chapters
HOME
Chapter I
The First A.I.F.
Chapter II
Citations & Awards
Chapter III
Gallipoli Landing
Chapter IV
Life in the Trenches
Chapter V
Pozieres
Chapter VI
Bullecourt - Bert’s death
Chapter VII
Letters Home
Chapter VIII
Letters Home part 2
Chapter IX
Stories & War Weddings
Chapter X
Extracts from C.E.W. Bean
Chapter XI
Extracts from H.R. Williams
Chapter XII
"Red & White Diamond"
Chapter XIII
Capt. V.E. Smythe notes
Chapter XIV
Reflections
Chapter XV
W.W.I. photograghs
Chapter XVI
Royal Australian Navy
Chapter XVII
2nd A.I.F
Chapter XVIII
Ancestors who served our country
Chapter XIX
Letters, cards, papers
Chapter XX
Conclusion - Post War
Chapter XXI
The Next Generations
credit
These pages were written by Margaret Johnston with help from her family and friends.
in their honour
In Their Honour is a searchable database of Australian soldiers killed in action in WWI and WWII and the location of their graves.
Chapter 15: WWI photograghs
I would be pleased to add any additional A.I.F. photographs of any one in any of the Battalions covered in these pages.
Group on “Euripides” on way to Egypt - November 1915
Lieut. E.V. Smythe 5th from Left - 3rd row from the Front.
Group - 24th Battalion Officers on Arrival in France 1916 after Gallipoli and Egypt.
Lieut. E. V. Smythe 2nd From Left in Front Row
Vern and Bert Smythe - 2nd and 3rd from left in back row. Possibly taken in Australia
Vern & Bert Smythe (front row) Maurice and Rupert Ferguson
and Bill Wise (back row) in Egypt
Bert Smythe rear right with H. G. McClintoch (4th Bn) and A. Ryan (2nd Battalion)
taken before November 1916 in England.
Lt. P. E. Smythe at Strasburg Cathedral – Post War.
Lt. A. J. Kerr K.I.A. Pozieres 27-7-16
Inside the above Remembrance Card.
Lieut. H. W. Clough M.M.
Lieut. Clifford A. A. Ellis M.M.
Lieut. Frank Sellick- Back row right.
Unknown soldier.
Group – Who. When, Where – Lieut. Perce Smythe’s Card -
Possibly Officer Cadets in Cambridge c. March 1918.
Unknown Group – Hospital or Convalescent – Lieut. Perce Smythe’s Card.
Soldier near flower vase with cap may be Perce
24th Battalion Officer and unknown soldiers- undated
Unknown group 24th Battalion Soldiers - Undated
Viv’s wife Clytie, received cards from a W. (William) Quigley (details on a card) No. 2012A, 4th Btn. Machine Gun Section. I believe I was able to identify him as William Quigley from AWM Records. His mother’s address on enlistment was at Gladesville and that is where the boys’ family home was at the start of the war and the possible connection. I believe Clytie’s family also lived in that area.
‘Toby’ the author of the three cards below was harder to identify but I believe that now I have most of his details. On the first card, at the top (written upside down) is the name Trooper Biggs A.F. A search at the National Archives showed an Albert Frederick Biggs, who became an Officer Cadet in Sept 1918 and promoted to 2nd Lieut. in Feb 1919. Date of birth was shown as 18 August 1894. I had to leave out the year “1920” at the National Archives site search and use ‘Any’ to find his service Documents.
Trooper Albert Frederick Biggs No. 475 2nd Aust. Light Horse embarked 8 July 1916 and the first card from Egypt about his arrival there was dated August 30, 1916. His father was Albert Ernest Biggs of Teven Creek, NSW. An Albert Frederick Biggs was born in Lismore in 1894 with parents Albert and Eliza on the BDM Records of NSW. The home address before embarkation was Ballina. Where the nickname??? Toby originated and his connection to the family is a mystery. He mentions on the second card about receiving mail from a Doris and Clytie had a sister of that name.
