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Page 21 EXTRACTS
from niece of Smythe brothers.
Tuesday, 14 April 2009 02:12:30 AM
Dorothy a niece to the four
SMYTHE brothers mentioned above. Some of these are from letters and some
from Bean’s History of W.W.1.
Percy had met his brothers in dug-outs in Shrapnel Gully (Gallipoli) and thought
Bert looked unkempt and Vern a bit haggard. As they did smoke, they gave their
cigarette allowance to friends from Sydney. Bert was used as a sniper because of
his marksmanship.
A
few days later Vern’s officer, Goldberg was hit in the throat and taken out of
the trenches with no one available to replace him. Vern aged 20 took over in the
emergency. General Hamilton mentioned him in despatches and he was promoted in
spite of his youth. He was described as “short in stature, trim of build and
dapper in appearance. His face had the frank expression of a healthy
schoolboy.” He liked to carry a baton and always looked tidy. He was
well-liked and known as a very witty person.
On
3rd May he (Bert) wrote in a very shaky
hand from his hospital in England “Dear Mum & Dad & brothers and sisters,
I’ve wounded in the right shoulder & and progressing finely. Vernie is O.K.,
saw him just before they took me away. Had been in the firing line 4 days
before they got me. On the morning of the fifth day the Tommies relieved (sic)
us and they got me as we were returning to the rear for a days rest so now I’m
going to have more than a days rest. Its hard work writing and makes me tired,
so will you pleases tell Mrs. Fox and Clytie etc.
We are
very comfy here. Nice soft bed and attendants that spoil you. I suppose that
you’ll see the casualty lists before you get this. I’ve lost every mortal thing
I own except the clothes I used to stand in & my great coat. Had four different
rifles during the fighting. The beggars never gave us a moment’s peace the
whole time I was there. Love to all from your loving son and brother, Bert.”
(Bert’s letters about Gallipoli that were published in a newspaper are included
earlier in Pages 4, 5 and 6) Pozieres (where Perce was fighting) was a small
village near Albert in the Somme area, amid the roses and poppies of Picardy. Gas
was used and was at first thought to be shells striking soft mud with a muted
thud. Those men who wore gas masks suffered from a lack of air which caused them
to tear off the mask, their eyes steaming from the effects of the gas.
Percy wrote in his diary “Sunday 11th
(November 1917)….they (Germans) plastered our front line with gas
shells, most of them, however falling higher up than our positions. The pungent
reek of gas floated down our way, but we gave it little heed. Then they gave us
some high explosive shells for a change and some of them came uncomfortably
close. Once the sighing whine of a shell in flight ended with a savage hiss and
an explosion just behind our dugout, and I felt the sandbag wall heave in
several inches. “That one nearly smashed our dugout,” I remarked, thinking it
was an H.E., but the next moment a strong smell of gas rushed in. “Get your
respirator on.” I yelled at Gus, making a grab for my own. I held my breath but
the powerful fumes got into my eyes, and the tears poured from them in streams.
The tapes of my respirator were twisted up with the mouthpiece somehow, and
there I was struggling to get them free. Had to open my eyes several times and
endure a fresh flow of tears, and it soon became impossible to hold my breath
any longer. However, just as I got a good deep breath of poisonous gas, the
mouthpiece came free of the tapes and I got it into my mouth. It was easy
enough to adjust the rest of it. We stood to with respirators on for about half
an hour, and when the “all clear” message was sent along, I looked at the corner
of the dugout, just two feet from where my head rested against the sandbags!
Had it been an explosive shell of even the smallest calibre, this record would
never have been written.
Viv’s battalion, the 24th in “K”
trench was murderously hit as there were no deep dugouts, only small recesses.
The dead could not be buried. The survivors could do nothing but wait hour
after hour either to be killed or else buried by collapsing banks. They were
tormented by lice in hair, socks and clothing in the trenches.
Viv
passed along “K” trench to keep up morale and saw four men playing
cards. The officer passing along the trench in the afternoon, sickened by the
sight of the dead and wounded, saw the body of a sergeant which had been lifted
out of the trench above the spot where the men were dealing their cards. “You’ve
lost your sergeant I see", remarked the officer to the group. “Yes”,
replied one of the men in a voice which failed in its attempt to conceal the
speaker’s emotion. “He was playing cards here with us a few minutes ago when
he was hit”. (from Bean – Ed). Another man had taken the sergeant’s hand,
brave men played on hardly knowing the cards they dealt, struggling
against their feelings, trying by a display of apparent coolness to steady the
nerves of others. When Viv came back fifteen minutes later they were all
dead. Viv said that this was his worst experience of the war.
He
had not been at Gallipoli but those who had, said that in this single battle,
divisions were subjected to greater stress than the whole of the Gallipoli
campaign, with greater loss of life.
