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.

 

'Don't forget me Cobber': the story of the lost of Fromelles

Fromelles 2008-2010

July 19-20 , 1916 marked the day the AIF experienced the reality of war on the Western Front during the Great War for the first time. In a tiny village in the northern France, Australian and British troops took part in a frontal attack on the German Army that created a story that was unresolved until 2008, 92 years after the actual failed attack. These two days in 1916 were little known after the war despite the casualties inflicted on the Australian forces being the worst of any single military campaign in the history of the AIF. Many men were never found though it was a commonly held belief by locals in the village and amongst a number of historians, that a large pit of 250 soldiers lay close to the Pheasant Wood. 

In 2008 after a  years of speculation and investigations, the 250 men's remains were finally located in the mud of Fromelles. For the following two years every soldiers' remains and pieces of physical evidence were removed from their original burial place. With meticulous attention to detail, the identification and plans for proper reburials, were initiated. The construction of the new Pheasant Wood cemetery and 249 reburials were undertaken over January in 2010 with the Australian Federation Guard present for all reinterments. For the initial group of soldiers positively identified, new headstones with their identities were placed at each individual grave. One unknown soldier, the 250th, was buried on July 19, 2010 in the presence of Prince Charles and other officials. Australian relatives of the Fromelles boys were also in attendance. In the lead up to July 19-20, I will be posting a number of blogs related to the involvement of Connecting Spirits over the years in this extraordinary  story. 

December 2008 : the Fromelles burial pit prior to excavation. The 2008 Connecting Spirits group were privileged to visit this poignant location.

Local media coverage of the Fromelles story.

January 2010 : the  Fromelles reinterments take place.

 

Is that a light I can see at the end of the tunnel?

 

March 2020 it was official: the world was facing a global pandemic and lives, businesses, dreams, and expectations were turned on their heads in a heartbeat. Covid 19/lockdowns/border closures/ quarantine hotels and many other new terms bits of language became part of everyday conversation. The plans people had in place for all the parts of their lives were in disarray and no industry was more affected than that of tourism and hospitality. My small business Julie Reece Tours was in the midst of planning and payments for the 2020 Connecting Spirits Community Tour originally due to depart September…then April 2021…then November 2021 until we finally stopped placing futile dates on our plans.  Businesses folded in the travel industry and ‘Jobkeeper’ kept the rest on survival mode. Many fine operators with years and years of experience in the industry found work in new areas of the floundering economy with the faint hope of one day returning to the field they loved and were good at.

However now in March 2021 with the Covid vaccine rolling out across the globe and economic markers showing gradual signs of improvement, I think I can see that light beaming at the end of the tunnel that has plagued us for a year. Most of the clients who paid deposits for the CS tour, are still keen and have not cashed in their Emirates flights. All the hotels I booked have kept my deposits in the system and new dates and yet another draft itinerary has been prepared. This time I feel positive and keen to get back to my laptop, plotting and planning another Connecting Spirits Community tour with a reasonably sound chance of it happening!

So, we start again…April 2022…the CS group will depart for the (vaccinated) U.K, France, and Belgium to continue the commemorative journey that is at the heart of the CS project. Five possibly six days in the UK (3 nights in the Salisbury Plains, 2 in Canterbury and 1 in London) five days on the Somme based in Amiens and finally a full week in our beloved Ypres, Belgium including an Anzac Day service at Buttes New British Cemetery in Polygon Woods. If the local public Dawn Service is not running next year, then our group will have our own intimate event with some of our treasured Belgian friends in attendance.

Unlike previous tours, requests for payments will NOT be made until all the requirements for safe overseas travel are in place and the Federal Government has lifted the ban on international departures for tourism. However, watch this space and the Facebook page for updates as I will bring these as and when they occur. It is to be hoped that this time next year the backpacks will be waiting and new travel accessories ready to use.  I cannot wait and this time we have an excellent chance of DEPARTURE!!! Stay safe and stay positive my friends…we will return!!

Some of our 2019 memories from the Connecting Spirits Community Tour

(Photo credit Julie Reece) 

The development of ‘Connecting Spirits’ over the years and its portrayal in the public sphere.

 

(Photo credit Julie Reece, 2017 Connecting Spirits Community Tour: Tamika Williams, Polygon Wood)

 

It is often stated that when you publish anything on the internet that it is there for eternity so when you go public, get it right. Over the years the ‘Connecting Spirits’ story has been shared on numerous platforms, some of our own making, others from interested others in the world of academia, tourism and other fields. Responses have ranged from one- line comments on blog or Facebook posts to full length articles in respected journals and public media outlets. Some have come to light recently along with a request from NSW researcher Paul Kiem who is writing a piece on the ‘History Travel industry’ where the co-leader of CS, Mal Jurgs and I have been asked for comment. We look forward to reading Paul Kiem’s final copy of his analysis. The project was also referred to in the excellent text The Lost Boys by Paul Byrnes, (2019) in the chapter ‘Rufus and Cyril Rigney’ page 336. This account was carefully written with consultation by the author at draft stage to determine accuracy.

