, P. C. | ” | ” | | 9624 | Spr. |Hamilton, J. S. | 28/1/16| ” | | 9719 | ” |Paine, G. T. | 29/1/16| ” | 14/5/18 | 9713 | L/Cpl. |Rushforth, J. H. | ” | ” | 13/5/18 | 10403 | Spr. |Harrap, A. S. | 31/1/16| In England | 6/6/17 | 14504 | Dvr. |Roots, D. | ” | 24/3/17 | 15/3/18 | 14683 | Spr. |Moore, W. J. | 31/1/16| 11/2/17 | 17/2/17 | 15070 | Dvr. |Cannell, J. H. | 1/2/16| 16/6/17 | | 9615 | Spr. |East, H. B. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| 18/4/17 | 9679 | L/Cpl. |Tassell, A. W. | ” | ” | | 9474 | Spr. |Gemmell, J. | 2/2/16| ” | 5/12/16 | 9668 | ” |Sandoe, C. C. | ” | ” | | 15797 | ” |Clutterbuck, J. W.| 3/2/16| 9/4/17 | | 9622 | ” |Grayson, W. G | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9636 | 2/Cpl. |Jackman, L. F. | ” | ” | | 14957 | Cpl. |Nixon, C. E. | ” | 9/4/17 | | 9571 | M/Sgt. |Russel, W. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| 16/10/18 | 14678 | Dvr. |Trowbridge, C. B. | ” | 5/2/17 | | 9687 | 2/Cpl. |Vonbertouch, R. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| | 3862 | Spr. |Lovell, T. G. | 4/2/16| 23/10/17 | | 9621 | ” |Francis, ― | 7/2/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| 15/11/16 | 9642 | ” |Machin, ― | ” | ” | | 9648 | ” |Myhill, G. P. | ” | ” | | 9670 | ” |Sinclair, A. | ” | ” | 28/6/17 | 9683 | ” |Thompson, C. | ” | ” | 23/11/17 | 9698 | L/Cpl. |Williams, R. F. | ” | ” | | 9700 | Spr. |Wilson, G. W. | ” | ” | 22/11/18 | 9701 | L/Cpl. |Wright, J. R. | 7/2/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 15132 | Spr. |Stubbington, F. W.| 8/2/16| 9/4/17 | 12/1/18 | 9620 | ” |Forrest, E. C. | 9/2/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9586 | L/Cpl. |Andrews, F. L. | 10/2/16| ” | | 9612 | Dvr. |Cunningham, T. W. | ” | ” | | 9611 | T/Cpl.|Crawford, F. S. | ” | ” | | 9717 | Dvr. |Kendall, W. | ” | ” | 3/1/18 | 9639 | Spr. |Lean, C. | ” | ” | | 9643 | L/Cpl. |March, H. | ” | ” | | 9645 | Dvr. |Moody, T. C. | ” | ” | | 9646 | Spr. |Moore, B. | ” | ” | 26/2/17 | 9661 | ” |Petney, F. F. J. | 10/2/16| ” | 6/6/17 | 1818 | ” |Rowe, J. P. | 11/2/16| 29/11/17 | | 9584 | Dvr. |Abernethy, E. J. | 14/2/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| 10/11/18 | 10250 | Spr. |Flannagan, M. J. | ” | 23/11/16 | 6/6/17 | 9582 | L/Cpl. |Ive, A. L. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9697 | Sgt. |Williams, H. | ” | ” | | 9654 | Spr. |Olson, G. C. | 15/2/16| ” | | 9623 | T2/Cpl.|Hamilton, J. M. | 16/2/16| ” | | 9647 | Spr. |Murray, A. B. | ” | ” | 4/2/17 | 9656 | F/Sgt. |Pappin, J. L. | ” | ” | 1/1/18 | 9628 | Spr. |Harrip, E. | 17/2/16| ” | | 9650 | Cpl. |McGrath, A. A. | ” | ” | 23/7/18 | 9674 | L/Cpl. |Spurr, R. U. P. | 17/2/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9596 | Spr. |Boyce, W. A. C. | 18/2/16| ” | 22/5/18 | 9651 | ” |McIlwain, S. | ” | ” | 23/7/17 | 9664 | Spr. |Richardson, H. | 18/2/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9703 | ” |Young, W. | ” | ” | 14/5/18 | 9600 | Dvr. |Bull, G. J. | 19/2/16| ” | | 9608 | 2/Cpl. |Cleave, B. | ” | ” | | 9690 | Spr. |Wakefield, B. B. | ” | ” | 17/10/17 | 9576 | C.S.M. |Brander, J. J. | 21/2/16| ” | 12/12/17 | 9594 | Spr. |Boettcher, W.G.K. | ” | ” | 15/5/18 | 15305 | ” |Bowyer, A. E. | ” | 9/4/17 | 20/7/18 | 1822 | ” |Davey, G. | ” | 2/3/17 | | 9709 | ” |James, T. A. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9667 | ” |Rivers, F. E. | ” | 7/12/17 | 30/4/18 | 9677 | Dvr. |Talbot, T. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| 6/6/17 | 9588 | 2/Cpl. |Atkins, C. P. | 22/2/16| ” | 8/10/17 | 9614 | ” |Dawe, B. | ” | ” | | 9637 | Spr. |Kempson, C. H. A. | ” | ” | 23/11/17 | 9579 | Sgt. |Oliver, R. B. | ” | ” | 8/7/18 | 9583 | Cpl. |Temple, B. H. | 22/2/16| ” | 18/12/18 | 9681 | Sgt. |Thomas, H. C. | 22/2/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9691 | L/Cpl. |Walden, L. J. | ” | ” | 14/9/18 | 9721 | Dvr. |Watkinson, F. | 23/2/16| ” | 3/12/18 | 15454 | L/Cpl. |O’Connor, T. E. | 24/2/16| 16/6/17 | | 9635 | ” |Howitt, A. | 25/2/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9655 | ” |Paget, A. U. | ” | ” | | 9693 | Spr. |Wannan, J. W. | ” | ” | 1/5/17 | 9593 | L/Cpl. |Blaser, G. | 26/2/16| ” | | 9630 | M/Sgt. |Helling, J. A. | ” | ” | | 9632 | Spr. |Henry, R. C. | 28/2/16| ” | 8/10/17 | 9587 | Cpl. |Ashmeade, F. J. L.| 29/2/16| ” | 4/12/18 | 9505 | Sgt. |Campbell, H. | ” | ” | 28/9/18 | 17839 | L/Cpl. |Haddow, A. | 29/2/16| 17/11/17 | | 9682 | ” |Thomas, W. C. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| 12/8/18 | 10984 | Spr. |Merton, C. H. T. | 31/2/16|In England. | 9/6/17 | 9619 | Dvr. |Flannagan, W. H. | 1/3/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9685 | L/Cpl. |Treloar, A. F. | ” | ” | | 1555 | ” |Hansford, R. G. | 22/3/16| 21/7/17 | | 9714 | Spr. |Sutcliffe, J. H. | 22/3/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| 14/10/18 | 375A | ” |Curran, J. | 3/3/16 | 30/9/17 | 24/12/18 | 9631 | Dvr. |Hemple, W. J. T. