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[Page 44]
After the New Year I went to the 1st Australian Infantry Base Depot at Le Havre where I remained for some considerable time awaiting my turn to be demobilised. There again I was employed on the Staff at the Australian General Base Depot which adjoined the Camp before mentioned.
[Signed] A.E.Tennent
[Transcriber's notes:
Abbeville page 38 –is in the west of France about 25kms from the sea and about 120 kms N of Pars.
Baure page 26 – this might be the village of Borre which is about 5kms east of Hazebrouck
Beauhain page 2 – see Bohain below.
Bellecourt page 38 – is Bullecourt about 50kms NE of Amiens.
Berr Barracks Locre page 20 – Locre or Loker is a small village in Belgium about 10 kms west of Wijtschate. The little old fashioned chapel has been replaced (see Tennent's comment on the top of page 21) and the church is pretty substantial now.
Blighty, received his Blighty – page 7 – was wounded and sent back to Brighton (Blighty) for recovery.
Bohain page 38 – is Bohain-en-Vermandois about 100kms east of Amiens.
Box-respirator page 15 – a gas mask attached to a box containing an air filter to neutralise gases.
Bukshee page 14 – or Buksheesh is derived from an Arabic word and means free.
Charleroi page 39 – is about 60kms south of Brussels.
Corbie page 33 – is about 10kms east of Amiens.
Dickbush page 3 – is Dikkebus (thick bush) about 4kms SW of Ieper.
Dinkums page 11 – Among the Australians the soldiers who had fought on Gallipoli were known as the Dinkums.
Dixies page 15 – rectangular metal plates with vertical sides used as dinner plates, dimensions about 8"x4"x2".
Foch page 32 –Marshal Ferdinand Foch (2 October 1851 – 20 March 1929), was a French soldier, military theorist, and WW1 hero credited with possessing "the most original and subtle mind in the French army" in the early 20th century.
Hosp. Fargo page 2 - Fargo Military Hospital was part of the Larkhill Garrison on Salisbury Plain. Built in 1914, it had 1,200 beds and accommodation for nursing staff.
Jack John's coal boxes page 9 – This is a shortened version of Jack Johnson which was a German 5.9 shell that burst with black smoke. It was named after the boxer Jack (John Arthur) Johnson (1878-1946), the first black American world heavyweight champion (1908-1915). Another name for this type of shell was a coal box. So Tennent has used both names to describe the shells.
Lihonse page 32 – is a village about 15kms east of Villers-Bretoneaux.
Limbers page 32 – these are gun carriages generally pulled by horses.
Messines page 17 – see Wychaste below.
Metron page 25 – is Meteren about 4kms NNE of Merris.
Mount Kemmel page 25 – is near the village of Kemmel in Belgium about 12kms N of Armentieres.
Nieppe page 24 – is about 4kms NW of Armentieres on the French/Belgian border. It is about 20 kms south of Ypers/Ieper.
Parapets and paradox page 19 – a parapet is the side of a trench nearest the enemy and a parados is the side furthest from the enemy.
Parrot Camp page 21 – was located near the village of Kemmel about 4kms west of Wijtschate.
Paschendaele page 2 – now spelled Passendale, is about 5kms NE of Zonnebeke and 10kms NE of Ypres/Ieper.
Pioneers page 8 – Pioneers were not fighting units but a military labour force organised to work on engineering tasks such as digging trenches, building roads, railways and other logistical tasks. This was essential and dangerous work often carried out under fire as Tennent has just described on page 6.
Polygon Wood page 2 – as the name suggests, this is a polygon shaped wood about 8kms east of Ieper (Ypres) in Belgium and about 2kms south of Zonnebeke. It is about 2kms east of the Menen Road.
R.A.M.C page 13 – Royal Army Medical Corps.
Reninghelst page 3 – Reningelst is about 10kms WSW of Ypres/Ieper.
Rouen page 39 – is on the River Seine about 50 kms from the Le Havre at the mouth of the Seine.
Salient page 21 – in military terms, is a projection of a portion the front line into enemy-held territory.
Steenvart page 21 – is probably Steenvoorde which is 30kms west of Ypres/Ieper.
Saint Martin Woods page 34 – Bois de Saint Martin is now only about 100 mtres by 100 metres. It is 1 km north of Sailly-le-Sec and about 5kms NE of Corbie.
Strayeel page 26 – is Strazeele, about 9 kms east of Hazebrouck and 4 kms east of Borre.
Taube page 9 – The Taube was a pre-WW1 single winged German aeroplane distinguishable by its birds wing shaped wings (taube is the German word for dove). It was the first mass-produced military plane in Germany and was used for virtually all military aircraft applications. The Taube was very popular prior to the First World War but once the war began, it quickly proved inferior as a warplane and was soon replaced.
Traverse page 19 – is a protective projecting wall or bank of earth in a trench.
Tuite de suite page 6 – means "at once" or "right away".
Very or Verey lights – The most common type of flare gun is a Very (sometimes spelled Verey) which was named after Edward Wilson Very(1847–1910), an American naval officer who developed and popularised a single-shot breech-loading snub-nosed pistol that fired Very flares.
Villers Bretonneux page 32 – is about 12kms east of Amiens. The town's mayor spoke of the Australian troops on 14 July 1919 when unveiling a memorial in their honour: "The first inhabitants of Villers-Bretonneux to re-establish themselves in the ruins of what was once a flourishing little town have, by means of donations, shown a desire to thank the valorous Australian Armies, who with the spontaneous enthusiasm and characteristic dash of their race, in a few hours drove out an enemy ten times their number...They offer a memorial tablet, a gift which is but the least expression of their gratitude, compared with the brilliant feat which was accomplished by the sons of Australia...Soldiers of Australia, whose brothers lie here in French soil, be assured that your memory will always be kept alive, and that the burial places of your dead will always be respected and cared for...". The people of Villers-Bretonneux continue to express gratitude to Australia to this day. The Australian War Memorial in France is located just outside Villers-Bretonneux and in front of it lie the graves of over 770 Australian soldiers, as well as those of other British Empire soldiers involved in the campaign. The school in Villers-Bretonneux was rebuilt using donations from school children of Victoria (many of whom had relatives perish in the town's liberation), and above every blackboard is the inscription "N'oublions jamais l'Australie" (Let us never forget Australia).
West Hoek page 3 – Westhoek (western corner) is about 5 kms east of Ieper.
Whaechate/Wychaste Messines pages 2 and 17 – Messines is Mesen in Belgium and Wychaste/Whaechate (as spelled on page 2) Wijtschate both in Belgium. Wijtschate is about 8kms south of Ypres and Mesen a further two kms south of Wijtschate. The Battle of Messines took place on 7 June 1917. The tactical objective was a ridge running north from the villages of Mesen and Wijtschate, which created a natural stronghold south of Ypres. The objective was achieved.
Ulysis page 2 – probably Ulysses a steam passenger ship built in Belfast in 1913. Sunk by a German u-boat in 1942 with none of the 290 on board dying.
Ypres page 2 – is called Ieper in Belgium and is in the west of Belgium about 60kms SW of Brugge and 10kms from the French border.]
[Transcribed by Miles Harvey, Grahame Bickford, Adrian Bicknell for the State Library of New South Wales]