[Page 73]
Rudrun 14703 No 1 Coy
1st A.G.B.D Westham Camp Weymouth England
7261 Spr Woolnough Aust. Elec. & Mech. Mining & Boring Coy. A.D.2 France
7253 Spr. Gardner Aus. E.M.M. & .B. Coy
1177 Cpl. Crothers
Pte M.Keller 35 Rue De Richelieu 1 ete Paris
Premier
S.Parsons 56 Rue Saussure Paris 17ame
6505 Pte Dickenson S.G. D. Company 13 Battalion
4409 D Kennedy 13 A.F.A
Burnsides 9 F. Ambulance.
Fred Norwood Y.M.C.A. (parcel)
M. Smethurst Beria Bambra Rd Caulfield Vic.
Sheridan W. Tyrrell St. Gladesville
54 14th F.A. F.W. Jacobs
Paris 3.9.18
4059 Addresses
Dixon 13 Vincent St Balmain
Tinsley 108 Cambridge Stanmore
Gardner 20 Milner St Old Trafford Manchester
Mrs Pratt (Pilleys)165 lower Richmond Rd East Sheen London S.W.
McMahon 6804 11 Platoon C Co. 3rd Batt.
" 146 Jersey Rd Paddington
Luder L Cpl 511 H.Sigs 1st Battalion
Maurice 9 Allen St 114 Hereford St, Glebe
Barbers relatives 40 Manor Rd. Norwood Jun. Surbiton
Lloyd 3364 1st Anzac Res. Camp C/o 1st Anzac Headquarters
Bartle McDonnell 61 Jones Rd Drumcondra Dublin
J.Cleary C/o B. Phillips Condobolin N.S.W.
1805 J.Slamond B.Company? 20th Batt. 2nd Res (Rose's Brother)
Gunner Otter H.M.A. Transport Boondra A.36 Australia House London Strand London
James Scott 33 Balgreen Rd. Murrayfield Edinburgh
Shops address James Matthews & Sons 413 431 Lawnmarket Cr St Giles St and Bank Sts Edinburgh Lawnmarket
Harry Grose 3 Field Coy.
4368 Brown H.L. 17th Band
W. Cover Driver 11th Coy 3rd Div. Engrs
[Transcriber's notes:
Adjutant, an adjutant officer is an administrative position assisting the commanding officer with administrative affairs.
Allonville is about 4kms W of Querrieu and about 7kms NE of Amiens.
Alpini Troops – these Mountain Troops are an elite mountain warfare military corps of the Italian army
Anzac Coves were an entertainment group.
Archies are the anti-aircraft guns or gunners.
Armstrong Huts were 60'x20' portable wooden huts covered in canvas.
Arques is on the southern outskirts of St Omer about 35kms due south of Dunkirk.
Bailleul is 15kms S of Poperinghe and 15kms E of Hazebrouck, and 2kms from the French/Belgian border.
Barbette – this is a protective armour shield around a cannon or heavy artillery gun.
Bernafay Wood – Bois-de Bernafay is about 1 km E of Montauban de Picardie and about 2.5kms S of Longueval.
Bertangles is about 7 kms N of Amiens.
Busseboom is in Belgium on the SE outskirts of Poperinge.
Castre is Caestre is 1km NW of Fletre.
C.C.S. – Casualty Clearing Station.
Cambrai is about 60 miles NE of Amiens.
Corbie is 10 kms E of Amiens.
Dernancout is about 30kms NE of Amiens.
E&M probably stands for engineering and maintenance.
E.M.M.&B. Coy possibly stands for Electrical and Mechanical Mining and Boring Company.
F.C.M – Full Court Marshall.
Flaming Onions were fired by a 37 mm five barrelled revolving Gatling type anti-aircraft gun.
Fletre is 5kms NW of Bailleul.
General Sir Alexander John Godley GCB, KCMG (1987-1957) was a senior officer in the British Army best known for his role as commander of the NZ Expeditionary Force and the Anzac Corps during WW1
Gotha – the Gotha Bomber was a heavy German bi-plane bomber designed for long range service principally at night.
Green letters – soldiers could request special permission to send a letter in a Green Envelope. All letters except for those in Green Envelopes were subject to strict censorship. Green Envelopes were rarely given out although Cleary seems to write them quite often after their first mention.
Holmes – Major General William Holmes CMG, DSO, VD (September 1862- July 1917) was an Australian Major General in WW1. He was killed by a German shell whilst surveying the ground won at the Battle of Messines.