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9671 | L/Cpl. |Smith, C. | ” | ” | 1/9/18 | 9673 | Spr. |Smith, M. M. | ” | ” | | 15767 | ” |Salmon, C. F. | ” | 10/6/17 | 4/10/17 | 9641 | Cpl. |Mace, J. J. | 4/3/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 431 | Spr. |Byatt, A. | 6/3/16| 6/11/17 | | 392 | ” |McKay, D. | ” | 30/9/17 | 30/6/18 | 15334 | Dvr. |Matheson, G. | ” | 12/10/17 | 17/7/18 | 10292 | L/Cpl. |Lowe, W. H. | 9/3/16| In England. | 15/10/18 | 9720 | Dvr. |Rogers, J. | 9/3/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| 23/9/17 | 9589 | Spr. |Aubertin, H. G. | 13/3/16| ” | | 9695 | Dvr. |Way, F. W. | 16/3/16| ” | | 9659 | L/Cpl. |Pearce, W. H. | 17/3/16| ” | 23/11/17 | 9638 | Spr. |Krollig, A. J. | 19/3/16| ” | | 9708 | ” |Boothey, S. F. | 20/3/16| ” | | 375 | ” |Burbidge, P. | ” | 30/9/17 | | 9609 | ” |Coombe, L. B. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| | 9640 | ” |Leleu, F. E. | ” | ” | 31/5/17 | 10907 | L/Cpl. |McBain, G. J. | ” | ” | | 15749 | Dvr. |Tibbits, E. C. | ” | 20/3/18 | | 1143 | Dvr. |Cunningham, A. E. | 25/3/16| 23/11/16 | | 382 | Spr. |Gill, D. E. | 26/3/16| 14/12/17 | 4/12/18 | 9723 | ” |Coker, S. H. | 27/3/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| | 2173 | ” |Hepworth, T. | ” | 9/4/17 | 11/10/17 | 388 | ” |Kennington, H. | ” | 30/9/17 | | 1596 |E.R.Sgt.|Sharp, A. F. | 27/3/16| 12/11/16 | | 10373 | Dvr. |Wilson, R. D. | ” | 23/11/16 | | 16122 | Spr. |Chamberlain, P. | 28/3/16| 16/6/17 | | 9712 | ” |Rawling, L. C. | 30/3/16|Form’t’n of Coy.| 9/5/18 | 16466 | ” |Geddes, J. C. | ” | 10/6/17 | 15/6/18 | 16482 | Dvr. |Gittins, A. H. | 3/4/16| ” | 18/10/17 | 3549 | Spr. |Gallwey, F. V. | ” | 29/11/17 | | 15741 | ” |Whitfield, F. J. | ” | 9/4/17 | | 480 | ” |Watson, H. | ” | 25/8/17 | | 16797 | ” |Gees, H. W. | 5/4/16| 30/9/17 | | 16481 | Dvr. |Gees, R. T. | ” | 5/1/18 | | 9710 | L/Cpl. |Mackay, C. R. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| | 16804 | Dvr. |Robinson, H. R. | ” | 6/11/17 | | 9678 | Spr. |Tamlin, C. E. | ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| | 15750 | Dvr. |Cover, W. C. | 6/4/16| 18/5/17 | | 449 | Spr. |Hounam, E. T. | ” | 16/8/17 | | 15769 | Dvr. |Thackeray, R. N. | 6/4/16| 18/5/17 | | 17684 | Spr. |Campton, F. | 12/4/16| 5/6/18 | 30/9/18 | 15692 | Spr. |Bond, P. W. | 17/4/16| 9/4/17 | | 15693 | ” |Bond, R. S. | ” | ” | | 15485 | Dvr. |Connor, M. | 20/4/16| 9/1/18 | 2/12/18 | 15782 | Spr. |Selby, B. | 25/4/16| 9/4/17 | | 15779 | ” |Hill, W. T. | 26/4/16| ” | 12/4/18 | 2710 | ” |Ross, J. J. | 29/4/16| 15/11/17 | 12/8/18 | 460 | ” |Morrow, C. J. | 1/5/16| 14/12/17 | 27/5/18 | 9706 | Sgt. |Marshall, G. W. J.| ” |Form’t’n of Coy.| 30/7/18 | 9707 | 2/Cpl. |Serisier, F. W. | ” | ” | 30/3/17 | 16892 | Spr. |Hodgson, H. H. | 2/5/16| 4/7/17 | 21/3/18 | 16127 | ” |Hodge, W. | 3/5/16| 19/10/17 | | 16136 | ” |Vasco, L. | ” | 23/10/17 | 18/5/18 | 1719 | ” |Allanson, S. A. H.| 4/5/16| 2/3/17 | | 16802 | Dvr. |Smith, W. V. | 15/5/16| 6/1/18 | 16/2/18 | 2682 | Spr. |Williams, J. | 27/5/16| 29/8/18 | 7/9/18 | 2904 | ” |Moran, F. E. | 7/6/16| 15/11/17 | 5/5/18 | 2862 | ” |Franck, R. H. H. | 13/6/16| 29/10/17 | 26/9/18 | 6520 | ” |Higgins, A. S. | 14/6/16| 22/3/18 | | 3552 | ” |Porter, T. E. | ” | 17/11/17 | 27/12/17 | 17817 | Dvr. |Swinton, ― | 3/7/16| 29/11/17 | 21/12/18 | 3195 | Spr. |Clarke, C. L. | 6/7/16| 30/9/17 | | 2950 | ” |Christensen, F. P.| 15/7/16| 6/9/17 | 31/12/18 | 16783 | ” |Copland, G. N. | 17/7/16| 4/7/17 | | 3454 | Spr. |McLaughlan, H. | 17/7/16| 17/11/17 | 21/9/18 | 2815 | ” |Adams, J. E. J. | 28/7/16| 1/9/17 | | 3198 | ” |Dear, A. H. | 31/7/16| 13/9/17 | 25/7/18 | 9223 | Dvr. |Bennett, C. A. | 30/8/16| 20/11/16 | 22/11/16 | 17775 | Spr. |Dudley, C. | 21/8/16| 6/11/17 | | 16794 | ” |Sologub, E. | 26/8/16| 4/7/17 | | 16785 | ” |Dillow, A. | 7/9/16| ” | 5/8/18 | 18528 | Dvr. |Englert, A. O. | 15/9/16| 19/2/18 | 30/6/18 | 16658 | ” |Friend, J. A. | 20/9/16| 10/6/17 | | 17792 | Spr. |Richardson, T. | ” | 6/11/17 | 11/10/18 | 6772 | Dvr. |Gleadhill, R. A. | 24/2/16| 28/3/18 | | 17791 | Spr. |Russell, G. A. | 27/9/16| 6/11/17 | 2/11/18 | 3614 | ” |Jolly, G. | 28/9/16| 29/10/17 | | 17793 | ” |Reynolds, R. | 30/9/16| 6/11/17 | | 16637 | ” |Scott, C. W. | 2/10/16| 27/6/17 | 31/12/17 | 16277 | Dvr. |Jones, L. C. | 3/10/16| 10/6/17 | 3/12/18 | 18162 | L/Cpl. |Doyle, T. L. | 6/10/16| 27/2/18 | | 877 | Spr. |Parkinson, V. |11/10/16| 14/12/17 | | 3333 | ” |Darvall, A. H. |12/10/16| 13/9/17 | 4/10/17 | 17692 | ” |Dwyer, W. J. | ” | 17/11/17 | 19/12/17 | 17788 | ” |Poulton, H. | ” | 9/2/18 | | 16859 | Dvr. |Campbell, W. |16/10/16| 13/10/17 | | 2399 | Spr. |Piggott, L. J. | ” | 25/4/18 | | 16838 | ” |Setchell, A. W. | ” | 