a very busy project!

Over the past year or so I have been researching and gathering photos and information on the members of my family (including extended family) that served in both World Wars.

My 'goal' has been to document what I can in memory of these men that fought in such horrendous conditions so that we may experience some form of peace today.

The ones I have completed are listed below:

died 1915

• Leonard PETERSON  d. Gallipoli
• James Andrew RALPH d. Gallipoli
• Harold Alfred EUSTACE d. Egypt 
• George William MANNING d. Gallipoli

died 1916

• Arthur Joseph WEIR d. France
• Allan Wesley WALKEDEN d. France
• Donald William McTAVISH d. France
• William Murdoch Le BRUN d. France
• John Russell PATTERSON  d. France 
•  Arthur Geraldton HIGGS  d. France

died 1917

• Arnold Roy BARTRAM d. France
•  Arnold Henry Thomas RALPH  d. Belgium
• Nelson Wesley Eustace BARWISE  d. France
• Raymond Everard BARTRAM d. Belgium
• Reginald Percy BARTRAM d. Belgium
• James Herbert CLEGG d. Belgium
• Carl Walter DALITZ d. France
•  Leslie Norman KRAUSE d. Belgium
•  Edward Charles Tobias HURTER d. France
• William Stanley ORMANDY d. Belgium

 
died 1918

•  Samuel James NAISMITH (JNR) d. France
• Ernest Cockbill KENDRICK d, France
• Edward Harold ARTSO d. France
• William Gordon TUCKER d. France
•  Albert Henry BLACKMORE d. France
• Matthew MATHEWS d. France

died 1919

• John Mathieson William EDMONDS. d. France

died WW2

• Charles Richard Le BRUN d. 'at sea' 1943
• Ernest Lister ROBERTS (1) d. New Guinea 1943
• Ernest Lister ROBERTS (2) d. New Guinea 1943
• Ernest Lister ROBERTS (3) d. New Guinea 1943

Returned to Australia

• Samuel James NAISMITH (SNR) d. Australia 1941
• Heinrich Charles DALITZ d. Australia 1972
• Friedrich Wilhelm DALITZ d. Australia 1959
• Alwin Clarence DALITZ d. Australia 1969
• Gabriel William John DELANEY d. Australia 1999
• James John ROBERTS d. Australia 1968
• Alexander Duncan CAMERON d. Australia 1947
• George Bowden HUDSON  d.Australia 1982
• Cyril George BARTRAM d. Australia 1947
• Henry William BARWISE . d. Australia 1948

OTHER

• Rationing of clothing during WW2

• Food Rationing during WW2

• The loss of the HMAS CENTAUR

if anyone has any extra data on any of the above, do please let me know.

           

Leone Fabre

Alwin Clarence DALITZ (1894 - 1969)

Alwin Clarence Dalitz was born in Pimpinio, Victoria, Australia on 18th April 1894. His parents were Heinrich Daltiz and Maria Elisabeth Wuttke. He had 13 siblings.

On 12th June 1915 Alwin enlisted in the AIF at Dimboola. At time of enlistment, he was 21 years of age with a fair complexion, light blue eyes, sandy hair and had noted his religion as a Methodist.

After three months of training he embarked Melbourne on board the SS MAKARINI bound for Gallipoli.

He joined his unit at Gallipoli on 13th November 1915 and the following day the 14th Battalion commenced tunneling at Durrants Post.

at Durrants Post, Gallipoli

according to the Battalion diary on 18th November, "Quiet all day. some shrapnel in the morning, ground very wet and muddy after the nights rain".

By the 18th December, the Battalion was at Mudros in Greece after sailing on the HMS HAZEL, then being transferred to the HMS ZEALANDRIA reaching Alexandria in Egypt late December.

HMS HAZEL

HMS ZEALANDRIA

In February 1916 the Battalion was at Moascar (Egypt) and Tel-El-Kebir in March for further training.

Much of this detail can be found in the War diaries of the 14th Battalion as seen here:

parts of the 14th Battalion diary entries

Towards the end of March 1916 the Battalion were on the move again with one entry reading:

"marched out for Moascar at 0600 in heavy mist. Halted at 11am & continued march @ 1400 thru very heavy sand, weather hot, arrived Moascar 1715. Distance 17 1/2 miles"

and another ...

"as on previous mornings marched out at 0640 for Serapeum along fresh water canal. Very hot & dusty. halted at 11am. continued march at 1200. Crossed Suez Canal and arrived in camp at 1400. distance 11 1/2 miles"

31st March 1916 found the 14th Battalion at Serapeum in Egypt, they were on their way to Alexandria to "embark for abroad". Little did they know what was in store for them on the "Western Front".

