William Neasmith on the Western Front

William Neasmith on the Western Front

Especially his involvement in  

• The Battle of Passchendaele (31 July – 6 November 1917) and 

• The Battle of Amiens (8th August- 3 September 1918)

On Monday 14 May 1917 Spr. William Neasmith (Bill), 2nd Division Signal Corp. Australian Engineers, A.I.F., arrived in France heading for the Western Front. He arrived at Boulogne at 4 pm and disembarked over another boat as there was no room for their boat to go right into the wharf. The whole area was full of activity with many wounded soldiers being put on board ships for their trip back to England. 

After a night in a 10 man tent, he watched proudly as the AIF infantry set off on foot for a 19 mile (30.6 km) march to Etaples. For the rest of the morning his unit was free to explore the town and in the afternoon they marched to the railway station and were placed on cattle trucks for a rather rough trip to Abbeville, the Advanced Base of British Signals. There were between 2000-3000 men located here, all specialists in some line of signalling. Nearby were two large hospitals and a large prison camp containing over 500 German prisoners. 

He remained there for a week, and his life revolved around doing fatigue work such as cleaning, cutting up meat for stews, winding cables, etc and having various forms of social activity, which included a good concert in the town, as well as doing more training in Telegraph School, and attending a Church parade. Here he caught up with a mate, Reynolds, and went for a long walk around the town. The ominous rains, which were to play a major role in the forthcoming battles, had already begun.

On 22 May 1917 he was given his orders to go on to join the 2nd Division AIF. Each man was given a rifle, a Bandolier with 50 rounds of ammunition, a steel helmet and 24 hours “iron rations” in case of emergency.  Their load also included a spare ground sheet, blanket, overcoat, mackintosh, sheep skin, shirt, drawers, 3 pairs of socks, knapsack with toilet things, water-bottle and gas helmet.  After a long march they finally boarded a train and this time had hard board seats for a long trip throughout the night to another busy army camp. 

 After a day at this busy camp the next night they set off again and were fortunate to get a carriage with cushioned seats. They passed through Amiens and arrived at Albert at about 7.30.  Walking through the town they saw hardly a house intact. There were few civilians about and nothing much remained of the cathedral.

 They later had to travel by lorry for the further 12 miles (19.3 km) to meet up with their Company, and all of the 2nd Division. They were now about 20 miles (32 km) from the front at the village of Baumpres (Rebempres). Some of the men were billeted in barns and sheds and others were under tarpaulins attached to the wagons and Bill ended up in a stable. 

Bill reported, “It’s bonnie to be under our own officers and working with our own men again.” They ended the day with a game of football. 

The next day they were serenaded by one of the Brigade bands across the road but away in the distance they could also hear the sound of guns. As they used to say “Fritz is busy!” The men in his unit were also kept busy cleaning and painting cable wagons but on the Sunday they went to a Church parade and wrote letters home. 

On the Monday Bill went out riding all morning, to give the horses some exercise, then went back on the Fatigues in the afternoon. On the Tuesday he met up with young Death from Kings Plains (near his home town of Blayney) who was in the infantry and the following days were spent doing fatigues getting everything A1 for an inspection by the colonels. 

After 9 days in this village, Bill and five others were selected to go as signallers to an Artillery Brigade. On the Sunday, after a bumpy ride for about 15 km, they came to the Divisional Artillery situated about 3 km from Albert. They were now resting in a position which had been the old Front so the ground was thrown up from trenches and dugouts. All the signallers were in a hut on their own with 2 Sergeants in charge. 

On the Monday they were able to walk into Bouzincourt and he reported “we are with a fine lot of fellows.” On the Tuesday there was a big inspection of the Artillery by General Birdwood and Bill was in the group that led the march past. He said “it was one of the finest sights I have seen.”

The rest of the week was taken up with fatigues, numerous cricket matches, including a game against the Pioneers, the Sunday church service, and writing letters home. On the next Monday they had a day’s leisure in Amiens, which was a big town with over 100,000 people. Amiens had a fine cathedral but Bill found most of the principal parts were protected by sand bags. 

Life in the camp continued as before and on 21 June, Bill’s birthday, he spent the day in Amiens. He was a bit disappointed as he was expecting mail but “it never turned up”. On 26th June he went to a good show at Bouzincourt – the Anzac Pierrots – and reported “all the artists were fine.” He saw Eric Eason at Bouzincourt and found he was in the 53rd Brigade. On 30th June Bill was very happy as he finally received two letters from his fiancé, Kit, and on the 2 July he received three letters from home and two more from Kit. 