4/7/17 | | 16683 | Dvr. |Tyrrell, J. | ” | 16/6/17 | | 17238 | Dvr. |Carmichael, A. B. |23/10/16| 4/6/18 | 2/8/18 | 16977 | Spr. |Greenwood, F. G. | ” | 4/7/17 | 23/4/18 | 16891 | ” |Hyndman, J. | ” | ” | | 16985 | L/Cpl. |Hudson, H. L. | ” | 13/7/17 | 29/9/18 | 16877 | Dvr. |O’Brien, G. | ” | 14/12/17 | 9/1/18 | 16684 | Spr. |Turner, J. | ” | 16/6/17 | | 17711 | ” |Wheeler, H. S. | ” | 17/11/17 | | 878 | ” |Parkinson, J. P. |24/10/16| 9/12/17 | 26/9/18 | 17771 | ” |Ashton, E. H. |27/10/16| 6/11/17 | | 3188 | ” |Oldham, E. |28/10/16| 29/11/17 | | 16973 | ” |Griffiths, H. M. |30/10/16| 4/7/17 | | 3419 | ” |Pugh, V. G. A. | ” | 1/9/17 | 14/5/18 | 17737 | ” |Sams, S. E. B. | ” | 6/11/17 | | 16882 | Dvr. |Swan, W. P. | ” | 14/12/17 | | 3347 | Spr. |Gordon, J. K. | 4/11/16| 12/10/17 | | 17390 | ” |McCulloch, H. | 6/11/16| 14/12/17 | 26/9/18 | 17401 | ” |Smith, W. G. | ” | 6/11/17 | | 3431 | ” |Seller, T. | ” | ” | 21/12/18 | 866 | ” |Regan, T. R. W. | 8/11/16| 14/12/17 | | 17403 | L/Cpl. |Stewart, A. | 9/11/16| 6/11/17 | | 19754 | Spr. |Wilkins, H. W. |13/11/16| 18/4/18 | 28/9/18 | 3488 | ” |Winston, R. H. |15/11/16| 29/11/17 | 27/7/18 | 17696 | ” |McCormac, E. T. |20/11/16| 6/11/17 | 20/11/18 | 3634 | ” |McMurray, N. |21/11/16| ” | | 17734 | Spr. |Rivers, C. F. |21/11/16| 6/11/17 | | 18526 | Dvr. |Dickson, B. C. |22/11/16| 19/2/18 | | 17702 | Spr. |McEvoy, W. H. |11/12/16| 6/11/17 | | 17265 | Dvr. |Simpson, J. McN. | ” | 24/1/18 | | 17266 | ” |Simpson, W. B. |11/12/16| 24/1/18 | | 17726 | ” |Ward, R. M. | ” | ” | | 16955 | Spr. |Cameron, C. M. G. |23/12/16| 4/7/17 | | 3391 | ” |Cherry, L. T. |30/12/16| 15/12/17 | 12/5/18 | 3676 | ” |Ingram, G. A. | ” | 17/11/17 | | 7724 |E.R.Sgt.|Wilson, A. A. | | 11/9/18 | | 19472 | Spr. |Russell, C. | 3/1/17| 25/4/18 | | 18721 | Dvr. |Mannix, T. L. | 20/1/17| 19/2/18 | 22/5/18 | 18285 | ” |McSweeney, J. H. | 23/1/17| 19/3/18 | | 875 | Spr. |Jones, T. C. A. | 30/1/17| 6/11/17 | 30/6/18 | 18533 | Dvr. |Pashley, G. | 5/2/17| 19/2/18 | | 18286 | ” |Mealing, J. | 17/2/17| ” | | 18258 | Spr. |Steel, H. E. | ” | 12/2/18 | | 18222 | ” |Fraser, S. | 19/2/17| 19/2/18 | | 18283 | Dvr. |Kingsbury, S. G. | ” | 4/6/18 | 26/10/18 | 18643 | Spr. |Newton, T. A. | ” | 2/2/18 | 27/8/18 | 18730 | ” |Leach, W. H. | 23/2/17| ” | | 19473 | ” |Scales, J. H. | 24/2/17| 25/4/18 | | 18764 | Dvr. |Kilcup, H. | 28/2/17| 4/6/18 | | 18614 | Spr. |Brown, A. W. | 1/3/17| 9/2/18 | 30/9/18 | 18680 | Dvr. |Burke, W. | ” | 4/6/18 | 12/10/18 | 18647 | Spr. |Reid, J. | 6/3/17| 27/2/18 | 23/5/18 | 18645 | ” |Page, A. R. | 12/3/17| 9/2/18 | 6/11/18 | 19999 | ” |Jenkin, J. | 11/4/17| 5/6/18 | | 19519 | ” |Fox, H. J. | 19/4/17| 13/6/18 | | 19919 | ” |Robertson, H.R.R. | 20/4/17| 5/6/18 | | 19653 | ” |Saward, G. D. | 21/4/17| ” | | 19645 | ” |Jones, A. J. V. | 24/4/17| 25/4/18 | | 19294 | ” |Grummet, A. E. | 7/5/17| 5/6/18 | 22/7/18 | 20382 | ” |Ford, J. | 8/6/17| 13/6/18 | 21/9/18 | 20419 | ” |Reed, E. E. | ” | 5/6/18 | 26/9/18 | 20265 | ” |Hyde, A. E. | 12/5/17| 13/6/18 | | 20098 | ” |Cadwallader, C. P.| 12/5/17| 18/6/18 | | 18970 | ” |Paxton, W. | 23/6/17| 5/6/18 | | 19510 | ” |Chandler, T. A. | 1/6/17| 18/6/18 | 21/12/18 | 19512 | ” |Dale, R. H. | 4/6/17| 14/10/18 | | 20005 | ” |Spencer, ―― | 9/6/17| 13/6/18 | 30/9/18 | 21767 | ” |Griffiths, G. H. | 12/6/17| 14/10/18 | | 20001 | ” |Melville, F. J. | 12/6/17| 5/6/18 | | 19897 | ” |Kent, E. C. | 20/6/17| ” | | 20383 | ” |Fraser, A. | 25/6/17| 12/6/18 | | 19815 | ” |Goddard, H. | 2/7/17| 5/6/18 | 26/9/18 | 19286 | ” |Faulkner, J. A. | 5/7/17| ” | | 3582 | ” |Larson, J. E. | ” | 22/7/18 | | 19891 | ” |Gordon, F. M. | 9/7/17| 5/6/18 | | 20216 | ” |Smith, C. B. | 19/7/17| ” | | 29377 | Spr. |Blake, R. A. | 13/8/17| 13/6/18 | 8/11/18 | 21791 | ” |Hughes, H. C. | 30/8/17| 14/10/18 | | 21792 | ” |Hughes, E. R. | ” | ” | | 21796 | ” |Jacobsen, S. | ” | ” | | 21738 | ” |Dibble, J. J. | 14/9/17| ” | 22/12/18 | 21754 | ” |Finch, W. O. |15/10/17| ” | | 20429 | ” |Chapman, R. E. |26/10/17| 5/6/18 | | 21679 | ” |Anderson, E. E. | 3/11/17| 14/10/18 | | 21396 | Sgt. |Korner, H. C. R. |15/12/17| 5/8/18 | | 22136 | Spr. |Patterson, R. | | 14/10/18 | 14/11/18 | (Note)| | | | | | 9598 | ” |Brown, E. C. | |Form’t’n of Coy.| | | Dvr. |Noghran, J. | | ” | | ------+--------+------------------+--------+----------------+-----------+ OTHER RANKS. -----------------+----------+----------------+--------------------------- | d. | e. | f. |Period of | | Name. |Service |Immediate Awards|Remarks, Promotions, and |with Unit | and Wounds. | Honours, other than (e). |in the | | |Field. | | ----------------+----------+----------------+--------------------------- Meacock, L. K. | 18m. | |To L/Cpl. 5/10/17 (1914 | | | Personnel) on leave U.K. Cliff, N. F. | 6m. | |(1915 Personnel) Bateman, S. D. | 1m. 7d. | |Invalided to Australia. Whitrow, H. G. | 25m. 7d. |M.S.M. (A.I.F. | | | List No. 438) | Jenkin, F. H. | 11m. 3d. | |Transferred to 11th F.A. Wright, C. | 8m. 11d.