Armistice Day 1918 - 42nd Battalion, A.I.F.

This account of 11th November 1918 comes from Private Verdi George Schwinghammer No. 2639, 42nd Battalion, Australian Imperial Force.

Private Schwinghammer was an Australian the son of German parents. He succeeded in enlisting in the 42nd Battalion on 6th May, 1916.

The 42nd Battalion A.I.F. ( known as the "Australian Black Watch" because it had it own pipe band ) recruited its men from the Northern Rivers of NSW and Southern Queensland during February 1916.

By June 5th that year, its men embarked for Egypt and then to England, arriving on the 23rd July 1916.

After further training in England, the Battalion shipped out to France, arriving on the 25th November. One month later, Christmas Eve, 1916, it entered the front line, remaining in or near the line from that day until October 2nd, 1918.

During their 647 days of near continuous combat, the 42nd Battalion engaged in twelve battles, with 450 killed.

This is his account of Armistice Day 1918.


"ARMISTICE SIGNED

We could tell by the news in the papers that the war was practically over although we, the Third Division, were told to hold ourselves in readiness to proceed to the line again - the 1st, 4th and 5th Divisions already being on their way to the line.

On Monday, 11th November, 1918, the day the Armistice was signed, we marched to Alleray for a hot steam bath and on passing through Airanes found all the houses decorated with tricolours and the church bells pealing and the Frenchies running about like madmen. We wondered what was wrong and halted in the main street for a rest. The Captain then told us that he had interviewed the Mayor who had received a telegram saying that the armistice was to be signed at 11 a.m. that morning - it was then 10 a.m. We gave three cheers and could scarcely realize that the war was over.

When we returned to Warlus, the news that the war was over had reached there and the town was decorated, etc. Next day we had a holiday from drills to celebrate peace. The bells of the old French church chimed night and day for several days. Most of us attended the Victory Thanksgiving Mass at the Roman Catholic Church.

Some of the men broke camp and went to the neighboring cities - some got as far as Paris. Many were pinched and put in the clink (gaol) as they had no leave passes - others were caught and sent back to the Battalion.

On 25th November we had a parade and a lecture from the Colonel - it was the second anniversary of the Battalion's landing in France.

A few of the French who had been prisoners of war in Germany - some of them from the beginning of the war - had now returned to their village and it was touching and pathetic to see the reunion with their loved ones and made us homesick and wish we were back in Australia.

The French children had written all over the walls of the village houses with chalk - "La Guerre Mapoo" or "La Guerre Fini" which means "the war is over" or "the war is finished". "