The Great War during December 1914 from an Avoca perspective

No men from the Avoca had been killed or wounded yet and the war seemed a long way away. Might the conflict actually bring the district some good? Wine growers thought so. The annual report of the Viticultural Society of Victoria pointed out that though exports had been held up by the first mobilisations, causing a glut of dry reds and whites on the local market, the 1914--15 French and German vintages would be greatly reduced. The British navy guarded the seas, and with space on steamers bound for Europe, there would be no difficulty meeting what would be a strong demand for Australian wines. Moreover, brandy imports had been interrupted by the war and this would increase local demand for the Australian product.

THE WINE INDUSTRY. (1914, December 5). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 3. Retrieved December 26, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151624841

The war had been underway for four months and the slaughter in the trenches had begun, but the news from France seemed not to affect Avoca. Even so, the pupils of Avoca State School and their friends continued to help with with the war effort by making clothing for the soldiers.

No title. (1914, December 12). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved December 26, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151624280

 On Wednesday 16 December the students of the Avoca State School held a successful concert in aid of the Patriotic Fund. (No title. (1914, December 19). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved December 26, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151622756)

The Warrenmang correspondent of the Avoca Free Press reported on 19 December 1914 that Percy Tuck, formerly of the Avoca district but now with the Sydney Fire Brigade had enlisted. Percy Tuck enlisted on 26 November 1914. He had been born at Warrenmang and was 24 years old. He served with the 4th Battalion and on 1 May 1915 died of wounds received in action on Gallipoli. His death was reported in the Avoca Free Press on 26 June 1915:

Our Fallen Heroes. (1915, June 26). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved December 26, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151625228

No title. (1915, August 18). Sydney Mail (NSW : 1912 - 1938), p. 25. Retrieved December 26, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article162494674

Further reading:

• Spirits of Gallipoli website http://www.spirits-of-gallipoli.com/project/result/TUCK-PC-1672.htm

Norman Alfred Frean

Norman Alfred Frean is remembered on the Australian Natives' Association soldiers' honor board which was unveiled at the Avoca Shire hall on 21 September 1920. (Avoca Free Press 25 September 1920)

Frean enlisted at South Melbourne on 19 August 1914. He was 22 years old, unmarried, and his occupation was bicycle builder. He had been born in South Melbourne. He married on 3 September 1914.

Frean served as a sapper with the 1st Signal Troop (1st Light Horse Brigade). He sailed on 20 October 1914 aboard the HMAT Karroo A10.

Troops on board HMAT Karroo (A10) prior to departure with well-wishers on the wharf holding paper streamers connecting them to men on the ship. 18 September 1916. Australian War Memorial ID PB0507

On 31 May 1915 Frean was wounded by shrapnel at Gaba Tepe, Gallipoli. He was wounded again in June and repatriated to Melbourne. He was discharged from the AIF in early 1916.

It is not clear from his dossier held by the National Archives of Australia what his connection to Avoca was. (National Archives of Australia: Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office; B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920; Frean Norman Alfred : SERN 26 : POB Melbourne VIC : POE Melbourne VIC : NOK Frean Mrs E A)

There are also no clues in the digitised newspaper collection at Trove.nla.gov.au.  However, on the 1919 electoral roll Norman Alfred Frean, mechanic, was recorded as living at Bealiba, a town 38 kilometres north of Avoca. His post-war connection to the Avoca community meant that he was remembered on the A. N. A. soldiers' honor board.

William Randall

On 29 September 1914 Will Randall, born in Avoca, enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. He was  a labourer, thirty-two years old, and unmarried. Will Randall gave his next of kin as his father Edward, also of Avoca. (National Archives of Australia: Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office; B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920; RANDALL William : Service Number - 532 : Place of Birth - Avoca VIC : Place of Enlistment - Avoca VIC : Next of Kin - (Father) RANDALL Edward )

Randall wrote to his father and the Avoca Free Press reproduced his letter on 28 November 1914.

No title. (1914, November 28). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151624198

Randall was assigned to the 14th Battalion with the regimental number 532. He sailed on 22 December 1914 with the 14th Battalion on HMAT Ulysses A38.

LETTERS FROM OUR SOLDIERS. (1915, March 10). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 3. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151624557

No title. (1915, April 17). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151622087

On 28 April 1915 Will Randall was wounded in the arm by shrapnel at Gallipoli. He wrote a report of his experiences to his father.

