Edgar James McCARTHY (5422)
8 Battalion   DoW 22/4/1917

Edgar James McCarthy is something of a mystery. There is an E McCarthy on the Alberton Shire Soldiers’ Memorial. However, there is no McCarthy at all on the Shire of Alberton Honor Roll. In terms of the national record,  there is only one E McCarthy who was killed on active service. On this basis, the E McCarthy on the Alberton Shire Soldiers’ Memorial must be Edgar James McCarthy who died of wounds on 22/4/16. This person was born and grew up in in Rosedale. According to the Embarkation Roll, he was living at Rosedale when he enlisted and his name is recorded on the honour rolls of both the Shire of Rosedale and the state school at Rosedale. When the father, Henry McCarthy, completed the information for the (National) Roll of Honour, he gave Rosedale as the place with which his son was ‘chiefly connected’. In the Traralgon Record on 8/5/17 there was an in memoriam to Edgar James McCarthy … dearly loved only child of Harry McCarthy, Rosedale and loving nephew of Mr. and Mrs. Grace, Traralgon. The notice was inserted … by his Auntie Dollie and Uncle Jack, Traralgon. Yet for all the obvious connection to Rosedale, there must also have been some link to the Shire of Alberton. Presumably, he was working in the district as a farm labourer immediately prior to enlisting.

When Private McCarthy enlisted in Melbourne on 10/2/16 he gave his occupation as labourer. He was single and his religion was listed as Church of England. At the time he was only 19 yo and his father had to give consent.  Ordinarily, both parents had to sign, but on the enlistment papers, the local recruiting officer had written that the mother – Alice Emily McCarthy – was ‘not mentally fit to sign’. There is other official correspondence indicating that in the early 1920s the mother was a patient at Kew Hospital for the Insane (Kew Asylum).  Possibly the uncle and aunt referred to above had looked after the boy when he was growing up. Certainly, it appears that the father might not have always been there. In the service file, the father’s address changed many times (Rosedale, Upper Pakenham, Cranbourne, Carrum Downs, Cockatoo) and by the mid 1920s the authorities were not able to trace him.  Overall, it appears that Edgar McCarthy would have had a difficult childhood and youth.

Private McCarthy joined as reinforcements for 8 Battalion. He left Melbourne for overseas service just 2 months later (4/4/16). There was further training in the UK – 2 Training Brigade –  and he then joined 8 Battalion in the field in February 1917. He was wounded in action 2 months later (16/4/17) and died from his wounds in hospital on 22/4/17. The hospital report suggests that he had little chance of surviving,

He was suffering from very severe Gunshot wounds of the head and back, his spine being badly injured.

He was buried in Boulogne Eastern Cemetery.

On the day he was wounded (16/4/17), 8 Battalion was located on the front line near Morchies. This was the day after the German counter-attack on the Australian positions along the Hindenburg Line. The German advance was halted and they were pushed back to their original line by the close of that day (15/4/17). The day after this major German attack (16/4/17), the war diary for 8 Battalion records the casualties as 3 killed and 10 others wounded. Private McCarthy must have been one of the 10 wounded.  There is a Red Cross file for Private Edgar James McCarthy 5422, but it does not provide any additional information.

It appears that the family was advised of his death on 26/4/17. The personal kit – Wallet, Letters, Cards, Photo, Note Book, Fountain Pen, 2 Shaving Brushes, Metal Cigarette Case, Comb –   was returned in March 1918.

Unlike the great majority of those who were killed on active service, there is no correspondence from the family – or any other interested party – in the service file of Private McCarthy. The father did sign for the receipt of the personal kit but that is the apparent extent of his communication with the AIF over his son’s death. It seems that Private McCarthy was pretty much by himself.

Sadly, there is not much detail on the life and service of Edgar McCarthy. Yet there must have been a link to the Shire of Alberton.

References

Traralgon Record

National Archives file forMcCARTHY Edgar James 5422
Roll of Honour: Edgar James McCarthy
First World War Embarkation Rolls: Edgar James McCarthy
Red Cross Wounded and Missing file: Edgar James McCarthy

Owen PATTERSON (3221)
8 Battalion   DoW 21/4/1917

Owen Patterson is one of the more surprising omissions from the Alberton Shire Soldiers’ Memorial. Also, while his name is included on the Shire of Alberton Roll of Honor he is not marked as ‘killed’. At the same time, his name and death are recorded on the honor roll of Stacey’s Bridge. Overall, there was only limited recognition of the true nature of his sacrifice.

