The Visitation of William Morcombe

 The Visitation of William Morcombe

Research & original text by Laurie Favelle

A friend recently described an occasion where she had had a discussion with a woman who was on a mission to visit the Australian War Memorial. The woman in question was heading for her latest of several visits where she would place a Commemorative Poppy next to a specific name on the Memorial’s Roll of Honour.

The story was that the visitor would call into the Memorial, whenever in Canberra, to place a poppy next to the name of an Australian soldier, a William Morcombe. Morcombe was totally unrelated to the visitor, yet - it was alleged - he had visited her during a dream one night some years previously. During this visitation, Morcombe had identified himself, possibly referred to the presence of his name on the Memorial’s Roll of Honour and appeared to be pointing to, or holding, his head. It appears that the woman felt some obligation to recognise Morcombe’s service and her visits to the Memorial served that purpose.

The name of the visitor to the Memorial is not known, nor is the state or city from which she travelled. It appeared, however, that the visitor was very familiar with the location of Morcombe’s name and it seemed that she had always had this knowledge.

There are three Morcombes on the Memorial’s Roll of Honour and only two of them are William Morcombe - William Henry and William James. The other is Frank Keith Morcombe. Both William James and Frank Keith are from World War 2 and both were in the RAAF. William James was missing, presumed killed, during air operations with 622 Squadron and Frank Keith was killed during a training accident in South Australia. Details of injuries are unknown and both gentlemen appeared to be cousins from a rural community in Western Australia.  

William Henry Morcombe served in the First World War with the 14th Australian Field Artillery Brigade. It is this man, based on the very limited information available, I believe to be the one honoured by the visitor. His story is told below.

729 Driver William Henry Morcombe

William Henry Morcombe enlisted in the AIF on the 10th of December 1914. He was the second son, but third child, of John Thomas Vickery Morcombe and Jane Coutt Morcombe (born Thomas). His siblings were John (1867), Elizabeth (1870) and Alice (1874).

William’s enlistment gives his age as 38 years and 3 months (38 was the maximum age limit in 1914), suggesting a birth date of September, 1876. In fact, William was born in Gympie, Queensland, on the 2nd of September, 1872. On enlistment, he was actually 42 years old.

William Morcombe, who described himself as a Station Hand, married Elizabeth Leslie Humbley, in Sydney, in March 1891. A son, Frank, was born later that same year, followed by Stanley in 1893 and a third child - name, gender and date unknown. The marriage failed, with Elizabeth petitioning for divorce on the grounds of desertion. The petition was granted in 1903.

William continued to work in the bush as a station hand and general labourer, mostly in Queensland. In 1912, we find him in the Muttaburra district, between Longreach, Winton and Hughenden in Queensland, employed as a labourer on Anembo Station. Here, according to the 1912 Electoral Roll, he seems to be living with Hilda Florence Morcombe (housewife), although no evidence of marriage has yet been found. Upon enlistment, he describes himself as single.

Originally posted to the 2nd Reinforcements of the 6th Light Horse, William arrived in Gallipoli on the 6th of August 1915, the day the infamous August Offensive commenced. The 6th, however, were deployed in a sector to the far right of the ANZAC line and performed a largely defensive role until evacuated on the 20th of December 1915. While on the Gallipoli Peninsula, William was made acting Lance Corporal (temporary), but spent much of the last days there ill, either onboard a hospital ship or back in Egypt.

Following the evacuation of Gallipoli, the 6th Light Horse became part of the ANZAC Mounted Division and went on to defend the Suez Canal and later campaigns, including the Battle of Romani. Not our William Morcombe, however. Having recovered from his lengthy illness in early March 1916, William was taken on strength with the 60th Field Artillery Brigade (Gunner) and proceeded to join the British Expeditionary Force bound for the Western Front. He again transferred to the 25th Field Artillery Brigade (FAB) and finally, in January 1917, we find him as a driver in the 14th FAB.

As a member of the 14th FAB, William was deployed to the 54th Battery. On the 3rd of October, 1917, the 54th was in action east of Ypres but also on the receiving end of enemy artillery fire. Field telephone communication lines were constantly being broken by enemy fire. William was carrying out duties as a linesman and was constantly repairing damaged lines while under fire. His work that day resulted in the award of the Military Medal, with effect on 21 October 1917. His Citation reads, in part:

“No. 729 Gunner W. Morcombe, 54th Battery, who was a linesman, was continually on the lines mending the breaks and at such personal risk and disregard for his own safety enabled the Battery to complete its registration and thus successfully carrying out its task in the operations on the following day. The splendid work carried out by this man is deserving of special recognition.”

