The Battle of Hébuterne

France, 27 March to 5 April 1918

AIF

Roll of Honour, 27 March 1918

Poppies on the Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial, Canberra

The Roll of Honour contains the names of all the men from the Allied Forces known to have given their lives on 27 March 1918 during the Battle of Hébuterne, France, 27 March to 5 April 1918.

Roll of Honour

 

Thomas Nicholls BARTLETT, 22nd Infantry Battalion

Charles BEER, 58th Infantry Battalion

Harry BENNETT, 47th Infantry Battalion

Michael BEVERLEY, 9th Infantry Battalion

Joseph BROKENSHIRE, 58th Infantry Battalion

Percy Neil BROOKS, 48th Infantry Battalion

Frank Primatt Burnaby BUNTING, 58th Infantry Battalion

 

Leslie Davis CAIRNS, 3rd Machine Gun Battalion

John Henry CHAMBERLAIN, 24th Infantry Battalion

Alfred Ernest CHURCH, 48th Infantry Battalion

Hugh Alexander CONLEY, 47th Infantry Battalion

Joseph Peter COOK, 58th Infantry Battalion

James Francis CRONENBURG, 16th Infantry Battalion

Clarence Edward Vincent CUMMINS, 19th Infantry Battalion

 

George Robert DALZIEL, 9th Infantry Battalion

Herbert William DAY, 58th Infantry Battalion

Thomas DIXON, 15th Infantry Battalion

Horace James DUGGAN, 58th Infantry Battalion

 

Walter Francis EAGER, 18th Infantry Battalion

 

John Joseph FAHEY, 47th Infantry Battalion

Charles FLOYD, 52nd Infantry Battalion

Philip FOOTE, 13th Infantry Battalion

James FORD, 15th Infantry Battalion

Charles FOSTER, 10th Infantry Battalion

 

Ernest GATTON, 47th Infantry Battalion

Harry GOFTON, 4th Infantry Battalion

Joseph GREEN, 5th Machine Gun Battalion

 

William John HARPER, 13th Infantry Battalion

Arthur Robert HARRIS,

George McDonald HAWKE, 58th Infantry Battalion

Herbert Leslie HUGHES, 58th Infantry Battalion

 

Norman Henry JOHNSTON, 3rd Field Artillery Brigade

 

George Chapman KING, 16th Infantry Battalion

John Valentine KNOWLES, 59th Infantry Battalion

 

Norman Edward LE BROCQ, 58th Infantry Battalion

Frank LILLY, 48th Infantry Battalion

William Richardson LISLE, 15th Infantry Battalion

Leonard LYONS, 4th Division Signal Company

 

William MCNEE, 48th Infantry Battalion

Frederick James MITCHELL, 22nd Infantry Battalion

Alfred Stanley MORROW, 19th Infantry Battalion

 

Ernest James Henry NEWEY, 58th Infantry Battalion

 

Walter James OSBOURNE, 58th Infantry Battalion

 

Charles Alexander PEDEN, 3rd Machine Gun Battalion

Walter PETERSON, 24th Infantry Battalion

Alexander James PHILLIPS, 58th Infantry Battalion

William Stevens PRESS, 16th Infantry Battalion

John Daniel PROELLOCKS, 47th Infantry Battalion

 

John REID, 58th Infantry Battalion

Harry Fergerson ROLES, 49th Infantry Battalion

Ormond Leslie RUMPF, 58th Infantry Battalion

Michael RYAN, 58th Infantry Battalion

 

James Henry SCHOFIELD, 51st Infantry Battalion

Edwin George SIMMONDS, 22nd Infantry Battalion

 

Alfred Charles THORN, 45th Infantry Battalion

Charles Edward TREBILCOCK, 3rd Machine Gun Battalion

 

William Henry WALLACE, 58th Infantry Battalion

Alfred WEBSTER, 47th Infantry Battalion

Rowland Robert WELLS, 10th Infantry Battalion

Edwin George WILLIAMS, 10th Infantry Battalion

William Erskine WILLIAMS, 24th Infantry Battalion

Roy Clifford WOLFENDEN, 36th Infantry Battalion

 

