Feelings towards Germans during the war.

This is an interesting article from the British Nursing Journal - September 12th 1914.

It gives an indication of the feeling of fear and suspicion early in the war towards German residents.

'Agnes Freytag, 37, came to England from Germany in 1910, and from that year until May last was a nurse at the Roman Catholic Cripples' Home, Northwood, Middlesex.
On Wednesday she called at the home for a box, which contained a revolver and 51 breech caps, but the Sister Superintendent refused to hand them over until she had communicated with the police.The police arrived, and the nurse was then taken into custody on a charge, of failing to register, for travelling more than five miles from her home without a permit, and for being in possession of firearms. She was remanded at Highgate.
Every clay one hears blood-curdling stories of German women, who have been in our midst for years, being in possession of suspicious papers and articles.
We are a very trusting people.'

Why we joined up.

This is an interesting passage from the book 'Twice in a Lifetime' by M.L.Walkinton. He was just 17 when he enlisted in September 1914 and was soon a rifleman in the Queens Westminster Rifles. Three months later in December he was in the trenches in France. Reflecting years later, this is what he has to say about the reason he joined up.

'Thirteen years have passed, and looking back it is not easy to see just why we were so desperately keen to slaughter a lot of decent Germans. I suppose that we were a normal lot of healthy young men afflicted with romantic minds and large reserves of pent-up energy. Our real need was to rescue beautiful maidens from terrible dragons; but the beautiful maidens were so capable and stand-offish, and all the dragons had been slain long ago, that when the Daily Mail told us that beautiful Belgium had been violated and France was in distress we all rushed to the rescue. But I think we did it for own sakes very largely. The uniforms, the bands, the open-air life and most of all, the felling that one was a devil of a fellow attracted us irresistibly. We felt, of course , that England was in danger and we did honestly want to defend her, and we knew that it might cost us our lives, but there is no doubt that the wave of patriotic emotion which carried us into the army received much of its impetus from the publicity and glamour of it all.'

The "Ni-Shell"

A bizarre episode took place at the battle of Neuve Chapelle in October 1914, it was in fact the first 'gas' attack of the war, but not the deadly 'mustard' gas..

Early in the war, German Major Max Bauer, Chief of Artillery and the Fortress Section of Operation Branch had convened a group of scientists to develop a chemical shell of incendiary, smoke, irritant, or stink type to drive enemy troops from inaccessible places. The result was the "Ni-shell". The Ni stood for 'Niespulver'- Sneezing Powder. Professor Nernst of Kaiser Wilhelm Institute had developed the idea of placing irritant among the balls of standard shrapnel shell.

3, 000 of these non-toxic shells were fired at Neuve Chapelle. The British and Indian troops did not realise that they had been victims of the 'Ni shell' until they read about it after the the war. Legend has it the Prof Nernst's 'Ni shells' were abandonded after Erich Van Falenhayn's son had won a case of champagne by wagering that he could stand in a cloud of the irritant for 5 minutes and emerge unharmed.

Meanwhile, a new type of Gas weapon a shell filled with xylyl bromide was being devloped and would be used, against the Russian's in 1915.

8th Battalion Poet - Signaller Tom Skeyhill.

Signaller Tom Skeyhill of the 8th Battalion wrote a famous poem 'The naked Army' below.

Tom Skeyhill was the original author of, "My Little Wet Home In The Trench", a parody of the 1911 song, "My Little Grey Home in the West", by Hermann Frederic Löhr and D. Eardley-Wilmot.

He trained in Egypt from January, 1915, to April, 1915, and landed with his battalion on Anzac Beach on 24th April. The next week he was with his Battalion at Cape Helles, and was blinded on 8th May, when a high explosive shell burst beside him. He also suffered bayonet wounds to his hands. In 1916, he published a little book called "Soldier-Songs from Anzac". Some of these had been written "in the firing-line" and some in hospital after he was injured. He was invalided home and then, after the end of the war, went to America where an operation partially restored his sight. He toured the States giving readings and lectures - he was described as "a silver-tongued master of eloquence - a matchless orator, whose powers of description are more vivid, and word pictures of battles are more graphic than those of any other speaker on the war."
He was killed in a plane accident at Hyanis, Massachusetts, in 1932, and buried in West Dennis.

The Naked Army

We ain't no picture postcards,
Nor studies in black and white;
We don't doll up in evening clothes
When we go out to fight.

We've forgotten all our manners,
And our talk is full of slang,
For you ain't got time for grammar
When you 'ear the rifles bang.

The 'eat 'ere an' the vermin'
Ad drove us nearly balmy,
So we peeled off all our clobber,
And we're called "The Naked Army."

We never wear our tunics,
Unless it's cold at night;
An' socks and shirts and putties,
We've chucked 'em out of sight.

We only wear a pair of shorts
That don't near reach our knees,
And we're burnt as brown as berries;
Still, we'd sooner sun than fleas.

The Tommies fighting round us
Think we've got a bally rat;
They're all togged up to a button,
An' us, in shorts and 'at.

The air and sun don't 'urt us
In this land of fleas and strife,
So we've chucked away our clobber
An' prefer the Simple Life.

