Reginald Harrington's Journey of Remembrance: Blog Post 5

 Onto the battlefields...

The last three days the group have been immersed in the narrative of the Somme battles and commemorations of our relatives and those of our broader local networks, have been the centre of our journey. The battles at Villers Bretonneux, Hamel, and across the valley to Albert, Thiepval, Mouquet Farm, Pozieres and Dernacourt were explained in detail by our battlefields expert, Rod Bedford. We visited many key sites including the chateau at Bertangles where Monash was knighted in the field. The evidence of the war still leaves its traces with the landscape revealing many of the old trench lines, craters and occasional shell casing or other bits of the 'iron harvest'. One of the most extraordinary sites were the ancient caves at Nours where thousands of examples of graffiti scratched into the rock by the WW1 soldiers, can be viewed underground.  (a separate post will follow about this site).

Over a century ago this landscape was a very different place, one that Reginald Harrington describes in some detail in his letters to his wife Edith as he recalls his first experiences on the Somme :

'4th June 1917:

We travelled by train in what we call at home 'box trucks'. We lived in them for 3 days and used to get off and light fires alongside the track and boil our dixies. The line was crowded with trains so far as I could see...there were trains...trains...miles of them. Gradually we reached Albert  our base and an air fight was going on. The air just seemed alive with shells bursting around some planes, the Huns had only an hour or so before the station and there was mess everywhere.

We marched out to our billets at Dernancourt and ...then we moved up further to the rear in motor buses. I have never seen so many and at night you could see the lights twinkling for miles. 

The roads were fearful , just a deep slush up and over your ankles. All this part of the country was just riddled with shell holes and only old trenches and broken wire, some where the lines have been.

Then comes Bullecourt, that graveyard of Australian soldiers...Bullecourt will be a painful name in thousands of Australian homes . It was by far the worst bit of hill they have come to yet.'

Albert - the famous golden Madonna the troops nicknamed Fanny Durak after the Australian Olympic diver.

Shell casings  are commonplace on the Somme - known as  the 'Iron Harvest'

Rod Bedford explaining the nature of trench warfare at Beaumont Hamel, a Canadian site.

The Digger memorial at Bullecourt

Commemorating Ngarrindjeri soldier Arthur Walker at Mouquet Farm. 

(All photos taken by Julie Reece, September 2022)

Reginald Harrington's Journey of Remembrance: Blog post 4

 Off to foreign lands....

Prior to Reg's time on the front lines, like so many of the first AIF, their experiences mirrored those of a tourist travelling to foreign places and lands, new and fascinating. Lieutenant Harrington's letters refer many times to the interesting and extraordinary sights he witnessed. En-route to Egypt he wrote about his very first exposure to people and places across the seas:

'Sunday 15th November 1914: 

Ceylon in sight in going on deck this morning and all hands are fairly excited the first land since leaving dear old Australia a fortnight ago. All morning we steamed along the coast, not near enough to recognize the vegetation, and we passed numerous native fishing  boats or catamarans as they are called and funny things they are. Each boat being manned by 3 or 5 Ceylonese, who wear a fig leaf  and a turban. Came to anchor in Roadstead off Colombo at 10 o'clock a.m. and near enough to get a grand view of trees and a portion of the city. 

The scenery through the telescope is really fine and I should love to land and have a look around. Everybody who is not on duty is spending their time hanging over the side or gazing through field glasses at the town and of the latter I have done a good deal. So have the officers. One poor beggar thought he would not live to see it and was buried off the Africa coast this morning.

Monday 16th November 1914: 

Colombo at night as seen from the transports looks lovely and we would all dearly like to get on shore and look around. It must be great on shore and would be well worth a trip . This morning the thing most noticed by me  was the presence of numerous butterflies, all sorts shapes and sizes and of beautiful colors, they were really lovely and one could easily fancy what they would be like on shore.  Red ones with black or fawn wings, pure white, yellow, black and red ones, spotted and salmony colored ones, it is past to state  the blend of colors  but one could watch them a long time without getting tired.'

And as our 2022 group begin their WW1 journey across the former European battlefields, we too play the role of tourists as we soak up the regional differences of the places we visit. Obviously our world is a globalized one, with many recognizable features like those in  our own homeland. However as we begin our adventure,  we immerse ourselves in those things that are different or unusual, just like Reg did 108 years ago. 

Exploring beautiful Amiens on our first day on the Somme. 

(Photo credit: Julie Reece, Sunday 25 September 2022)

The back lanes behind the Amiens Cathedral are recounted by  Sebastian Faulks in his iconic WW1 novel ' Birdsong'. 