Lest We Forget

Further Reading:

The Battle of Hébuterne, France, 27 March to 5 April 1918, Contents

The Battle of Hébuterne, France, 27 March to 5 April 1918, Roll of Honour

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Citation: The Battle of Hébuterne, France, 27 March 1918, Roll of Honour

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EADT

Updated: Monday, 28 March 2011 7:13 AM EADT

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German 605th Machine Gun Company (MGC)

War Diary, 7 April to 3 May 1916 

The entries

7.IV.16:  

At 5 this afternoon we arrived at Constantinopel but had to sleep another two nights in our railway carriages as our future quarters had still to be disinfected. Our strength on leaving Charlottenburg was 1 officer (Lieut. V. Benkwitz) and 31 O.R. including actg. S.M. and N.C.O.'s.

8.IV.16:   

To-day we loaded our boxes on sailing boats to cross the Bosphorus to Haidar-Pascha.

9.IV.16:   

To-day at 6 a.m. we marched with our equipment from the goods station Stambul to Pera-Constantinopel where we were given billets. Today we got our supplies from the ship Corsovado.

10.IV.16 to 29.IV.16:   

During this period all our boxes were moved to the goods station at Haidar-Passha. During the last four days everything was loaded into trusks.

21.IV.16:   

Today we paraded before H.M. the Sultan, Mahamed V.

31.IV.16:   

This afternoon at 2.30 we were taken on a Turkish transport from the goods station Stambal to the main railway station Haidar Pascha. Departure took place 4.30 p.m. A coffee issue was made from the field kitchen at 8.30.

1.V.16:   

7.40 to 8.45 a.m. coffee issued at Tuschan. 12.20 to 1 p.m. dinner at Inom. 7 to 12.55 a.m. halt and coffee issue at Sabun Bunak.

2.V.16:   

8.45 to 9.30 a.m. coffee issue at Tschai, 11 to 2 p.m. dinner at Ak-Schehier. To got our evening coffee just before reaching Konia.

3.V.16:   

5.30 to 6.15 a.m. coffee issue at Airandi-Derbend. Stop from 9 to 1.05 p.m. at Erigli where we had dinner. At 2.30 this afternoon we arrived at Posanki. The company furnished details to unload the trucks whilst the remainder pitched tents.

Previous Page: 605th Machine Gun Company War Diary - 3 to 7 April 1916

Next Page: 605th Machine Gun Company War Diary - 3 to 8 May 1916

Further Reading:

German 605th Machine Gun Company (MGC) , Contents 

The Battle of Romani

Light Horse Battles

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Citation: 605th Machine Gun Company War Diary - 7 April to 3 May 1916 

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EADT

Updated: Wednesday, 15 April 2009 7:52 PM EADT

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1st AUSTRALIAN ARMOURED CAR SECTION, AIF

THE DEAD SEA

Part 1

This is a transcription from a manuscript submitted by Captain E.H. James called "The Motor Patrol". It is lodged in the AWM as AWM 224 MSS 209. This is Part 2.