LANDING AT THE DARDANELLES. (1915, June 30). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 3. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151622559

Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey. October 1915. Ground where men of 14th and 15th Battalions were driven to shelter from shrapnel on Anzac on 25 April to 26 April 1915. Photograph by CEW Bean. AWM ID G00925A

On 8 August 1915, Will Randall was reported missing after the Battle of Sari Bair, the last major engagement of the Gallipoli campaign. Three officers of the 14th Battalion and 33 other ranks were killed and 3 officers and 126 other ranks missing. Randall, who served with D company, was one of the 129 missing.  The Battalion's strength before the battle had been 14 officers and 560 other ranks

Roll call of B Company, 14th Battalion after the unsuccessful offensive on 8 August 1915. AWM ID A01225

On 6 October 1915 the Ottoman Red Crescent Society reported that Randall was a prisoner of the Turkish.

Letter to Edward Randall, father of Will Randall, April 1916. Folio 45 of NAA B2455, Randall W. 

For the Empire. (1916, December 2). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151685143

Thought to be Belemedick Railway Construction employees and prisoner of war huts. Australian PoWs in Turkey were employed for quite a time on the Taurus Mountains Railway. AWM ID H19397

From
From the Australian War Memorial: Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau/Box 224/Wallet 2 / 532 Private Randall, William

Letter from Edward Randall, father of Will Randall, March 1918. Folio 34 of NAA B2455, Randall W.

Letter from Edward Randall, father of Will Randall, March 1918. Folio 26 of NAA B2455, Randall W.

 The turn-around of letters was slow but correspondence did get through.

For the Empire. (1918, October 23). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved November 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151682955

In December 1918, after being a prisoner for three years three months, Will Randall returned to Egypt and from there to Australia. He was discharged from the army on 9 April 1919.

Remembrance day

Avoca Soldiers Memorial in January 2007: not all of the men associated with the district are listed on the memorial

My database lists 66 men from Avoca or associated with the Avoca district who were killed or died of wounds in World War I.

