Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

 
AUSTIN Edwin John  #3337
 
Eddy Austin was born at Lawnton, North Pine (now Strathpine) to parents Edwin and Emma Austin. The family may have moved to the Samsonvale district where Eddy began school before moving again to the Redcliffe Peninsula where Eddy completed school.
 
Eddy presented himself for enlistment to the recruiting depot in Bundaberg on 19th May 1915. He was at that time 34 years old and employed as a labourer although his mother when completing the Roll of Honour Circular stated his occupation as farmer. He had named his mother of Humpybong as his next of kin.
 
Eddy travelled by train to Enoggera Camp where he was allocated to the 25th Battalion with the service number of #1653. His papers also note the words “Light Horse Unallocated.” It would seem that Eddy was in the 25th battalion lines up until the 28th June when the battalion boarded a transport ship, “Aeneas” for overseas. Eddy’s name does not appear on the embarkation roll and so it would seem he did not board the ship in Brisbane. A note in his file references a cable from the Commanding Officer of the 25th dated the 2nd August 1915 when the “Aeneas” docked in Egypt to the effect that #1653 E.J.Austin was a deserter.
 
It is unclear exactly when Eddy went missing but a second set of attestation papers completed in Eddy’s own handwriting, and dated 28th July 1915 shows him as being part of the 11th reinforcements for the 9th Battalion with the service number of #3337. Eddy boarded the “Seang Bee” in Brisbane on 21st October and disembarked in Port Said. He went into camp at Tel el Kabir with other reinforcements.
 
The first months of 1916 witnessed a period of expansion for the AIF with the size of the force doubling. While this organisation was taking place, all of the force was in camps along the length of the Suez Canal. While on picquet duty on the evening of 11th February, Eddy fell over and sustained an injury to his ankle which was eventually determined to be a Potts Fracture (a common injury caused by the rolling of the foot and damage to ligaments and the bottom of the tibia).
 
Eddy spent three months in various hospitals and convalescent depots with his foot in plaster. On 20th May, Eddy appeared before a medical board to determine his future. The senior medical officer noted that his ankle swelled when he walked any distance and caused great pain. It was recommended that Eddy be sent back to Australia for “change”; which would usually mean that the patient would appear before another board in Australia where he could then be formally discharged as unfit.
 
In spite of the “change” recommendation, Eddy instead embarked on the transport “Arcadian” bound for Southampton and was placed in the 3rd Training Battalion at Perham Downs. He appeared before another medical board on 10th October 1916 and was then sent to another training camp at Larkhill where we went before another medical board in March of 1917. Eddy’s final appearance before a board was at Sutton Veney in February 1918.
 
While Eddy had been resting and convalescing in England, the five divisions of the AIF had slowly but steadily lost men due to battle casualty or illness. The Australian government had attempted to twice impose conscription to boost reinforcements but on both occasions the proposal was rejected. The Winter of 1917/18 saw many battalions down to 60% or less of their nominal strength and predictions of a big German Offensive in the coming spring required every able bodied man to be sent to the frontline units.
 
Eddy Austin was given movement orders to proceed from Folkstone across the Channel to a transit camp at Etaples in France on 23rd April 1918. He joined the lines of the 9th Battalion on 1st May, almost three years after he enlisted in Bundaberg.
 
When Eddy was taken on strength by the 9th, the battalion was in the rear areas near Warneton preparing for a tour of frontline duty. On 26th May, just three weeks after joining his battalion, Eddy absconded. He returned to his unit 10 days later.
 
Because Eddy had gone over the wall knowing the battalion was going into action, his absence was considered to be a case of desertion, rather than Absent Without Leave.
Eddy spent 17 days in the detention barracks before facing a Field General Court Martial on 18th June 1918. Eddy plead guilty and was sentenced to ten years penal servitude with hard labour; which was the standard sentence for deserters. In practice, such sentences were often reduced and Eddy’s was reduced to 2 years with hard labour and then suspended on 3rd July. Eddy returned to the ranks of the 9th Battalion.
 
In early August, the 9th Battalion and the rest of the 1st Division were moved to the battlefields of the Somme where the rest of the Australian Corps under Lieutenant General John Monash were about to launch a counter offensive which 100 days later would bring the war to an end. The 9th Battalion was directed to take up support positions around the town of Corbie in the Somme valley as the Battle of Amiens commenced on 8th August.
 
The Battle of Amiens was a resounding success for the Australian and Canadian Corps forging up to five miles into the German defences, an unheard of gain of territory in the context of the western front. From that time on, the German armies were on the defensive withdrawing to hastily prepared positions. The Australian Corps Commander ordered his infantry brigades to push hard against the enemy, not allowing them time to dig in.
 
On 23rd August, the 9th Battalion as part of the 3rd brigade was brought up to the line from Corbie to the area in front of Cappy, a small village on the south bank of the Somme from which they launched an assault at midnight on the 25th August. During that attack, it was recorded that Eddy Austin received a shrapnel wound to the head. He was taken to the 61st Casualty Clearing Station where he died from his wounds that same day. Eddy was buried in a temporary cemetery near the CCS.
 
As the end of the war, the Imperial War Graves Commission was formed with the task of consolidating the many graves of empire soldiers into permanent cemeteries. Eddy Austin’s remains were reinterred in the Daours Communal Cemetery near Corbie.
 
His father, who continued to live at Woody Point received his medals and the memorial plaque. Eddy’s mother who had moved to Brisbane received his few personal possessions which included some German banknotes.

Edwin's parents were Edwin Austin and Emma Grant. Edwin attended Humpybong State School and at the time of Edward's enlistment in May 1915, his parents were living at Woody Point. Edwin was wounded in action in August 1918, dying of his wounds later that month.