(Photo credit: Julie Reece 25th September , 2022)

'The Boulevard Du Cange was a broad, quiet street that marked the eastern flank of the city of Amiens...The Azaires' house showed a strong formal front towards the road from behind iron railings.' (page 3) 

Reginald Harrington's Journey of Remembrance: Blog Post 3

 LEAVING AUSTRALIAN SHORES : 1 November, 1914 and  23 September 2022

As the 2022 Connecting Spirits Community Tour finally depart for Europe, we will look back at the day Lieutenant Reginald Harrington DCM, also finally left Australian waters. His ship was in the very first convoy of troops from Australia that left from Albany in Western Australia on the long journey to the western front via Ceylon, Egypt, Turkey and finally to Marseilles. He writes of the sadness about leaving his young wife Edith and baby Gwen and looks forward to the day of his return. Reg and his brother Keith sailed from Port Melbourne on 18^th October, but it wasn’t until Sunday November 1^st that his contingent finally left Australian waters. Conditions on board were not great and many horses and some men died on the long voyage across to the middle east. He wrote:

‘I slept on the deck last night but tonight am in my hammock, these are hung in troop deck, above the mess tables, and in my opinion far too close, especially as first above ones are the horse stalls, the smell from which are far from pleasant. I would not be surprised if we are subjected to an epidemic of some sort before the voyage is over.

Sunday 1^st November 1914

As expected, we sailed early this morning from Albany, got under way about half past 6 o’clock and we have been steaming three quarters speed since: the sight of all the transports is really wonderful. We do not know where we are sailing but are now 7 o’clock p.m. nearing the ‘Luewin’ and so, I suppose have seen the last of dear old Australia for some little time to come. The sea is very calm, and the prospects are for fine weather. Our squadron had to do stables today, and early this morning we put overboard the fourth horse, destroyed by the vet on account of becoming mad! The second from the same cause since leaving Melbourne. It is a mark against our administration I think that arrangements were not made to land the horses whilst we were laying in Albany, as we’re there over a week.

Reginald Harrington's Journey of Remembrance: (Blog Post 2)

‘DEPARTURES’ (Blog post 2)

23 September 2022 has been a long time coming! After planning this tour in mid to late 2019 and making bookings, arrangements and then facing Covid where all the plans were put on hold, our tiny group is finally departing for Europe in two week’s time. Despite undertaking nearly 20 commemorative tours since 2001, this one feels like the first. The adrenaline kicks in with the anticipation and excitement of finally leaving but within the context of some unknowns that international travel post Covid presents. So, when we look back to the journeys of over 330,000 Australian military personnel in the Great War, reading letters and diaries from departing soldiers, in many cases the sense of adventure and excitement seeps through their writing. As we follow the letters of Lieutenant Reginald Harrington DCM, they  give an extraordinary insight to one man’s wartime journey as he wrote to his wife Edith over the 4 plus years he was overseas. This is his story:

16 November 1914 (Colombo, CEYLON) 

From what I can gather it is intended to remove the embargo on letters, sealed after leaving this post, so now I am going to make an attempt to write a long letter and tell you my own darling wife all the little incidents that have happened on our voyage so far. It is now a month since we steamed away from Melbourne, and it will be nearly another month before we reach England. From the day we knew we were to leave I have kept a little diary and I will write this letter as a copy of it as you may see, darling girlie, that every night when writing it up I have had you in my mind and have longed to post you a decent letter, but as the instructions given us were definite, I could not let you know a single thing as regards our movements. I have not had a letter from you, darling since the day before we sailed, so it is now over a month since I last heard from you and I am actually awfully anxious to know that my darlings are well. 

(Further on in the letter, Reg describes his feelings at the point of departure in the previous month from the docks at Melbourne bound for the war.) 

18 October 1914 (Melbourne)

Reveille sounded at 11.30 pm on the 17th …coffee at 12.30 am. Cleaned up the horse lines, and tidied the tents, withdrew lead ropes and heel pegs, and put our kits on a motor lorry, saddled up our horses and in full marching order…left Broadmeadows camp at 3 o’clock on Monday morning. We rode through Melbourne down to Port Melbourne and reached the pier at 6 o’clock. On reaching the pier we took off the saddle and bridle and put on the ship halter with which we were provided and led our horses on board our transport. The horses went on splendidly. And gave no trouble at all : fancy my darling wifey, the whole of our squadron had its horses, over 150 in all, on board in 40 minutes. Nobody was allowed up the front but on the deck we could hear them cheering as we got away from the pier. It is strange the emotions one feels at times like this and  felt glad indeed my darling girl  that you were far away.  and so spared the pain of a parting  before going on board and then again I felt I would give dearly to be able to say one last fond goodbye before leaving our coast, we came to anchor in bay that that might dear, and as I managed to get some postcards of the ship, I sent you one and also one to dear little Gwen.  

'The 2nd LH Regiment leaves Brisbane's Pinkenba Wharf. The scene was the same at other ports of embarkation in Australia and New Zealand.'

Photo and text from 'The Anzacs', Pedersen. P ( 2007) page 21.