The Woodside boys will be remembered: Brothers in Arms (3)

 

The Eglinton Brothers in Arms: Laurence (2106)

The third and final of the Eglinton brothers to be featured in the lead up to Anzac Day 2022, is Laurence, service number 2106. Laurence was the youngest of the three, aged just 21 years when he enlisted on 6 April 1916 following in the footsteps of his older siblings. He was a labourer, single, had served as a cadet in the citizen forces prior to joining the A.I.F. He had grey eyes and brown hair and identified himself as an Anglican.

His mother Elizabeth already had sons on active duty and to see her youngest go to war must have been heartbreaking as it was for all those parents who saw their beloved children depart. Like Thomas, Laurence was part of the 50^th Battalion and departed from Adelaide on- board the ‘Seeang Bee’ on 13 July 1916. He landed at the UK port of Devonport on 9 September 1916 to transfer to France 2 months later at the start of November.

From the French base at Etaples, Laurence marched to the 5^th Australian Division Base Depot on 18 November. He did not see any action until the following year when his unit was on the front lines on February 14^th, 1917. His time in the field was tragically brief as Laurence was recorded as being killed in action just under 2 months later on 2 April. The last to enlist, the youngest brother was the first to die and Elizabeth would have to endure this loss and grief twice more over the next two years. 

The service records of the two brothers Thomas and Laurence, show that they were involved at Noreuil at the same time and in the same battalion: Thomas being wounded on the same day his younger brother Laurence was killed …April 2^nd, 1917. One wonders if  Thomas knew of the death of his younger brother Laurence at that time or to learn later when he was recovering from his wounds.

Laurence Eglinton is buried in the Australian cemetery at Noreuil in France. The Connecting Spirits tour group will visit his grave in September later this year.

Rest in Peace young man.

Photo credit: taken from 'Hurcombe's Hungry Half Hundred', FREEMAN, Roger. page 105.

The Woodside boys will be remembered: Brothers in Arms (2)

The Eglinton brothers in Arms: Thomas William (1672) 

The second of the Eglinton brothers to be featured in the lead up to 2022 Anzac Day is Thomas William, service number 1672. Thomas was born in Forest Range and his mother Elizabeth was originally listed as his next of kin, but this was changed on his service record to his wife Florence. Thomas was a gardener and enlisted on 29 February 1916.  He was 30 years of age, 5 and a half feet tall, had blue eyes and dark hair. His nominated religion was Church of England.

 After only 6 weeks of training, he departed from Adelaide on the A60 ‘Aeneas’ on the 11^th of April 1916 and headed for Egypt with the newly formed 50^th Battalion. On arrival to the port of Suez on 14 May, he was admitted to hospital with measles. Unfortunately, Thomas was plagued with illness and hospitalisations for the whole period of his time in Europe with a range of medical conditions including influenza, boils, jaundice and gunshot wounds.

He finally departed from Egypt headed for the western front via England on 18 November 1916. His time on the front lines in France was brief as not long after joining his unit he was again hospitalised with influenza and in December returned to England via Boulogne where he was treated in a number of hospitals on the Salisbury Plains. Over the period of late 1916/17, the troops endured the worst winter on record and the suffering endured in the trenches was compounded by the horrific cold.  During this period, Thomas spent 3 months in the UK until he returned to France once more to re-join his unit on 20 March 1917.

At the start of 1917, the 50^th battalion was engaged in ongoing activity on the Somme with major battles in Noreuil during March and April. Thomas was on the front lines for less than a month during these battles and on 2 April was wounded with a gunshot would to the leg.  Once more he returned to England on 7 April from Boulogne and spent 5 months recuperating.

At the end of September, he was to return to the field in time for the 3^rd battle of Ypres including the notorious Battle of Passchendaele. On 6 October Thomas William Eglinton re-joined his unit to survive for 7 months. He was killed in action on 9^th May 1918 in the Villers Bretonneux region. The 50^th battalion were part of the allied forces that recaptured this French village on Anzac Day 1918 and to this day the community of Villers Bretonneux have never forgotten the Australians. The village school remembers the Australian troops with a sign in their schoolyard stating… ‘Never Forget Australia’.  Thomas is buried in the Adelaide Cemetery on the edge of the village, the town where the Dawn Service is held on Anzac Day at the National Australian Memorial to the 11,000 missing Australians on the Somme.

This year’s Connecting Spirits Community tour group will visit his grave and share his story and that of his brothers at the ‘Brothers in Arms’ memorial next to Polygon Wood in Flanders. Rest in Peace dear Thomas .

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS BY MAL JURGS:

'After the battles of 1916 in the Somme, the German Army withdrew to the Hindenburg Line in March and April of 1917, followed closely by the British Army. The Germans used fortified villages as defensive positions to hold off the Allies, including Noreuil. It was here on the 2nd April that the 50th Battalion engaged in battle during which Pte. Thomas William Eglinton was wounded.' 

