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My great-grandfather picture and name appear in this press clipping alongside comrades on arms from the Australian Imperial Force 35th battalion in 1916. He volunteered for the AIF in 1915 whilst working down-under in Australia so he sailed back to Europe where he’d left only a few years previous to do his duty. This photo was taken on Salisbury Plain in his native England. He survived the war returning to Australia in 1919 — his obituary says he succumbed to health problems that arose during that wartime service whilst still a quite a young man just under a decade later. So many didn’t make it: Sources say during the war, the battalion lost 581 men killed or died on active service, while a further 1,637 were wounded.
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Great-grandfather was given a good send-off according to accounts in the paper by former comrades, members of the lodges and even a band. His final resting place is in Australia.
Honoured to have a great-grandfather who is one of the brave ANZACS troops. We had his full military service records sent up courtesy of the Australian military archives so know where the 35th Batallion dubbed “Newcastles Own” fought during the Great War. Battle honours for AIF 35th battalion include some of the most infamous of that terrible war: Messines 1917, Ypres 1917, Passchendaele, Somme 1918, among others in France and Flanders.
The diary account of 20 year old Capt Vaughan that was found only in early 70s give a glimpse of the unimaginable horrors of one of those battles, Ypres 1917. Not just the weapons the dreadful wet weather played its part in the death toll: “From the darkness on all sides came the groans and wails of wounded men; faint, long, sobbing moans of agony and despairing shrieks. It was too horribly obvious that dozens of men with serious wounds must have crawled for safety into new shell-holes and now the water was rising about them and powerless to move they were slowly drowning. Horrible visions came to me with those cries. Dunham (an officer) was crying quietly beside me and all the men were affected by the piteous cries.”
Steve
Last edited by 911MRP; 11-11-2022 at 10:14 AM.
Their herosim to stand up and take arms is humbling
Ron
1973.5 911T
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Staggering death and wounded toll in ww1 from many countries “ the allies” according to this site table
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Steve
My wife was at Tea Gardens, near Newcastle last Friday (11th), could have gone and saluted your great grandfather.
Her Grandfather was in the 7th Batallion, same war, she now often carries the 7th Batallion flag at Anzac Day ceremonies here in Melbourne.
Clyde Boyer
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Clyde: Thank your wife for taking part in the remembrance of the ANZACs, we are about 10,000 miles from where he is buried but do have photo of his gravestone kindly sent by a local. I haven’t managed to visit there when down-under but shall aim to do so next time.
Steve