Fast Facts; a selection of interesting tit-bits of information

Fast Facts and Interesting Items

Many things come to light when one investigates a Battalion as I have done here. Here are some of the surprising results. For example...

This one Battalion lost more men in France & Flanders than all of the Australian losses in Korea or Viet Nam.

Everyone got their feet washed daily by a Stretcher Bearer. The Platoon Officers had to certify in writing that it was done. Click for full story.

The 42nd Bn is officially credited with taking over 2,000 German prisoners . The battalion lost 2, (2 only) of it's own as POW's in 3 years of warfare. "Surrender? Don't be bloody silly. We're Australian". Of the two, 1, an aboriginal soldier, survived. The other died in prison.

At the 3rd battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) the Australian 3rd Division lost 3,199 KIA in 24 hours. Allowing that the population of Australia was 5 million at that time, the result is similar to 19 Viet Nam wars on ONE day.

The 42nd took part in the FIRST EVER ammunition re-supply by air. The Australian Flying Corps (pre-cursor to the RAAF) & the RAF provided bombing support and dropped ammo to the 3rd Divvy at the Battle of Hamel. Roughly 50 years later the RAAF did the same thing at Long Tan in SVN. Not to forget of course the "biscuit bombers" of PNG fame.

The 42nd suffered 67% casualties during it's tour. That is slightly higher than the Australian average and the ANZAC average is higher than ANY other army, mainly because the Aussies & Kiwis were used as 'shock' troops and 'last line of defence' troops. "When every one else breaks and runs throw the ANZAC's in". It worked, (it won the war) but it cost a lot of ANZAC blood.

The 42nd had 5.1% of it's Officers & men decorated for bravery or conspicuous service. It is officially recorded that some Senior Officers in the Battalion refused to recommend awards because "above average service is expected".

It is an old Army joke to say..."Who called the cook a bastard?"..."Huh? Who called the bastard a cook?". Obviously not so in the 42nd as one of their cooks was awarded the MM for bait-laying while the war raged around him. I dips me lid. Click for full story.

The 42nd Battalion was the only one in ANZAC history that had a junior officer from WW1 go on to be the CO of the same Battalion in WW2.

Passchendaele cost over half a million lives over its 3 months. The Germans lost about 250,000 lives and the British 300,000 of whom 36,500 were Australian. 90,000 British or Australian bodies were never identified, 42,000 were never recovered; these had been blown to bits or had drowned in the dreadful morass. Many of the drowned were exhausted or wounded men who had slipped or fallen off the duckboards and were unable to escape the filthy, foul-smelling glutinous mud, sinking deeper to their deaths as they struggled.

Butcher Haig never saw the ground that his troops were dying on. He considered it unnecessary to actually view the ground or to know what was happening. He was described as "shy as a schoolgirl", was probably homosexual, was the product of the British Public School system and a different age and was both stubborn as a mule and stupid to boot. When 3rd Ypres was over Haig's Chief of Staff visited the area for THE FIRST TIME. He was appalled by the conditions. He asked "Why was I not told?" Thousands of soldiers who were sent to needless death, by Haig and by him, could well ask, "Why didn't you ask. Why didn't you look. Why didn't you care?" Monash looked, cared, knew. Monash won victories and Haig took the glory. Monash would spend his soldiers lives as though they were precious. Haig cared not for the common soldier, he considered them expendable without regard.

In the great carnage of 1916-17 there were approximately 17,700 gas casualties counting the Somme, Chemin des Dames, and Passchendaele alone. These numbers would grow considerably higher due to the large number of deaths after the war that would be directly attributed to gas exposure. Despite this high casualty count for both sides, the use of gas continued to grow. By 1918, one in every four artillery shells fired contained gas of one type or another.

In 1918 a German corporal by the name of Adolf Hitler was temporarily blinded by a British gas attack in Flanders. Having suffered the agonies of gas first hand, his fear of the weapon would prevent him from deploying it as a tactical weapon on the battlefields of the Second World War.

One Anzac Corps obtained all its objectives and took 3,900 prisoners. The other Anzac Corps took all its objectives and met the Prussian Guards who they had met, and disliked, before at Pozières on the Somme. This Corps took no prisoners. Perhaps the Prussian Guard was ready to die to the last man, or perhaps there is a touch of vindictiveness in the Digger. . .

The "secret" VC. 7 August 1915 Private Leonard KEYSOR V.C., 1st Bn. at Lone Pine, Gallipoli, Turkey, Private Keysor was in a trench which was being heavily bombed by the enemy. He picked up two live bombs and threw them back at the enemy at great risk to himself, and continued throwing bombs until wounded. On 8 August at the same place, he successfully bombed the enemy out of a position where they had gained temporary mastery over his own trench, again being wounded. He refused to go to hospital and, volunteering to throw bombs for another company which had lost its bomb throwers, continued bombing until the situation was relieved. Keysor later served with the 42nd Bn as a Lieutenant.

The Australian commitment to the War started at 12,000 men to be added to 8,000 from New Zealand making a total of 20,000. 330,000 Australians served. That was 1 of every 2 men of eligible age. EVERY one a volunteer.

The British government, in the King's name, started a program of sending a Memorial Plaque to the next of kin for any soldier killed in action. The scheme petered out in the early 1920's. See the "Dead Man's Penny".

HISTORIC OCCASION
The Anzac memorial service at Christ Church Cathedral at 9am on Friday will be of historic interest in that it will be dedicated (sic) the Union Jack presented by the citizens of Grafton to the 42nd Bn and carried by them during the Great War. It is now being returned through the good offices of Mr Verdi Schwinghammer to repose in the Cathedral.

With it will be dedicated the colours of the Battalion. The returned men have signified their acceptance of an invitation to be present and it is anticipated that many other citizens will be there. Opportunity will be given during the service for the offering of floral tributes which will be taken to the monument after the service. The sub-dean will be glad to have the Christian and surnames of those who gave their lives during the war, so that they may be remembered by name in the service. The service is expected to last not longer than one hour and a quarter.

From another source, I can tell you that the flag was presented to the Battalion in 1916.

Information supplied by Jack Fawcett, G/nephew to V G Schwinghammer.