THE DEAD SEA - Part 1

Towards the end of June the Light Car patrol received instructions to patrol the River Jordan from Hajla and Henu to the mouth, where he River enters the Dead Sea. The orders were to patrol twine daily (at dawn and in the evening before dark) and to report the result to divisional Headquarters. On either bank of the river there were clay foothills over which we soon made motor tracks. These hills commanded a good view of the surrounding country for about 10 miles and by the aid of field glasses any movement could quickly be seen. The river was nominally the dividing line between the two forces but actually the British hold both banks for most of the distance. This patrolling of the River banks meant that the unit spent a considerable amount of time travelling backwards and forwards from the camp north of Jericho to the Dead Sea which was the starting point of the line to be patrolled and in order to reduce this dead mileage we applied to have our camp moved down towards our starting point. This request was granted by Headquarters and accordingly on 12th July we were transferred to Rujm-of-Bahr on the coast and generally known as the Dead Sea Post. This new move was a very welcome one to all members of the unit. It meant that we got away from the choking and blinding suet encountered wherever bodies of horsemen were moving (end this was practically all the time near a Light Horse camp) but whet was far more welcome was the fact that we were near the water and bathing could be indulged in. We built our bivvies right alongside the water and in the morning rolled out of the blankets into the sea for our swim. The Dead yea would be a good place for non swimmers, as it would be practically impossible to drown. The buoyancy of the water is such that a person may stand in deep water and hold his arms up out of the water and the water will not rise over his neck. A swimmer used to fresher water however, will notice that it is vary difficult to get speed up. This is probably because of the density of the water and of the difficulty of keeping the feet down as they have a tendency to rise to the surface all the time. One of the chief amusements of the Place was to encourage visitors to dive into the water head first. The water was intensely bitter and if any of it went up the nose or got into the mouth the victim would probably cough and splutter for half an hour or until no managed to wash out his throat with fresh water again. If the water got into the eyes it would sting very severely for quite a while. A peculiar effect of a dive into the water was the speed with which the diver shot up out of the water again and sometimes if a parson dived straight down he shot out feet first again.

The Dead Sea Post was an ideal spot from many points of view for our camp. There was a workshop there and a forge which were extremely useful to us. One of the first things we did after being stationed there, was to remove the wheels from our cars and leave them overnight or as long as possible soaking in the Sea. Our wheels were only wooden ones (as the pressed steel wheels were not available at that time) and we had experienced considerable difficulty in keeping wheels tight owing to the extreme heat and in some cases we had narrow escapes from wheels practically collapsing altogether. The result of the soaking was to swell the wood making the spokes and felloes tight. This was not merely a temporary remedy because the brine soaked right into the wood and although the wood appeared perfectly dry in the day time, in the night air the salt would always get damp again causing the joints to swell.

There was stationed quite a fleet of motor boats at our post. They included a couple of fast six cylinder "Wolseley" speed launches each fitted with a Vickers gun. There were also some ships boats with outboard motors and later on two large Thornycroft twin screw gun boats each fitted with a three pounder were transported overland by tractors and launched near our camp. These boats greatly appealed to the men of our unit who were nearly all good mechanics and expert machine gunners and on many expeditions across the water the Dead Sea fleet was manned by the members of the Light Car Patrol who became known as the "Amphibians". Quite a lot of work was done by these boats after dark as we would then run our "agents" across the sea, land them in enemy Territory and pick them up at prearranged spots after they had completed their mission. On certain nights the boats would cruise along the enemy coast keeping watch for lights as if one of our men wished to be picked up he would light a fire under a cliff or overhanging ground so that the light would not show inland. The boat would then move quietly in towards the light and pick him up. Great caution of course had to be exercised as there was always the risk of treachery but this was never experienced. One of the agents, an old native, who appeared to be well trusted by Headquarters, had made many trips backwards and forwards and seemed to bring back a lot of information. This old chap was generally very regular in keeping his appointments with the boat, but one night he did not turn up and after the third night of cruising he was given up for lost by the crew. But about a week later the lookout reported a light some miles south of the usual position. A boat was sent down and after carefully cruising towards the light they discovered the old chap nearly dead, lying on the beach alongside a fire which he had lighted. He was carried on board and given some food and water after which he seemed to revive. He had been badly wounded in the foot and he was taken across as soon as possible to be attended to. There was a large hole in his foot where a bullet had gone through it and it was expected that the leg would probably have to be amputated. It appeared that the old fellow had been seen by some of the Turkish sentries as he was passing through their lines and they had fired at him, one shot getting him in the foot.

