Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

 Written and submitted by David Body

Alec Norman Body joined the 1st Reinforcements of the 30th Battalion on 5 July 1915. The next four months were spent in training at Liverpool camp and on 9 November he, together with the rest of the battalion, marched through Sydney and embarked on the Beltana and disembarked at Suez on 11 December. On 15 December he was taken on strength in B Company while the 8th Brigade, of which 30 Battalion was a component, settled down at Heliopolis. On 17 December they moved across the Canal to Ferry Post.

The early months of 1916 were spent in defence of the Canal. Periods were spent in manning the trenches on the eastern side of the Canal and in training at Tel el Kabir. The battalion was not called upon to undertake any actions in this period. Alec was a very good rifle shot and, because of his long involvement in cricket, he proved to be an excellent grenadier during the training in the art of throwing grenades. His letters home to his mother have survived and these provide an insight into the feelings and attitudes of the men. They also confirm that at that time the various branches of the family were in close contact.

Alec received mail and parcels from a number of family members. He also wrote to and received letters from Billy Hughes, the Prime Minister, who had been a neighbour when they lived in The Glebe.

This time was one of adjustment and consolidation within the units. The conditions were extremely trying with a great deal of heavy physical work in high temperatures, sand storms and difficulties with vermin of various types. Alec received some tussore silk shirts from his Aunt Maude McEwen which were thought might provide some relief from the attention of the lice. This apparently proved to be the case but as Alec said, this soon became known to his colleagues, so when he washed the shirts he had to stand guard so they were not ‘souvenired’.

After the usual spate of rumours as to their final destination Alec and the battalion sailed for France in the Hororata from Alexandria on 16 June. The trip was uneventful and they reached Marseilles in the evening of 22 June. Next morning they disembarked and marched directly to the railway station where they boarded the train which was to be their ‘home’ for the next two days and three nights while it wended its way north across France. The men appreciated the colours of the French countryside after the grim sameness of the desert. They finally arrived at Steenbecque on 26 June and from there marched to the neighbourhood of Morbecque not far from Hazebrouck.

On 8 July the Brigade set off towards the front marching some 19 miles to Estaires. The day was hot, the  packs heavy, and many of the column were forced to fall out. One of the main problems was the extremely uneven nature of the cobbles on the roads which made marching very difficult. After a night to recover they were off again to march to Erquinghem. From there they moved forward to take up positions in the front at Bois Grenier. This was viewed as a ‘nursery’ section because it was relatively quiet and a tour here enabled the fresh units to experience life at the front without undue pressure.

After four days here the battalion retired to Fleurbaix. As soon as they arrived here on 16 July the warning order for the attack at Fromelles was received.

Much has been written about this action. It has come to be seen as a classic example of poor and inappropriate planning. Unfortunately for the 5th Division there was no way of avoiding disaster. Alec
was perhaps fortunate that 30th Bn was allotted in support of the attacking units and therefore avoided the initial shock. However, its companies had the task of carrying forward ammunition and engineers’ supplies to the forward positions, a task which proved no less risky. 30 Bn commenced the battle on the evening of the 19th with 29 officers and 927 other ranks.

By the afternoon of the 20th there remained 20 officers and 534 other ranks. This battle destroyed the 5th Division as an effective formation and it was some months before its units regained their strength and confidence.

Alec was appointed Lance Corporal on 1 October and on the 13th the battalion was bussed to Strazeele and on the 17th they marched to Bailleul and entrained for the Somme. The trenches at Flers were occupied on 1 November. No major action occurred although there was continuing patrol activity and shelling. And there was the winter. It was described by the local people as the most severe in twenty years. As Alec wrote, ‘we have had a pretty rough time of it; the weather has been something terrible, nothing but rain, rain and mud, we have been bogged right up to our waists, really you have no idea what it is like’.

Through it all Alec remained extremely fit but by March 1917 he was one of only four of the original members of his platoon remaining. Many had been invalided with trench feet and other ailments. He was not impressed by their replacements, ‘a great many of them are not like the old boys, in fact they never will be, such a disagreeable lot, always grumbling about something’.

While he was in Egypt Alec became very brown from the sun, so much so that his mates christened him Darkie. As has been said, on occasion he sought out his cousin (Malcolm Maxwell Body), but to no avail. However, he did meet another cousin, Aubrey Roberts, son of his Aunt Jessie Roberts. Occasionally their two battalions would pass on the road, one going forward, the other to the
rear.

As the columns came up to each other a voice could be heard in the distance - ‘Alec, Alec, Alec’. As Aubrey approached where Alec was marching his mates would say, ‘There’s that mad cousin of yours
again Darkie’. The cousins would fall out and exchange greetings and news from home before continuing on their separate ways.