The
next month Viv was involved in fighting at Mouquet Farm, a mile away. Percy was
transferred to his battalion and soon became a temporary corporal. However, his
bronchitis recurred because he had come out of hospital too soon. He was sent
to Rouen Hospital and later back to England.
It
was reported that the Germans were attacking from the farm and north of it. The
Germans had built a reinforced blockhouse, half underground with walls four feet
thick. It was frequently hit by shells of light calibre which didn’t cause
worthwhile damage. It would only be put out of action by a direct shell.
Isolated troops were in a desperate position. Brigadier Gellibrand ordered the
24th Battalion to suppress the enemy in a farm by two bombing attacks form the
south and south-east. “This perilous duty was accepted by Lieutenant
SMYTHE (Viv) and parties were organized:
but as the artillery could not be employed for fear of hitting isolated troops,
and the available trench-mortars were in positions from which the objective
could not be hit, the order was at the last minute cancelled. The abandonment
was fortunate. It is unbelievable that it had any chance of success."
(Bean).
However, it inspired someone to write a piece of doggerel “How the farm took
Mookey Bill” and Viv acquired the name of Mouquet Bill. He souvenired a
German helmet as a memento of the event. (Viv brought back many souvenirs of
various kinds back to Australia – Ed.) There would never be another such war
and souvenirs would be of great curiosity value.
The
Germans attempted a similar attack to assist their troops, but were easily
driven back by Stokes mortar and Lewis gins. This was one of a number
of salient points on a wide front. Casualties were the greatest suffered by the
Anzacs. In seven weeks there were 23,000 AIF casualties. Red-cross flags were
used by the stretcher-bearers of both sides for an hour each day to bring back
the dead and wounded. The whole area was nothing but craters with no sign of
the farm or village. The strain of battle required a new approach to
discipline.
In
May, Vern aged 21, became a Captain. He
was reputed to be a good officer, well respected by his men. He preferred to
never ask his men to do anything he did not feel comfortable in doing himself.
He probably was not always able to do this but it was his philosophy.
In
July at Fromelles, which was regarded as
a great blunder, the troops had advanced north and were cut off and awaiting the
order to withdraw. The Australians had no grenades and their rifle ammunition
was running low. They felt they were deserted and without hope of rescue, as
the real offensive had begun in the Somme area. Some were captured. Vern
ordered his men to dig trenches four to six feet deep across “No Man’s Land”
and duckboard the trapped soldiers without being seen. To
encourage them, he stood on a parapet of the trench, and when a machine-gun
began firing still did not jump down to take cover. He insisted that the gun
could not traverse quickly, as the belt had to be kept straight. He counted and
knew exactly when he should jump down. It was calculated and not foolhardy. (I
feel he left himself open to sniper fire but did it to boost the morale of his
men. Ed) An artillery barrage,
usually a prelude to advancing, was arranged to provide covering fire and when
the order came, the men were able to retreat. Vern won a Military
Cross for his actions in the battle.
Armentieres area was drenched with gas July 1916. When someone called out
“Gas! Gas!” They put on masks and had to breathe in through the nose and
blow out through the mouth. Air passed through material soaked with chemicals
to purify it.
Bert was now in England teaching signalling. He was regarded as an expert in
semaphore and got 299.5 out of 300 in signalling, beating everyone including the
officers. He attended a special course in instructing and became part of the
First Training Battalion. He really wanted to join his three brothers, who were
fighting in France.
After
further training in Egypt, Viv was a second lieutenant posted to the 24th
Battalion, just before the embarkation of this unit for France. He had been
transferred to Tel-El-Kebir where there had been trouble with the Arabs and
Percy did not see him, when he was sent there. He was one of several youthful
officers promoted on ability, unlike their British counterparts. He and
Percy grew moustaches believing that it would make them look older and give them
more authority. Percy joined his unit at Tel-el-Kebir, was promoted to Lance
Corporal in March and embarked for France. In preparation he sent home another
diary and sketches he had done. Bert returned to Egypt for a while, after all
his brothers had left. Later, he was sent to England to continue teaching.
Eric aged eleven and Gordon (younger brothers) aged nine had sent a photo of
themselves in their Scouts uniforms. “Dear Vern, Glad to hear that you are
recommended for a captaincy. Mind when you come back you’ll have to tell me how
you got the MC. In the next letter tell us how many Turks you killed. You’ll be
killing Germans soon. You’ll know our frontpiece. With best love from Eric.”
From
Gordon “Dear Vern, Have you made an end to any Turks yet? Do you chase them
with a dead cat or with a gun and bayonet? I don’t care what you chase them
with as long as you kill them. From Gordon”.
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