Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Sapper Arthur Willsley Myrie Holl SN 2309

Arthur Holl would enlist at the age of 45 in a special draft recruiting experienced railway men for the AIF.  He was married, a father of five with the family home in Bob Street, White Hills.

His son, Arthur Reginald Holl  SN 4214 (known as Reg) had been killed just under a year earlier on December 7, 1916 aged 21 on the battlefields of the Somme fighting with the 6th battalion.

Arthur and Reg Holl would be one of the very small number of ‘Father –Son enlistment stories’ of AIF in WW1. 

Arthur (senior) enlisted on October 26, 1917 at Bendigo into the October Reinforcements for the AIF Railway Unit.

Trained railway workers were obviously greatly needed as the industrial war ground on across France and Belgium in late 1917. It would be 4 months from enlistment in Bendigo until he arrives in France for service on February 23, 1918. In comparison with other AIF recruits heading from Australia to the western front, this was a very quick journey to war.

Just five days after enlisting, Arthur would be at the Recruitment Depot at Broadmeadows, then head to Royal Park where the Victorian Railway Units trained. A week later on November 9 he would be onboard the HMAT ‘Port Sydney A15’ leaving Port Melbourne. After a one month sea voyage he and his unit would disembark at the Suez, (most likely Alexandria, Egypt). He would spend just 6 days in Egypt and embark on the SS Karoo from Alexandria on December 18 for England via the Italian port of Taranto where they possibly spent Christmas. Along this sea journey, Arthur would have his designation changed from Private to ‘Sapper’ (equivalent to a Private in the Engineers).

They would land at Southampton, England on January 5, 1918. In England they would undertake train journeys from Southampton to the Royal Engineers' Railway Training Centre at Longmoor, staying at the nearby Bordon Army Camp not far from London. On February 23, 1918 he and his fellow reinforcements would ‘Proceed Overseas to France’ via the port of Folkestone on the west coast of England. On March 3, he would be ‘Taken on Strength’ into the First Australian Light Rail Operating Company based at the Australian General Base Depot (AGBD) at Rouen in Northern France. 

Locomotive drivers and engineers from the light railway operating companies performed admirable service by bringing supplies of war material from the standard gauge railheads up to the forward lines.

Earlier in February 1917, Anzac Corps engineers opened the Albert-Posieres-Le Sars main road to traffic but estimated that it would require 2,500 tonnes of road metal per mile to keep it open, whereas only 300 tonnes were on hand. Anzac Light Railways, a new unit formed in December 1916 to operate and maintain the tramways, were increasingly important form of transport in the forward area, set to work extending the network. By May 1917 the Anzac Light Railways was hauling 558 tonnes daily.                                           (source - https://sites.google.com/site/archoevidence/home/ww1-victorian-railways-unit)

While the steam locomotives hauled supplies from the railheads, haulage to the forward lines was done by petrol locomotives that took over from the steam locomotives at distribution points some distance behind the front. In forward areas, steam locomotives were far too visible to enemy observation (steam and smoke by day and glowing fire by night). Even the petrol locomotives did not extend their operations right to the front lines. Hand worked ‘trench tramways’ served here.                                                                   (source - https://sites.google.com/site/archoevidence/home/ww1-victorian-railways-unit)

Arthur would serve all of 1918 in the field with various Australian Rail units right through to the signing of the Armistice on November 11, 1918. He would stay on after the fighting had concluded moving goods and men by rail in Northern France through till the new year being given a two week furlough back to England from January 5th till 19th, 1919. In February he would transfer to the English AGBD for demobilization and be earmarked as ‘Personnel for Early Repatriation’ probably because of his age.

On March 2, 1919 he would leave England for Australia on the HT Derbyshire arriving home April 22, 1919.  He would be discharged from the AIF a few weeks later on May 13, 1919.

He would return to Australia and the Holl family still no doubt grieving the loss of their son and brother Reg earlier in the war.

Arthur W Holl died in February 1949 aged 76 years and is buried at the Bendigo Cemetery.

Sapper Arthur Wellesley Myrie Holl is remembered by the people of White Hills. The names of the local lads and men who sacrificed their lives and those that were fortunate to return from the Great War are shown on the embossed copper plaques on the White Hills Arch of Triumph, at the entrance to the Botanic Gardens.