On the 8 July he reported two very heavy thunderstorms during the night and three horses were struck by lightning. On 9 July he reported: We are on the move up North. Left our hut this morning and I rode in a cable wagon, picking up a line as we came along. After a trip of about 20 kms through lovely country we arrived at Sarton and were billeted for the night in a big barn. I happened to get one with straw in it.

The next day they rode and walked another 20 kms to Rebruviette and slept in another barn full of straw. Over the next five days they continued on their journey to the Front, often on very muddy roads, at about 20 km per day,  staying overnight at St Michael (near St Pol), Fontaine, Boeseghem (near Aire), Staple and Godeswaerveldt.  As they travelled along, Bill reported seeing balloons up near the line and one night he saw one come down in flames. 

On Wednesday 18th July they ended up in Reninghelst (Reningelst) in Belgium, 5 miles (8 km) from the line, which was to be their base until 10 September 1917.  They were now in the lead up to the Third Battle of Ypres (also known as the Battle for Passchendaele) which lasted over three months, from 31 July to 6 November 1917. 

Bill wrote – This is only a small place but at present is as busy as London. Soldiers everywhere, allsorts. Billeted in a big house on the third floor. The next day – Brigades are in action, but Headquarters are not. Opened office this morning, only three lines on so not very busy. Went to a good concert tonight, afterwards took a stroll a couple of kilometres along a road and could see shrapnel bursting. Go on duty to 10 p.m.

Bill was now in the war zone and he could hear a bombardment going on all night and the house where he was staying shook every now and then. There was often a continual roar of guns going on and Fritz planes were overhead and Archies and search lights were very busy. On the 27 July Fritz dropped bombs, but the closest one fell 200 yards from us and got a lot of horses. On 28 July he reported Slight smell of gas in the air at 2 am, just enough to make us sneeze. On 29 July –raining most of the day. Place very muddy.

The 1917 Battle of Passchendaele was one of the major battles of World War I in which British, ANZAC, Canadian and South African units fought against the Imperial German Army.  The battle was fought for control of the village of Passchendaele (Passendale in modern Dutch spelling, now part of the community of Zonnebeke) near the town of Ypres (Ieper in Dutch) in West Flanders, Belgium. 

The plan was to drive a hole in the German lines, advance to the Belgian coast and capture the German submarine bases there. It was intended to create a decisive corridor in a crucial area of the front, and to take pressure off the French forces that were suffering from extremely low morale, sometimes resulting in mutinies. 

Although the period of the battle saw spells of good weather lasting long enough to dry out the land, Passchendaele has become synonymous with the misery of fighting in thick mud. Most of the battle took place on largely reclaimed marshland, swampy even without rain. The extremely heavy preparatory bombardment by the British tore up the surface of the land, and heavy rain from August onwards, the heaviest for 30 years, produced an impassable terrain of deep "liquid mud", in which an unknown number of soldiers drowned. Even the newly-developed tanks bogged down. 

On 24 July Bill reported hearing the continual roar of guns going on – which would have been part of the heavy preparatory bombardment by the British. 

The Battle of Passchendaele (Third Battle of Ypres)

On Tuesday 31 July 1917, Bill reported - the big “Stunt” began. Bombardment sounded like one very heavy continuous roll of thunder. This marks the actual beginning of this Battle. He further reports – Houses shaking a good deal. Batches of prisoners passing through all day. A lot of our own wounded men also. Today’s report, from what we can hear, is that things are going well. 

During early August 1917 Bill reports – Been raining for about 24 hours, so things have been upset at the front, and made it very slack: also made a great deal of mud everywhere – Muddy Flanders! 

Over the next week Bill lived with the rain, and with the German bombs dropping all around them each night, but amazingly, on Saturday 11 August, he was able to attend a “Bow Belles” concert which involved various impersonations of girls, and which he thoroughly enjoyed.  

On 20 August 1917 Bill reported – Fritz over last night. Dropped bombs about 100 yards away. This is the closest he has been to us here. Burnt two lorries and got some men, wounded two of ours. Our anti-aircraft guns brought a plane down this morning at 9 o’clock. Fell straight down in flames. 