On the 2nd of November, 1917, however, William Morecombe’s luck ran out. Falling victim to a gas attack, he was soon back in England being treated for the effects which would mark him for the remainder of his life.

We pause briefly here for a short discussion on the subject of chemical weapons. The reader will be aware that the use of chemical weapons, in the form of gases such as Chlorine, Mustard and Phosgene, was common during the 1st World War. Both sides used these weapons at various times, with various degrees of success. Mustard Gas was a much feared substance, largely due to the rapid onset of its terrifying symptoms and significant suffering, rather than its lethality. Severe blistering, both external and internal in the respiratory tract and lungs, together with blindness, both temporary and often permanent, were immediate and long lasting. Long term effects slowly became evident after the war. Studies have revealed that “a positive correlation has been proven between exposure to mustard agents and skin cancers, other respiratory and skin conditions, leukemia, several eye conditions, bone marrow depression and subsequent immunosuppression, psychological disorders and sexual dysfunction.”  {Mary Fox, Frank Curriero, Kathryn Kulbicki, Beth Resnick, Thomas Burke, "Evaluating the Community Health Legacy of WWI Chemical Weapons Testing," Journal of Community Health, 35, (18 November 2009):} A more substantial discussion on this subject may be found here

William Morcombe’s injuries were caused by Mustard Gas. We know this because his service record describes him suffering “gas poisoning” and, in an associated entry “Wounded S”. “S” was code or jargon for Mustard Gas, due to the presence of sulphur. 

(The original jargon was “HS”, literally short for “Hun Stuff”. The British used the “S” version late in 1917, while the USA continued with the “HS” term.)

Originally treated in 56 General Hospital, Etaples, William entered the care of Norfolk War Hospital in Norwich on November 10, 1917. It soon became apparent that he was no longer fit for duty and was recommended for discharge and pension. He returned to Australia on the 13th of May, 1918, and was discharged on the 21st of August that year. His final diagnosis prior to discharge was “DAH and Bronchitis”. DAH is short for Diffuse alveolar haemorrhage. This is persistent or recurrent pulmonary haemorrhage (bleeding in the lungs) and was often mistaken for consumption or tuberculosis. There are numerous causes, but autoimmune disorders are most common. This is a classic enduring consequence of mustard gas poisoning.

William Henry Morcombe, MM, returned to Sydney, a man much diminished by the suffering he endured from Mustard Gas poisoning. With lungs bleeding, a difficult cough, a weakening immune system and unable to work, he faced a bleak future in a country about to be hit with an influenza pandemic. 

William appears to have remained close to his former brother-in-law Norman Robert Humbley (aka Robert Norman Humbley). In July 1919 the two gentlemen were residing at the same residence at number 7 Liverpool St, Paddington, an inner Sydney suburb. It was at this address, during the evening of July 5, 1919, that William took a small brown bottle into his hand and quickly swallowed the contents. Within minutes, William Henry Morcombe was dead. He was discovered, the following morning, in bed, an empty bottle, smelling strongly of cyanide, nearby. Evidence was later given that William, while continuing to suffer the effects of being gassed while on active service, was also deeply depressed. Little did he know that there would be many who would choose the same pathway to easing their suffering.

You will recall, dear reader, that in the second paragraph of this story, mention is made of Morcombe touching or pointing to his head during his dream visitation. Symptoms of cyanide poisoning have a generally rapid onset, within a couple of minutes. The earliest symptoms are headache and confusion. Perhaps this explains the head gestures I have mentioned.

William Henry Morcombe, MM, was laid to rest in the early afternoon of Tuesday, July 8, 1919, at the Church of England Cemetery, Waverley, NSW.

A Postscript

Wilfred Owen, the acclaimed First World War poet, wrote a graphic, yet moving, description of a mustard gas attack. Owen’s most significant works were written in the period 1917 to 1918. He was no back room poet describing war from the comfort of a fireside and lounge chair. Owen was a soldier, a Military Cross recipient and killed in action late in 1918. His biography can be found here.

