Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Driver Henry Sumner   SN 1525

Henry had been born in Droylsden, only 4 miles from Manchester, England. He would enlist on July 8, 1915 at the age of 18 at the Bendigo Town Hall. He would need his parents consent to be accepted in the Australian Imperial Forces. (AIF) 

He would enlist in the same week as two White Hill’s neighbours and fellow Northerners from the old country, in Albert Yates and Clifford Senior. We see how the families were connected in the Bendigo papers a two years later when Henry’s father carries the coffin of Albert’s mother at her funeral in White Hills.

In Henry's Attestation papers, he states he is a gardener, single and that his Nearest of Kin (NOK) is his Father William Sumner, c/o of the Epsom Post Office. 

Unlike Clifford Senior and Albert Yates who were assigned to infantry battalions, Henry would be admitted to the prestigious 4th Light Horse Regiment, Eleventh Reinforcements, which may suggest he or his family owned a horse. 

'The Light Horse was seen as the "national arm of Australia's defence" and young men, most from the country, flocked to join. Many brought their own horses and some even brought their dogs. It all seemed like a great adventure. If a man's horse met army standards, it was bought by the Commonwealth for about £30 ($60). Many men were given remounts - army horses bought by Commonwealth purchasing officers from graziers and breeders. These horses were called "walers" because they were a New South Wales stockhorse type - strong, great-hearted animals with the strains of the thoroughbred and semi-draught to give them speed, strength and stamina'. (Source - http://www.lighthorse.org.au/resources/history-of-the-australian-light-horse/the-mounted-soldiers-of-australia )

Although not on Henry's Service Record, he most likely transferred to the Light Horse training base at Seymour between July and November,1915. Training was fairly basic and limited as the urgency to get additional troops to the Dardanelles was pressing. Henry and the other 11th Reinforcements would embark from the Port of Melbourne on the HMAT A56 Palermo on October 29, 1915. After a long voyage, stopping at Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) they would sail across the expanse of Indian Ocean to the Suez canal entrance and then up the canal to the Port of Alexandria.  They would disembark in Egypt on January 9, 1916.

Between leaving Melbourne and arriving in Egypt they would learn news that all Commonwealth and French troops had evacuated the cliffs and beaches of Gallipoli in late December. They would witness first hand the terrible carnage the Gallipoli campaign had on the remaining men of the AIF. 

In Egypt at this time, a comprehensive expansion of the AIF was ordered and new reinforcements were landing from Australia constantly. Unhappily, established Battalions were being divided in order to spread the experienced soldiers among the raw recruits.

In the reorganisation, Henry would be Taken on Strength (TOS) into the First Australian Division Cavalry.  

His new unit was briefly employed to defend the Suez Canal against an Ottoman attack that never came, however, the main game was now in Europe. The 1st Division was transferred to France in mid-March with Henry leaving Egypt on March 29 on H.T. "Transylvania arriving in Marseilles, southern port in France on April 4, 1916. (Just a year later, on the 4th May 1917 the Transylvania was carrying troops to Alexandria when she was torpedoed in the Mediterranean, south of the Gulf of Genoa. A rescue effort by the Japanese destroyer MATSU (Japan and Britain were allies during WWI) kept the death toll down, however 12 men including the master were lost." (Source - http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/topic/119954-h-t-transylvania/ ) 

From Marseilles, they were moved by train to northern France where the First Division was initially sent to a quiet sector south of Armentières to acclimatise to the Western Front conditions. The division was not considered ready to be committed to the fighting at the start of the offensive on the Somme in early July, but as it dragged on I Anzac was sent to join the British Reserve Army of Lieutenant General Hubert Gough who intended to use the Australian divisions to take the village of Pozières. Walker resisted Gough's efforts to throw the 1st Division into battle unprepared, insisting on careful preparation. When the 1st Division attacked shortly after midnight on 23 July, it succeeded in capturing half of the village but failed to make progress in the neighbouring German trench system. After enduring a heavy German bombardment, far surpassing anything yet experienced by an Australian unit, the 1st Division was withdrawn, having suffered 5,285 casualties, and was replaced by the Australian 2nd Division.  (source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1st_Division_(Australia)

In August 5, 1916, when the many of the AIF divisions were still fighting for territory around Pozières in the Somme valley, Henry would commence the first of a number of detachments with other units. These detachments seem to be of a 'special assignment' nature and although there is no entries confirming as such, the assignments appear to be related to Henry's ability and affinity with horses. 

The first of these takes place in August 1916, when he is detached for Special Duty (not specified) returning the 4th Light Horse Regiment on September 9.  A week later he is detached again for assignment with the C.R.E, Commander, Royal Engineers.  This is two week assignment.

