Four Australian at War edited by FFFAIF members Maurice Campbell and Graeme Hosken tells the story of four young men fighting on the distant battlefields of WW1 through the letters they sent home to country New South Wales.
One of the men in the story is William (Bill) Mair a veteran of the Boer War and volunteer who served with the Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force in New Guinea at the outbreak of war. Bill then enlisted in the AIF in April 1915 leaving his eleven year old son, Willy, in the care of his aunt. Sergeant Mair was a Gallipoli veteran when he was allocated to the 54th Battalion in February 1916. Sergeant Mair was one of the fourteen survivors his Platoon of 64 men during the Battle of Fromelles
Photo: Sergeant William Mair wearing his blue ‘hospital’ uniform issued to hospitalised soldiers
The following letter is an extract from Four Australians At War written by William Mair to home while in hospital in England recovering from wounds he received at the Battle of Fromelles
It was 9 August before Bill Mair wrote his detailed letter to Ellen Campbell, giving a graphic description of the fighting at Fromelles, his wounding, and subsequent rescue by Dan Ryan of Cootamundra.
LONDON COUNTY WAR HOSPITAL
WEDNESDAY 9 AUGUST 1916
Dear Ellen,
Just a few lines to let you know I have been wounded and getting on splendid and I hope to be able to get about in a few weeks more. I suppose you all have heard of the big advance in France and how all the Anzacs took part in it. They have done very well over in France by keeping their name up and fighting as well as they did at Gallipoli.
This is a nice hospital where I am. It is about a half hours run from London and near the town of Epsom. We are well looked after and get everything we ask for. I have not met Harold yet but I saw one of the men that belongs to the same battalion as Harold, and he told me that Harold was quite well when he last saw him, and that was the latter end of last month, so you need not worry about him.
I had bad luck myself to run against a bursting shell and still I think I am the luckiest man to be alive today, for out of the 64 men that were in 14 Platoon, there is only 14 men left. So you can see by the letter that was sent to me by one of the men that belongs to the Platoon what a living hell it was.
I’ll never forget it, for when we leapt over the parapet at the order to charge we were met by such a deluge of shells and machine gun fire it seemed almost impossible for human beings to have the nerve to face such a fearful blast, but we did, and got over right in amongst the ‘Boches’.
How I reached there I hardly remember, but there are two things I distinctly recollect: a hare jumping up and running across our front; and someone singing out, ‘At ’em, boys! At ’em! Stick ’em! Stick ’em! Down ’em!’ and then I know I jumped-or rather, fell-head over heels, down amongst the Germans. I think they were too thunderstruck to bayonet me, but they were glad to be taken.
They were mere boys and some of them were sitting in the dugouts crying, but it was in their 2nd line of trenches where we had the trouble. They were all big Prussians and Brandenburgers. Their officers were singing out ‘Vorwarts! Vorwarts!’ (which means ‘forwards’) but the boys gave them ‘Vorwarts’!!
Then the Germans turned their guns on the whole lot of us, and it will give you an idea what inhuman brutes they are. They will kill their own men if they thought by doing so they were killing their enemies.
That was when I was bowled over, and Ellen, the man that carried me back to the rear was Dan Ryan from Cootamundra, and he had half the side of his face shot away. I will always say that Dan Ryan saved my life, because you know I would have laid there all through the night, and would surely have been blown to pieces. The stretcher bearers were all killed or wounded so you can see I am a lucky man.
But Ellen, I had a premonition that I was going to meet with disaster, because I told Griffin the day before the charge I had a premonition something was going to happen to me, and I was worrying what would become of little Willy, but I took the bit in my mouth and said to myself, ‘You will go through, Bill old man’. So you see I am lucky, for taking my platoon as an average, there must be only about 300 men left out of the Batt. of 1,000 men.
Dear Ellen, I can’t tell you much news about England. Of course, you know I am in bed, but what I can see out the window, everything looks nice and green plenty of grass. It is the middle of summer and the farmers (or rather women) are very busy out in the fields hay making. They all have hoods on and seem quite happy.
I can see one old fellow from where I am lying. He is mowing with the old scythe, and every few strokes he stops and sharpens his scythe, but he seems to do his work clean and well.
You have often heard of a great race called the English Derby. Well it is run here and I can see the course quite well and a part of the grandstand about a mile over on Epsom Downs. But I will tell you all about England when I am able to get about. I intend to see all the principal places, also Scotland, so some day I will send you a long letter and will also tell you what lovely France is like. A heaven on Earth is what I call it.
We landed at Marseilles and travelled right through to Paris where they let us go for 3 hours and it took a day and a half to yard them all up! I wish it would have taken a month.
So, goodbye Ellen. God bless all at home and tons of love to every one of them. From your loving nephew,
Bill Mair
If you would like to read more about Bill, and the remarkable story of Harold and Wally Campbell and Arthur Thynne through their letters and photographs they sent home to the sheep property, Argyle on the western slopes of New South Wales Four Australians At War Letters to Argle 1914-1919 is published by Kangaroo Press – ISBN 0-86417-789-5.
Postscript on yesterday’s story of Rev. Spencer Maxted, formerly the Minister at St. Oswald’s, Haberfield, provided in an email from FFFAIF membership Secretary Alan Kitchen: St Oswald’s at Haberfield was the Garrison Church for the 36Bn. I think commencing after WW1 when they reformed the Militia. Then later the RNSWR. When the colours were laid up in the 1960’s as that Battalion was disbanded, they were laid up in St Oswald’s Church but have since been moved to St James Church in King St Sydney.
Call back later to see if there is MORE NEWS
FROMELLES IS NOT HONOURED ON THE NATIONAL OR ANY STATE MEMORIAL IN AUSTRALIA.
FFFAIF SUPPORTS ALL EFFORTS TO RECOGNISE FROMELLES ON OR AT THE NATIONAL AND ALL STATE MEMORIALS THAT PRESENTLY LIST BATTLES BY NAME.
All website information (i.e. the images, graphics, text etc) on our website are copyright © Families and Friends of the First AIF Incorporated (FFFAIF Inc.) or its individual Members.