| | ” ” Denton, E. K. | 8m. 10d.| |To 2/Cpl. 5/8/17. _Note._―Transferred to A.F.C. | To A/Cpl. 31/7/17. Lahey, N. A. | 6m. 15d.|Wounded 9/6/17 | Law, D. A. | 2m. 1d. | |To Hospital. McSweeney, B. | 13m. 14d.| | ” Senn, L. A. F. | 3m. 26d.| |Transferred to A.F.C. Rundle, C. H. | 1m. 20d.|Wounded 15/10/17|To Hospital. Wilson, T. H. | 15m. 15d.| |To L/Cpl. 21/3/18. To Hos. Collins, E. P. | 9m. 9d. |Wounded 12/10/17|Invalided. Barclay, D. R. | 7m. | |Invalided to Australia. King, A. G. | 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 9/10/17. Barton, R. D. | 4m. 5d. | |Invalided to Australia. Horne, A. | 9m. 8d. | | Renwick, A. J. | 7m. 5d. | |Killed in Action. Fuller, S. T. | 10m. 1d. | |Transferred to 5th Aus. D.A.C. Westlake, H. | 4m. 26d.| | Barker, H. E. W.| 1m. 1d. | |To S/Sgt. Transferred to Base | | | Records, France. Thompson, W. | 16m. 4d. | |To Hospital. Cawle, C. | 16m. 4d. | | Russell, J. G. | 15m. 14d.| | Ainsworth, N. W.| 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. Cronon, J. | 3m. 9d. | |To Dvr. 30/3/17. To Hos. Staples, A. H. | 22m. 5d. |Wounded 29/9/18 |To Cpl. 30/9/17. To Sgt. | | | 8/10/18. Whitaker, N.A.F.| 1m. 7d. | |To Hospital. Davies, W. L. | | |Left behind in England. McNamara, W. T. | 3m. 25d.|Wounded 6/6/17 |Invalided to Aust. Cameron, D . | 2m. 21d.| |To Hospital. Sibbick, G. W. | 10m. 8d. |Wounded 2/10/17 |Invalided to Aust. Bayer, C. E. | 25m. 7d. | |To Cpl. 7/5/17. | | | To Sgt. 25/5/18. Stanley, M. J. | 25m. 7d. | | Clancey, M. J. | 25m. 7d. | | Fletcher, A. W. | 7m. 15d.| |To Hospital. Moore, W. P. | | |Left behind in England. McMillan, R. E. | 14m. 7d. | |To Hospital Lowth, T. J. | 11m. 7d. | |To Dvr. 30/3/17. Scott, J. S. | 18m. 9d. | |To L/Cpl. 1/9/17. Mackay, G. | 23m. 22d.|Wounded 7/4/17 | Moore, J. R. | | |Transferred to R.A.F. Barclay, A. | 8m. 11d.| |Transferred to A.F.C. Lamb, H. P. | 22m. 1d. | |Transferred to A.G.B.D. Cunningham, J.G.| 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. Murray, D. A. | 6m. 12d.| |Killed in Action. Pern, H. W. | 4m. 13d.| |Invalided to Aust. Dahl, J. | 1m. | |Killed in Action. Auld, A. L. | 24m. 9d. |Wounded 11/4/17 | Gibson, T. | 2m. 1d. |Wounded 15/10/17|To Dvr. 13/3/17. Jackson, C. A. | 7m. 12d.| |Invalided to Aust. Baird, T. W. | 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. Wegman, J. | 14m. 28d.| |Invalided. Burnett, J. E. | 10m. 17d.|Wounded 11/10/17|Invalided to Aust. Christie, T. | 9m. 8d. | |To L/Cpl. 1/1/17. Invalided. Coverlid, E. | 7m. | |Invalided to Australia. Eagar, D’A.H.S. | 1m. 13d.| |Invalided. Wade, W. J. | | |Invalided to Aust. Byrne, J. | | | ” ” Hammond, A. J. | 24m. 10d.| | Jones, C. C. | 23m. 23d.|M.M. on 7/6/17 |To L/Cpl. 6/7/17. To 2/Cpl. | |Messines. Wounded| 9/1/18. To Cpl. 29/10/18. | |Gas 26/5/18 | Adamson, T. G. | 15m. 5d. | | Stewart, A. McN.| 17m. 20d.|Wounded 8/10/17 |To 2/Cpl. 17/5/17. To Cpl. | |M.M. on 4/10/17 | 8/10/18. | | at Ypres | Graham, W. J. | 25m. 7d. | | Browning, R. J. | 13d. | |Invalided to Aust. Evans, W. W. | 6m. 15d.|Wounded 9/6/17 |To L/Cpl. 16/5/17. To Hos. | | M.M. on 7/6/17| | | Messines | Fowler, P. C. | 11m. 29d.| |To L/Cpl. 25/12/16. Invalided | | | to Aust. Furniss, A. H. | 25m. 7d. |M.M. on 4/10/17 | | | at Ypres | O’Keeffe, J. H. | 25m. 7d. | |To F/Sgt. 1/1/18. Horne, M. J. | 8m. 11d.| |Transferred to A.F.C. Paxton, W. H. | 2m. 22d.|Wounded 16/2/17 |Died of wounds same day. Walker, G. | 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 1/12/17. Hewitt, J. | 22m. 6d. |Wounded 30/9/18 |To L/Cpl. 31/7/17. To 2/Cpl. | | | 27/10/17. To Cpl. 24/5/18. | | | Invalided to Aust. Meeson, H. T. | 23m. 5d. | |To L/Cpl. 24/1/18 To T2/Cpl. | | | 29/10/18. Wachsmuth, H. | | |Left behind in England. Wilson, A. W. | 14m. 5d. | | Whitehead, A. H.| 20m. 22d.| | White, W. R. | 18m. 3d. | | Bunn, H. | 17m. 4d. | |To Hospital. Semmler, J. A. | 26m. 7d. | | Walker, T. H. | 15m. 29d.| |Invalided to Aust. Wilkes, W. | | |Left behind in England. Band, A. H. | 24m. 16d.| | Gray, G. W. | 11m. 6d. |Wounded 12/12/17|To L/Cpl. 6/2/17. To 2/Cpl. | | | 16/2/17. To T/Cpl. 6/12/17. | | | Died of W’nds same day. Marshall, W. J. | 21m. 7d. |Injured accid’tally |To Hospital. | | 31/8/18 | Monaghan, T. | 24m. 9d. | |Transferred to A.G.B.D. O’Sullivan, J. | 25d. | |To Hospital. Porteous, A.McK.| 10m. 20d.| |Invalided to Aust. Symonds, H. | | |Transferred to C.R.E. Gardner, G. A. | 21m. 21d.|Wounded 13/9/18 |To L/Cpl. 31/7/17. To 2/Cpl. | | | 13/12/17. To Cpl 25/7/18. | | | To T/Sgt. 29/10/18. Stevenson, J. H.| 16m. 15d.| |Transferred to A.G.B.D. Villepastour, H.L.| | |Invalided to Aust. Lace, W. H. | 6m. 12d.|Wounded 6/6/17 |Invalided to Aust. Lyall, J. | 15m. 17d.