On 1 September 1917 he visited the nearby town of Poperinghe but found that due to the shelling by the Germans most of the civilians had left. In fact, Fritz was overhead a lot and gave them an anxious time. On 10 September they left Reninghelst and moved to the Scottish Camp about 3 kms closer to the line.  Bill was kept busy establishing a new office there. On 12 September he reported he was very busy on the Switch and D.R. business. Our Brigades are in action with us now, so there is “somethin’ doin’.  All the Australian Divisions are round about here now. He was doing shifts of 4 hours on and 8 hours off all the time. He met up with Druce and Luttrell and several other chaps that he knew. 

On 19 September 1917 they closed down Scottish Camp and opened up at E N 20, between Ypres and Dickebusch, about 9 kms from the line. Bill realized we are “in action” now (for H.Q.) for the “stunt”. Fritz sent a few shells in this direction during the night fishing for a big gun of ours, firing somewhere near. On Thursday 20 September Bill was on duty when bombardment commenced at 5.40. He heard “our boys went over the top and did well”. On Friday he reported that Fritz was shelling about 400 yards from us during the night. Quite close enough for us. Also sending them overhead. On Sunday he saw a tank roaming around the country and thought it was a big one but his mates told him that it was only a small one. He bumped into Gardiner from Kings Plains, coming out of the line, and Bob Sheppard and Goldstein who were with the 1st Company. 

On Monday 24 September 1917 he handed over to the 4th D.A. and returned to Reninghelst. He reported that nearly all the Australian Forces were now in this district. 

The attacks began again on 26 September 1917 and the Battle of Broodseinde was on 4 October and the British finally gained possession of the ridge east of Ypres.

After a few days back at Reninghelst, on 2 October 1917, Bill’s unit moved towards the front and opened up at Ypres. 

They found the town in ruins. Bill reported Beautiful buildings all destroyed. Only some of the walls remain standing. We are in the “ramparts” – the old walls of the city, in long tunnels, much too thick for any shells to pierce, for which we are thankful. There is a moat on the other side with water about a chain wide. This is the beginning of my life underground. There are plenty of big guns just in front of us and one of our observation balloons just overhead and we are about 3 miles (4.8 km) from the line. 

After 9 days in Ypres with bombs landing all around them, some only 10 yards away from their office, they were moved back to Reninghelst. On 13 October 1917 he was moved to a small village called Ouderzeele in France where they were able to rent a room and bed very cheaply from the villagers. After the excitement of the past few weeks Bill reported- Think if we stay here long we will die of annui, but it will be a holiday.

Meanwhile, at the front, Haig had decided to continue the offensive towards Passchendaele Ridge, some 10 kms from Ypres. Little progress was made in the battles on 9 and 12 October as the Allied attackers were nearing exhaustion. The Germans brought in reinforcements and made full use of mustard gas which resulted in chemical burns. 

Haig pressed on with three assaults on the ridge in late October and the eventual capture of Passchendael village by British and Canadian forces took place on 6 November 1917.

After two weeks rest in Ouderzeele, on 28th October 1917 Bill and his unit had been taken back to Ypres by motor but found they were not wanted so they continued on to Bailleul. This was a fairly large town and was busy but there was no work for them. They remained here for just over two weeks and Bill enjoyed going to the aerodrome to watch the planes coming and going as there were two or three squadrons of planes around Bailleul. He reported that lots of our men in our Brigades are being gassed, so reliefs are being sent from D.A. 

But the Battle of Passchendaele was over. The British Expeditionary Force incurred some 310,000 casualties, the Germans, 260,000. 

There were arguments for and against Haig over this offensive. The disastrous turn in the climate could not have been predicted. The Allies could less afford the loss of manpower but they were now being supplemented by the entry into the war of the U.S. Many historians still believe that Haig should have called off the offensive earlier. 

On 12 November 1917 Bill returned to Ypres and was quartered in a long tunnel. On Wednesday 21 November he reported Our Brigades came out of action today for a rest. They have had a very hard spin. Fritz was still shelling during the night but for the Allies they had achieved their objective.

The offensive had resulted in gains for the Allies but they were not as good as Haig had hoped for. The gains came at a great cost in human terms. The bombardment had used 3,000 guns with 4,250,000 shells. The tactics were controversial and it was the final great battle of attrition of the war. i.e. seeing which side can last the longest. 