Name AIF Number Date Enlisted Killed or wounded? Unit Approx. Yr of Birth - Yr of Death Barnes, George Herbert 3118 20/09/1916 51st Bn 1885-1917 Barnes, Henry William (Harry) - ? Should be Henry James 2790 51st Bn Beavis, James Sutherland (Jas Jun.) Lieut 22 1915 died of wounds, France 13/7/1918 39th Bn 1886-1918 Beer, Charles 3029 KIA, France, 27/3/1918 58th Bn AIF 1883- Brown, James Neil 4741 20-Jul-15 died of wounds, France 7/9/1917 46th Bn AIF 1897-1917 Brown, John Alexander 1799 3-May-16 died, Belgium 8/6/1917 39th Bn AIF 2nd Reinf 1893-1917 Burns, William 3039 died, Belgium 26/9/1917 59th Bn AIF -1917 Cox, Graham Rodgers 2567 Jun-15 killed in action Fleurbaix 16.7.16 58th Bn 1895-1916 Cox, Lyle Hampden 4761 9-Sep-15 died of wounds 16.11.18 58th Bn 1891-1918 Croft, Charles William 801 died Melbourne 17/6/1916 37th Bn AIF 1884-1916 Currie, Hubert Roulstone Clifford (Cliff R.) 884 fallen 8th Light Horse Davenport, Harold A. 3074 Feb-16 killed in action 8/6/1917 45th Bn Dobley (Doblie), Leslie 1809 / 2301 died Belgium 4/10/1917 12th Army FAB / 39th Bn AIF -1917 Driscoll, Allan Ernest 6132 Feb-16 KIA 12/7/1918 39th Bn 1896-1918 Driver, William Henry n/a 20-Jul-15 died Melbourne 14/8/1915 AIF (Depot) 1893-1915 Evans, Gilbert George Henry 148 fallen 21st Bn 1893-1916 Fish, Walter 2227 KIA Gallipoli 13/7/1915 6th Bn AIF 1878-1915 Gallag(h)er, Nathaniel 885 15-Feb-16 KIA Belgium 30/4/1917 39th Bn AIF: 10th Inf Brigade, C Coy 1890-1917 George, Herbert L. 408 Sep-14 KiA France 25/7/1916 1884-1916 Harrowfield, Norman Andrew 1740 Oct-14 died France 28/7/1916 8th Bn 1889-1916 Hartigan, Clarence Victor 1927 KiA 20/1/1917 46th Bn 1896-1917 Henderson, John Hamilton ~ bef Oct 1915 died Cerebro Meningitis 8/10/1915 92nd Coy (Seymour) 1892-1915 Henry, Clifford Albert 22076 fallen 3rd AFA Bde Australian Field Artillery Hope, George Reuben 623 fallen 8th Light Horse 1895-1915 Howell, Tom Pym 2126 KIA France 16/4/1918 2nd Aust Pioneers -1918 Kiehl, Anton 2020 KIA Gallipoli 19/5/1915 1st Div HQ formerly 2nd Field Amb Army Medical Corps; saled with 4th Field Amb 1880-1915 Knuckey, Frederick William Laurence 66 38th Bn Lansdell, Francis Henry (Harry) 7516 Apr-17 KIA France 15/4/1918 6th Bn 1891-1918 Livingstone, John (Jack) 2406A 1915 died of sickness France 21/10/1918 46th Bn AIF -1918 McArdle, John Eric Farquhar 2544 29-Mar-16 KIA 26.9.17 60th Bn 1898-1917 McDowell, William Robert 3831 2-Jun-16 KIA26.9.17 29th Bn 1896-1917 Oppy, William Edward 1964 6/03/1916 died 13/10/1917 38th Bn 1898-1917 Orrock, John Harold 6621 7/05/1915 died of wounds 4th Field Arty 1897-1916 Petherick, Ordmonds Leslie(Orme) 2759 23/07/1915 killed 1916 - reported Sept 1916 10th Bn Rowland, Henry Herbert 1131 29-Sep-14 KIA 8/5/1915 Gallipoli, Lone Pine 8th Battallion, 2nd Reinforcements -1915 Rowland, Wesley Richard 1877 12/08/1915 enteric fever Egypt; KIA 21/7/1916 Pozieres 31st Battallion of the 8th Brigade -1916 Sells, William John 2249 4/03/1915 5th Bn Smith, Stanley William 3484 28/04/1917 DoW 9/8/1918 60th Bn 1892-1918 Stewart, Alfred Eyvel 232 27-Mar-16 KiA 13/8/1918 39th Battn Stuart, William Charles 5454 12-Feb-16 fallen 5th Bn Summers, David L. (Dave) 635 16-Aug-14 paid supreme sacrifice KIA 19/7/1916 60th Bn 1893-1916 Templeton, George Hugh 4597 7-Sep-15 DoW 26/9/1917 sailed with 8th Bn (14th Reinf); 58th Bn Tootell, Edward 5152 6-Mar-16 KIA 24/4/1918 6th Aust Light TM Battery Tuck, Percy Clarence 1672 DoW 1/5/1915 4th Bn 1890-1915 Turpin, Henry 6357 23-Feb-16 DoW 17/4/1917 8th Bn; 20th Reinf Webster, Frank Thomas 1011 joined 3/3/1916 from 19th ALH Died of Disease 4.8.16 39th Bn Webster, Isaac Oswald (Ike) 871 1914 killed at Gallipoli landing D Coy 6th Battn 2nd Inf Brigade 1888-1915 Willmott, Charles Jonathon 401 17-Aug-14 KIA 25/4/1915 7th Bn 1888-1915 Wrigley, Fred Rankin 3168 1916 KIA 24.4.18 60th Battn 1885-1918 Yates, Leslie Reginald (Les) 2198 or 1861 15-Apr-15 paid supreme sacrifice KIA 26.7.1916 8th Bn; 6th reinf 1888-1916 Young, John Percival 2763 3/10/1916 gassed; died 9/11/1918 pneumonia in England 37th Battn 1896-1918

The following men were associated with the broader district but not the South Riding of Avoca Shire which was the Memorial's focus.