Here is his seminal piece Dulce Et Decorum Est Pro Patria Mori

Henry Gordon Palethorpe & The RAN Bridging Train

During the First World War, 27 officers of the Australian Customs Service served their country of birth, or adoption, in the military forces or in a support capacity.  

Henry Gordon Palethorpe  was one of them.

NOTE: It is important to note that the Customs Honour Roll does not record a Palethorpe. The record shows as “Ralethorpe, HG”. The error can be attributed to a misreading of handwriting.

Henry Gordon Palethorpe
& The RAN Bridging Train

Insignia RAN Bridging Train

“There they are to-day, in charge of the landing of a great part of the stores of a British army. They are quite cut off from their own force; they scarcely come into the category of the Australian Force, and scarcely into that of the British; they are scarcely army and scarcely navy. Who it is that looks after their special interests, and which is the authority that has the power of recognising any good work that they have done, I do not know. If you want to see the work, you have only to go to Kangaroo Beach, Suvla Bay, and look about you. They had made a harbour.”

Charles Bean, Official WW1 Historian on the RAN Bridging Train at Suvla Bay 1915.

We really know very little about Henry Gordon Palethorpe.

Most of us also know very little about the Royal Australian Navy Bridging Train and its contribution to Australian Naval and Military history during the 1st World War. Yet, both Henry and the RAN Bridging Train were real. Both share a place in our Australian story.

Rear Admiral Bracegirdle

The RAN Bridging Train was born out of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve. In early February 1915, the Australian government offered to the Imperial War Council the services of two Bridging Train teams to be drawn from the Naval Reserve. The offer was accepted on the 18th of February and the RAN Bridging Train was formed on the 28th of February, under the command of Lt Commander (later Rear Admiral) Leighton Bracegirdle.

It was intended that the Bridging Train would provide engineering skills, particularly in the area of pontoon construction and logistical movement. They would need skills in small boats, wagon handling and horsemanship. By March the 12th 1915, over 100 recruits were training in earnest at the Domain, Melbourne. It was originally planned that the unit would be deployed to the Western Front in France. This, however, was to change.

Henry Palethorpe, was born in Towaninnie (alt. Towaninny), Victoria, in January 1893, the eldest child of Henry and Susan Palethorpe. He had one brother, John Charles (6860 22nd Reinforcements, 7th Battalion) and one sister, Marion. On leaving school, he was employed as a Telegraphist Clerk with the Department of Trade and Customs and enlisted in the 1st Royal Australian Naval Reserve Bridging Train on the 16th of March 1915. He had married Doris Giles in 1914 and now, with one child, he had enjoyed his 22nd birthday just a few weeks earlier.

Henry could both ride and drive at the time he enlisted, having undertaken militia training in a Light Horse unit. Both these skills were in high demand by the RAN Bridging Train, with the result that he was immediately signed into that unit.

The Bridging Train departed Melbourne on the 4th of June 1915 aboard the transport HMAT Port Macquarie. Initially bound for France and the Western Front, they were diverted to the Mediterranean. They arrived at Lemnos, in the Mediterranean, on the 21st of July 1915, then onto Mudros on the island of Imbros. Their new task was to support the British Army's IX Corp with its landing at Suvla Bay on August the 7th 1915. (Students of the Gallipoli campaign will know that the Suvla landing was part of the “August Offensive”, which saw the Light Horse debacle at The Neck and the costly attack at Lone Pine.)

AWM  A01289 RAN Bridging Train

The work carried out by the RAN Bridging Train was significant and highly regarded by all who were aware of it. However, the existence of this small group of Australians was not well known and it is highly likely that their comrades at ANZAC Cove, just a few miles down the coast, knew nothing of their existence. Charles Bean wrote, “In Gallipoli, as we have seen, only four miles separated them from the Anzacs and yet they are part of a world so separate that I do not think one Australian or New Zealander in a thousand knows that they are there, and they know practically nothing whatever of what happens at Anzac.”

Of course, it could also be the case that those operating much closer to the Bridging Train were equally ignorant of the magnificent work these people were performing.  Sgt John Hargrave, of the British 32nd Field Ambulance in his book “At Suvla Bay”, tells the story of two rather casual chaps rescuing one of his Lance Corporals. The rescue took place at a point known as Jefferson’s Post, on the extreme left of the British lines at Suvla. The conversation probably occurred near Hill 10, quite close to the Salt Lake. The full story is worth reading and has been rescued for us by the Gutenberg project. You will find it at Chapter XXIV - The Sharp Shooters.