Hyde Park Corner – Hyde Park Corner was a road junction just north of Ploegsteert Wood (about 12kms south of Ypers (or Ieper)in Belgium. Hill 63 was to the North West and nearby were the Catacombs. These were deep shelters capable of holding two battalions (2,000 men). There is now a Royal Berkshire Regiment cemetery called Hyde Park Corner which is on the north west edge of Ploegsteert Wood and many others in the area including in the wood itself. It is about 20kms E of Merris.
Kemmel is in Belgium about 10kms NE of Bailleul.
La Bassee is about 20kms S of Armentieres.
La Motte is probably La Motte-au-Bois about 6kms S of Hazebrouck and is surrounded by a forest, hence the name.
La Rossignol is Rossignol and it is about 6kms SE of Kemmel.
Merris is about 7kms east of Hazebrouck and about 20kms W of Hyde Park Corner.
Mollie is Cleary's wife. She is also called Mac.
Montieres Chateau – The château de Montières was built in 1820 for Baron d'Halloy d'Hocquincourt of Amiens from a family of senior judges. It currently sits in a 5 hectare park open to the public.
Morlancourt is about 30kms ENE of Amiens.
Napoo is British slang for all gone, no more, finished, dead.
Neuve Eglise (French) or Niewekerke (Flemish) or Newchurch (English) is about 4 kms W of Ploegsteert wood.
Nieppe is about 3 miles NW of Armentieres.
Oudenard is Oudenaarde about 60kms due east of Poperinge.
Parkhouse Camp was on the Bulford Rd, just south of Tidworth in Hampshire.
John Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing (1860 – 1948), was a general in the US Army and led the American Expeditionary Forces in WW1.
Pioneer Battalion – Pioneers are soldiers employed to perform engineering and construction tasks. They could also be called sappers.
Poulainville is about 10kms SE of Vignacourt and 5kms N of the centre of Amiens.
Purfling – the correct meaning of the word is a narrow decorative edge inlaid into the top plate and often the back plate of a stringed instrument such as a violin. Presumably the term refers to some decorative strips to be used in what appears to be a prefabricated building.
Q.M. is the Quartermaster who is in charge of supplies.
Querrieu is about 10kms NE of Amiens and about 100kms S of La Motte.
Renninghelst is Reninghelst about 5 kms SSE of Poperinge and 2.5kms S of Busseboom.
Relief of Rustenberg occurred in August 1900 (three months after the relief of Mafeking) and Baden-Powell was again in charge of the besieged garrison.
Romarin is a small village about 5kms WSW of Ploegsteert Wood.
Roye is about 30kms ESE of Amiens and 110 kms NNE of Paris.
RTO – Railway Transport Officer.
The Sentimental Blokes seems to have been a review. "The Kookkuburras" referred to (correctly the Kookaburras), was one of the first Australian concert parties to begin operating along the battle lines of Europe during WWI, also known as the Kooks, the group was established in late 1916 and continued through until 1919.
Shunt Dynamo – A shunt dynamo is a dynamo in which the field circuit is connected to the main circuit so as to form a shunt thus employing a portion of the current from the armature to maintain the field
J. Slamond – only one person by that name in WW1 Australian records. He was charged with desertion while on active service i.e. while at the front but was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour for absenting himself without leave. He was sentenced on 7.9.17 escaped from custody and recaptured a month later. He spent about a year in prison and rejoined his unit a year later. He was wounded on 3.10.18, two weeks after rejoining his unit, went to hospital and returned to Australia on 11.12.18.
Shercliffe correctly spelled Shercliff was congratulated by Gen Birdwood for his action in "saving the engine and the engine house from destruction".
Swaddy is a private soldier.
Toot sweet – Quickly; immediately. Corruption of 'tout de suite' meaning immediately.
Trench Fever – Trench Fever attacked all armies and until the final year of the war baffled doctors and researchers. Chief symptoms of the disease were headaches, skin rashes, inflamed eyes and leg pains. The condition was not particularly serious, with patients recovering after some five or six days although hospitalisation amounting to several weeks was common. In military terms however it proved one of the most significant causes of sickness. In 1918 the cause was identified as excretions from lice and transmitted via the bites of body lice.
Tsing-Tao is now called Qingdao and is in Shandong Province in China.
Vignacourt is 15 kms NNW of Amiens.
Villers-Bocage is about 10kms N of Amiens.
Whippet tanks were a British WW1 tank of World War I.
Zonnebeke is about 5kms ENE of Ieper.
[Transcribed by Miles Harvey, Judy Macfarlan for the State Library of New South Wales]