So, when public pieces appear, sometimes from academics with impressive credentials that display inaccuracies and assumptions that are plainly wrong, then it’s time to set a few records straight. Before going into specifics, I would like to put these into context: at no time have Mal Jurgs (Co-Project Manager of Connecting Spirits) and I ever purported to be expert historians, nor have we set our responses and approaches in solid stone. We too have grown over the years with the ways we approach commemoration and the sharing of that via the CS website and social media. Finally, on a number of occasions where inaccuracies have been published by others, these could have easily been avoided by a quick perusal of the Connecting Spirits website for clarification or even an email to our contacts listed on the site. In relation to the research done on each of the hundreds of soldiers commemorated since 2006, it is plainly stated on our website:

The information contained on each page has been obtained from the public domain, through the National Archives of Australia, the Australian War Memorial or through the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Other information has been obtained through the families of the soldier in question. We publish this information in good faith but realise that the public record is not always accurate or complete. The same can be said of individual family oral histories. While we make every attempt to provide accurate information, if there is anything on these pages that you know to be untrue, or that may cause offence, please contact us as a matter of urgency.

The key issues that need clarifying are:

-The Connecting Spirits project was a school -based initiative from 2006 to 2015 under the banner of DECD in South Australia. During those years it was NOT a commercial operation with profit as a focus. During the period where CS was a DECD project, ALL fund-raising money was allocated to the students on tour. All participants were otherwise self funded.

·  -Over the years the DVA never contributed funds for travel though some small grants for the website and book publishing were granted.

·   -Funds for the publishing of the CS book and CD’s came from fund raising efforts by the committee and ongoing sales. Any profits from sales of the book or CD went back into the funds to support the students.

·    -The commemorative cards left on graves and memorials: in the early days of the project, we did place a photo card of the group with email contacts not for the purpose of commercial gain but rather to make connection with any relatives or community members who may have been interested or linked to the soldier being commemorated. To suggest otherwise is inaccurate. In fact, after being contacted by a local resident from Villers Bretonneux some years ago criticising us placing the group cards, we decided not to continue with that practice. We also removed from our commemorative program large gatherings with media and other locals in France and Belgium reverting to keeping the ceremonies private and only for the CS group.

·        -Since 2017 Connecting Spirits changed status to a public project rather than one exclusively designed for schools. That change also saw the running of the finances moving to my small business ‘Julie Reece Tours’ where I operate as a Sole Trader. I do NOT employ any individuals and all the work completed by Mal Jurgs is done on a volunteer basis using his personal Long Service Leave when we are on tour.

·        -The CS website still operates with Mal overseeing this. As with all other input into the running of CS, Mal does this in addition to his position as a Principal in a DECD school (Coomandook Area School). No DECD resources are used for any part of the project.

· -Commentary on the book Connecting Spirits: A Journey of Reconciliation and Commemoration by Meningie Area School and Birdwood High School. Compiled by Julie Reece & Chloe Oborn (2007): when criticising the text and its weaknesses, it needs to be understood that the writers whose contributions featured in chapter1, were members of the tour group, students and adults alike.

·   -The students from both schools were NOT part of one single history class- many had no background on the history of the Great War. Mal and I ran workshops prior to touring in addition to printed material on the war to give the students an historical context. (The year levels of the students ranged from years 9 -12)

·    -While on tour we had the services of several battlefield experts who told the story of the war from their perspectives. When we compiled the book, the students and adults were asked to submit their tour diaries for inclusion in the text. Some of the group requested that their diaries not be used, for personal reasons and others due to a lack of confidence about their writing being published. Hence some of the group, were NOT represented in the book, at their request.

·  -The students were incredibly varied in terms of their literacy skills and backgrounds and for some it was the first time they had ventured into such public exposure of their thoughts and ideas. These factors need to be taken into account when reading this book: it was the first time these young people had ever written for a public audience and consequently expression of their experiences is often one dimensional and at times cliched. However, the intent of the book was never to publish a definitive text on WW1, it was a personal record for those who were touched by the project. Keep in mind that most of the students on this tour had never left Australia and their three weeks overseas was also a broader educational experience beyond the former battlefields of the Somme and Ypres.

·      -The book was co-authored by Chloe Oborn who at the time of publishing was studying Year 12. Her contributions to the book formed the basis of her independent Community Studies subject: this was assessed by the SACE board for her university entrance score. Chloe was not the 2006 CS project manager though her work as a Youth Leader along with Florence Bourke was of great significance in assisting both Mal Jurgs and myself in the running of CS. Joint decisions and collaboration with the Youth Leaders was always part of our philosophy of CS, but the responsibility of running the project and the tour, was firmly in our hands as project managers.

In conclusion, both Mal and I are happy to take on board suggestions, criticisms and public commentary on the Connecting Spirits project but add that fact checking is advisable prior to making assumptions and drawing conclusions about our intentions or assumed agendas in past or future tours. We welcome the conversation and where appropriate will adjust or formulate our own thinking and approaches after well informed reflections.

 

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