52nd Battalion AIF

Stefan has written a fantastic book that deals with the 12th and 52nd Battalions drawing on service records and personal accounts. A great reference to have.

Tickets to our event with Stefan Petrow next Monday September 9th for the launch of his new book, 'Tasmanian ANZACs' are selling fast! But if you can't make it along, or want to pick up a very last-minute father's day present, Stefan was kind enough to pop in and sign some copies for us. Thanks Stefan! Event tickets are available on our website, and 'Tasmanian Anzacs' is available to purchase on line here: https://shop.fullersbookshop.com.au/p/tasmanian-anzacs-those-who-served-their-families-and-the-impact-of-world-war-one-volume-1-the-12th-and-52nd-battalions?

Some of the screens from the interactive display in the WW1 Crypt in Brisbane. Each of the images on the first screen link to a story.

Quick stop to place a poppy

A morning visit to honour Private S P Bangs and his fiancee Amy. Amy and her dad took some finding but Stanley Bangs now has a magnificent memorial. Just took 95 years after he was originally laid to rest in an unmarked grave. Grateful thanks to Stephen (one of our Admins) who was never going to let this 52nd Battalion soldier remain unknown and unhonoured. Thanks as well to Office of Australian War Graves - one of our great institutions. Amy and Stanley took their own lives on the top of Mt Coot-Tha in Brisbane in June 1929 as their situation was hopeless. No money, no prospects and no chance of ever marrying. They Deserve that we Remember Them.

Today we remember the officers and soldiers of the 52nd Bn AIF. Ordered by the High Command to disband on the afternoon of 15 May 1918 in order to reinforce the other three battalions of the 13th Brigade. They didn’t rebel, complain or mutiny. In the late afternoon of 16 May 1918 they assembled, were assigned to their new units and marched out to the skirl of the pipes courtesy of the 52nd’s pipe band and with a loud cheer disbanded. On the same day in the late morning a white cross had been placed remembering those lost in the Battle to retake Villers-Bretonneux on 24 to 26 April. They Deserve that We Remember Them.

https://www.facebook.com/share/TG7VrVmDjexRsKzn/?mibextid=WC7FNe

The Order (Appendix 24 from the 13th Brigade War Diary for May 1918) re-organising the 13th Brigade by reassigning the men from the disbanded 52nd Battalion to the 49th, 50th and 51st battalions. The 49th to receive 174 Queenslanders; the 50th to receive 31 men from South Australia and 100 from Queensland; the 51st to receive 21 from NSW, 8 from Victoria; 34 from Western Australia and 120 from Tasmania. The band of the 52nd to be transferred in total to the 49th complete.

In the wake of the hard fighting during the main attack around Villers-Bretonneux, both sides consolidated their positions, but the town had been recaptured and the threat to Amiens passed. Four men from the 52nd Battalion would die on Anzac Day (25 April) 1918.

Through our research on the 52nd Battalion, we have found at least 14 men who were part of the fighting at Villers-Bretonneux on 25 April 1918 and who had been present at the Landing at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915 (serving then with the 12th Battalion). They were as follows (their rank is their final rank):

Lt Colonel John Lawrence WHITHAM CMG DSO MID
Captain William KENNEDY MC MID - wounded at Villers-Bretonneux
Captain Claude Henry STUBBINGS MC - wounded at Villers-Bretonneux
Captain William Frederick WILMOTT - Died of wounds at Villers-Bretonneux
Company Sergeant-Major Rowland Harris DENNIS DCM - Killed in action at Villers-Bretonneux
Company Sergeant-Major William Albert FARRELL
Sergeant David Henry ALLAN MM - Killed in action at Villers-Bretonneux
Sergeant William McROBERTS MM
Corporal Walter John Henry HOW
Private Harold Edward BOON
Driver Albert Ernest GEARY
Private Robert Archer PERRY
Private George Alfred Ernest RODGERS
Private Gilbert Charles TOPLIS

These original Anzacs were present at a pivotal battle in France after three years of service during the war. Sadly three of them would be killed. They deserve that we remember them.

THE BATTLE OF VILLERS-BRETONNEUX, APRIL1918

At 10pm on 24 April 1918, the 52nd Battalion began its attack to the south of the town of Villers-Bretonneux along with other units of the 13th Brigade AIF, while the 15th Brigade AIF would start its attack around the town to the north two hours later.

This attack came after a forced march of six miles for the Australian units to get into position to force the Germans back after they had captured the town. This was a perilous situation for the Australians. They would be advancing in the dark across unreconnoitred and uneven ground with no artillery support to dislodge the enemy from a strategically important position which could threaten the major Allied supply and communications centre at Amiens.