|Wounded 4/10/17 | Parham, B. | 17m. 6d. | |To Hos. A.W.L. from 22/10/18. Roberts, D. | | |Left behind in England. Simpson, D. M. | 6m. 12d.| |Killed in action. Taylor, J. | | |Left behind in England. Ward, W. R. | 25m. 7d. |Wounded 24/4/18 | | | Rem. on D. | Brodie, G. C. | 21m. 2d. |Wounded 12/12/17|To Sgt. 1/12/17. To C.S.M. | |Rem. on D. D.C.M.| 13/3/18. Died of wounds | |on 4/10/17 at Ypres| same day. | |Wounded 26/8/18 | Burton, A. E. F.| 25m. 7d. | | Emerson, J. J. | 4m. 26d.| |Left behind in England. Francey, S. | 7m. 13d.| |Killed in action. Penrose, R. L. | 24m. 1d. | | Johns, W. | 20m. 5d. | Wounded 6/7/17 | To L/Cpl. 17/5/17. To 2/Cpl. | | M.M. on 30/3/18| 13/4/18. | |at Sailly-le-Sec.| To T/Cpl. 16/12/18. Kennedy, J. | 17m. 19d.| |Invalided to Aust. Newton, G. L. | 14m. 19d.| |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. To 2/Cpl. | | | 16/12/18. Stark, W. | 15m. 20d.|M.M. on 5/6/17 at|Invalided to Aust. | |Plœgsteert Wood | West, B. | 24m. 22d.| |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. Wallace, W. | 9m. 29d.| |Transferred to A.G.B.D. Castle, A. E. | 24m. 25d.|Wounded 2/10/17 | | | Rem. on D. | | |Wounded 15/10/17| Duckling, E. J. | 6m. 15d.| |Killed in Action. Flay, E. C. | 10m. 10d.| | ” ” Gunn, N. A. J. | 10m. 1d. | |To Hospital. Johnsen, J. A. | 23m. 3d. | | Jopling, J. V. | 2m. 2d. | |Invalided to Aust. Melrose, J. | | |Left behind in England. Monaghan, H. H. | 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. L’Estrange, T. | 8m. | |Invalided to Aust. Pope, J. G. | | |Left behind in England. Cowe, J. | 1m. 21d.| |Invalided to Aust. Doyle, J. L. | 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 18/6/18. Eley, C. T. | 8m. 11d.| |Transferred to A.F.C. Howe, H. W. C. | 10m. 21d.| |Killed in Action. Johnson, J. | 25m. 7d. | | Angell, A. N. | 9m. 27d.| |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. Transferred | | | to Inf. Off. Training | | | Btn. Hutton, F. W. | 9m. 29d.| |Invalided to Aust. Benham, C. B. | 11m. 12d.| |Invalided to Aust. Bunn, G. L. | 21m. 28d.| | Barrie, P. H. | 23m. 21d.| |To L/Cpl. 18/6/18. Hansen, H. B. | 19m. 18d.| |Injured accidentally. | | | Invalided to Aust. Merrett, W. B. | 25m. 7d. | | Toft, W. G. | 16m. 11d.|Wounded 5/4/18 |To L/Cpl. 5/10/17. To | |M.M. on 4/10/17 |Hospital. | | at Ypres. | Power, R. | 6m. 12d.| |Killed in action. Bray, R. T. | 20m. 10d.|Wounded 10/6/17 |To Hospital. McArthur, J. A. | 2m. 1d. | |Transferred to 3rd Div. | | | Sal. Corps. Monca, C. H. | 17m. 11d.| |To L/Cpl. 5/8/17. | | | Invalided to Aust. Beck, C. M. A. | 25m. 7d. | | Bugden, F. C. | 16m. 22d.|M.M. on 4/10/17 |Invalided to Aust. | |Wounded 17/10/17| Doyle, D. J. | 9m. 29d.| |Invalided to Aust. Hollis, A. G. | 25m. 7d. | | Hunt, W. | 23m. 5d. | |To 2/Cpl. 13/9/17. To Cpl. | | | 13/4/18. Transferred to | | | A.E.T.D. McLean, N. | 19m. 6d. | | Richards, H. E. | 4m. 19d.| |To Cpl. 6/2/17. Transferred | | | to A.F.C. Rooke, R. J. | 4m. 8d. | |Killed in action. Sloan, B. | 14m. 13d.|Wounded 7/2/17 |To C.S.M. 26/8/18. Williams, W.T.D.| 21d.| |To Hospital. Collinson, F. G.| 19m. |Wounded 24/2/17 | | |Croix-de-Guerre | | |(Bel.) on 6/12/17| | | at La Bizet | Horder, W. | 15m. 16d.|Wounded 17/10/17| | | and 30/5/18 | Monk, E. T. | 19m. 8d. |Wounded 9/6/17 | Townsley, A. | 17m. 24d.|Wounded 16/2/17 |Invalided to Aust. | | Rem. on D. | Darnell, T. E. | 13m. 1d. | |To 2/Cpl. 16/11/16. Invalided | | | to Aust. Jones, S. | 23m. 16d.|Wounded 10/6/17 | Pearce, A. V. | 22m. 25d.| | Smith, H. E. | 11m. 5d. | |Transferred to 5th A.A.S.P. Kay, H. I. | 17m. 24d.| |Transferred to A.F.C. Lenham, H. | 6m. 15d.| |Killed in action. Wiley, E. | | |Left behind in England. | | | Invalided to Aust. Boys, A. A. | 17m. 25d.|Wounded 7/7/17 | Merrett, A. F. | 22m. 27d.| | Rogers, L. C. | 10m. 10d.|Wounded 4/10/17 |Invalided to Aust. Rogers, P. C. | 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. Hamilton, J. S. | 23m. 15d.|Wounded 8/7/17 | Paine, G. T. | 16m. 9d. | |Invalided to Aust. Rushforth, J. H.| 17m. 19d.| |To L/Cpl. 12/8/17. Invalided | | | to Aust. Harrap, A. S. | 6m. 12d.|Wounded 6/6/17 |To Hospital. Roots, D. | 8m. 14d.| |To Hospital. Moore, W. J. | 6d.| |Transferred to 10th F. Coy., | | | Aus. Engrs. Cannell, J. H. | 18m. 4d. |M.M. on 24/4/18 |To Dvr. 13/3/17. | | at Bonnay | East, H. B. | 4m. 24d.|Wounded 18/4/17 |Invalided to Aust. Tassell, A. W. | 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. Gemmell, J. | 21d. | |Invalided to Aust. Sandoe, C. C. | 19m. 10d.| | Clutterbuck, J.W.|17m. 19d.|Wounded 4/10/17 | Grayson, W. G | | |Transferred to C.R.E. Jackman, L. F. | | |Transferred to Min. of Muni’s. Nixon, C. E. | 20m. 22d.|Wounded 22/8/18 |To L/Cpl. 5/10/17. To 2/Cpl. | | Rem. on D. | 30/12/17. To Cpl. 30/12/18. Russel, W. | 23m. 22d.| |Transferred to A.E.T.D. Trowbridge, C.B.