32nd Battalion

32nd Battalion

Brief History

The 32nd Battalion was raised as part of the 8th Brigade at Mitcham, Adelaide, on 9 August 1915. Only two companies were raised from South Australian enlistees, the other two were formed in Western Australia and sailed to Adelaide on SS Indarra and joined the battalion at the end of September at Cheltenham camp. The battalion sailed from Adelaide on 18 November 1915 for Egypt.

The 8th Brigade joined the newly raised 5th Australian Division in Egypt, and proceeded to France, destined for the Western Front, in June 1916. The 32nd Battalion fought its first major battle at Fromelles on 19 July 1916, having only entered the front-line trenches 3 days previously. The attack was a disastrous introduction to battle for the 32nd, and it suffered 718 casualties, almost 75 per cent of the battalion's total strength, but closer to 90 per cent of its actual fighting strength. Although it still spent periods in the front line, the 32nd was unable to play a major offensive role for the rest of the year. In early 1917, the German Army withdrew to the Hindenburg Line allowing the British front to be advanced and the 32nd Battalion participated in the follow-up operations. The battalion missed the heavy fighting to breach the Hindenburg Line during the second battle of Bullecourt as the 8th Brigade was deployed to protect the division's flank. The only large battle in 1917 in which the 32nd Battalion played a major role was Polygon Wood, fought in the Ypres sector in Belgium on 26 September.

Unlike some AIF battalions, the 32nd had a relatively quiet time during the German Spring Offensive of 1918 as the 5th Division was largely kept in reserve. However, when the Allies launched their own offensive with the battle of Amiens on 8 August, the 32nd Battalion participated. It was involved in the follow up operations that continued to press the retreating Germans through August and into September. The 32nd fought its last major action of the war between 29 September and 1 October when the 5th and 3rd Australian Divisions and two American divisions attacked the Hindenburg Line across the top of the 6-kilometre-long St Quentin Canal tunnel, a major obstacle in the German defensive scheme.

The 32nd was resting and retraining out of the line when the war ended on 11 November 1918. On 8 March 1919, after the gradual repatriation of men to Australia, the remnants of the 32nd Battalion were merged with the 30th Battalion. 629 men lost their lives in action or as a result of it. Total wounded figure yet to be discovered.

Battalion Personnel

• † Jim Anderson 24 Feb - 5 Mar 1917 - KIA Trones Wood, Guillemont
• Leith John Newton Angelo 20 Aug 1915 - 1 Mar 1916 - to 16th Battalion
• George Henry Aspinall - 28 Mar - 1 Jun 1917 - Medical discharge - epilepsy
• † George Rowland Benton 6 Mar 12 Oct 1917 - KIA Celtic Wood Zonnebeke
• George Bett 9 Aug 1915 - 15 Mar 1916 - to 4th Division Artillery
• † Frederick James Bishop 10 Mar 1916 - 23 Jun 1918 - KIA
• † Gordon Bishop Aug 1915 - 30 Aug 1918 - Medical
• Macalister Adair Blain 6 Aor 1917 - 3 Sep 1918 - WIA (gassed) Mount St Quentin
• Albert George Bullock Sep 1915 - 1 Jan 1918
• Roslyn Christopher Coulston 30 Jul 1917 - 17 Aug 1917 - to 5th Division Signals Company
• Patrick Francis Fitzgerald 21 Mar 1917 - 25 Aug 1918
• Percy Goodall 16 Aug 1915 - 20 Jun 1916 - WIA Fromelles
• † Bertie Greenfield Aug 1915 - 20 Jul 1916 - KIA Fromelles
• Frank Grundy 15 Aug 1915 - 14 Mar 1916 - to 4th Division Artillery
• Walter Robert Hayes 16 Aug 1915 - 19 Jul 1916 - WIA Fromelles
• William Heath 16 Aug 1915 - 19 Jul 1916 - WIA Fromelles
• Terry de Bohun Helm 16 Aug 1915 - 15 Mar 1916
• Patrick Wilford Kelly 16 Feb - 19 Jul 1916 - WIA Fromelles
• Harold Percival Martin 7 Feb 1918 - 5 May 1919
• William George Martin 25 Mar 19175 Jun 1918
• Alfred Charles Newman 4 Apr 1917 - 19 Mar 1918 - KIA Gapaard near Messines
• Isaac Robert Powell 15 Apr 1917 - ?? May 1919
• Hobart Turner 30 Sep 1916 - 28 Sep 1917 - KIA Polygon Wood
• William Archer Waller 16 Aug 1915 - 14 Jul 1916 - KIA Fleurbaix
• Matthew Walsh 16 Sep 1917 - 17 Apr 1918 - Accidental GSW
• † Frederick Owen Werndly 2 Apr 1917 - 1 Aug 1918

Battle Honours

• Egypt, 1915-16
• Somme, 1916, '18
• Bapaume, 1917
• Bullecourt
• Ypres, 1917
• Menin Road
• Polygon Wood
• Poelcappelle
• Passchendaele
• Ancre, 1918
• Amiens
• Albert, 1918
• Mont St. Quentin
• Hindenburg Line
• St. Quentin Canal
• France and Flanders, 1916-18

Individual Honours

• 1 Victoria Cross - (Maj Blair Anderson Wark)
• 1 Distinguish Service order
• 3 Officers of the Order of the British Empire
• 1 Member of the British Empire
• 27 Military Crosses and 2 bars
• 16 Distinguished Conduct Medal
• 66 Military Medals and 4 bars
• 7 Meritorious Service Medals
• 26 Mentioned in Despatches and
• 10 foreign awards

Notes

Content for the history and honours sections has come from a combination of Wikipedia and the Australian War Memorial (primary source) websites.

For further detail see:

• Second to None - A Memorial History of the 32nd Battalion AIF by R.R. freeman