The leadership of Lt Colonel John Whitham was instrumental in ensuring the 52nd was a key part of the counter-attack. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his "outstanding gallantry and outstanding ability ... through splendid organisation and gallant leadership, the approach march and deployment were carried out without a hitch and the subsequent attack was a brilliant success. Col Whitham moved about his troops encouraging and directing them ... The recapture of Villers-Bretonneux, a most important tactical success, was due in a very large measure to the admirable way in which the assaulting battalions were handled."

The attack on Villers-Bretonneux took the lives of 61 men from the 52nd on the 24th - the highest loss of life for the battalion in a single day since Mouquet Farm in September 1916. Queensland lost 37 men; Tasmania lost 11; South Australia 5, New South Wales 5; Northern Territory 1; Victoria 1; and Western Australia 1.

On 5 April 1918 the Germans launched a massive attack at Dernancourt. After fierce fighting they were able to breach the railway embankment defended by the Australians forcing their way under a bridge, outflanking the Australian posts along it, and penetrating between the 12th and 13th Brigades. The forward battalions of both brigades (the 47th and the 52nd) were forced to retire upon their support positions and for a time even their supporting artillery was threatened.

A brilliant counter-attack, however, was launched from the support positions with the brigades' reserve battalions (including the 52nd Battalion reserve under Major Alec Craies) just after 5 pm, which halted the German advance and pushed it back toward the railway embankment. The embankment was regained on the Australians' right (the 13th Brigade side) but in the centre and on the left they were forced to stop about 1,300 metres short of it.

This second engagement at Dernancourt was the strongest attack met by Australian troops during the war. The two Australian brigades facing two and a half German divisions i.e. around 20,000 men. For his part in the counter-attack Major Alec Craies was Mentioned-In-Despatches by Field Marshal Douglas Haig and was awarded a Commendation from the King and Haig which was personally signed by Winston Churchill in his role as Minister of War.

Dernancourt was a significant battle for the 52nd Battalion in terms of casualties. On 4th April, two men were killed; on the 5th, 37 soldiers were killed. The youngest was only 19, the oldest 45 at the time of death. In the aftermath of the attack, on 6th April two men would be killed in action and four died of wounds from the battle.

Just a single mention of the 52nd in this Anzac Day Breakfast 2018 address by Dr Aaron Pegram, Senior Historian, Military History Section, Australian War Memorial. And other issues as well with the timeline of events etc. etc. Not a best effort though Pegram at least noted that Monash had nothing to do with it unlike our then PM who in his speech at the Dawn Service at Villers-Bretonneux gave Monash the credit.

So thank heavens that on the day before (Anzac Day Eve 2018) around 150 relatives and friends gathered to pay tribute to the 52nd Bn AIF at the unveiling of the 52nd's Memorial Plaque in the the Anzac Square & Memorial Galleries WW1 Crypt because as it say's across the bottom of their Memorial Plaque "They Deserve that We Remember Them".

Victory at Villers-Bretonneux: Anzac Day Breakfast Address 2018 | Australian War Memorial Victory at Villers-Bretonneux: Anzac Day Breakfast Address 2018 24 April 2018 16 mins read Dr Aaron Pegram, Senior Historian, Military History Section, Australian War Memorial Private Walter Downing of the 57th Battalion wrote one of the most vivid accounts of the fighting at Villers-Bretonneux in F...

This is a great story. Thanks to the Australian Remembrance Army for their work

They Deserve that we Remember Them. Image taken 16 November 2023.

Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey. The term warrior seems more appropriate to me than soldier. Our Unknown Soldier of course was taken from Adelaide Cemetery near Villers-Bretonneux where many of our relatives rest - known and unknown. They deserve that we Remember Them.

On this site we have often written about William Alexander Craies- the most senior Australian to be killed at Villers-Bretonneux on 25 April 1918. What is little known is that Craies was related by his uncle to the very wealthy Ionides family who were based in Holland Park in London. William Feilden Craies, his uncle, married Euterpe Ionides, one of eight children of Constantine Ionides. On leave to London in 1917 and 1918 Craies often visited his two cousins, Sabina (Sissie) and Zoe, and his Aunt Euterpe. He also introduced many of the officers of the 52nd to his London family. The last postcard that Craies sent before he died,dated and signed early evening 24 April 1918, was addressed to Sissie. Constantine Ionides was a great collector and patron of the arts. When he died he left nearly 800 pieces of art to the South Kensington Museum. That museum is now known as the Victoria & Albert Museum. Here are some images of Craies aunts - Euterpe, Agathonike, Helen and their father. If you ever visit the V&A the whole of Gallery 81 is devoted to the Ionides Collection.