The Rookie, when first landed,
'Angs on to all 'is clothes,
But when the grey-backs bite 'im,I
t's to the beach 'e goes.

Then off comes shirt and tunic,
Boots, socks, and putties, too;
'E dives deep in the briny,
An' wears what the others do.

If our girls could only see us,
Just as we're fightin' 'ere,
I wonder if they'd 'ug us,
Smile, kiss, an' call us Dear!

Sure thing, they still would love us,
Although we're burnt and lean;
They'd think of our 'ome-comin',
An' buy a sewin' machine.

Still, clothes don't make the fighter,
Nor speech don't show the man,
But conduct in the trenches
Proves out the fightin' man.

This aint' no bloomin' picnic,
The earth 'ides 'eaps of slain;
And we'll fight on to avenge 'em,
Or we won't come 'ome again.

We were the first at landin',
And we're 'angin' on until
The Turks get all that's comin',
Then we'll be in at the kill.

When we march through old
"Connie,"Some one will yell,
"Lor' blahmy!There lies the Young Turk's Harem.
Double up! The Naked Army!"

Captain Albert Jacka, VC, MC & bar

Albert Jacka was born on 10 January 1893 at Layard in Victoria. He completed elementary schooling before working as a labourer, first with his father and then with the Victorian State Forests Department.

He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 18 September 1914 as a private in the 14th Battalion. After training in Egypt Jacka's battalion landed at Gallipoli on 26 April 1915. Just over three weeks later on 19 May, with the ANZACs now entrenched above the beaches, the Turks launched large-scale frontal assaults against their positions. Some Turks captured a small section of trench at Courtney's Post. Early attempts to drive them out failed, until Jacka, taking advantage of a diversion created by bomb throwers at one end of the Turkish position, leapt in, killing most of the occupants. For this he was awarded Australia's first Victoria Cross of the First World War.

The citation read:
'For most conspicuous bravery on the night of the 19th-20th May, 1915, at "Courtney's Post" Gallipoli Peninsula. Lance Corporal Jacka, while holding a portion of our trench with four other men, was heavily attacked. When all except himself were killed or wounded, the trench was rushed and occupied by seven Turks. Lance Corporal Jacka at once most gallantly attacked them single handed, and killed the whole party, five by rifle fire and two with the bayonet.'Source: 'London Gazette' No. 7279

Jacka quickly became famous - his likeness was used on recruiting posters and his exploits featured regularly in newspapers, particularly in his native Victoria. He began a rapid rise through the ranks, finally becoming a captain in March 1917. Jacka having risen no higher has been attributed to his frequent disputes with superior officers.

After Gallipoli the 14th Battalion was shipped to France, where, at Pozières in August 1916 he won the Military Cross

'For conspicuous gallantry. He led his platoon against a large number of the enemy, who had counter attacked the battalion on his right. The enemy were driven back some prisoners they had taken were recovered, and 50 of the enemy captured. He was himself wounded in this attack.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 62

and at Bullecourt in 1917 he won a bar to the Military Cross .

'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He carried out a daring reconnaissance of the enemy's position, and obtained most valuable information. Later, he rendered invaluable assistance in guiding troops to their assembly positions.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 169


The Australian official historian, Charles Bean, described his actions at Pozières, during which he recaptured a section of trench, freed a group of recently captured Australians and forced the surrender of some fifty Germans, as "the most dramatic and effective act of individual audacity in the history of the AIF." He was severely wounded during this action and was hit by a sniper's bullet in July 1917. On each occasion he returned to the front, always furthering his reputation as one of the AIF's most respected warriors. In May 1918 he received the wound that ended his combat career, this time during a German gas bombardment near Villers-Bretonneux.
Jacka returned to Australia in September 1919. Greeted by a large crowd upon his return, Jacka was described in one newspaper as "the symbol of the spirit of the ANZACs." After being demobilised in January 1920 he went into business with two former members of his battalion. He married the following year and he and his wife later adopted a daughter. In 1929 Jacka was elected to the St Kilda Council becoming mayor the following year. His political career was characterised by his strong interest in assisting the unemployed. Meanwhile his business, which had performed well until the late 1920s, was forced into voluntary liquidation in 1930.
At the same time Jacka's health began to deteriorate. He entered Caulfield Military Hospital in December 1931 and died from kidney disease the following month. More than 6,000 people filed past his coffin as it lay in state and his funeral procession, flanked by thousands of onlookers, was led by over 1,000 returned soldiers - the coffin was carried by eight Victoria Cross winners. Jacka was buried with full military honours in St Kilda cemetery.

Se also (http://www.awm.gov.au/forging/australians/jacka.htm).

Inspiration

After purchasing Ron Austins excellent book 'Cobbers in Khaki'. A history of the 8th Battalion i was inspired whilst reading this in the preface.

'Our modern 'heroes' are more likely to be TV/pop satrs or sportsmen and i doubt whether many Australians today know of the audacious heroism of Albert Jacka. 'Cobbers in Khaki' features true heroes such as Lay, Traill, Mitchell, Goodwin, Robarts, Trevena and Scorer. Perhaps it is still not too late to give due recognition to such men and the thousand's of other men who served in the 8th Battalion, to their families and friend's, who waited and in many cases wept when the fateful telegram arrived advising that a dear one had been killed.'