| 11m. 29d.|Wounded 4/10/17 | Vonbertouch, R. | 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 16/11/16. To 2/Cpl. | | | 16/10/18. Lovell, T. G. | 14m. 8d. | | Francis, ― | | |Invalided to Aust. Machin, ―g | 17m. 21d.| | Myhill, G. P. | 15m. 28d.|Wounded 8/10/17 | Sinclair, A. | 7m. 4d. | |Invalided to Aust. Thompson, C. | 11m. 29d.| | ” ” Williams, R. F. | 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 8/7/18. Wilson, G. W. | 23m. 28d.| |To Hospital. Wright, J. R. | 17m. 13d.|Wounded 15/10/17|To L/Cpl. 7/5/17. Stubbington, F.W.| 9m. 3d. | |Invalided to Aust. Forrest, E. C. | 24m. 13d.|Wo’d’d 24/12/16 &| | |13/7/18 Rem. on D.| Andrews, F. L. | 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. Cunningham, T.W.| 25m. 7d. | | Crawford, F. S. | 24m. 8d. | |To 2/Cpl. 9/1/18. To T/Cpl. | | | 29/10/18. Kendall, W. | 13m. 29d.| |Invalided to Aust. Lean, C. | 24m. 26d.| | March, H. | 25m. 7d. | | Moody, T. C. | 25m. 7d. | | Moore, B. | 3m. 2d. | |Invalided to Aust. Petney, F. F. J.| 6m. 12d.| |Killed in action. Rowe, J. P. | 3m. 15d.| | Abernethy, E. J.| 23m. 16d.| |To Hospital. Flannagan, M. J | 6m. 12d.|Wounded 6/6/17 |Invalided to Aust. Ive, A. L. | 25m. 7d. | | Williams, H. | 17m. 3d. |Wounded 24/2/18 |To 2/Cpl. 7/5/17. To Cpl. | |M.M. on 22/8/18nr.|17/6/17. To Sgt. 30/7/18. | |Bray-sur-Somme | Olson, G. C. | 25m. 7d. | | Hamilton, J. M. | 20m. 5d. | |To T2/Cpl. 29/10/18 Murray, A. B. | 2m. 10d.| |Invalided to Aust. Pappin, J. L. | 11m. 9d. | | ” ” Harrip, E. | 25m. 7d. | | McGrath, A. A. | 19m. 14d.| |Transferred to 44th A.I. Btn. Spurr, R. U. P. | 25m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 23/8/18. Boyce, W. A. C. | 11m. 24d.|Wounded 10/6/17 |To Hospital. | | and 22/5/18 | McIlwain, S. | 7m. 29d.| |To Hospital. Richardson, H. | 25m. 7d. | | Young, W. | 17m. 20d.| |Invalided to Aust. Bull, G. J. | 25m. 7d. | | Cleave, B. | 23m. 2d. | |To 2/Cpl. 25/7/18. Wakefield, B. B.| 10m. 13d.|Wounded 7/10/17 |Died of wounds same day. Brander, J. J. | 12m. 18d.|Wounded 18/12/17|To O.S.M. 17/1/17. Invalided | | | to Aust. Boettcher, W.G.K.|14m. 7d. |Wounded 4/7/17 |To Hospital. Bowyer, A. E. | 15m. 11d.|Injured 20/7/18 |To Hospital. Davey, G. | 10m. 28d.| | James, T. A. | | |Transferred to C.R.E. Rivers, F. E. | 4m. 23d.| |Invalided to Aust. Talbot, T. | 6m. 12d.|Wounded 6/6/17 | ” ” Atkins, C. P. | 10m. 14d.|M.S.M. on 4/10/17| ” ” | | at Ypres. | To 2 Cpl. 7/5/17. | |Wounded 8/10/17 | Dawe, B. | 24m. 7d. | |To 2/Cpl. 30/7/18. Kempson, C.H.A. | 10m. 25d.| |Transferred to A.G.B.D. Oliver, R. B. | 19m. 14d.|M.M. on 5/4/18 at|To Sgt. 7/5/17. | | Bouzencourt |Transferred to Engr. Cdt. | | | Battn. Temple, B. H. | 24m. 4d. | |To Cpl. 13/4/18. Transferred | | | to H.Q., A.I.F., London. Thomas, H. C. | 17m. 12d.| |To Cpl. 17/6/17. To Sgt. | | | 28/12/18. Transferred to | | | A.E.T.D. 29/12/17. Walden, L. J. | 21m. 20d.| |To Hospital. Watkinson, F. | 19m. 8d. | |Transferred to A.E.T.D. O’Connor, T. E. | 18m. 15d.| |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. Howitt, A. | 24m. 27d.| | ” Paget, A. U. | 25m. 7d. |M.M. on 7/6/17 |To L/Cpl. 15/1/18. | | Messines. | Wannan, J. W. | 4m. 16d.| |Attached to C.R.E. Blaser, G. | 25m. 7d. | | Helling, J. A. | 24m. | |To 2/Cpl. 14/6/18. To Cpl. | | | 23/7/18. To Sgt. 16/10/18. Henry, R. C. | 9m. 18d.|Wounded 8/10/17 |Invalided to Aust. Ashmeade, F.J.L.| 24m. 10d.| |To 2/Cpl. 23/7/18. To Cpl. | | | 16/10/18. To Hospital. Campbell, H. | 17m. 18d.| |To Sgt. 30/9/18. Transferred | | | to A.E.T.D. 28/9/17. | | | Transferred to E.C. Btn. Haddow, A. | 12m. 20d.| |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. Thomas, W. C. | 20m. 19d.| |To L/Cpl. 23/7/18. Killed in | | | action. Merton, C. H. T.| 4m. |Wounded 8/1/17 |Killed in action 9/6/17. Flannagan, W. H.| 19m. 13d.| |To L/Cpl. 23/7/18. Treloar, A. F. | 25m. 7d. | |Attached to C.R.E. To L/Cpl. | | | 5/12/16. Hansford, R. G. | 17m. 10d.| |Attached to C.R.E. To L/Cpl. | | | 1/9/18. Sutcliffe, J. H.| 22m. 21d.| |Transferred to Aus. Base Post | | | Office, for duty. Curran, J. | 15m. 14d.|Injured 24/12/1 |To Hospital. Hemple, W. J. T.| 25m. 7d. | | Smith, C. | 18m. 3d. | |Died in Hospital 31/12/18. Smith, M. M. | | |Left behind in England. | | | Invalided to Aust. Salmon, C. F. | 3m. 24d.|Wounded 4/10/17 |To Hospital. Mace, J. J. | 22m. 24d.|M.M. on night of|To L/Cpl. 29/7/17. To 2/Cpl. | |7-8/10/17 at Ypres| 3/1/18. To Cpl. 30/7/18. Byatt, A. | 13m. 25d.| | McKay, D. | 9m. | |To L/Cpl. 22/5/18. Killed | | | Accidentally. Matheson, G. | 9m. | |Injured accid’ntally. To Hos. Lowe, W. H. | 21m. 7d. | |To L/Cpl. 5/3/17. Invalided | | | to Aust. Rogers, J. | 9m. 29d.| |Invalided to Aust. Aubertin, H. G. | 25m. 7d. | | Way, F. W. | 25m. 7d. | | Pearce, W. H. | 11m. 29d.| | ” ” Krollig, A. J. | 25m. 7d. | | Boothey, S. F. | 20m. 13d.