At this time the German front line was relocated to the east some considerable distance. This was a
strategic move to reduce the threat to their salient on the Somme and to provide a shorter front in a
location which could be more easily defended. The British forces were suspicious of this move and were
slow to follow up. During this manoeuvre 30 Battalion took possession of Bapaume on 17 March with
B Coy in the vanguard. Beyond Bapaume the troops broke into the open and had the great satisfaction
of advancing in open order through grassy fields away from the mud and slush which they had endured
for the last few months.

Through April and into May the process of harrying the Germans in their new line, the Hindenburg Line,
continued. In the middle of May, Alec was granted furlough to England and it must have been with great
relief that he journeyed across the Channel to spend ten days trying to relax. Not long after he returned
to the battalion it was withdrawn on 16 June for rest, first around Senlis and then, on 30 July, it moved
by train from Aveluy to St. Omer and marched to Blaringhem where they were to spend a further six
weeks.

A few days before the rest of the battalion moved north from the Somme, Alec was one of three chosen
from his Company to be members of the guard for the Corps Headquarters in Hazebrouck. While the HQ
was well behind the front, they were not immune from the attention of long range large calibre German
guns. On one occasion a round burst in the courtyard outside the room where Alec was writing a letter
and he was showered in glass and dust. The pen was a little unsteady for the next few sentences. On 14
August he returned to the battalion in their rest billets at Blaringhem.

Their period of rest was over on 17 September when they moved to Steenvoorde and the next day moved
on to l’Abeele. From there on the 24th they moved forward to be part of the reserve for the battle of
Polygon Wood. The Germans counter attacked strongly on the 25th and the 30th was warned to be ready
to assist the 33rd British Division. As it happened their assistance was not required. The battalion took
over the front at Polygon Wood and had the task of developing the defences where it received the close
attention of the German artillery. Over the next three weeks while the battalion was not involved in any
of the assaults during this very active period it spent four days in the front on Tokio Ridge in conditions
very similar to those endured on the Somme the previous winter. Following a rest, its next move forward
was to the support line on Anzac Ridge on 21 October. Here Alec’s luck ran out.

After being occupied in fatigue work close to the front during the 22nd he and three of his mates had
finished building a dugout shelter by about 9 p.m. At 1.30 a.m. a German shell penetrated the dugout
and burst among them. Beside Alec, Freddy Ball was killed outright while Tommy Davis, asleep at
Freddy’s feet received severe wounds to both arms. Alec’s great mate ‘Curley’ Rankin who was sleeping
at Alec’s feet was untouched. All four were buried but were quickly extricated. Alec’s wounds included
burns to the face and a shattered left shoulder.

He was moved back through the evacuation system by relays of stretcher bearers to the Field Ambulance,
and then to a Canadian Casualty Clearing Station where he was operated upon. Then on an ambulance
train to the 26 General Hospital in Etaples from where on 22 November after a second operation he was
evacuated to England via Calais and Dover. His trip on the stretcher had a sequel many years later. One
Sunday morning while he was waiting on the Hornsby platform for the train to take him and his family
to Epping for the regular Sunday lunch with his mother, Agnes, he excused himself and went forward
to talk to the driver. When he rejoined the family at Epping he explained that the driver had been one of
the stretcher bearers who had carried him out of the line.

Once in England he was admitted to the Pavilion General Hospital in Brighton on 23 November. There
he required a third operation to his shoulder. After a period of convalescence and treatment during which
his shoulder and left arm gradually improved he was listed for return to Australia. Later this was deferred
and he was moved to the Australian Hospital at Harefield on 12 February 1918 and had a fourth
operation. His move was not totally welcomed. He went from a six bed ward in a pleasant warm building
to a forty bed timber hut which could not be properly heated. His time there was not enjoyable and he
was pleased to leave on 19 March for the Australian Depot at Monte Video Camp in Weymouth.

At first Alec was looking forward to the possibility of returning to his battalion in France but as time
passed he came to realise his wound was going to take a long time to heal properly and he then anxiously
scanned the repatriation lists. At last on 26 May his name was listed for embarkation on Carrier D10.
Tickets were issued and kit bags packed for departure. That night they were paraded, the tickets taken
back and their kit bags returned. Carrier D10 had been torpedoed on its way to pick them up. The next
transport was Carrier D13, the Mataua, not a particularly promising designation. Alec embarked on 17
June and landed in Sydney on 16 August 1918. He was discharged ‘in consequence of medical unfitness
on 10 March 1919’. His shoulder wound was to hamper him and give him pain for the rest of his life.