remembering the DALITZ brothers of Dimboola ....

we have heard these words so many times, over and over again .... and will even more so over the coming months.

But it IS important to remember them ... and by "them" I mean all of the soldiers, sailors and airmen that fought in all wars. It IS important to pass on what we know to the next generation as well.

How else will they know that their ancestors fought and died so that they can enjoy the freedom they have today?

In my family pedigree I have over 80 family members that fought in World War one and two. I am trying to capture as much information as possible on each of those men and women and to document what is available for future generations.

So while thinking about 'family' this week, I paid particular attention to the four DALITZ brothers of Dimboola (Victoria, Australia) that went off to war in 1915 and in 1916.

But to step back a few years, Heinrich DALITZ and Maria WUTTKE married on 13 August 1885 in South Australia. They had fourteen children, four daughters and ten sons.

Unfortunately in 1897 one of the daughters died due to her clothes catching fire, she was just 7 years of age.

Heinrich and Maria were farmers so to have ten sons able to work on the family farm was certainly a 'bonus'.  Then in 1915 - the day the AIF first landed in Gallipoli on the 25th April -  Maria died at just 53 years of age.

Heinrich - or Henry as he was known - continued on with the family farm with the help of the children. But soon after the death of their mother, two of the sons enlisted in the AIF.  They were Alwin Clarence DALITZ and Friedrich Wilhelm DALITZ who both enlisted on the 12 June 1915 and by the 15 September 1915 - had embarked Melbourne aboard the SS MAKARINI bound for Egypt. 

The next one to enlist was Carl Walter DALITZ who signed up on 19 February 1916 and then it was Heinrich Charles DALITZ's turn.  He enlisted on 3rd April 1916. Both Carl and Henry (as he was known) embarked Melbourne on 4th May 1916 aboard the HMAT PORT LINCOLN bound for Egypt.

So here we have the four brothers enlisting in the AIF to fight in the war!

I have added a short summary of each of them at the end of this blog post and will concentrate on the eighth child of the family: Carl Walter DALITZ. 

Carl was born in Dimboola, Victoria, Australia on 23 October 1896, (twin to Gustav Edwin DALITZ) their parents being Heinrich DALITZ and Maria Elisabeth WUTTKE.

When he was just 19 years of age, he enlisted in the AIF at Horsham on 19 February 1916 and was immediately assigned to the 6th Machine Gun Company. 3rd Reinforcements. His occupation at the time was that of a grocer.  Six weeks later his brother Heinrich enlisted in the AIF and was also assigned to the 6th MGC.

Three months later - on 4th May 1916 - he embarked from Melbourne on board the HMAT A17 PORT LINCOLN with his brother Heinrich Charles DALITZ.

He was in France by March 1917 and just two months later Carl was killed in action at the second Battle of Bullecourt on 3rd May 1917. One day short of 12 mths since he departed Melbourne.

"A minute to go; forms rise up from the shell holes in readiness … 30 seconds to go; we glance back to the dark stillness of the western horizon, so silent, but we know packed with artillery batteries with gunners standing tense and ready … a vicious boom – the French artillery open up. Still the rear horizon is silent and menacing – then a terrific ripping flash! A thousand guns speak as one; such awe–inspiring roar and rend and flash and crash as surely man never saw or heard before; we’re off!"

Corporal Frank Fitzpatrick, quoted in Lieutenant W A Crane, In Good Company: An Account of the 6th Machine Gun Company AIF in Search of Peace, 1915–1919, Melbourne, 1937, p.329

*above Framed Print of Second Battle of Bullecourt 1917 from Mary Evans

Australian soldiers loading an 18 pounder gun at the second Battle of Bullecourt (Battle of Arras) on the Western Front in France during World War I in May 1917.

Carl Walter Dalitz

is remembered with honour 

at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France.

There is no known grave.