Borbridge, James Charles	6620	1/08/1916	KIA	7th Bn	1884-1917
Buck, Frederick Thomas	4286		died 30/10/1918	3rd Tun Coy	1884-1918
Davies, Harold William	3537		DoW 5/4/1918	58th Bn
Davies, Robert William	6402A		died Belgium 20/9/1917	28th Bn AIF	1897-1917
Emerson, Leslie V.	4101			24th Bn	1897-1918
Forte, Edwin	610		died France 2/3/1917	26th Bn AIF
Fuller, Jarvis Bunting	6994		fallen	7th Bn
Jones, Alfred (Alf)	2198			59th Bn	-1917
Kerr, William Robert	6349		died of wounds France 30/8/1918	23rd Bn AIF	1891-1918
McDonald, Joseph Henry	198	8-Feb-15	DoW 29/10/1915	22nd Bn	1896-1915
Mitchell, Edwin	2268		KiA 25/4/1915	6th Bn
Sedery, Charles	2222	5/04/1915	KiA 6/8/1915	11th Bn
Seymour, Rupert Leslie	783A	15/03/1915	KiA 6/4/1918	20th Bn	1891-1918
Stewart, Arthur A. (Art)	1399	21-Mar-16	KIA	39th Battn
Stewart, Thomas (Tom)	1398	21-Mar-16	KIA	39th Battn

Rabbit skin jackets for nurses and and the troops

Australian Motor Transport Supply Column in England:  One of the men wearing one of the rabbit-skin waistcoats presented by the Lady Mayoress of Melbourne. From Page 22 of the Queenslander Pictorial, supplement to The Queenslander, 1 May, 1915 retrieved from http://trove.nla.gov.au/work/191568898

On 17 October 1914 an item appeared in the Avoca Free Press announcing that 8,000 rabbit skins were being sought to supply to nurses who would sew them into jackets for use when working in the open.  This request also appeared in many other newspapers

No title. (1914, October 17). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved October 27, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151624635

While it seems that the nurses would sew their own jackets, Melbourne's Lady Mayoress organised for jackets to be sewn for soldiers. The Echuca and Moama Advertiser and Farmers' Gazette provided details of the design of rabbit skin jackets for the troops. At least 18 rabbit skins would be needed to make a jacket.

RABBIT-SKIN JACKETS. (1914, October 22). Echuca and Moama Advertiser and Farmers' Gazette (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 4. Retrieved October 27, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154400598

The Argus of 27 October provided advice to boys about gathering rabbit skins

 

 In 1917 the Commonwealth Government gazetted a regulation concerning rabbit skins under the War Precautions Act. Regulation 4 provided that:

All rabbit skins shall, unless the Prime Minister otherwise directs, be forwarded to a Government Agent who shall, subject to these Regulations, be authorized to purchase such skins on behalf of the Commonwealth Government.

CONTROL OF TRADE. (1917, May 4). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 9. Retrieved October 27, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1615281

In 1918 the Hatters and Furriers Company Inc. of Connecticut, U.S.A. made a claim against the Australian Government for losses suffered as a result of having to pay more than initially contracted for rabbit skins supplied by Wilcox and Sons, an Australian firm. The Australian Government Solicitor, George Shaw Knowles, was of the opinion that there was no liability of the Australian Government to pay compensation.

Australia was not alone in its use of rabbit skins. This German poster from 1917 is in the collection of Colombia University in the City of New York.

One of the posters from an exhibition at Columbia University in the City of New York: The European Home Front in WWI: Posters from the Frankenhuis Collection retrieved from http://news.columbia.edu/oncampus/3484

The best dressed woman on a European throne in 1914

Kaiserin Auguste Viktoria 1913

On 17 April 1914 the Avoca Mail advised its readers that the Empress of Germany was the "best dressed woman on a European throne." By contrast, Queen Mary of England dressed comparatively plainly and seldom fashionably. As for Queen Wilhelmina, she was accused of showing very bad taste. However, she had an excuse, for from loyalty to her own country she employed only Dutch dressmakers. "Whoever heard of a noted Dutch modiste?" The Empress of Germany bought her dresses in Berlin, London, and Vienna, but not Paris.

A search on Trove shows that this article appeared in at least sixteen other newspapers, with the first article appearing in the Adelaide Advertiser of 3 January 1914 on page 7. The Bruthen and Tambo Times (Vic.) reproduced it on 22 April 1914. Newspapers that syndicated the story include:

    Clunes Guardian and Gazette (Vic.)
    Euroa Advertiser (Vic.)
    Gippsland Mercury (Sale, Vic. )
    Gippslander and Mirboo Times (Vic.)
    Great Southern Advocate (Vic.)
    Kalgoorlie Miner (WA)
    Kyabram Guardian (Vic.)
    Lismore, Derrinallum and Cressy Advertiser (Vic.)
    Shepparton Advertiser (Vic.)
    South Gippsland Shire Echo (Vic.)
    Swan Hill Guardian and Lake Boga Advocate (Vic.)
    The Horsham Times (Vic.)
    The Narracoorte Herald (SA)
    Upper Murray and Mitta Herald (Vic.)

