The Woodside men and boys will be remembered: power of social media (1)

 

The Woodside men and boys will be remembered: response to Pte. Harold Mitchell’s story

 

In response to the first Woodside soldier’s story Pte. Harold Mitchell, a wonderful link has been made. One of the members of the Remembrance 2001 tour responded to the post on Facebook and not only were precious connections re-made, but the story of this Woodside man was added to.

Ebony McConville (nee Boulton) was the baby of the inaugural tour group in 2001, and at the age of 16, she was the one who uncovered Mitchell’s story 20 years ago. Ebony recounted how she interviewed several family members who shared some Harold’s wartime experiences including the account of his fatal wounding and the Bible he was carrying at the time. The former Mount Barker High student also shared with me her reflections on the R2001 commemorative tour and how it has impacted on her perspective now as a working parent of two young girls. I know that the commentary on events like this tour often referred to as ‘life changing’ can be seen as cliched, however after discussing this with Ebony I have no doubt that this was very true in her case.

A second Woodside local who is a friend of my daughter-in-law, also contacted me, Kylie Grivell. Kylie confirmed the account and related to me, ‘…my mum is Helen Fechner and the story about Harold being shot through his Bible in his pocket, is a very well retold point in his life. We have a replica penny that his mother was given as a ‘mother’s sacrifice’ award.’

From these two valuable responses, I also learnt that Harold’s family members are buried in the Woodside cemetery and these headstones tell another sad side to the family’s history. Harold was one of three boys and his younger bother Alick died at the age of 13 on 18th July 1915 just 3 months into the Gallipoli campaign. Harold’s parents lost their young son and a year later Harold enlisted for war only to die in May of 1917. Lucia Mitchell’s life was again struck by tragedy as she was widowed in 1937 when her husband Robert died at the age of 69. She lived a long life until 1971 when at the age of 95, Lucia Agnes Mitchell died leaving her sole remaining son Robert and daughter in-law Emma Emily Mitchell.

Like so many families who lived during the early part of the 20^th century, war and grief shadowed their lives. As Ebony stated to me, the education she had from the Remembrance 2001 tour and project framed her perspective and values as she entered adult life and gained a life- long appreciation of how lucky and privileged the generations are who never had to live through those dark years of war and conflict. The wartime generations really knew what sacrifice and resilience meant: it was the embodiment of all they lived through. Let us who did not have to grow up during those bleak years, honour their memory by educating ourselves about our wartime past and never forgetting those who endured it.

The Mitchell family graves: Woodside cemetery, September 2021

              Harold Mitchell’s parents Robert and Lucia’s grave : Woodside cemetery September 2021

Harold Mitchell remembered at his younger brother’s grave: Woodside cemetery September 2021.

 

 

 

 

 

The Woodside men and boys will be remembered (1)

 

The Woodside men and boys will be remembered: Pte. Harold Mitchell (1068)

My small business recently joined the Woodside Commerce Association (WCA) and at the AGM, the committee accepted my proposal to initiate a special commemorative focus on local men and boys who died in the Great War. Of the 178 names on the Woodside Honour Board, 25 died in the war and are buried overseas. In the lead up to Anzac Day 2022, I aim to feature each of the 25. If you are related to or know of any living members of the soldier’s family, please contact me and I will personally commemorate your WW1 relative on the next Connecting Spirits Community Tour planned for September 2022. In addition, if YOU are interested in taking part in the next CS tour, then email me for the details at julie@juliereecetours.com.au 

The first Woodside soldier to be remembered on this blog is Private Harold Mitchell (service number 1068). Harold’s story was first researched in 2000 and was commemorated in the first WW1 tour I ran while teaching at Mount Barker High School in 2001. His short biography was retold in the book we published in 2002, ‘Journey of Remembrance: An account of Mount Barker High School’s Remembrance 2001 project’, Reece, J (Openbook Print, 2002): this account was compiled by Jayne Wilson (Huxtable) on behalf of his relatives who contacted the school prior to the tour in 2001. Other details have been included from the National Archives of Australia service records.

Born at Woodside 4 February 1895, Harold was the son of Robert and Lucia (aka Lucy – nee Seidel) Mitchell and was the eldest of three sons, Harold, Robert and Alick. Harold was the great-grandson of Margaret and John Murdock who sold their cotton milling factory to Coats Limited in Paisley, Scotland and migrated to South Australia in 1838. They were some of the first settlers to buy several properties around Woodside, Inverbrackie and Murdock Hill areas. Harold attended Mount Barker High School and later helped his father to farm some of their land at Murdock Hill until the time of his enlistment.  (NAA service records also record his ‘trade’ as a cleaner though it’s unknown where and who that was for)

Pte. Mitchell enlisted on 15 February 1916 at Adelaide age 21 and served as a Gunner with ‘Y3A Trench Mortar Battery’ in the A.I.F. Harold was 5’7” tall with a ‘medium complexion’, blue eyes and brown hair. He identified as a Methodist.

On the 9^th of June 1916, Harold sailed from Outer Harbour, en-route to France on board the  ‘’A” 19 Afric landing at the port of Marseilles one month later on the 20^th of June. He proceeded to England and on the 17^thOctober 1916 he joined the 43^rd Battalion and was based on the Salisbury Plains for a month. During his time at Larkhill he committed an offence when ‘…on active service...he was AWL (absent without leave) from midnight 21^st October to 6.00 a.m. two days later, the 23^rd. He lost 10 day’s pay.’ 

(It is worth noting that in all other armies, being AWOL could result in a court martial and potential execution by firing squad: the AIF was the only force in WW1 that did NOT have capital punishment for offences committed by their troops) 

And so, after a short period in the UK, Harold was ‘taken on strength’ to face the front lines and proceeded to France on 23^rd November 1916 to endure the coldest winter on record in the region known as the ‘Western Front’. After only 6 short months in the field, Pte. Harold Mitchell from Woodside was Killed in Action on Monday 21^st May 1917 and according to the family’s account, he was shot with the bullet going through his Bible and lodging in his heart. He was just 22 years of age. Private Harold Mitchell is buried in the Strand Military Cemetery in Belgium and on Monday 10^th December 2001, his story was shared with the R2001 tour group.

The year following the Remembrance 2001 tour, Mount Barker High School named parts of the campus after four of their old scholars who died in the Great War: Mitchell sub-school was named after this young man from Woodside, and it is to be hoped that 20 years on in 2022, we will once more return to his grave in Belgium to remember his ultimate sacrifice.

(Harold was second cousin to Margaret Schwab (nee Mitchell), mother of Helen Fechner and Lois Zerk – see ‘Journey of Remembrance’ page 111)

Pte. Harold Mitchell was first commemorated on Monday 10 December 2001 at the Strand Military Cemetery, Hainaut, BELGIUM.