Haig had been asked to destroy the German submarine bases on the Belgian coast, but he was more interested in breaking the will of the German army. He falsely believed that it was near to collapse. The British Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, had been opposed to the Passchendaele offensive right from the start. 

On 23 November 1917 Bill left Ypres for Bailleul and life slowed down. He attended French Church and by 17 December it was snowing and a heavy frost meant there was frozen water everywhere. On 22 December they left Bailleul and joined the Division at Ravelsberg. Here they were camped in huts on the side of a hill in a very cold position, only 100 yards from the Belgian Frontier. Christmas Day 1917 was quiet and very cold. As he said “We are on a quiet front.”

New Years Day 1 January 1918 was to be their day of celebration- For today we live like kings. Bacon and eggs for breakfast, 5 or 6 courses for dinner, another big meal for tea, and supper at 9 p.m. Although we were “in action” it was more or less a holiday, and no more work was done than necessary. 

Things remained quiet on their front except for strenuous snowfights during the day, and they left Ravelsberg on 1 February and returned to Bailleul. On 3 February they left Bailleul and over two days made their way to Chateau le Nieppe. They were now 50 kms from the line and living in a small village. 

Late February Bill had 4 days leave in Paris. He saw Versailles, Bois de Boulogne, Arc de Triomphe, Luxembourg Galleries, Hotel de Ville, Les Gobelins, Palais de Justice and Notre Dame Cathedral.

 They kept moving all the time and found money runs like water!

On 6 March Bill had two weeks leave in England where he managed to have a week in London and a week in Edinburgh, which he reported was a fine city. Bill was probably the first Neasmith family member to return to Scotland since his father and grandfather emigrated to Australia in the 1850s. 

During this time, on 21 March 1918, German offensives started with the second Battle of the Somme (21 March-4 April 1918), which drove the British back almost to the outskirts of Amiens, creating a large indent in the Allied lines.

About 25 March 1918 Bill rejoined his unit outside Bailleul, which had been bombarded and was now deserted. On 4 April they left en route for the Somme. They marched 9 km to Merris and after three days marched to Strazeels and took the night train to St Roche near Amiens.

 They marched through Amiens which they found was almost deserted. After breakfast they had a wet “very tiresome journey to Beaucourt where they will take over from the 4th Division in a day or two. 

On 12 April 1918 they came up 7 km in advance of D.A. at a place called Baizieux, a few kms from Albert. Bill reported -Billeted in a lovely old chateau. 

All the inhabitants of the place evidently evacuated in a hurry, as many things have been left behind. I salvaged a mattress, pillow, a couple of easy chairs and we also have padded chairs in the office. First time on record I think. Also have a piano in the Mess room. Fritz put a couple of shells just in front of the house yesterday. Have the office in the cellar. 

On Saturday 13 April 1918  - went up the steeple of the church and had a look over the country, including Albert. It is in Fritz’s hands and you can easily discern the traffic there. We are amongst the heavy guns here and the noise is deafening at times. 

On Saturday 20th April 1918 – The Madonna on the Albert Church has fallen. Will the war end now I wonder? Some of the boys found a Croquet set in the house, and we pass an hour or two away in the evening with it. 

On Thursday 2 May 1918 - Two Divisions moved out this morning, excepting the Artillery. The 47th Division moved into their part of the line. We expect to be here for some time. There’s a company of American Engineers in the village, first big lot that we have encountered.

On Sunday 5 May 1918 - Fritz put a dud in our chateau this evening. Fell just at the Mess room door. Two or three shells landed very close.

On Thursday 7 May 1918 they were relieved at Baizieux by the 18th D.A. party and left on foot for Querrieu where they had a very decent billet in the grounds of a big chateau. Five days later they relieved the 3rd D.A. at St Gratien and were billeted in a very small village and had the usual shortage of water. On 14 May 1918 Bill noted that he had now spent 12 months in France. 

At the end of May Bill saw Billy Stinson with the 6th B.A.C. at Frechencourt, Alec Ewin with 3 B.A.C., Frank Ewin with the 13 Battalion and Hilton Ewin with 5 M.G.Battalion. (all men from the Blayney area). On the 16th June 1918 Bill reported Two Division Infantry relieved by 5 Division. Artillery does not go out at present. 

On 15 July 1918 Bill’s unit was moved on. They passed through Amiens and found the city practically deserted which was in great contrast to the busy city of 12 months ago. This is an ideal spot to be in. Division and D.A. H.Q. are in a small thickly wooded gully. It must be the pick of Picardy I think.

