Difference between revisions of "43rd Battalion"
From Our Contribution
(→Battalion Personnel) |
|||
| Line 22: | Line 22: | ||
===Battalion Personnel=== | ===Battalion Personnel=== | ||
| − | * [[William Percy Matthews]] | + | * [[William Percy Matthews]] 13 Apr 1917 - 28 Aug 1918 |
* [[Charles Henry Murray]] | * [[Charles Henry Murray]] | ||
* [[John Arthur Patterson MM]] | * [[John Arthur Patterson MM]] | ||
| Line 29: | Line 29: | ||
* [[Henry Seddon]] | * [[Henry Seddon]] | ||
* [[John Henry Whitfield]] | * [[John Henry Whitfield]] | ||
| − | |||
==Battle Honours== | ==Battle Honours== | ||
Revision as of 23:58, 28 February 2021
 Shoulder patch | |
 Field Dressing Station Messsines 7 Jun 1917 | |
Contents
Brief History
Raised in Australia, primarily with volunteers from South Australia. Following only rudimentary training in Adelaide it sailed for the battlefields of Europe on HMAT A19 Afric. On arrival in England they moved to the Salisbury Plain for further training before moving to France in late 1916 as part of the 3rd Division.
The battalion participated in several large battles, the first being the Battle of Messines in June 1917. In October 1917 they participated in the Third Battle of Ypres, at both Broodseinde and Passchendaele.
When in early 1918 the Germans attacked, the 43rd Battalion was one of many Australian units sent south to hold the line and to protect Amiens in France. On arrival they initially took defensive action near Morlancourt and later, offensive action during the Battle for Hamel and the subsequent Hundred Days Offensive, particularly the Hindenburg Line fighting and at the Battle of Mount St Quentin.
During their time on the Western Front the battalion suffered the loss of 386 killed and 1,321 wounded casualties.
Battalion Personnel
- William Percy Matthews 13 Apr 1917 - 28 Aug 1918
- Charles Henry Murray
- John Arthur Patterson MM
- George William Piesley
- Thomas Ramsell
- Henry Seddon
- John Henry Whitfield
Battle Honours
- Messines 1917
- Ypres 1917
- Polygon Wood
- Broodseinde
- Poelcappelle
- Passchendaele
- Somme 1918
- Ancre 1918
- Hamel
- Amiens
- Albert 1918
- Mont St Quentin
- Hindenburg Line
- St Quentin Canal
- France and Flanders 1916–18
Individual Honours
- 1 Victoria Cross (Cpl Lawrence Weathers)
- 2 Distinguished Service Orders
- 1 Commander of the Order of the British Empire
- 1 Medal of the Order of the British Empire
- 20 Military Crosses
- 15 Distinguished Conduct Medals
- 74 MM with 4 bars
- 3 Meritorious Service Medals
- 19 Mentioned In Despatches, and
- 6 foreign awards
Notes
Content for the history and honours sections has come from a combination of Wikipedia and the Australian War Memorial websites.