Further to my post of 2 days ago. A photo of the completed grave marker. Thank you Ken Smith for the photo.
“They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them”.

Further to a post from September last year gaining approval for a memorial on an unmarked grave in Toowong Cemetery Brisbane. Received this letter today.

Remembering the fallen, the wounded and their families on the 107th anniversary of the First Day on the Somme.

'What had been the cost of this first hour? It is impossible to say exactly but probably half of the 66,000 British soldiers who had attacked were already casualties -- 30,000 infantry-men killed or wounded in just sixty minutes! From Martin Middlebrook's - The First Day on the Somme.

With the anniversary of the First Day of the Somme tomorrow a link to a short article on the work of the Gardeners who work for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The planting tries to ensure that the shadow of an English Rose falls on the graves of the fallen each day. https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/visiting-a-cwgc-site/horticulture/?fbclid=IwAR1pN_7DI7-nxly5asHJvpWmGNPV_wylwjpqLjY8LGy_OkWXrqCinfal0yo_aem_ASzIz8xKjhNtMxZSbzLZTyHy3mocpGZjnPC6HPq-lQs0btr1-zk6OA4-BcSQpgh5Iok&mibextid=Zxz2cZ

In two days time it is the 107th anniversary of the first day of the Battle of the Somme. Today I'd like to share with you the last paragraphs of a poem published just two days before that battle in 1916 by Lt William Noel Hodgson of the 9th Devonshires who fought and was killed on that first day of the Somme.

Today Hodgson is buried in a filled in trench with over 160 of his comrades, all killed on that first day on the Somme, in the Devonshire Cemetery near Mametz.

It is a place I've visited many times as my great uncle is buried just down the road at Montauban. At the entrance to the Devonshire Cemetery, which is little bigger than the size of a cricket pitch, are engraved the words ... 'The Devonshires held this trench, the Devonshires hold it still'.

From "Before Action" by William Noel Hodgson (aged 23)

'I, that on my familiar hill
Saw with uncomprehending eyes
A hundred of thy sunsets spill
Their fresh and sanguine sacrifice,
Ere the sun swings his noonday sword
Must say good-bye to all of this; –
By all delights that I shall miss,
Help me to die, O Lord.'

Those familiar with other WW1 war poets might remember that Robert Graves book about his experiences in WW1 was called "Good-bye to all of that". Many have speculated on where the title of Graves' book came from - most often suggesting it was a method of closing off the terrible experiences he endured. Instead I think he had read Hodgson's prophetic poem and took the third last sentence and with a slight change made it his own.

Captain Ralph Ekin Smyth was the Company Commander of C Company at the Battle of Mouquet Farm. He and 50 other men from C Company were killed in the attack, the highest death toll of any of the four companies in the 52nd. Many more were wounded.
All the men killed are listed in our post from 3-4 September 2021.
They deserve that we remember them.

The Missing of the Somme

Historian Charles Bean observed during the Somme offensive how ‘a scrap piece of iron flung at random on the hillside in front of Mouquet drove its course right through to the furthest end of the world.’

It was a random scrap of iron that struck Captain Ralph Ekin-Smyth in the failed attack on Mouquet Farm on 3 September 1916. His body unrecovered, Ralph was classified as missing in action.

For months afterwards, his wife Hilda waited patiently for news about her husband, but little came. Then ‘out of the blue’, she received a parcel containing his prized Kodak camera.

Then in 1923, Hilda received an unexpected letter. It explained that Ralph’s remains, along with those of 18 others, had been discovered in a large crater just beyond the farm. The contents in his badly deteriorated wallet had helped to identify him. Hilda requested that it be returned so her sons, Raymond, Walter, and Kenneth would have something to remember their father by.

For these young boys, the perished wallet, muddied epaulette (pictured), and that old camera would be their personal connection to a father they never really knew.

The wallet is now in the possession of Margaret Lee, the granddaughter of Ralph. For Margaret, the wallet signifies terrible sadness. She recounted that during the Somme offensive, Ralph, perhaps sensing the ‘hopelessness’ of the situation, sent a letter to Raymond. In it, he implored his eldest son, who was still at primary school, to care for his mother and siblings should he not return home.

Margaret has memories of Hilda’s life after Ralph’s death: her financial struggles, her custom of always wearing navy to mourn her husband, her torment when her sons marched off to the Second World War, and her foreboding during those years whenever the telegram boy rode past the house.

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Can anyone help identify this location? An image of the inside of a Church probably somewhere in the Somme. The reverse contains a message to a relative of an officer of the 52nd Battalion written just before the counter-attack to recapture Villers-Bretonneux on 24 April 1918. He did not survive the battle. Would dearly love to know which Church it depicts.