| | Burbidge, P. | 14m. 3d. | | Coombe, L. B. | 24m. 7d. | |Rejoined from Hos. 7/1/19. Leleu, F. E. | 6m. 7d. | |Killed in Action. McBain, G. J. | 17m. 20d.| |To Dvr. 28/11/16. To L/Cpl. | | | 12/8/18. Tibbits, E. C. | 7m. 26d.| | Cunningham, A.E.| 18m. 23d.| |To Dvr. 23/11/16. Gill, D. E. | 10m. 1d. |Wounded 23/4/18 |To Hospital. Coker, S. H. | 21m. 2d. | | Hepworth, T. | 4m. 19d.| |Transferred to 3rd A.A.S.P. Kennington, H. | 5m. | | Sharp, A. F. | 22m. |Wounded 6/3/17 |To L/Cpl. 5/10/17. To 2/Cpl. | | and 6/10/17 | 30/12/18. To E.R. Sgt. | | | 8/1/19. Wilson, R. D. | 25m. 7d. | | Chamberlain, P. | 6m. 21d.|Wounded 4/8/17 | Rawling, L. C. | 17m. 16d.| |To Hospital. Geddes, J. C. | 12m. 5d. |Wounded 15/6/18 |Died of wounds same day. Gittins, A. H. | 4m. 8d. | |To Hospital. Gallwey, F. V. | 12m. 3d. |M.M. on 29/9/18 at | | |S.W. of Le Catelet.| Whitfield, F. J.| 8m. 6d. | | Watson, H. | 14m. 4d. | | Gees, H. W. | 15m. | | Gees, R. T. | 11m. 25d.| | Mackay, C. R. | | |Left behind in England. Robinson, H. R. | 13m. 25d.| | Tamlin, C. E. | | | ” ” Cover, W. C. | 19m. 13d.| | Hounam, E. T. | 10m. 21d.| | Thackeray, R. N.| 14m. 19d.| |Rejoined from Hos. 19/1/19. Campton, F. | 3m. 25d.|Wounded 30/9/18 |To Hospital. Bond, P. W. | 19m. 7d. | | Bond, R. S. | 20m. 22d.| | Connor, M. | 10m. 23d.| |Invalided to Aust. Selby, B. | 8m. 22d.| | Hill, W. T. | 12m. 3d. | |To Hospital. Ross, J. J. | 18m. 23d.| |Invalided to Aust. Morrow, C. J. | 5m. 3d. | |Transf’d to 107th How. Bty. Marshall, G.W.J.| 8m. 23d.| |To Sgt. 25/11/16. Transferred | | | to A.E.T.D. Serisier, F. W. | 4m. 7d. | |Transf’d to U.K.A.I.F. | | | Depot. Hodgson, H. H. | 8m. 17d.| |Transf’d to 11th Field Amb. Hodge, W. | 14m. 14d.| | Vasco, L. | 6m. 25d.| |To Hospital. Died in Hospital | | | 3/8/18. Allanson, S.A.H.| 21m. 29d.| | Smith, W. V. | 1m. 10d.|Wounded 16/2/18 |To Hospital. Williams, J. | 9d.| | ” ” Moran, F. E. | 5m. 20d.| | ” ” Franck, R. H. H.| 10m. 7d. | |Transf’d to 44th A.I. Btn. Higgins, A. S. | 9m. 9d. | | Porter, T. E. | 1m. 10d.| |Transf’d to 7th Field Aus. | | | Engineers. Swinton, ― | 12m. 22d.| |Transferred to A.E.T.D. Clarke, C. L. | 7m. 20d.|Wounded 22/5/18 | Christensen, F.P.|14m. 17d.| |Transferred to A.E.T.D. Copland, G. N. | 7m. 24d.| | McLaughlan, H. | 10m. 5d. | |Invalided to Aust. Adams, J. E. J. | 15m. 3d. | | Dear, A. H. | 10m. 13d.| | ” ” Bennett, C. A. | | |Left behind in England. Dudley, C. | 13m. 25d.| | Sologub, E. | 10m. 26d.| | Dillow, A. | 13m. 1d. |Wounded 17/10/17|Transferred to 3rd Div. Sig. | | Rem. on D. | Coy. Englert, A. O. | 4m. 11d.|Accidentally | | | wounded 30/6/18| Friend, J. A. | 16m. 26d.| | Richardson, T. | 10m. 25d.|Wounded 1/10/18 |Died of wounds 10/10/18. Gleadhill, R. A.| 7m. 13d.| |To Dvr. 10/12/18. Russell, G. A. | 11m. 26d.| |Invalided to Aust. Jolly, G. | 12m. 19d.| | Reynolds, R. | 13m. 25d.| | Scott, C. W. | 6m. 4d. | | ” ” Jones, L. C. | 17m. 23d.| |Transferred to A.G.B.D. Doyle, T. L. | 10m. 4d. | |To L/Cpl. 6/7/18. Parkinson, V. | 12m. 17d.| | Darvall, A. H. | 21d.| |Killed in action. Dwyer, W. J. | 1m. 2d. | |To Hospital. Poulton, H. | 10m. 6d. | | Campbell, W. | 14m. 18d.| | Piggott, L. J. | 8m. 6d. | | Setchell, A. W. | 17m. 27d.| | Tyrrell, J. | 18m. 15d.| |To Dvr. 13/3/17. Carmichael, A.B.| 1m. 28d.| |To Hospital. Greenwood, F. G.| 9m. 17d.| | ” Hyndman, J. | 15m. 8d. | | Hudson, H. L. | 6m. 29d.|Wounded 8/10/17 |To L/Cpl. 5/10/17. To Hos. | | and 29/9/18 | O’Brien, G. | 26d.| |Transferred to 10th Field | | | Coy. A. Engineers. Turner, J. | 17m. 23d.| |To Dvr. 13/3/17. Wheeler, H. S. | 13m. 14d.| | Parkinson, J. P.| 9m. 17d.| |Transferred to 43rd A.I. Btn. Ashton, E. H. | 13m. 25d.| | Oldham, E. | 13m. 8d. | | Griffiths, H. M.| 14m. 25d.| | Pugh, V. G. A. | 8m. 14d.|Wounded 23/5/18 |To Hospital. Wounded while | | | in hospital 23/5/18. Sams, S. E. B. | 13m. 25d.| | Swan, W. P. | 12m. 17d.| | Gordon, J. K. | 14m. 19d.| | McCulloch, H. | 8m. 29d.| |Transferred to 43rd A.I. Btn. Smith, W. G. | 13m. 25d.| | Seller, T. | 13m. 15d.| |Transferred to A.G.B.D. Regan, T. R. W. | 11m. 21d.| |Attached to C.R.E. Stewart, A. | 13m. 21d.| |To L/Cpl. 21/3/18. Wilkins, H. W. | 5m. 10d.| |Transferred to 1st Aus. S.B.A. Winston, R. H. | 6m. 14d.|Wounded 30/5/18 |Invalided to Aust. McCormac, E. T. | 12m. 14d.| | ” ” McMurray, N. | 12m. 11d.| | Rivers, C. F. | 13m. 26d.| | Dickson, B. C. | 10m. 18d.| | McEvoy, W. H. | 18m. 10d.| | Simpson, J. McN.| 11m. 7d. | | Simpson, W. B. | 11m. 7d. | | Ward, R. M. | 11m. 7d. | | Cameron, C.M.G. | 15m. 25d.| | Cherry, L. T. | 4m. 28d.| |To Hospital. Ingram, G. A. | 12m. 18d.| | Wilson, A. A. | 3m. 20d.| |Trans. for discharge 18/1/19. Russell, C. | 8m. 6d. | | Mannix, T. L. | 3m. 3d. | |Trans. to 37th A.I. Batt. McSweeney, J. H.| 9m. 12d.| | Jones, T. C. A. | 7m. 25d.