 (Mal Jurgs, Principal of Coomandook Area School, has co-managed 'Connecting Spirits' since its inception in 2006. When our groups tour, Mal is our chief guide on the battlefields working in collaboration with Rod Bedford. His ongoing leadership and contributions to CS, are the foundation of all we do. Thanks Mal. )

1. Thomas William  EGLINTON (1672)

Photo sourced from : 'Hurcombe's Hungry Half Hundred', FREEMAN, R.( 1991) pge. 157.

2. Adelaide Cemetery, Villers Bretonneux: burial place of Thomas

(Photo credit: Julie Reece)

3. Ecole Victoria, the local Villers Bretonneux school 

(Photo credit: Julie Reece) 

4. The fields of the Somme looking over the Villers Bretonneux cemetery from the Australian National Memorial to the 11,000 missing Australians  lost with no known grave

Photo credit: Julie Reece. 

 

 

The Woodside boys will be remembered: Brothers in Arms (1)

 

The Eglinton brothers: Brothers in Arms (1)

 

In the previous blog the story of the Zonnebeke five was shared along with the extraordinary efforts by local Belgian inn proprietor, Johan Vandewalle, in building the ‘Brothers in Arms’ memorial in honour of John Hunter and his brother Jim. Following the discovery and recovery of the remains of the five WW1 Australian soldiers in 2006, Johan worked tirelessly to build this magnificent memorial to mark the loss of a brother and his burial by his sibling during the war only to be found over 90 years later. The life-size bronze casting of John and Jim Hunter arrived in Belgium from Australia last month.

 The transportation of this magnificent piece was celebrated in Ypres with re-enactors honouring the memorial piece as the motorcade passed through the Menin Gate en-route to Polygon Wood to  its final destination on the site adjacent to Johan’s inn, the De Dreve Inn aka ‘Anzac’s Rest’. 

On September 25^th the Brothers in Arms memorial will be officially dedicated and will no doubt become a highly desired location for many stories of lost brothers to be shared. It is to be hoped that one week later the 2022 Connecting Spirits Community Tour group will visit this significant site as part of our commemorative programme. One set of brothers from Woodside will be remembered there and, in the lead up to Anzac Day I will be sharing their stories.

The Eglinton brothers are remembered on the Woodside Honour Roll and the three who died in WW1, will each have their stories recounted in the weeks up to April 25th. Four separate blog posts will be published:

1.      Clarence Roy EGLINTON

2.      Thomas William EGLINTON

3.      Laurence EGLINTON

4.      A final post from the relative of the Eglinton brothers, Michael Lucas, will give an overview from the family’s perspective.

(The individual blogs on the three Eglinton bothers, are based on the public service records at the National Archives of Australia. www.naa.gov.au )

 

CLARENCE ROY EGLINTON (3104)

Clarence Roy, born at Terowie, was the first of the Eglinton brothers to enlist, joining up on 6 August 1915 in the midst of the Gallipoli campaign. He was 5 feet and 7 inches in height, with hazel eyes and dark hair. His nominated religion was Church of England.

 Just under 24 years of age, Clarence was part of the 7th reinforcements of the famous South Australian 27^th Battalion. His mother Mrs Elizabeth Eglinton of Forest Range was listed as his next of kin.

At the conclusion of several months training in Adelaide, Clarence left for the war on the HMAT ‘Medic’ on 12 January 1916 heading for the training camps in Egypt. On 21 March 1916 Clarence left for the western front aboard the HT ‘Oriana’ departing from the port of Alexandria. Just one week later on the 27^th of March he disembarked at the French port of Marseilles along with the many thousands of other Australian and Commonwealth troops headed for the war on the western front. Nothing the AIF had experienced in the 9 months in Turkey could ever prepare them for what they faced in the mud and trenches of the Somme and the Ypres Salient.

His service record lists him moving towards the front lines in France on July 6 and it is highly likely that in the following months, he was engaged with the 27^th at Pozieres on the Somme. The AIF during the Battle of the Somme at Pozieres suffered horrendous casualties in the 7 weeks they were fighting incurring 23,000 casualties including over 8,000 deaths in that short space of time.

 Clarence’s service record doesn’t specify his exact location during this time and is referred to again on the 7^th of November when he was promoted to Lance Corporal.

In the start of the new year Clarence Eglinton suffered a number of serious illnesses requiring ongoing hospitalisation for extended periods and was evacuated to a number of English hospitals during the first part of 1917. He was transferred from the large hospital centre at Rouen and moved to Southwark, Dartford, Weymouth, Bulford, Hurdcott and finally Perham Downs in the UK before finally returning to the front lines once more after 6 months of ongoing medical issues. Clarence was sent back to the Western Front landing in Havre on 6^th of July 1917. At the end of July, he re-joined his unit once more only to be killed in action two months later on the 20^th of September during the 3^rd Battle of Ypres. He was never found and is remembered on the Menin Gate in Ypres, the memorial to the missing 55,000 British and Commonwealth troops who died in the Ypres Salient but were ’ Known Only Unto God’.

