Don Farrell (SA, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This is my sixth and final speech relating to the centenary of the First World War and the letters that my grandfather, Sergeant Edward John Farrell, wrote to Miss Emily Jane McConnachy, who subsequently became Edward's wife and my grandmother. The first five speeches related to those letters, written between late June 1916 and the end of hostilities some 2½ years later. All of my speeches have been timed around the period leading up to and following the outbreak of the First World War, 28 July 1914—the centenary of which, of course, as you will know, is only a few weeks away.

This speech covers the war record of Sergeant Farrell's 32nd Battalion, AIF, and is gleaned from the official war records and the book Second to None: a memorial history of the 32nd Battalion. It also includes just a small selection of the hundreds of letters published in Second to None.

The 32nd Battalion was raised as part of the 8th Brigade at Mitcham, then on the outskirts of Adelaide, on 9 August 1915. Only two companies were raised from South Australian enlistees; another two were formed in Western Australia and joined the battalion at the end of September. The main battalion sailed from Adelaide on 18 November 1915. The 8th Brigade joined the newly raised 5th Australian Division in Egypt, and proceeded to France, destined for the Western Front, in June 1916. The 32nd Battalion fought its first major battle at Fromelles on 19 July 1916, having only entered the front-line trenches three days previously. The attack was a disastrous introduction to battle for the 32nd, and it suffered 718 casualties—almost 75 per cent of the battalion's total strength, but closer to 90 per cent of its actual fighting strength. Thankfully, Sergeant Farrell was still sailing to England at the time of this ill-fated attack, and the 32nd, although it still spent periods in the front line, played no major offensive role for the rest of the war.

In early 1917, the German army withdrew to the Hindenburg Line, allowing the British front to be advanced, and the 32nd Battalion participated in the follow-up operations. The 32nd subsequently missed the heavy fighting to breach the Hindenburg Line during the second battle of Bullecourt, as the 8th Brigade was deployed to protect the division's flank. The only large battle in 1917 in which the 32nd Battalion played a major role was Polygon Wood, fought in the Ypres sector in Belgium on 26 September.

Unlike some AIF battalions, the 32nd had a relatively quiet time during the German spring offensive of 1918. The Allies launched their own offensive with the battle of Amiens on 8 August, in which the 32nd Battalion participated. It was subsequently involved in the operations that continued to press the retreating Germans through August and into September.

The 32nd fought its last major action of the war between 29 September and 1 October, when the 5th and 3rd Australian Divisions and two American divisions attacked the Hindenburg Line across the top of the six-kilometre-long St Quentin Canal tunnel; the canal was a major obstacle in the German defensive scheme.

The 32nd was resting and retraining out of the line when the war ended on 11 November 1918. On 8 March 1919, after the gradual repatriation of men to Australia, the remnants of the 32nd Battalion were merged with the 30th Battalion.

The book Second to None tells the story of the 32nd Battalion primarily through scores and scores of letters written home by the troops. Many of the letters make terrifying reading.

Private Arthur Snook, writing about his first action at Fromelles in 1916, reported to his mother that he would never forget the order given to charge enemy lines. 'Well, Mother,' wrote Private Snook, 'I only just got over when I got hit on the top of my right eye, but that never stopped me. I got going again and I was nearly over to [the German] trench when I got another smack on the back of my right leg, and that was the end of me. I turned around to find cover and you ought to have seen the sight that met my eyes. Dead and wounded were lying all around me. I crawled for about 20 yards to a shell-hole, and to my horror I found about half a dozen of our boys dead.' Some reports are filled with pathos. Second Lieutenant Arthur Craker wrote: 'Terrible bombardment going on. Shells bursting everywhere. I do not know if this is my last entry or not, but I say goodbye, Mother darling; goodbye, Annie my sweetheart, Father and Gertie, Nesta, Thelma and the little ones.' As it transpired, both Sergeant Snook and Second Lieutenant Craker survived the war, and lived until 1958 and 1972 respectively.

There were many, many reports just as unnerving as those to which I have referred. The train crash at Desvres, which resulted in Sergeant Farrell's injury, received special mention in Second to None and was the subject of numerous letters home, including those by Edward himself.

Many soldiers of the 32nd Battalion were modest. Private Reginald Downing was typical. He wrote: 'Today I received the pleasing news that I have been awarded the Military Medal for services rendered on April 24. Wasn't so much surprised as I had an idea I had been recommended. Was certainly surprised at that, for nothing was further from my thoughts that morning. I had my fighting blood up, I'll admit, but the job was there to be done and I did it, that's all.'

Soldiers regularly visited wounded mates. Lance Corporal William Rawlinson, after seeing his colleague, Sergeant Walter Flindell, wrote home: 'I went to see Walter after we came out of the trenches and he looked bright and cheery. He had his right arm and leg amputated a few days previously and looked a little the worse for wear. It was marvellous how he escaped with his life.'

Lieutenant George Abjornson wrote of the death of Private William Prior: 'A more able and conscientious soldier was not to be found in the battalion. He was buried where he fell near the old front line, with a small cross to mark the last resting place of a soldier and a man.'

Sometimes there was, with the benefit of hindsight, a touch of humour. One soldier wrote back home: 'The streets stink with filth and the women with perfume.'

Others saw beauty amid the battlefields: Private Ern Cooper wrote: 'Everywhere around here, the country looks lovely. There are patches of wheat, marigolds, beans and scores of other small plots, the largest not more than four or five acres.' And Lieutenant Fred Stolz wrote home: 'One could see the red-roofed farm buildings and the villages peeping through the green, and hear the church bells. But for the fact that two German aeroplanes could be seen high up in the sky, one would not dream that there was a war on, so peaceful was the scene.'

The 32nd Battalion, after its very bloody battle initiation at Fromelles in 1916, subsequently played more of a support role than that of a front-line offensive troop. But it was still awarded many battle honours, most notably in France, Belgium and Egypt. Its soldiers served with distinction, winning one Victoria Cross, two Distinguished Service Orders, 28 Military Crosses, 78 Military Medals, three French Croix de Guerres and two Belgian Croix de Guerres. Twenty-three were Mentioned in Dispatches. The 32nd suffered 613 killed and 1466 wounded.

The mere fact that a total of 64 Australian Victoria Crosses were awarded during the First World War—more than in all other wars combined—testifies to the bravery demonstrated by our soldiers. And of these 64, nine were awarded for action at Gallipoli, one for Palestine, and one for East Africa, and the remaining—a staggering 53—were awarded for action on the Western Front. Of course, we all know that the war to end all wars failed to do so. And the deaths and casualties of that most terrible conflict were around 37.5 million, comprising 16.5 million deaths and 21 million wounded. The total number of deaths included almost ten million military personnel and almost seven million civilians. The Allies lost about 5.7 million soldiers while the Axis countries lost about four million. And it remains a mystery to me, and I imagine to millions of others, as to why the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria could have triggered, on 28 July 1914, such a cataclysmic war.