(The larger number of  Victorian newspapers in the list synidicating the article is due to the project to digitise 216 newspapers of the World War I era. The digitisation project was sponsored by local councils, historical societies , the Public Libraries Victoria Network, and the State Library of Victoria.)

On 10 June the Avoca Free Press wrote with enthusiasm about sausage making in Germany.

No title. (1914, June 10). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved October 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151625168

Also enthusiastically in June 1914 the Lockhart Review and Oaklands Advertiser (NSW) published three paragraphs about Germany, where the sentiment is sympathetic to Germans. One paragraph discusses the craze for clubs and societies in Germany. Another, about diet, mentioned that the battalions of Germany, as well as those of England, have "proved their bravery and endurance on a hundred stubbornly-contested fields". The third paragraph is about a doll belonging to the Empress of Germany, said to be one of her most cherished possessions. (FACTS AND FANCIES. (1914, June 3). The Lockhart Review and Oaklands Advertiser (NSW : 1910 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved October 11, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137894945)

These examples from the newspapers of early 1914 show no antipathy towards Germans and Germany before the outbreak of World War I.

Barry Wilson

No title. (1914, October 14). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved October 3, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151623934

Barwise Carr Wilson (1874 - 1943), a 40 year old widower with three children and one step child, enlisted at Avoca in October 1914.

Wilson was a coach painter by occupation and had only recently set up business in Avoca.

No title. (1914, June 17). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151623918

On enlistment Barry Wilson arranged for his children be boarded with a Mrs Daly of Percydale.

National Archives of Australia: Australian Imperial Force, Base Records Office; B2455, First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920; Wilson Barwise Carr : SERN 606 : POB Talbot VIC : POE Avoca VIC : NOK N/A. Page 5.

Wilson sailed from Australia on HMAT A10 Karroo on 11 February 1915. He fought at Gallipoli,  most notably at the Battle of Hill 60 where his regiment, the 9th Light Horse, suffered many casualties.

Members of the 9th Australian Light Horse Regiment standing to in the trenches at Gallipoli. Australian War Memorial image id H02778 retrieved from http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/H02778/

A group of 9th Australian Light Horsemen at the foot of Walker's Ridge. (Gallipoli). Australian War Memorial image id C04613 retrieved from http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C04613/

Rhododendron Ridge, Gallipoli. 1915. Members of the 9th Light Horse regiment sniping over the top of the trenches. Australian War Memorial image id P01531.005 retrieved from http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P01531.005/

Although he was not wounded in the Battle of Hill 60, Wilson became ill soon afterwards and after several admissions to hospital was eventually repatriated to Australia on 12 November 1917 and was discharged as medically unfit in January 1918.

NAA:B2455, Wilson B C. Page 18.

NAA:B2455, Wilson B C. Page 19.

In 1916 Wilson wrote to Mrs Daly. His letter probably refers to the Battle of Romani fought 4 to 5 August 1916.

For the Empire. (1916, September 27). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151684914

Masaid, Sinai. c. 1916. The Headquarters of the 3rd Australian Light Horse Brigade and the camp site of the 9th Australian Light Horse Regiment at a post near El Arish. Australian War Memorial image id H13715 retrieved from http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/H13715/

Wilson had been born in Talbot,  25 kilometers east of Avoca.  He was a member of the Australian Natives' Association, a mutual society for men born in the Australian colonies. He received a parcel of tobacco and cigarettes from the Avoca ANA Lodge.

No title. (1917, October 10). Avoca Free Press and Farmers' and Miners' Journal (Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article151686116

Trooper Wilson was welcomed home to Avoca in December 1917.

WELCOME HOME TO TROOPER B. C. WILSON. (1917, December 28). Avoca Mail (Vic. : 1915 -1918), p. 2. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article152147949

Avoca Shire Council 30 September 1914

On 30 September 1914 the monthly meeting of the Avoca Shire Council was held at Moonambel. The proceedings were reported in the Avoca Free Press of Saturday 3 October 1914.

Among the items of correspondence considered was an item from the British Empire Trade League.

The Shire Councils were used throughout the war for communication and exhortation about the war effort and related matters.

An invitation from the Borough of Ararat to support another patriotic fund was rejected.

The council considered the level of rates and elected to reduce them due to the drought and the war. The discussion mentioned the possibility of a war tax.