It is my hope that this small blog will be a place where the deeds of such men are broadcast for all to read. If you have not read 'Cobbers in Khaki' i would urge you to do so, it is an excellent book and a fitting memorial to a great battalion.

A Short History of the 8th Battalion.

A Short History of the 8th Battalion, AIF. (http://www.awm.gov.au/)

The 8th Battalion was among the first infantry units raised for the AIF during the First World War. Like the 5th, 6th and 7th Battalions, it was recruited from Victoria and, together with these battalions, formed the 2nd Brigade.

The battalion was raised from rural Victoria by Lieutenant Colonel William Bolton within a fortnight of the declaration of war in August 1914 and embarked just two months later. After a brief stop in Albany, Western Australia, the battalion proceeded to Egypt, arriving on 2 December. It later took part in the ANZAC landing on 25 April 1915, as part of the second wave. Ten days after the landing, the 2nd Brigade was transferred from ANZAC to Cape Helles to help in the attack on the village of Krithia. The attack captured little ground but cost the brigade almost a third of its strength. The Victorian battalions returned to ANZAC to help defend the beachhead, and in August the 2nd Brigade fought at the battle of Lone Pine. The battalion served at ANZAC until the evacuation in December.

After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the battalion returned to Egypt. In March 1916, it sailed for France and the Western Front. From then until 1918 the battalion was heavily involved in operations against the German Army. The battalion's first major action in France was at Pozières in the Somme valley in July 1916. Private Thomas Cooke, one of 81 members of the battalion killed at Pozières, earned a posthumous Victoria Cross during the action. After Pozières, the battalion fought at Ypres, in Flanders, returning to the Somme for winter. In 1917, the battalion participated in the operations that followed-up the German withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line, and then returned to Belgium to join the great offensive launched to the east of Ypres.

In March and April 1918 helped to stop the German spring offensive. The battalion subsequently participated in the allies' own offensive, launched near Amiens on 8 August 1918. The advance by British and empire troops was the greatest success in a single day on the Western Front, one that German General Erich Ludendorff described as, "the black day of the German Army in this war". For his actions on this day, Lieutenant William Joynt was awarded a Victoria Cross. The next day, Private Robert Beatham also earned a Victoria Cross by rushing four separate machine guns. He was killed in action two days later.
The battalion continued operations to late September 1918. At 11 am on 11 November 1918, the guns fell silent. The November armistice was followed by the peace treaty of Versailles signed on 28 June 1919.

In November 1918 members of the AIF began to return to Australia for demobilisation and discharge. In April, the battalion was so reduced that it and the 5th Battalion were amalgamated to form a composite battalion. In turn, this battalion was amalgamated with another, formed from the 6th and 7th Battalions, to form the 2nd Brigade Battalion.

Battle Honours: Landing at Anzac, Anzac, Helles, Krithia, Defence of Anzac, Suvla, Sari Bair, Gallipoli 1915, Egypt 1915-16, Somme 1916-18, Pozieres, Bullecourt, Ypres 1917, Menin Road, Broodeseinde, Polygon Wood, Poelcappelle, Passchendaele, Lys, Hazebrouck, Amiens, Albert 1918, Hindenburg Line, Epehy, France and Flanders 1916-18.

The 8th Battalion had 877 killed, 2410 wounded (including gassed).

Decorations
3 Victoria Cross
10 D.S.O. and 1 Bar
33 M.C. and 6 Bars
43 D.C.M.
32 M.M, 1 bar
4 M.S.M
45 M.I.D .
9 foreign awards .

Group portrait of the officers of the 8th Battalion,
photographed 20.2.1918 at Doncaster Camp, Locre Hospice.
Source: IWM photograph E 1811

Left to right, back row: Lieutenant (Lt) A. W. Finlayson MC; Lt S. W. Young MC MM; Lt J. G. Pitt; Lt F. W. Tickle MC; Lt R. W. Dowling MC; Lt R. Woodhouse. Middle row: Lt J. G. Evans MC; Lt T. Anderson MC DCM; Lt R. V. Andrewartha; Lt J. Bourke; Lt P. A. Waters MC; Lt P. G. Perkin; Lt J. L. Foott; Lt W. D. Joynt VC; Lt R. G. Hutson; unidentified; Lt W. D. N. Hooper; Lt S. Young; Lt H. G. Whitton; Lt W. G. M. Claridge. Front row: Captain A. G. Campbell DSO; Lt J. R. Blackman MC; Lt H. Fenton; Major J. H. P. Eller DSO; Lieutenant Colonel J. W. Mitchell DSO; Lt Col J. C. M. Traill DSO MC; Lt A. D. Temple MC; Honorary Capt E. Freeman MC.

Source : Crompton family History

Out of Battle, is a blog about the First World War, especially centering on the actions of the 8th Battalion, Australian Imperial Force.

My Grandfather fought with the 8th and this blog is a small homage to its men in hope that their deeds will never be forgotten.

There will be other 'stuff' posted about the war from different sources.