 The river Somme is ½km away. Our billet is a small brick cottage on the outskirts of the town. We are very comfortable there. The Division are holding the Villers Bretonneux section of the line, key to Amiens, we are very busy. There is a French Division on our right. On the 19 July 1918 Bill went bathing in the Somme and reported, Just about learnt to kick. (It is interesting to note that not many of Bill’s generation had learnt how to swim.)

The Allied counterattack began during the second battle of the Marne (15 July-5 August 1918). This saw the failure of the final German offensive and a Franco-American counterattack (Aisne-Marne Offensive, 18 July-5 August 1918) that pushed the Germans out of the Château-Thierry salient (a word used to describe the angle of the fortifications).

 On 24 July, while this battle was going on, the Allied commanders-in-chiefs met at Bombon to decide what to do next. The general assumption was that the war would continue into 1919, but Foch planned a series of counterattacks for 1918. The initial aim was to push the Germans out of three awkward salients, at St. Mihiel, Château-Thierry and Amiens. If these attacks went well, then a general offensive would follow. 

The British contribution to this plan was the Battle of Amiens. Even before the meeting at Bombon, Haig had directed General Rawlinson, in command of the Fourth Army around Amiens, to prepare for an attack on the salient. Rawlinson developed a plan for a tank battle.

 Rawlinson had a multi-national army, with American, Australian, Canadian and British divisions. He was given 530 British and 70 French tanks, of which 96 were supply tanks, 22 gun carriers and 420 fighting tanks, including 324 Mark Vs. For the purposes of the Amiens attack Haig was also given control of the French First Army (Debeny), to the right of the British position. Eight French divisions would take part in the attack at Amiens.

The key to Rawlinson’s plan was surprise. He was planning a ten division attack against a 10 mile (16km) front (with the Canadians and Australians making up the majority of the infantry). It was essential that the Germans did not suspect what was coming – a well timed German counter-bombardment could have inflicted crippling casualties on the British attack. Accordingly, Rawlinson planned to attack without any preliminary artillery bombardment.

 The attack would begin with the tanks, supported by infantry and protected by a creeping barrage. The artillery would open fire at the same time as the tank advance. To the right the French First Army was short of tanks. In order to preserve the surprise, the French would begin an artillery bombardment at the same time as the British attack, and then follow up with their infantry 45 minutes later. 

The Battle of Amiens (Third Battle of Picardy)

The attack began on 8 August 1918. In the first few hours of the battle six German divisions collapsed. Entire units began to surrender.  The 8th August 1918 was later called the “Black Day of the German Army”. By the end of the day the Allies had advanced nine miles over the entire ten mile front, and 16,000 prisoners were taken during the first day. 

On 8 August Bill reported – For days past great preparations have been going on for a big Stunt which opened on our front this morning. All the Australian Corps are in it, on our right the Canadian Corps, and a couple of British Divisions on the left flank. Everybody was optimistic from the first. At 11 a.m. the Australian flag was hoisted on what was German Corps H.Q. Our boys are going well, and seem to be having a fine time. Prisoners have been coming down all day. 

On 9 August 1918 – Every report says the lads are advancing. This afternoon we went on to Villers Bretonneux, stopping on the outskirts of the town in chalk pits. Having the office underground, sleeping there also. Great deal of traffic on the roads. Plenty of prisoners still coming in. 

On 10 August 1918 – Forward station went out this morning to Beyancourt. Boys still fighting strongly. We hear great reports of them. 

 The first phase of the battle ended on 11 August 1918. The Germans had retreated to the lines they had held before the first battle of the Somme. Haig felt that these lines were too strong to attack without a proper artillery bombardment – the old Somme battlefield was a wasteland of shell craters unsuited to tank warfare.  

On 12 August 1918 Bill reported – Went out this evening to the old front line. Place is a mass of shell holes and trenches. Tons of gear lying about. The town has been destroyed. Almost a second Ypres. Water is very precious here. 

 

Haig launched a second attack further north, using the Third Army and part of the First Army. The purpose of this attack, known as the battle of Bapaume, was to force the Germans back to the line of the Somme. 

This attack began on 21 August 1918. After seeing off a German counterattack on 22 August 1918, the British advance forced the Germans to retreat to the Somme. The attack expanded to include the First and Fourth Armies, while the French continued their own attack further south. 

