Description
Object description
Australian NCO served as signaller with 22nd Bn Australian Imperial Force in Egypt, Gallipoli and on Western Front, 1915-1918.
Content description
REEL 1: Aspects of period in Australia, 1915: enlisted and posted to Broad Meadows Camp, 15/Mar/1915; posted to 22nd Bn, 4/1915; embarked aboard troopship SS Ulysses from Melbourne to Egypt, 8/May/1915. Aspects of operations with 22nd Bn Australian Imperial Force in Egypt and Gallipoli, Turkey, 6/1915-3/1916: disembarked Egypt, 6/1915; training; relieved 2nd Bde on Gallipoli, 8/1915; remained with 22nd Bn on Gallipoli until evacuation, 12/1915; returned to Egypt for further training and protection duties on Suez Canal and in Sinai Peninsula; sailed from Alexandria to Marseilles, France, 3/1916. Aspects of operations with 22nd Bn Australian Imperial Force on Western Front, 3/1916-1918: description of three-day train journey in cattle trucks to Armentieres area; first period of duty in line, 4/1916; moved into line at Pozieres, Somme, 28/Jul/1916; story of being wounded by shrapnel; weather conditions; moved into camp near Albert; description of Golden Virgin statue leaning over; problem of heavy rain in camp; opinion of rations; description of journey to Ypres, 8/1916; billeted in convent basement; daily routine and duties in line; returned to Somme sector, 11/1916; description of living conditions and terrain; memories of Christmas and New Year in Flers sector; description of rations and method of delivery in petrol tins; problem of petrol tainting food and water; opinion of bully beef; water supplies; reason for not using water from shell holes; problem of gangrene in wounds; opinion of rum ration; description of attack on Pozieres, 28/Jul/1916; story of being wounded in legs by shrapnel and medical treatment; description of conditions at Casualty Clearing Station; evacuated to No.3 Base Hospital, Wimereux; opinion of American medical staff.
REEL 2 Continues: comparison of discipline between British and Australian troops; opinion of officers; relations between Australian troops and local civilians in Egypt; opinion of British troops; description of billets on farm; attitude to French women; story about sergeant sleeping in pigsty; story about taking straw to sleep on; story of Belgian civilian removing handle from water pump; opinion of Flemish civilians; further comments on medical treatment at No.3 Base Hospital; attitude to Blighty wounds; description of hospital ship and hospital train; role as lance-corporal in charge of signal section repairing telephone lines; use of entrenching tool; description of conditions in and around Pozieres; reason for not using signal flags; problem of artillery barrage landing short; number of signallers in Bn; casualty rate among signallers; importance of communication with HQ; description of attack by 22nd Bn on windmill, 8/1916; attitude to shell shock cases; story about Australian troops releasing British soldier tied to gun wheel.
REEL 3 Continues: description of No. 2 Field Punishment; enforcement of discipline and punishments for offenders; comparison of pay with British soldiers; price of food and other items; relations with British and Commonwealth soldiers; comparison of physical condition between Australian and British soldiers; description of capture of Villers-Bretonneux by 15th Australian Bde, 25/Apr/1918; duties as sapper attached to 22nd Div in Peronne sector, 4-8/1918; description of power buzzer; role in operations on 8/Aug/1918; story of taking German prisoners; problem of carrying signal equipment; opinion of senior officers including Douglas Haig, Gen. Birdwood and French generals. Story of donating uniform to museum in Villers-Bretonneux, 1975.