The work of the Bridging Train continued solidly throughout the Suvla Campaign. Two members were killed and 60 wounded during this period and a significant number succumbed to illness or injury.

The decision to abandon the entire Dardanelles exercise was taken in early December 1915 and the majority of the RANBT were evacuated during the nights of the 16th and 17th of December. However, a small party remained under the command of Sub Lt Charles Hicks. It was the task of this small group to maintain the wharf at Lala Baba Beach in order to facilitate the evacuation of the British rearguard. The RANBT finally left the Gallipoli Peninsular at 4.30 am on the 20th of December. They were the last Australians to leave, the remainder having completed their evacuation by 4.10 am on the same day.

The RANBT were initially evacuated to Mudros, where they spent a rather bleak Christmas. Problems had occurred with their pay and most had received nothing for weeks. This may have been of little consequence while in the front line, but it did make for a dull celebration. The matter was compounded, however, as mail from home started to arrive and it became known that dependents had not received their allotments. Not only did this mean that families had a bleak Christmas. Their day to day lives consisted of needing to meet the needs of rent, food, medical treatment and all the usual things that soldiers in the field don’t need to be concerned about. This news was the last straw and, on January the 13th 1916, approximately 189 (the numbers vary) members of the RANBT, apologetically and firmly, refused to turn out for duty. The Royal Navy station commander called it a mutiny. Most of us would call it a strike. The matter was eventually resolved, although as a result of the attitude of the RN, seven men were charged and sentenced to four months imprisonment.

The RANBT returned to Alexandria in late January 1916 and continued to provide their excellent engineering skills throughout the Suez Canal and Sinai region for the next 16 months. There were, however, rumblings within the hierarchy as to the appropriateness of such a unit and whether it might better be used elsewhere.

For our purposes, however, it is sufficient to know that AB Henry Palethorpe continued to do his work, although he did suffer some illness and hospitalisation during this latter period. On the 29th of May 1917, the decision having been made to disband the unit, Henry and his mates boarded the transport HMAT Bulla bound for home and discharge.

Henry appears to have returned to civilian life as a clerk. Electoral records show him as living with his wife, Doris, at Cramer St Preston and Dean St Coburg in 1919; at Glenora Rd Coburg in 1924; and at Charles St Richmond in 1931.

Life, however, would demonstrate its inevitable twists and turns. The Electoral Roll entry for 1936 places Henry at Albert Rd Melbourne East, but no Doris. Sadly, the marriage of Henry and Doris ended in that year with the completion of divorce proceedings, the grounds being Henry's desertion. While Doris appears to have remarried, Henry moved interstate.

In 1938, there is correspondence providing Henry's address as care of a Mr E Darcy of Baldwin Ave Asquith NSW. The correspondence seeks replacement of discharge papers lost during a fire in 1937. A newspaper article in 1949 places Henry living in the Sydney suburb of Pennant Hills. Appearing as a witness in a court hearing, Henry is described as a compressor driver and employed by the NSW Department of Main Roads.

Henry Gordon Palethorpe passed away in Sydney in 1966 at the age of 73.

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Clifford Roy Cowling

During the First World War, 27 officers of the Australian Customs Service served their country of birth, or adoption, in the military forces or in a support capacity. 

Clifford Roy Cowling was one of them.

Lt Clifford Roy Cowling

Clifford Roy Cowling, known as “Roy” to his friends, was enjoying life in Melbourne as a young eligible bachelor when he heard the trumpet call to enlist. It was the 21st of September 1914, and the war had barely begun. Yet the recruiting stations in public halls all over the country were busy, with nervous anticipation oozing from both sides of the attestation desk.

Roy, as we will call him (although there were many “Roy’s” in the Cowling family), had been building a career in the Commonwealth Customs Service. It was, no doubt, this background that encouraged the recruiters to enlist him in the 1st Australian Army Pay Corps. The army needed skilled clerical staff for the huge range of support functions it required and, in Roy’s case, his qualities were recognized at an early stage.

The infant Roy entered this world on the 25th of March 1888 in the beautiful Victorian rural area of Castlemaine. He was a first son to his parents, James Edward and Ada Elizabeth (nee Blight), and an infant brother to his older sister, Ivie Isabel Mary, born two years earlier. Sadly, Ada passed away in 1890, leaving James, a teacher by profession, with the task of raising his two young children.