He was born and grew up in Melbourne and when he enlisted he gave his address as care of his sister in South Melbourne. The address of his father, as next-of-kin, was also in Melbourne.

However, he was definitely living and working in the local area when he enlisted. His name is even recorded on the Electoral Roll (1915) as a labourer of Jack River. His first medical (24/7/15) was in Yarram. His enlistment was noted in the local paper – Gippsland Standard and Alberton Shire Representative – on 28/7/15. There are also other references in the same paper to his involvement in local sport, particularly football. He played for the local Devon team. In March 1915 he was on the committee for the Womerah & District Sports.

The last local reference to Owen Patterson appears to be a ‘soldier’s letter’ written by ‘Private J. D. Loriman, formerly of Whitelaw’s Track’ which was published on 24/11/16. In the letter there is a reference to Owen Patterson as one of those locals who ‘came out all right’ from Pozieres.

Private Patterson enlisted on 2/8/15. He was 24 yo, single and he gave his occupation as ‘farm labourer’. His religion was Church of England. He joined as reinforcements for 24 Battalion and left Melbourne 26/11/15. After further training in Egypt he transferred to 8 Battalion on 24/2/16 and left for Europe. His unit disembarked at Marseilles on 31/3/16.

Private Patterson spent 10 days in hospital in December 1916 with bronchitis. He rejoined his unit in mid December.

He died of ‘wounds received in he field’ on 21/4/17. This description of the cause of death suggests that he was wounded on 21/4/17 and died the same day. The witness statements in the Red Cross file provide some additional information. At the time, he was working  in the company quarter master store, assisting with the distribution of rations. He was possibly in the reserve trench at the time he was wounded. He was hit by a shell and he died at a dressing station very shortly after. The dressing station was just yards from where he was hit. He was buried nearby, but recollections of exactly where he was buried were confused and the grave was lost. Shortly after his death, the lieutenant in charge of the QM store was in communication with his father and sister. As indicated earlier, Patterson gave his father as next-of-kin and the address of his sister as his address on enlistment.

The following statement from Pte J A Wheeler 5772 gives the essential details:

I knew him. His name was Owen. He was Q.M’s assistant. He came from Yarram, Gippsland. He was very young [perhaps he had put his age up by a few years on enlistment] pretty dark and about 5 ft 4” in height. He was guiding a ration party coming up with rations at Lagnicourt, and a shell burst behind him, and hit him under his tin hat. It knocked him senseless, and he died at a dressing station near Lagnicourt within an hour or two.

There is no specific detail in the battalion war diary about Private Owen’s death. The battalion was near Lagnicourt. There is a report of 3 men wounded and 1 missing on the day before (20/4/17); and, on the day after (22/4/17), the casualties for a patrol that attacked German positions were 1 dead and 14 wounded. No casualties were recorded for 21/4/17; but the diary does state, Enemy shelling fairly active during the day.

The cable advising the family of his death was dated 11/5/17. No one in the family completed the information for the (National) Roll of Honour. With no grave, Private Patterson’s name was included on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.

Personal kit reached his father in early November 1917: 2 Identity Discs, Cap Comforter, Tie, Writing Pad, Card.

Owen Patterson enlisted in Yarram as a young, itinerant farm labourer. At the time he was exhorted to enlist and do his duty, and he was promised, solemnly, that his name and sacrifice would never be forgotten. Unfortunately, there was only ever partial recognition of his story.

Note: Owen Patterson’s personal history has been compromised even more by the fact that his name in the National Archives has been entered, incorrectly, as PETTERSON. Also, the wrong service number (3121 instead of the correct 3221) has been ascribed for the search on the AWM’s First World War Embarkation Rolls.