Carl Walter Daltiz is remembered with honour on the WWI Honour Roll at Dimboola Memorial High School - seen below with wreaths laid on Anzac Day, 2008 (by David Thompson)

Carl Walter Daltiz is also remembered on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

Carl Walter Dalitz's name will be projected onto the exterior of the Hall of Memory at the AWM in Canberra on:

• Mon 15 September, 2014 at 12:54 am
• Tue 4 November, 2014 at 1:55 am
• Sun 28 December, 2014 at 5:34 am
• Fri 20 February, 2015 at 3:53 am
• Fri 10 April, 2015 at 2:25 am
• Fri 22 May, 2015 at 12:10 am
• Mon 29 June, 2015 at 6:21 pm

These dates and times are estimates. The actual time of projection could change as a result of weather and other factors, so it is advisable to check closer to the date. In the rare event of a temporary loss of electrical power, the names scheduled for display in that period will not appear until the next time listed


let us remember, while we are having dinner tonight smiling and laughing, that in another house somewhere in Australia .....

......there is an empty chair where a hero should be sitting. They gave up their life so that we can sit with our family. So take a moment to think about those heroes who did not make it home and those who are still serving around the world ....


The DALITZ brothers - in summary:
____________________________________________________________________

Carl Walter DALITZ

[23 Oct 1896 - 03 May 1917]

Carl was born in Dimboola, Victoria, Australia on 23 October 1896, (twin of Gustav Edwin DALITZ)

Their parents being Heinrich DALITZ and Maria Elisabeth WUTTKE. Carl was the eighth of their 14 children.

When he was just 19 years of age, he enlisted in the AIF at Horsham on 19 February 1916 and was immediately assigned to the 6th Machine Gun Company. 3rd Reinforcements. His occupation at the time was that of a grocer.

Three months later - on 4th May 1916 - he embarked from Melbourne on board the HMAT A17 PORT LINCOLN with his brother Heinrich Charles DALITZ, also in the 6th MGC.

He was in France by March 1917 and was killed in action at the second Battle of Bullecourt on 3rd May 1917. One day short of 12 mths since he departed Melbourne.

He is remembered with honour at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France. There is no known grave.

_________________________________________________________________

Heinrich Charles DALITZ

[1891 - 1972]

03 April 1916 - enlisted in the AIF  6th MGC (Machine Gun Company).

04 May 1916 - embarked Melbourne - with his brother Carl Walter DALITZ -  aboard the HMAT PORT LINCOLN bound for Egypt.  His occupation at that time was as a brick layer.

17 October 1917 - admitted to hospital with Trench Fever and kidney trouble.

10 April 1918 - again admitted to hospital, this time with scabies.

08 August 1918 - GSW to the right forearm (and gassed)  in the Battle of Amiens.

20 October 1918 - RTA medically unfit due to GSW

07 September 1920 - married Alice Mabel Ruby HIRTH

24 November 1972 - died aged 81 at Dimboola, Victoria, Australia

_______________________________________________________________

Friedrich Wilhelm DALITZ

[1887 - 1959]

12 June 1915 - enlisted in the AIF 14th Bn

15 September 1915 - embarked Melbourne aboard the SS MAKARINI bound for Egypt.

19 October 1915 - dangerously ill in hospital with dysentery.

11 April 1917 - Rec'd the Military Cross

17 May 1918 - WIA - gassed in France

07 April 1919 - RTA HMAT TRASAS MONTES - arrived in Australia 22 May 1919

1924 - married Hazel Blanche DRUMMOND

14 Nov 1959 - Died at the Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital aged 72.

____________________________________________________________

Alwin Clarence DALITZ

[1894 - 1969]

12 June 1915 - enlisted in the AIF 14th Bn.

15 September 1915 - embarked Melbourne aboard the SS MAKARINI bound for Egypt.

28 August 1916 - WIA. (Wounded in Action) GSW to the groin & pelvic area.

16 January 1917 - returned to duty in France after being wounded.

11 April 1917 - POW - became a Prisoner of War at the First Battle of Bullecourt and was interred at Limburg.

31 March 1919 - RTA - repatriated back to Australia arriving on 12 May 1919.

29 Jan 1969 - died at Nhill, Victoria, Australia at the age of 74.
__________________________________________________________________


                                                            LEST WE FORGET

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