In December 1916, he is admitted to Hospital with Bronchitis, spending six days there. In January 1917, he is again detached to join the Australian Mounted Division (A.P.M) at the Second Division Army Headquarters. This time it is a two-month detachment.

In March, 1917 he is detached again with the (A.P.M) returning to his unit in early April (4). Upon returning to his unit in April, he is charged with a 'Crime' of being AWL and giving a wrong name. For this offence, Henry receives punishment of 5 days 'Field Punishment Number 2' and forfeits One pound, five shillings in pay.

Field Punishment was a common punishment during World War I. A commanding officer could award field punishment for up to 28 days, while a court martial could award it for up to 90 days, either as Field Punishment Number One or Field Punishment Number Two. Field Punishment Number One, consisted of the convicted man being placed in fetters and handcuffs or similar restraints and attached to a fixed object, such as a gun wheel or a fence post, for up to two hours per day. This punishment was abolished in 1923. In Field Punishment Number Two, the prisoner was placed in fetters and handcuffs but was not attached to a fixed object and was still able to march with his unit. This was a relatively tolerable punishment. In both forms of field punishment, the soldier was also subjected to hard labour and loss of pay.                                                                         (Source - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field_punishment )

Despite this indiscretion, Henry is still given special assignments with other units. After serving the 'Field Punishment' he is detached for duty with the New Zealand Division. This would be just 6 days.

Two months later in June 1917, it would be a less pleasant detachment, as Henry is assigned to support the 'Salvage Party' belonging to the British 25th Division. The Salvage party had the grim duty to collects bodies and equipment following battles. Here is a description of the duties of the 25th Division Salvage team -  ‘Orders had been given that we were to take from their pockets pay books and personal effects, such as money, watches, rings, photos, letters and so on, one identification disk had also to be removed, the other being left on the body. Boots were supposed to be removed, if possible, as salvage was the order of the day. A small white bag was provided for each man’s effects, the neck of which was to be securely tied and his identity disc attached thereto. It was a gruesome job’.  (source - http://www.longlongtrail.co.uk/burial-clearance-and-burial/ )

 Fortunately, Henry would only spend two weeks in this role, and rejoins the 2nd Anzac Light Horse Regiment.

In July 1917, he is given three weeks leave and when he returns on July 22, he is detached for duty with the Horse Depot of the Second Division. This is a six week posting.  

In late November (26) 1917, Henry's days of being assigned to various units comes to an end. He would be Taken on Strength (TOS) and transferred to the 6th Army Brigade Heavy Field Artillery Brigade. Initially he is appointed a 'Gunner' in the 16th Battery, however, his skill with horses is recognised and he is appointed a ‘Driver’ managing the horse teams that were critical in the movement of Heavy Arterially.

Although not a frontline role, the Drivers job was crucial. War Correspondent C.E .W Bean wrote,                                            

'These Australians had won themselves a special name on this battlefield for the way in which they went straight through the nightmare barrages laid on the well known tracks which they and their horses had to follow.  Where many might hesitate, these men realised that the loss would be less, and the job better done, if they pushed on without hesitation. This comment was justified.  It was undoubtedly through the conduct of the drivers, as well as through that of the gun-crews and observers, that the Australian divisional artilleries in this battle - as General Gough wrote when they left his army in September – ‘earned the admiration and praise of all.'          (Source - C. E. W. Bean’s Official History online, Volume IV, pp 729-730  )

Driver Henry Sumner would serve with the 6th Army Brigade through to end of the war when the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. Unfortunately for Henry, he would be in hospital in Rouen on this day with a nasal issue.    

Like most AIF Soldiers, Henry remained serving in the 6th Army Brigade 16th Battery after the war was over. In the winter of 1918/19 he suffers from Tonsillitis and Mumps in December and in early February is transferred to England with a new diagnosis, an illness labelled 'Debility' and admitted to Lewisham Military Hospital.

Sometimes labelled as 'Shell Shock'; it was the complete breakdown from mental exhaustion and exposure to the horrors of war. His illness is quite serious for his 'NOK' to be notified back in Epsom. During this period back in England he would recuperate in the various AIF camps on the Salisbury Plain. In April, 1919 he is charged with being 'AWL' for four days, however it does not appear he was disciplined for the offence.No doubt Henry's fragile state came into play here. 

Henry would be ‘Returned to Australia’ on HT Leicestershire on May 3rd, 1919. He would disembark in Melbourne June 21, 1919.  

Driver Henry Sumner is remembered by the people of White Hills. The names of the local lads 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.