On 21 August 1918 Bill was relieved. He reported – Gave over to 32nd D.A. this morning and moved back to Allonville, near Amiens. This is a very poor village and no decent billets. Ended up in a leaky barn with a big aerodrome close by. Div. H.Q. are here also. 

On the 23 August he went to a very good concert given by 4th Division Concert Party. He found the girls “turn’ rather crude. 

On 26 August 1918 the Germans held a new line running along the Somme south from Péronne, then across open country to Noyon on the Oise. 

On 26 August 1918 Bill reported – Left Allonville this afternoon and went into position near Morcourt. We are now in what a short time back was German country. Ground and villages torn about a great deal. Hamel is only a heap of broken timber and plaster. Several of us went straight out to run the forward exchange, taking over from the 1st D.A. In a little bivvy on the side of a hill. Only staying for a night. 

On 27 August 1918– Moved on 7-8 km this morning to a little village near Bray. It was in Fritz’ hands two days ago. He is 4 km away now. Have the office in a dinky little dugout near the road. Plenty of work, very little sleep, as only 3 of us to run the office. Fritz busy this afternoon with 4.2’s, one dropping 50 yards away whilst we were having tea.  Had to make a detour when returning to the office. 

On 28 August 1918 – Moved to Cappy (3-4 km ) Found time to find water and have a wash today. Putting the office in old hospital dugouts. D.A. come on to here tomorrow. Some heavy guns close to us tonight, consequently plenty of noise. 

On 29 August 1918 – Moved on 2-3 km and established office, but found the Brigades had gone further than was expected, so we moved 3 km to Herbecourt. Office in a decent dug-out but facing Fritz.

 We are about 4-5 km from the line. D.A. moved to Cappy today and we have 2 more men to help us. Have managed to keep in touch with the Brigades all along the advance so far, so think ourselves lucky as they chop about a good deal. Infantry are very close to Peronne now. Good deal of Jerry’s stuff coming over tonight, but a lot more of ours going over to him.  The positions at present look very hopeful. Think they are trying to cross the Somme on this front tonight. 

On 29 August 1918 the New Zealanders captured Bapaume, in the centre of this line. The Australians made the next breakthrough, fighting their way across the Somme on the night of 30-31 August  1918 and capturing Péronne. 

On 2 September 1918 Bill wrote – This is quite a warm quarter. Fritz has been shelling all around us for three days. Luckily none of our chaps collected. Last night he dropped a dozen bombs very close to the dug out, and repeated the fun tonight.

 It’s marvellous what lucky escapes some chaps have at such times. We have sent another exchange forward again of this one. Expect to be going farther up in a day or so, as all the Brigades are moving up. Just received word of some good work by the Canadians on the Arras front. 5th Division captured nearly the whole of Peronne yesterday, after they and the 2nd Division had completely surrounded the town.

 It is in an awkward position, being almost on an island on the River Somme. The river makes an advance very awkward and costly. Have seen crowds of prisoners coming down, though ‘tis rumoured the Australians are, as a result of a certain occurrence in Peronne, not taking prisoners at present. Extremely busy in the office. Only 3 of us now to run it, and its very heavy. 

On 2 September 1918 the Canadian Corps, fighting with the First Army, broke through the Drocourt-Quéant switch, south east of Arras. These numerous breakthroughs forced the Germans to abandon the line of the Somme and retreat all the way to the Hindenburg Line. 

By 3 September 1918 the Battle of Amiens was over. In early October the Australian divisions withdrew from the front for rest and refitting; they were preparing to return when Germany surrendered on 11 November.

The Germans suffered very heavy losses during the battle of Amiens. The British and French captured 33,000 prisoners and inflicted between 50,000 and 70,000 casualties on the Germans. The British lost 22,000 men, the French 20,000. The great triple offensive would achieve its main aim, and trigger the eventual German collapse, but at much higher cost. 

On Wednesday 4 September 1918, Bill was moved back to Cappy to have a rest. Sir Douglas Haig came to inspect the troops and a very big Divisional Sports day was held near Cappy. But Bill was not feeling at all well. 

On 17 September 1918 he reported to the Ambulance with septic buttocks but the doctor didn’t seem to know much about them. He was very uncomfortable and not able to sit down. On 23 September 1918 he was removed to the 41st Clearing Station and on 25 September 1918 was put on the hospital train to Rouen. 