The Main Service at the Hobart Cenotaph on the Queens Domain. One of the most beautiful memorial sites in Australia.
We laid a wreath to honour the men of the 12th and 52nd Battalions.
They deserve that we remember them.

Images from the Dawn Service at Franklin, Tasmania this morning. A wreath was laid at the Memorial on behalf of the Relatives and Friends of the 52nd Battalion. Some fifteen men from the Huon Valley served with the 52nd Battalion.

Hi everyone. A reminder that today is a special day in the story of the 52nd Battalion. The battalions last battle at Villers-Bretonneux on 24 April 1918.

They Deserve that We Remember Them.

Good Morning to all our fine page members and friends. I'm John Wadsley one of the page admins. I retired at the end of last year, because amongst other things I want to put more time into writing my book on the men of the 52nd. My great uncle fought and died with the 52nd.

This has been a long term project, and I feel this is the time to really get on with it or else it just won't get done!! I am focussing on using the words, photos and memories of the men themselves as much as I can to create this narrative, from their letters, diaries, newspaper accounts, as well as family memories passed down through the generations.

I have communicated with many of you in the past and I thank you for what you have shared with me. I have gathered much material, but am always happy to see more. So please get in touch with me if you have anything to share. My email is [email protected]

I will try and post regularly on progress and any matters where I need some assistance. So to kick things off, here is my first request:
I AM SEEKING ANY PERSONAL ACCOUNTS FROM THE BATTLE OF DERNANCOURT, APRIL 1918. This was a significant engagement at a critical time of the war and the 52nd played a major role, but I don't have much from the men themselves. Any help appreciated!!

Post from the ABC from 2008 about the relocation of Major General Sir William Glasgow’s statue to a position overlooking Anzac Square from Post Office Square in Brisbane in 2008. No mention of his service in command of the 13th Brigade or Villers-Bretonneux. It’s always interesting to see what our ABC choose to highlight in their stories.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-02-02/wwi-general-honoured-in-brisbane/1030662

WWI general honoured in Brisbane A ceremony will be held in Brisbane today to rededicate a memorial to an Australian World War I general credited with helping to break the impasse of the Western Front in 1918.

From all the Admins of this page, we hope that all descendants and friends of the 52nd had an enjoyable Christmas. And we wish everyone all the best for the New Year.

The image shows a card sent by Sgt Eric Hall to his mother in Hobart. He wrote "A Merry Xmas to you all from Eric, France October 1916."

His brother Norman had already been killed on 13 August 1916 at Pozieres. Eric himself had just survived the devastation of Mouquet Farm, but would die of wounds a year later at Broodseinde Ridge, Belgium on 18 October 1917.

Whilst tidying up some links which have become broken I came across this article from 27 April 2018 about PM Malcolm Turnbull mistakenly giving credit for the re-taking of VB to Sir John Monash at the Dawn Service at Villers-Bretonneux on 25 April 2018. But it appears that even in correcting the account Victorian historian Ross McMullin found it hard to properly credit the 13th Brigade, the 52nd and 51st Battalions and Lt General Glasgow - who according to McMullin were just part of the other 'half' associated with Elliott's 15th Brigade.

"The AIF commander who was unequivocally involved was Brigadier-General “Pompey” Elliott, Australia’s most famous fighting general. No one was more pivotal in the counter-attack. The operation was based on his plan, and his 15th Brigade carried out half of it ... Eventually Elliott was authorised to carry out a counter-attack in association with the 13th Australian Brigade commanded by Brigadier-General T.W. Glasgow. ”

Of course no mention by McMullin that Elliott's 15th Brigade attacked late - nearly two hours after the 13th Brigade!

Elliot was certainly "unequivocally involved" - can't deny that and maybe it was even his plan though modified - but both Australia's WW1 Official Historian C E W Bean and modern day military historian Peter Edgar (the two most knowledgeable people to ever write about the counter-attack at Villers-Bretonneux) say the man most responsible for the success of the attack was Glasgow.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/turnbull-made-an-astonishing-error-at-villers-bretonneux-20180427-p4zc36.html

Turnbull made an astonishing error at Villers-Bretonneux Turnbull commended Monash’s “brilliant leadership” and “meticulous planning” in the celebrated counter-attack at Villers-Bretonneux, which was startling praise because Monash had nothing to do with it.

No mention of soldiers in the 52nd which is a shame. There were certainly men from the north in the 52nd. Some are on the Cairns War Memorial.

Further to my post of 12th Nov re the update on the unmarked grave of Stanley Percival Bangs.
Below is a screen shot of portion of an email received today from the RSM of 2nd/14th Light Horse Regiment (Q.M.I).
We now await updates from DVA and AWG on the installation of the plaque/headstone.
Stephen Bird