When the 2022 Connecting Spirits Community Tour group attend the Last Post ceremony in Ypres this year, we will ensure the Clarence Roy Eglinton will be commemorated at that famous memorial so that his family will know that he has not been forgotten. 

Rest in peace Clarence.

Clarence Roy Eglinton (3104) is listed on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres, Belgium

(Photo credit: Julie Reece) 

 

March 21, 2021 the bronze statue cast in a foundry in Australia finally made its way to Ypres in Belgium to complete the 'Brothers in Arms' memorial the project close to the heart of the person responsible : Johan Vandewalle. 

(Photo credit : Gunther Verhaverbeke) 

The 'bronze brothers' make their way through the streets of Ypres and onto their final resting place next to Polygon Wood. Johan's mission is finally complete and here at this magnificent memorial the Eglinton brothers will be remembered together. 

(Photo credits: Gregory Verfaillie) 

 Many thanks to our friends in Belgium Gunther and Gregory who selflessly allow their beautiful photos to be shared. 

The men and boys of Woodside will be remembered: Anzac Day 2022

 

We will remember the Woodside boys

 

In the lead up to Anzac Day Julie Reece Tours will be focusing on those boys from Woodside that died in WW1 and were brothers. In previous blog posts the East and Clasohm brothers’ stories were shared. The Eglinton family lost three brothers, Clarence Roy, Thomas William and Laurence. Thomas is buried in Villers Bretonneux at Adelaide Cemetery, Laurence at Noreuil Australian Cemetery in France and Clarence Roy was never found and is remembered on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres, Belgium. Each of their wartime stories will be featured in blog posts to follow over the next few weeks.

When the Connecting Spirits Community Tour resumes travel, hopefully this September, these Woodside bothers will all be remembered at the new ‘Brothers in Arms’ Memorial near Polygon Wood in Belgium. This fabulous memorial will be inaugurated on Sunday September 25, the week prior to our group due to visit the region. This will be a fitting location to commemorate the groups of brothers from my town.

 The origin of this new memorial goes back to the discovery of five sets of soldiers’ remains back in 2006 and from that point on the tenacious efforts of friend Johan Vandewalle in recognising the young Australians, resulted in this new memorial, 16 years later. The full story of Johan’s project is told on the website referred to below. The following extract from the website goes right back to where the story of the Hunter brothers John and Jim, began. Over the years our tour groups have witnessed the gradual development of the Brothers in Arms memorial and it will be a very special experience to finally visit and see the extraordinary life size bronze sculpture dedicated to the Hunter brothers. I have no doubt that it will become a location for many to visit when remembering the many families who lost more than one son. Thank you, Johan, and all involved for tireless efforts and passion to make this finally happen.

The next blog post will feature the Eglinton brothers who are listed on the Woodside Honour Board and whose story will be shared at the Brothers in Arms memorial in Belgium. 

________________________________________________________________

 

‘Finding the Zonnebeke five

https://www.brothersinarmsmemorial.info/’

 

This story is that typical “message in a bottle” story. Although it is all but typical. Never before did a message contain that great a story.

During road works to lay a new gas pipeline in the hamlet of Westhoek in 2006, Tom Heyman, operating the machine, suddenly stopped digging and called Johan Vandewalle, an amateur archaeologist. Tom was convinced that he had found human remains just beside the road, and immediately linked them to the battlefield that Westhoek once was. Johan rushed over and could only confirm that these remains had to be those of a World War I soldier. He contacted the police and the Mayor of Zonnebeke and got green light from Dieter Demey and Archeo 7 to gather a team and start excavating as soon as possible.

 

It would be an amazing experience for all of them. After clearing the first grave, they noticed another grave just next to the first one. And then another, and another, and another. In total 5 Australian soldiers were exhumed. The last Australian body, however, was to make an everlasting impression on all who were involved. This fifth body was that of Australian private John Hunter. In all, three of the five soldiers would be identified by DNA research.

​

The body of John Hunter was not thrown in the grave like the other four bodies. Clearly this man had not been buried like the others, someone had taken great care in laying John Hunter to rest. Research led to the family in Australia, who confirmed that the story in the family was that John – or Jack as he was known in the family – had been buried by his younger brother Jim.

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When Johan uncovered John’s head, which was wrapped in his ground sheet, it was as if lightning struck. Johan looked straight in John eyes and with the sunlight in the right angle, Johan could clearly see the colour of John’s eyes. It was an instant moment, but it lasted long enough to be photographed. At the time only Johan experienced this awesome moment, but the photographs will certainly move generations to come.

The 2019 Connecting Spirits Tour group in front of the partially built memorial

Tour member from the 2017 tour group Kira, holds the bronze model of the memorial

Kira and Johan Vandewalle at the memorial site, 2017 .