References

Gippsland Standard and Alberton Shire Representative

National Archives file for PATTERSON Owen 3221 (see note above)
Roll of Honour: Owen Patterson
First World War Embarkation Rolls: Owen Patterson (see note above)
Red Cross Wounded and Missing file: Owen Patterson

Cornelius James SWEENEY (1449)
15 Battalion   KIA 11/4/1917

Cornelius Sweeney was the brother of Patrick Joseph Sweeney who had been killed in 1915 at Gallipoli (Post 45).  Besides the 2 brothers who were killed, there was another brother- William Henry Sweeney (645) – who survived the War. William was badly wounded, also at Gallipoli. It was described as a ‘bombwound’ and it was obviously severe:  compound fracture skull and left tibia burns and wounds face and left arm. He was repatriated to Australia after medical treatment in the UK and discharged on medical grounds at the end of 1916. In all, this particular family suffered great loss.

The Sweeney family, Irish-Catholic, had been in the local district from the late 1850s or early 1860s. Two brothers – Cornelius and Patrick – both born in Ireland, had moved to the settlement at Alberton after serving their sentences as convicts transported to Van Dieman’s Land. This first generation of the family established themselves as successful farmers in the local district. The success of the second generation of the family was more qualified. One line was definitely successful and, in fact, this success continued through to the third generation. For example, in 1915 this branch of the family had extensive land holdings – approximately 500 acres – of land at Woranga. At the same time, success for the family branch which took in the 3 brothers who enlisted in WW1 was more problematic. Initially, their father – Patrick Sweeney 1855-1932 – was a successful business man in a stock-agency partnership. He was also prominent in local politics. For example, in 1889 he was president of the Yarram branch of the Australian Natives’ Association. In 1901 he was Shire President. He was described as a grazier of Waronga. However, from the early 1890s his fortunes appeared to change. He gave up his partnership in the business. Unlike the other branch of the family, there is no indication that his family held any land  at the time of WW1 and, in fact, the 3 brothers who enlisted simply gave their occupation as ‘labourer’. Admittedly, on one enlistment form, one of them did refer to himself as a ‘dairy farmer’; but, as indicated, there is no evidence that any of them held land and, most likely, they were all working as farm labourers on other properties, possibly even on an uncle’s farm.

Obviously, all 3 brothers were well-known in the district. All had their names recorded on the Shire of Alberton Honor Roll and the 2 who were killed – Patrick Joseph Sweeney (8/8/15) and Cornelius James Sweeney (11/4/17) – had their names included on the Alberton Shire Soldiers’ Memorial. All 3 were also included on the honor roll for the Yarram State School. The father gave Yarram as the location with which his son – Cornelius – was ‘chiefly connected’.

Cornelius Sweeney enlisted on 16/9/14 as one of the original group from Yarram.  He was 35 yo and single. He had been in the Stacey’s Bridge Rifle Club prior to enlistment.

When Dr Rutter carried out the medical examination at Yarram, he wrote on Private Sweeney’s enlistment papers that he was ‘strongly recommended’ with ‘splendid stamina’. Like others from that first group of volunteers, it appears that Private Sweeney enlisted in the belief that he was joining the ‘Light Horse Gippsland’, but in fact he was taken on the strength of 15 Battalion. He left for Egypt on 22/12/14.

Private Sweeney was wounded twice, both times seriously, before he was killed at Bullecourt on 11/4/17. On Gallipoli in July 1915, he suffered a shrapnel wound to the back of his neck and was taken off the peninsula to hospital in Malta. He did not rejoin his battalion until October that year. The battalion moved to France the following year (June 1916) and he was again wounded, 2 months later, with another shrapnel wound to the right hip. His hip was fractured. This time he was hospitalised in England and did not rejoin the battalion until February 1917, some 6 months later. Then 2 months later he was killed in action at the first battle of Bullecourt.

The war diary of 15 Battalion for April 11 is depressing reading. There is a separate ‘narrative of action’ , dated 15/4/17, included in the diary which details the attack on the ‘Hindenburg Line South of Riencourt on morning of 11th. April 1917’.  Tanks were supposed to cut he barbed wire defences. The narrative explains how the tanks could be heard clearly by the enemy as they laboured towards the first stretch of wire. The tanks then failed to reach their objectives and the wire remained intact. Subsequently, the attacking troops, moving forward without the tanks, were cut down on the wire by enfilade machine gun fire. The report details 100 casualties on the first stretch of wire, and the losses on the second stretch were also heavy. Despite the losses, the battalion made it to the second German line and was part of the brigade that managed to seize about 900 yards. However, it proved impossible to hold the ground gained. The Australian troops were subjected to enemy bombing parties and enfilade machine gun fire down the trench and they were effectively cut off from their line, and supplies – particularly bombs and rifle grenades – could not reach them. The report details all the failed attempts to establish communication and supply lines between the troops in the German lines and their own forward lines. As the report grimly noted,

No runners have returned from Front Line and judging by the number of enemy Machine Guns playing in enfilade fire across No Man’s Land it was impossible to get back from captured position.