Of course, Nature has a way of healing wounds, when it is permitted to do so. As a result, James Cowling eventually met and married Minna Ellenora Fox, providing young Roy and his sister with a step mum and two brothers, Inglis Hall Cowling (1902)[1] and Roden Cowling (1909). At some stage during the decade before the war, Roy’s father took up a position at St Arnaud’s State School, where he was to become head teacher. This was the school where young Inglis won his scholarship (see footnote).

Roy was a strapping lad. Almost five feet ten inches tall (176cm) and 162 pounds (73.5kg), his blue eyes peered from beneath a strong forehead capped with a healthy bush of dark hair. As he walked into the recruiting office he had already enjoyed several years Army Cadet service and was a regular rifle club participant. His developing career in the Customs Service had nurtured strong administrative skills. It was no surprise to find that, before that first day was over and amidst the organized chaos of swearing in, medicals and uniforms, he was promoted to Staff Sergeant.

We cannot be certain, but we can guess that Roy was immediately engulfed with the urgent need to create administrative order out of the impending chaos. Basic training, not really required for this young man, would have been a waste of time given the urgency confronting the army in that year. The army had to set sail for foreign shores at the earliest opportunity - kitted up, trained up and paid up!

And it did!

Exactly one month later, on the 21st of October 1914, the Australian Army Pay Corps sailed from Melbourne. They were on board the “Orvicto”, one of the many transport ships to meet at Albany and forming that impressive fleet bound for the Middle East. The adventure had begun.

The fleet sailed from Albany in the early morning of November the 1st. It was an impressive sight! Twenty-eight Australian transports, ten New Zealand ships, plus escorts, including HMAS Sydney which was soon to make short work of the Emden, the notorious German raider.

Arriving in Alexandria around the 5th of December, the troops made for their new base camp at Mena, with much of the headquarters staff seeking various posts and billets in nearby Cairo. While a role for this ANZAC force was yet to be clearly defined, the serious training began. This also included the development of procedures and protocols necessary to maintain the health, welfare, efficiency and morale of this new army. During this period Roy seems to have continued to impress his superiors.  In March 1915 he was promoted to commissioned rank as a Lieutenant. It would not be long before the responsibilities of command would weigh heavily.

So the army trained, the administrators became organized, records were created and routines established. 

And they waited.

And the waiting ended!  

On the morning of April 25 1915 Australian and Allied forces landed on the Gallipoli Peninsular[2]. The casualty toll was beyond the wildest imagining of the campaign planners and strategists. Thousands were dead, wounded or missing. Privates suddenly became corporals, corporals became sergeants and sergeants received battlefield commissions. Junior officers became company and even battalion commanders. The confusion went on.

The pay office at Cairo, while not suffering the horror of the trenches, had serious and difficult work to do. It is important to remember that this work would have been done with a strong sense of loss and grief. Those “1914 men” – as they became known – were well acquainted with many of their number. Familiar names would be crossed from pay lists, or question marks placed beside their names. Familiar faces, or what was left of them, were starting to arrive in great numbers at hospitals in Cairo and harrowing stories were being told.

The Army Pay Corps was tasked to ensure that payment to soldiers was timely and correct. This, in particular, included the allotment of allowances to dependents back home. It was vital and necessary work, of great importance to the morale and resilience of the troops in the field. The last thing field commanders needed was to hear that troops were receiving mail from loved ones complaining of financial difficulties.[3]

Of course, it wasn’t just “blokes” in Cairo during these grim times and there were happier moments to be captured and shared. The Australian Army Nursing Service was strongly represented and the presence of competent Australian women was a great consolation to the injured. The Australian Red Cross, newly formed in August 1914, was contributing strongly to the care of troops.[4] Some of these wonderful women, under the guidance of Vera Deakin (daughter of former Prime Minister Alfred Deakin) established the “Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau”[5]. This agency was responsible for bringing resolution to thousands of families whose loved ones could not be located.

There was, also, a small group of Australian women who had defied their Government and found their own way to Egypt, joining up with the British Volunteer Aid Detachments and, for the most part, being seconded to Australian hospitals[6]. These women were not nurses, but they were workers. These are the girls that carried out all the other work that needed to be done, the scullery work, the cleaning, canteen operations and much more.

