World War One in the archives

Erin Mollenhauer, Archivist and Special Collections Librarian

“… I don’t think I will be able to stand up to much more hard campaigning like the last 5 days and nights, going all the time, etc, etc; may have to try for something easier. The crowds of men wounded & otherwise who greet me would surprise you. My old crowd went over the top; I promised to go with them but was not handy at the time. As bad luck would have it, they lost all their officers before charging; so I would have been a real help to them. Still they did grandly! Australia may well be proud of her sons for there can be nothing finer or braver. All we want here is more of them; plenty of guns. Any quantity of the latter. Each gun means a day nearer the end; I really know that as soon as we can swamp their infernal fire we must win. God bless you and all at the Brightest Spot. Always remember me in all prayers for such is my security both spiritual and bodily. Then I’ll be certain to come back; pass a more cheery word; a more Christian example on to the ‘other fellow’…”

This letter from an army chaplain, named George and convalescing in a hospital ‘somewhere in France’, was sent to Rev. R.B.S. Hammond on 29th July 1916. The hard campaigning he refers to was most likely the battle of Fromelles which took place on 19th-20th July in northern France. George’s letter mentions the 5th Division AIF, which took part in this battle which claimed 5,533 casualties and is now remembered as the deadliest in Australian military history. 1

R.B.S. Hammond (1870-1946) was an Anglican clergyman and social reformer who served as Rector of St Barnabas’ Broadway and Canon of St Andrew’s Cathedral. He was actively involved in the temperance movement, established hostels for destitute men, and set up the Hammondville housing scheme near Liverpool. One of his converts was Arthur “Mr Eternity” Stace, who attended a meeting at St Barnabas in August 1930. 2

The Samuel Marsden Archives holds a small number of items relating to World War One. Everard Digges Latouche (1883‐1915) was an Irishman who lectured in Dogmatic Theology at Moore College from 1912-1914.

He resigned after a disagreement with the Principal D.J. Davies, and when war was declared he applied to become an army chaplain. His application was denied so he enlisted as a private, rising to the rank of Second Lieutenant in the 2nd Battalion AIF. They landed at Gallipoli on August 6th 1915 and Latouche was killed in action later that day. He is buried at Lone Pine Cemetery. 3

Earlier in 1915, the New Zealand Expeditionary Force was stationed in Cairo for training. David Barrons Ferguson was a gasfitter from Wellington who enlisted as a Sapper (combat engineer) in the Mounted Signal Troops. While in Cairo he purchased a volume of the gospels in Arabic and sent it to his brother John, with a letter inside:

“…I guess it is a bit of a novelty. It is not a very valuable book, but it will add something to your list of books. It will at any rate act in the capacity of a keepsake. I am enjoying the best of health, and am anxiously awaiting my chance to get to the front. I am fair sick of inactivity. I wish we could get a shot at those Turks, or better still at those Germans…”

Despite his declaration of good health, Ferguson was discharged from the army due to illness, according to his service record. The Arabic gospels are held in the Australiana Rare collection.

Another intriguing collection from World War 1 is a set of two photograph albums compiled by an unidentified soldier in the 8th Training Battalion. This battalion undertook training on Salisbury Plain, and the soldier took photographs of exercises performed by the troops, as well as local people and scenery. A number of photos show zeppelin bombing damage in London, while others feature German POWs.

Although the items in the Archives which relate to the War are disparate and unconnected, they provide glimpses of insight into the ways in which the conflict changed the lives of clergy and laypeople alike.

1 Australian War Memorial. (n.d.) Battle of Fromelles. Retrieved from: www.awm.gov.au/military-event/E159/

2 Lake, Meredith. (2012). Hammond, Robert Brodribb Stewart. Retrieved from: http://dictionaryofsydney.org/entry/hammond_robert_brodribb_stewart

3 Hubbard, Nigel. (2004). Latouche, Everard Digges. Retrieved from: http://webjournals. ac.edu.au/ojs/index. php/ADEB/article/ view/1029/1026