|Wounded accid’tally|To Hospital. | | 30/6/18 | Pashley, G. | 10m. 12d.| | Mealing, J. | 9m. 25d.| | Steel, H. E. | 10m. 19d.| | Fraser, S. | 11m. 10d.| | Kingsbury, S. G.| 4m. 22d.| |To Hospital. Newton, T. A. | 6m. 18d.|Wounded 27/8/18 | ” ” Leach, W. H. | 8m. 15d.| | Scales, J. H. | 7m. 3d. | | Kilcup, H. | 6m. 27d.| | Brown, A. W. | 7m. 21d.|Wounded 30/9/18 |Transferred to Aust. Emp. | | | Coy. 10/11/18. Burke, W. | 4m. 8d. | |Invalided to Aust. Reid, J. | 2m. 26d.| |Invalided to Aust. Page, A. R. | 8m. 17d.| |Transferred to A.G.B.D. Jenkin, J. | 6m. 26d.| | Fox, H. J. | 6m. 18d.| | Robertson, H.R.R.| 6m. 26d.| | Saward, G. D. | 6m. 26d.| | Jones, A. J. V. | 5m. 16d.| | Grummet, A. E. | 1m. 17d.| |Transferred to 10th Field | | | Coy. A. Engineers. Ford, J. | 3m. 18d.| |Transferred to H.Q.A.I.F. | | | 29/11/18. Reed, E. E. | 3m. 12d.| |Transferred to 44th A.I. Btn. Hyde, A. E. | 6m. 18d.| | Cadwallader, C.P.| 4m. 18d.|Wounded 30/9/18 | Paxton, W. | 5m. 24d.| | Chandler, T. A. | 6m. 3d. | |Transferred to A.G.B.D. Dale, R. H. | 2m. 17d.| | Spencer, ―― | 3m. 17d.|Wounded 30/9/18 |To Hospital. Griffiths, G. H.| 2m. 17d.| | Melville, F. J. | 3m. 24d.| | Kent, E. C. | 6m. 26d.| | Fraser, A. | 5m. 10d.|Wounded 30/9/18 | Goddard, H. | 3m. 21d.| |Transferred to 35th A.I. Btn. Faulkner, J. A. | 6m. 26d.| | Larson, J. E. | 5m. 9d. | | Gordon, F. M. | 6m. 26d.| | Smith, C. B. | 6m. 4d. |Wounded 30/9/18 | Blake, R. A. | 4m. 25d.| |Transferred to 3rd Aust. | | | M.T. Coy. Hughes, H. C. | 2m. 17d.| | Hughes, E. R. | 2m. 17d.| | Jacobsen, S. | 2m. 14d.| |Rejoined from Hos. 19/1/19. Dibble, J. J. | 2m. 8d. | |To Hospital. Finch, W. O. | 2m. 17d.| | Chapman, R. E. | 6m. 26d.|M.M. on 29/9/18 at|Wounded 30/9/18. | |S.W. of Le Catelet| Rem. on D. Anderson, E. E. | 2m. 17d.| | Korner, H. C. R.| 4m. 26d.| | Patterson, R. | 1m. | |Transferred to 10th Field | | | Coy. A. Engineers. Brown, E. C. | | |Left boat at Fremantle. Noghran, J. | | |Died on boat. ----------------+----------+----------------+-------------------------- EXPLANATORY NOTE. A FIELD COMPANY, AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERS. A Field Company, Australian Engineers, is almost exactly the same as the corresponding unit of the Royal Engineers. There are three Field Companies to a Division, grouped under the command of the C.R.E. (Commanding Royal Engineers), who accompanies Divisional Headquarters. Each Field Company is normally commanded by a Major, with a Captain as Second in Command, and includes 5 Subalterns, 9 Warrant Officers and Sergeants, 14 Corporals and Second Corporals, 46 mounted rank and file (mostly drivers), and 139 sappers. As this last total has to supply all unit details, such as cooks, etc., it will be seen that the “man power” of a Field Company is comparatively small even when at full strength. There are 75 horses (some of which may be replaced by mules) on the establishment, and also 29 bicycles. The unit is organised into a Headquarters and 4 equal sections. Each section, commanded by a subaltern, has a special double tool cart (4 horses), containing a large assortment of engineer tools and stores of all kinds, a G.S. limbered wagon (two horses), and a pack animal. A considerable quantity of explosives is carried by each section, also a lift and force pump and hose. Company Headquarters has a G.S. wagon for technical stores (four horses), a water cart (two horses), a mess cart (one horse), and three bridging wagons (six horses each). Two of these carry a pontoon each, together with superstructure, and the third carries two Weldon trestles and superstructure. Altogether enough material is carried for five spans of 15 feet each of bridge to carry Field Artillery. Sappers are armed with rifle and bayonets, drivers with rifle only. Towards the end of the war each Company was issued with five Lewis guns. Printed by Meggy, Thompson, & Creasey, 98 High Street, Chelmsford. Transcriber Note: Words and phrases in italics are surrounded by underscores, _like this_. Dialect, obsolete and alternative spellings were left unchanged. Inconsistent hyphenation was not changed. Obvious printing errors, such as backwards, upside down, or partially printed letters, were corrected. Final stops missing at the end of sentences and abbreviations were added. The following were changed: - Removed duplicate “of” … little village of Recquebrœucq … - In Appendix IX, Other Ranks, changed “Waymf W.” to “Way, F. W.”; and “T’ransf’d” to “Transf’d.” - The tables in Appendix IX. were split in parts so that the data would display more readily on handheld devices. *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE 11TH FIELD COMPANY AUSTRALIAN ENGINEERS, AUSTRALIAN IMPERIAL FORCE *** Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. 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