A young girl from Cheltenham in Victoria had found her way to Cairo in 1915. Euna Elizabeth Mary McNiven, twenty-three years old and the daughter of William and Mary McNiven, had arrived as a volunteer with either the Red Cross or the VAD. It was not long before she met an overworked Australian Lieutenant by the name of Clifford Roy Cowling. The inevitable happened and the two were married at the British Consulate in Cairo in November 1915. With no time for a traditional honeymoon, Euna took up residence in The Continental Hotel and Roy, no doubt, joined her whenever he could.

The end of the Gallipoli campaign and the inevitable evacuation was complete by Christmas 1915. The troops gathered in Egypt and rested. The army was reorganized and retrained for further operations. The work of the Pay Corps continued at a frantic pace as new units were created, manpower shuffled like cards and thousands of reinforcements arrived. The word came through that France was the next destination for many and the Pay Corps was to move to London.

With Euna newly pregnant, the decision was made that she should return to Australia. Travelling to Port Said, the couple bid farewell to each other and Euna boarded the transport Mongolia, bound for Sydney. She arrived in Australia in the 25th of June 1916 and traveled to join her family in Victoria. On the 10th of January 1917 she delivered a son, Kenneth James.

Meanwhile, Roy was deployed to London on the 22nd of July 1916. He appears to have done a short stint in France and was, briefly, in charge of cash services. The reasons are not clear from the official record, but Roy returned to Australia aboard the Ulysses in late March 1917. Although his army appointment was terminated in April 1917, he appears to have remained on the “Reserve of Officers” list until his resignation in May 1928.

Returning to civilian life, Roy remained in the Customs Service for some time. He appears on the Public Service list in 1925 as employed at the “Investigations Branch, Customs House, Melbourne”.  In the Electoral Rolls of 1943 and 1949, he is described as a Customs Agent, suggesting that, in later life, he may have entered private enterprise.

Roy and Euna went on to have two more children, both girls, Margaret (later Mrs. W J Knight) and Judith Mary (described as a nurse in the 1949 Electoral Roll). Their son, Kenneth, served as an army officer in World War 2.

Apart from work and family, Roy’s passion was tennis. Although not a great player, he was heavily involved in the Lawn Tennis Association of Victoria. He was a Council Member from 1934 to 1951. He also captained the Australian Davis Cup team in 1948 and was a Davis Cup Selector for a number of years up to 1951.

On the 24th of November 1951, Roy attended the NSW Championship match at Rushcutters Bay in Sydney. He was seated in the Marsh Stand during the game between Victor Seixas and Mervyn Rose when he excused himself to take a “breather”. As he passed by the committee rooms he suddenly collapsed and passed away within moments. He was 63[7]. His passing was widely reported throughout both Australia and overseas. The news traveled rapidly, even being reported in the Toledo Blade in the issue of November 24 (US time).

Euna took her time joining her Roy.  She passed away 31 years later in 1982.

   

   

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[1] Dr Inglis Hall (Tom) Cowling 1902-1941. Inglis won a scholarship in December 1914 which provided assistance for his junior high school education. His senior secondary education was at Scotch College, Melbourne, where he was in the winning team of the 1919 Head of The River Regatta.  He completed a medical degree at Melbourne University, followed by post graduate studies in England.  At the time of his death he was married with two children, in General Practice in the Coburg area and a Reserve Captain in the Australian Army Medical Corp.

[2] Official History CW Bean: The Landing….. http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/records/awmohww1/aif/vol1/awmohww1-aif-vol1-ch12.pdf

[3] The reader may find this article of interest RANBT Mutiny – scroll 2/3 down page and see an article by “Kookaburra” headed The RAN Bridging Train Mutiny, January 13, 1916, at Imbros, Greece http://www.worldnavalships.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-3602.html

 

[4] Red Cross   http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0715b.htm

[5] Vera Deakin http://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/IMP0139b.htm and http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/redcross/vera_deakin.asp

[6] Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD)  http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/vad.asp

[7] Obituary

·         http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/45786723?searchTerm=Roy%20Cowling&searchLimits=l-decade=195|||l-year=1951|||l-monthInYear=November|monthInYear%3A11

·         http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/18494623?searchTerm=Roy%20Cowling&searchLimits=l-decade=195|||l-year=1951|||l-monthInYear=November|monthInYear%3A11

George Victor Browning

During the First World War, 27 officers of the Australian Customs Service served their country of birth, or adoption, in the military forces or in a support capacity.  

