"This is my last goodbye to you...."

In December 1915 as 2nd Lieutenant Cecil Beaumont Mills steamed away from Australia and all he held dear, he prepared a letter for his wife Effie (or Fairy as he called her), to be handed to her three  months after his death was reported.  Effie received this loving letter after Cecil fell, and disappeared forever, at Pozieres in August 1916.

Letters written by Cecil to his wife Effie, and other memorabilia, were donated to the Australian War Memorial by their only child, John Mills.  They have lately been digitised and can be seen on the AWM website here. This letter starts at page 16.

Originally from NSW, Cecil was a bank manager with the ES&A Bank in Mt Alexander Rd, Ascot Vale when he enlisted.  He and his wife were living at "Gowrie", Ardmillan Rd, Moonee Ponds with a Mrs Wragge when Cecil enlisted and went to Broadmeadows camp for training.  Their little boy was only a few months old, when Cecil felt compelled to do what he considered 'a man's work' in the great trial of war.

Although the Mills had probably not been in Moonee Ponds for more than a couple of years, Cecil had begun to immerse himself in the local community, and was recorded on several honour boards in the district, as well as his school, the Glenbrook Public School in NSW.  These honour boards are listed on Cecil's webpage at The Empire Called here.

Corporal Nash of the 29 Battalion

Coming back from a Christmas break, Rod Martin has leapt into 2017 with an outstanding account of the very hard fighting by the 29 Infantry Battalion by looking at  one of the originals of that Battalion, Bernard Nash, who was present during most of the fighting.  Nash answered the question:

He had begun training with the 29 Battalion by that date.   Go here for Rod Martin's story about Corporal Frederick Bernard Nash.

2nd Lt Henry Campbell Brady NOT awarded the Albert Medal

Originally the Albert Medal was created to recognise life saving at sea, but a number of mine disasters led to a medal for life saving on land, as shown above.    It was not a military medal, but during the Great War a number of awards of the Albert Medal were made to soldiers who risked life and limb to save others.  A common reason for awarding an Albert Medal during the war was for what was described as a "grenade incident".  The Long, Long Trail: The British Army in the Great War of 1914-1918  webpage describes Albert Medals awarded to soldiers and sailors during the war, including three Australians.


2nd Lieutenant Henry Campbell Brady of the 29 Inf Bn was recommended for the award  in late 1917.  The recommendation read:

At DEVRES on 29th December 1917, Lieut BRADY WAS superintending live bombing practice.  Snow was on the ground, and men waiting for their turn to throw got very cold in the hands. As a result of this, men on three occasions, after extracting the safety pin dropped their grenades in the trench from which they were throwing.  On each occasion Lieut BRADY coolly picked the grenades up and, with only a couple of seconds to spare threw them out of the trench.  By his quick action and coolness he undoubtedly saved several lives. 

 By the end of 1917 grenade incidents had been ridiculously common, and in this case Brady was not awarded the medal.  The fact that no-one died, and the rescuer was not injured may have played a part.

Whether anyone in authority was criticised for allowing men in very cold conditions to practise with live bombs is unknown.  No medals earned there for common sense.

You can learn a little more about 2/Lt Brady here.  

Lt H V Wood memorialised in two cities

2 Lt Harry Vasey Wood.  Photo courtesy of Natalie Stone.

Harry Vasey Wood had an association with Box Hill/Nunawading prior to his parents' move to Essendon in 1914/15.  He is not widely memorialised in Essendon - he appears only on the Moonee Ponds Methodist Church Roll of Honour, and the Essendon Gazette Roll of Honour.  His name is memorialised more widely in Box Hill and Nunawading, which I learnt from the Whitehorse Historical Society website which has a link to a Diggers Database.

Harry had studied at the University of Melbourne, and was a dentist when he enlisted in the 29 Infantry Battalion in 1915.  He was killed in a raid near Bapaume in March 1917.

Mothers of Men

Pte S M Memery is identified as being in the centre of this photo, taken prior to embarkation on 29 October 1915.  Given that the three brothers embarked on the same vessel on the same day, and one a sergeant,  it seems likely these are the three Memery brothers.

MOTHERS OF MEN.

The sacrifices madc by some women in sending their sons to serve the Empire are so notable that it seems fitting that they should be made known to readers of "The Argus."
It is therefore proposed to give on this page the photographs  of mothers who have sent three or more sons to the front. For this purpose I shall be glad to receive the portraits of such mothers, with their full name and the names of their soldier sons, together with particulars of their service.

From The Argus, 10 May 1916. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2099589

MRS. MEMERY.
Mrs. Catherine Memery, who lives at No. 8 Heritage street, Moonee Ponds, has three sons, all of them in the third reinforcements of the 29th Battalion. Sergeant Vivian Memery, aged 22; Private Samuel Memery, aged 25; and Private John Memery, aged 19. Her son-in-law, Private Edward Murphy, is in the 27th Battalion. She has also two nephews on service; Sergeant Ryan, of the 7th Battalion, was at the Gallipoli landing; Carlyle Ryan is in the A.M.C. Mrs. Memery had also a son who died on service in the Boer War, and a nephew who was killed in the Boer War.
The Argus 10 May 1916
http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2099589

Herbert Skehan endures a brutal winter

Icy conditions on the Somme.  AWM E00171

Private Thomas Herbert Skehan of the 29 Inf Bn endured conditions like these on the Somme in the winter of 1916-17.  He survived the battle of Polygon Wood, but was killed in a shell attack between 26 and 27 September 1917.  Read Rod Martin's account of the military service of Herbert Skehan.

Sergeant Vick of Kensington

Fromelles, November 1916.  Looking from the north-east corner of the Sugar Loaf towards the starting point for the 15 Brigade attack. AWM E04030.

Cpl Albert Vick of Barnett St, Kensington survived the battle of Fromelles in 1916.  The attrition at this battle probably led to his promotion to sergeant not long afterwards.  Within a few months Albert and the 29th Battalion went into action at Trones Wood.  Rod Martin relates Sgt Vick's story. 

29 Infantry Battalion, A Company, 1915

This group portrait was taken by Darge at Broadmeadows prior to the departure on the Ascanius on 10 November 1915.  Local men who may be in this picture of A Coy would include S A G Ball of Ascot Vale,  A W Bryant of Essendon, W J Bendon of Kensington, J W Bonnick of Essendon, T J Carroll of Moonee Ponds, L J Chapman of Essendon, R Dart of Moonee Ponds G Goy of Ascot Vale, and F B Nash of Essendon.

The names of other men in this portrait would be included in the 29 Inf Bn A Company embarkation roll.


Idenitifications of these or any other of the men in the picture would be welcomed.   The photo is also located on the Empire Called website. A higher resolution of the picture can be downloaded from there.