On the 26 September 1918 he was in the No 12 American Base Hospital near Rouen and said “very nice to be between sheets again”. He had a big swelling in the groin which they lanced and he was in a lot of pain with constant high temperatures. 

So on 30 September he was put on another hospital train and taken to Le Harve where, on 1 October 1918 he was put on board the Aberdonian and arrived at Southampton the next morning.  

After another four hour trip in a hospital train to Bath he was taken to the War Hospital and placed in Ward 10. He spent another week in bed appreciating all the care of the sister and nurses who couldn’t do enough for the patients. There were about 50 men in the ward and the food was fine and plenty of it. 

He got out of bed on 10 October 1918 but felt weak but was transferred to a tent and went to the dining room for meals. As an “Up” patient he was able to explore “a wee bit of the town”.  

On 27th October he was put into a Billet, a very clean room 10 minutes walk from the hospital. One after-effect was that he had an attack of the boils but luckily only small ones. On 9 November 1918 he was marked for Dartford. 

On 11 November 1918, while still in Bath, he received word of the signing of the Armistice at 11 a.m. Great excitement everywhere. Whistles and sirens going full pressure. Bells ringing. Big parade at the hospital with much cheering. Much excitement in town all day, everyone out although it’s raining. Plenty of drink flying around but NOT for us. Town very lively I believe until midnight. 

After three days at Dartford he was given furlough and had 14 days leave. So, on 23 November 1918 Bill was staying in a good hotel in Russell Square, London, “doing” the theatres etc. He saw Inman and Falkiner at billiards at Thurstons. He felt London was now more like a civilised city than it had been in March. 

After a few days in London he took a train up to Edinburgh and headed off to Dunbar to visit some friends. Dunbar is on the south-east coast of Scotland, 30 miles (48 km) to the east of Edinburgh. He also heard that his future brother in law, Lothian Crane, had been gassed in France but was now in England and was recovering well. He had a look around a very historical part of Scotland and generally fell in love with the place. 

He returned on the night train to London and on 30th November 1918 he cabled Kit to say “all well.” 

On 1 December 1918 he reported that Marshal Foch, Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies at the end of the war, arrived at Charing Cross Station, in London. Great reception. Crowd enormous. Much pomp. 

On 2 December 1918 Bill reported to H.Q. and was sent to Hurdcott. He was still not feeling so well so the next day he saw a doctor. 

On 4 December he caught up with his younger brother, Keith, who was at No. 7 camp, 5 minutes walk from where he was. Keith was working in the Officer’s Mess, 14th T.B. Bill found out that Keith had been in hospital twice and says that he is still unwell at times. He may improve in his new job as he has good quarters and the best of food. The two main things in the army. 

On his return to the camp Bill was informed that he was marked B1 A2 and was on the boat roll for home, to return very shortly. Of course that is the best news I’ve had since leaving Aussie. “Twas what I least expected, though I have been waiting two long years for it. Now it has come and dreams are very sweet. Same restful feeling as after having done a big day’s work, but on a larger scale. 

On 19 December 1918 he said his Goodbyes to Keith and on the 20th finally set sail for Australia on the Orontes, returning on the same boat on which he came over. After some rough weather he was able to celebrate Christmas. Very happy day for us. Six months back we thought Christmas Day on the “home” boat too much to hope for. Excellent dinner and much stuff from the Red Cross. Luckily the sea has calmed down again, and all can enjoy life. 

After a lot of deck sports and a concert or two, they reached Port Said and passed through the Suez Canal. It was then on to Colombo and Albany for coal and water. On 30th January 1919 the ship arrived at Pt Phillip Quarantine Station and everyone had to be checked for “flu” – the notorious Spanish Flu that was later to claim so many lives around the world during 1919.  Fortunately they were all clear so the ship entered Pt Melbourne and most of the men disembarked. Bill and the remainder for NSW continued on and the ship arrived in Sydney on 1st February 1919. 

 By the war's end, four major imperial powers—the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires—had been militarily and politically defeated, with the last two ceasing to exist. The revolutionized Soviet Union emerged from the Russian Empire, while the map of central Europe was completely redrawn into numerous smaller states.

 The League of Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another such conflict. But unfortunately, the European nationalism spawned by the war, the repercussions of Germany's defeat, and of the Treaty of Versailles would eventually lead to the beginning of World War II in 1939.