At round 11.00 in the late morning, the report noted that the men began to fall back to their lines, across the murderous no-man’s-land. There were more casualties. The battalion was relieved that night and moved back to Favreuil, approximately 10K from the front.

The overall casualties for the battalion from the single day’s fighting were severe: ’19 officers and 364 other ranks’. The following brief note from the report gives a stark assessment of the fate of those who took part in the assault and made it through to the German line.

None of the officers who reached objective returned and of the troops who took part in the assault only 52 have returned.

It appears that Private Sweeney made it across the two stretches of wire to the second German trench. He was then wounded by one of the bombs thrown by German bombing parties who were gradually dislodging the Australians from the captured position. He was one of many left behind when the battalion withdrew. There were many prisoners taken, but he was not one of them. The following is a witness statement from the relevant Red Cross file. It was given by Cpl. T McBratney (1973) on 26/2/18.

There was a Sweeney in B. Co. killed on 11th April. I knew him well. He was a 1st. or 2nd. Rft. And his number started 14… He was of medium height and dark. We called him Paddy. He was hit during the German counter attack at Bullecourt about 11 a.m. by a bomb in the stomach. This was in the German positions which we had taken earlier in the morning. I was alongside him when he was hit. Lt. Jones B. Co. (since killed) bandaged him. He had to be left behind in the trench when we retired.

There is no way of knowing when Private Sweeney died from his wounds but, most likely, it was within a short time of being was wounded. Certainly there is no record of him being taken as one the many prisoners. He was listed as missing after the battle and then a court of enquiry in early November (2/11/17), seven months later, determined that he had been killed in action on the same day. The family was advised by cable on 8/11/17. Presumably they had prepared themselves for this news over the intervening months. The fact that he was ‘missing’ was reported in the local paper – Gippsland Standard and Alberton Shire Representative–  as early as 11/5/17.

About a month after receiving formal advice of his son’s death, Private Sweeney’s father – Patrick Sweeney – wrote (8/12/17) to Base Records in Melbourne asking for help in locating and administering the will:

As your Department has informed me some weeks ago of the unfortunate death of my son (C. J. Sweeney) and he has a few belongings (horses, jinker etc) will you kindly do me a favour by letting me know if there is a will and whose duty it is to administer. I consider it is mine but I ask you as a special favour to let me know at your earliest convenience all particulars and you will confer a very great favour on
Yours truly
P. Sweeney
Father of the late C. J. Sweeney

There is no record of the response from Base Records and the father eventually employed the services of B P Johnson, one of the local solicitors, to manage the business of the will. The will left …the whole of my property and effects to my Mother & two sisters.

Surprisingly, there is no record of any personal kit being returned to the family.

There was no grave and Private Sweeney’s name appears on the Villers-Bretonneux memorial.

On Anzac Day 1918, there was a commemoration held at Yarram State School and one of the returned soldiers who was there that day, as a former student, was Trooper W H Sweeney. It was just over one year since his second brother had been killed on active service at Bullecourt and about two and a half years since his first brother had been killed at Gallipoli. Much was made in the speeches that day about the sacrifices made by families, like his, where so many sons had enlisted. As much was made of the idea that the ‘spirit of Anzac’ was ‘self sacrifice’ and  that, as Rev C. J. Walklate put it, … the 25th April three years ago was the beginning of Australian history. Sentiments like these were meant to comfort those families, like this one branch of the Sweeney family, where the losses had been so devastating.

References

Gippsland Standard and Alberton Shire Representative

O’Callaghan G (Comp) 2006, Clonmel to Federation: Guide to people in the Port Albert area 1841-1901, Vol 3, The Alberton Project

National Archives file for SWEENEY Cornelius James 1449
Roll of Honour: Cornelius James Sweeney
First World War Embarkation Rolls: Cornelius James Sweeney
Red Cross Wounded and Missing file: Cornelius James Sweeney