George Victor Browning  was one of them.

George Victor Browning

George Victor Browning had joined the Department of Trade and Customs, as a junior clerk, in 1915.  He was one of six children (five boys and one girl) born to Charles and Ellen Browning of Eastbourne Street, Windsor, a suburb of Melbourne. The Brownings saw four of their boys off to war, the fifth, Roy, being too young. Walter, serving in the 22nd Battalion, was killed in action at Bullecourt on the 3rd of May 1917. He would have been only a short distance from his brother George who was in the same action. Norman, serving with the field artillery, was wounded but returned home safely at the end of the war. Charles, the first to enlist in August 1914, served at Gallipoli and in France, also returning home at war’s end. When George enlisted on January the 24th 1916, his three older brothers were already in uniform.

As George marched into the recruiting depot he would have been determined to enlist and join his brothers, in particular Norman and Walter who had signed up only eight or nine days earlier.  At only five feet four and a half inches tall, he needed to stretch a little to make the grade. This was helped, no doubt, by his thick mop of black hair, which could have accounted for an extra inch or so.  He would also have hoped that his pale complexion and protruding ears did not give the recruiting officer reason to question his age, because he was going to tell a lie. George was to give his age as 18 years when, in fact, he was only 17 years and 4 months. He need not have worried; the war machine was too hungry for new recruits.

George was posted to the 13th reinforcements of the 21st Battalion and commenced his training at Broadmeadow Camp. Early July saw his unit board the transport “Ayreshire”, arriving in France on November the 22nd 1916, via a two month training session in England. No summer sports for these lads, it was straight into a miserable winter on the Western Front.

Life in the trenches was no boy scout camp.  If the Germans weren’t trying to kill you, then nature would take over. Mostly, everything bad happened at once and one of the most miserable impacts was a disease known as “trench foot”. Trench Foot was, in fact, a fungal infection brought on by prolonged exposure to dampness. If not treated, gangrene and amputation could result.

AWM E00081 - 

Australian ambulance men at

Bernafay carrying victims of trench foot

George Browning found the harsh conditions of that first winter in France cared little for sensitive southern feet and he was an early victim of trench foot, being hospitalised for three months in early 1917. However, he was able to return to his unit in time for the action at Bullecourt on May the 2nd, the same battle that saw his brother killed.

Another bout of trench foot in August/September 1917 saw George have a further break from the front, but he was back in the thick of things by the time the Australians advanced and captured Broodseinde Ridge, east of Ypres, in October.

Late 1917 saw the Australian army in a rather battered state. Units had been heavily depleted and replacements were both slow in arriving and inexperienced. It was time to draw breath and take stock. For George Browning, this meant a period of leave in Paris, followed by a further three weeks in Britain, together with participating in the regrouping that was being undertaken. However, the human harvesting machine demanded more fodder and, by late March 1918, it was back to work.

April 1918 saw the beginning of actions that would eventually lead to the German surrender. The 21st Battalion, with many other Australian and allied units, took part in battles at Hamel, Amiens and Mont St Quentin. The 21st suffered heavily and was, by September that year, reduced to barely company strength. In late September, the order was given to disband and reinforce other units.

However, the survivors of the 21st had other ideas and on the 25th of September they mutinied. Commonsense seems to have prevailed and the order to disband was withdrawn before the day was over. Yet, the writing was on the wall. The 21st Battalion fought its last engagement at Montbrehain on the 5th of October and was withdrawn from the front the next day, being finally disbanded on October 13th. George Browning was redeployed to the 24th Battalion on that day and returned to Australia in June 1919. He was discharged from the AIF shortly afterwards.

Courtesy National Archives of Australia, 

series J2364 Circa 1940-1955. 

George Browning is believed to be middle row, 

far left in light suite and dark hair.

George returned to his employment with the Department of Trade and Customs and was married to Olive in the early 1920’s. They had, at least, two sons and the young family relocated to the new national capital, Canberra, around 1930, taking up residence in Lister Crescent, North Ainslie and, later, in Toms Crescent, Ainslie.  

Following the family example, George and Olive’s boys enlisted in the services during World War 2.  Walter joined the navy in 1942, returning home safely in 1945. Victor joined the army in 1944, but sadly died of illness in 1945 while still undergoing training with 19 Infantry Training Battalion.

George Victor Browning passed away in Canberra on the 19th of March 1971.  He had done his duty.