Previous section: 1st Australian Armoured Car Section - Palestine - Part 3

Next section: 1st Australian Armoured Car Section - The Dead Sea - Part 2

Further Reading:

1st AUSTRALIAN ARMOURED CAR SECTION, AIF, Contents 

Australian Light Horse Order of Battle - Outline 

Australian Light Horse Order of Battle

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EADT

Updated: Sunday, 18 July 2010 9:27 AM EADT

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Diaries of AIF Servicemen

Bert Schramm

During part of the course of his military service with the AIF, 2823 Private Herbert Leslie Schramm, a farmer from White's River, near Tumby Bay on the Eyre Peninsular, kept a diary of his life. Bert was not a man of letters so this diary was produced with great effort on his behalf. Bert made a promise to his sweetheart, Lucy Solley, that he would do so after he received the blank pocket notebook wherein these entries are found. As a Brigade Scout since September 1918, he took a lead part in the September 1918 breakout by the Allied forces in Palestine. Bert's diary entries are placed alongside those of the 9th Light Horse Regiment to which he belonged and to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade to which the 9th LHR was attached. On this basis we can follow Bert in the context of his formation.

 Bert Schramm's Diary, 17 March 1919

Bert Schramm's Handwritten Diary, 17 - 19 March 1919

[Click on page for a larger print version.]

Diaries

Bert Schramm

Monday, March 17, 1919

Bert Schramm's Location - Moascar, Egypt.

Bert Schramm's Diary - Fresh developments today. Two more squadrons have left here today all fully equipped and mounted and I believe the rest of our Brigade is leaving here tomorrow. We have all our gear on the station and are to leave in the morning but don't know where we are going.

9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary

9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Moascar; Abu Hamad; Zagazig, Egypt.

9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Remainder of 8th Light Horse Regiment ordered to proceed dismounted to Zagazig. 9th Light Horse Regiment to be ready to move out at short notice.

1000 Orders received that 9th Light Horse Regiment [less mounted squadron] 150 strong, 76 all ranks A Squadron, 74 all ranks C Squadron would entrain for Zagazig at 1100. Hurried preparations were made and at 1115, 13 Officers, 128 Other Ranks, 9th Light Horse Regiment and remainder of 8th and 10th Light Horse Regiments, entrained at Moascar on construction train. Scott, Lieutenant Colonel WH, CMG DSO commanded train. Mounted squadron and rear parties were left behind.

After the dull routine of Moascar camp life all ranks were keen for a bit of excitement.

The Regiments arrived at Abu Hamad without incident. At kilo 46 railway line and telegraph wires had been destroyed. Gangs immediately set to work to repair breaks. Four Officers and 50 Other Ranks, B Squadron, marched back from here to Abu Hamad as reports received stated that the Christians there were in danger.

At 1930 break in railway and main telegraph line repaired and train proceeded towards Zagazig. Edgerley, Lieutenant; and, 14 Other Ranks, C Squadron, were left to guard the canal bridge at kilo 46.

The Regiments arrived at Zagazig without incident at 2100. Disentrained and bivouacked near Supply Depot. Twelve Other Ranks sent back as train guard to Moascar.

Darley, TH, With the Ninth Light Horse in the Great War, Adelaide, Hassell Press, 1924.

Next: Bert Schramm's Diary, 18 March 1919

Further Reading:

9th Light Horse Regiment AIF War Diary - Complete day by day list

Bert Schramm Diary 

Bert Schramm Diary - Complete day by day list

Additional Reading:

Darley, TH, With the Ninth Light Horse in the Great War, Adelaide, Hassell Press, 1924.

Citation: Bert Schramm's Diary, 17 March 1919

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EADT

Updated: Wednesday, 6 May 2009 11:41 AM EADT

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Zeebrugge

Belgium, 22-23 April 1918

Extracted from the book produced by Chris Coulthard-Clark, Where Australians Fought - The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1998, pp. 143-145.

Additional References cited by Chris Coulthard-Clark:

Arthur W . Jose, ( 1928), The Royal Australian Navy 1914-1918, Sydney: Angus & Robertson.

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Posted by Project Leader at 11:01 PM EADT

Updated: Tuesday, 14 April 2009 11:33 PM EADT

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