By June they had arrived in Bailleul, Basse-Normandie, France. By the 17th The Battalion marched to "Fort Rompu" as Erquinghem-Lys was impossible for Australian, the name of the principle street was chosen. … here the battalion were quartered in wooden Army huts, about sixteen men each.

The Battalion marched to "Fort Rompu" as Erquinghem-Lys was impossible for Australian, the name of the principle street was chosen. … here the battalion were quartered in wooden Army huts, about sixteen men each.

28th June 1916 the 14th Battalion were in the trenches at the Bois-Grenier line where there was much heavy fighting. Just a few days later the diary mentions: "

Heavy artillery & trench mortars and at the same time shelled the surrounding countryside with shrapnel, the bombardment completely flattened all our trenches. Enemy were soon advancing on our position ....."

"11 July 1916 remainder of 30th Battalion arrived at midnight, complete relief of trenches and all communication by 2.00am and command handed over."

"Remainder of Battalion - when relieved - marched to Billets at Jesus Farm ( About 1 mile the other side of Erquingham )"

Alwin Dalitz was promoted to Sergeant on 14th August 1916.

By the 26th August 1916 Alwin was at Albert and bound for Mouquet Farm along the Labapaume Road.

Two days later he was badly wounded with gunshot wounds to the groin and pelvic area.  On this same day there were 3 KIA and 40 wounded from the 14th Battalion.

Alwin was transferred to the 3rd Canadian General Hospital, then onto England.  He did not return to duty until five months later on 16th January 1917.
 
By the 11th April 1917 he was at the Battle of Bullecourt .....

Bullecourt, a village in northern France, was one of several villages to be heavily fortified and incorporated into the defences of the Hindenburg Line in 1917.

In March 1917, the German army had withdrawn to the Hindenburg Line in order to shorten their front and thus make their positions easier to defend. This move was rapidly followed up by the British and empire forces, and they launched an offensive around Arras in early April 1917.

To assist the Arras operations, an attack was launched on Bullecourt on 11 April 1917 by the 4th Australian and 62nd British Divisions. The attack was hastily planned and mounted and resulted in disaster. Tanks which were supposed to support the attacking Australian infantry either broke down or were quickly destroyed. Nevertheless, the infantry managed to break into the German defences. Due to uncertainty as to how far they had advanced, supporting artillery fire was withheld, and eventually the Australians were hemmed in and forced to retreat.

The two brigades of the 4th Division that carried out the attack, the 4th and 12th, suffered over 3,300 casualties; 1,170 Australians were taken prisoner - the largest number captured in a single engagement during the war.'

Bullecourt, more than any other battle, shook the confidence of Australian soldiers in the capacity of the British command; the errors, especially on April 10th and 11th, were obvious to almost everyone'. Charles Bean, Official Historian.

This is when Alwin Clarence Dalitz was captured by the Germans and became a POW interred at Limburg.

His brother - Carl Dalitz - was killed in action at the Battle of Bullecourt three weeks later on 3rd May 1917.

Carl Walter Dalitz

is remembered with honour 

at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial in France.

There is no known grave.

from the diary of the 14th Battalion

Red Cross missing & wounded information

on 25th December 1918 Alwin Dalitz was repatriated back to England along with other POW's and by March 1919 returned to Australia on board the HMAT KHYBER. Arriving in Melbourne on 12th May 1919.

Alwin Dalitz married Constance Anne Holland in 1924 and died at Nhill in Victoria on 29th January 1969.

a blog post titled:

REMEMBERING THE DALITZ BROTHERS OF DIMBOOLA is located here.




further information on 14th Bn at Gallipoli from the blog titled:

John Francis Coyle

Major Durrant returned shortly before the departure to Gallipoli, giving required training and orientation to the new officers and men. The strengthened battalion then embarked from Mudros harbour for Anzac Beach on the 31^st of October, 1915. They travelled with the 14^th & 15^th Battalions on the SS Osmarich and landed in two stages on that night and the next day. The troops marched from the landing spot, having bivouaced in Water-Course Gully overnight to reach and relieve soldiers at Durrants Post on the 3^rd of November, 1915.

This outpost, near to the approaches of Chunuk Bair and Hill 100 was a major front-line stand. The efforts of these soldiers through-out November included many reports of successful sniper attacks on the enemy, including the innovative use of the new “telescope” rifles. There was also much to be done in the work of tunnelling, trench digging and reinforcement of the post (“every available man involved in the construction of underground winter quarters”).
On the 24^th of November, 1915, it is stated in the War Diary the “Ruse of Silence” (effective for 48 hours) is commenced. This was a very important tactic to eventually allow the Anzac troops to withdraw in December but at this time it was still a strategy only known to the top officers.

It was also during this time that the Gallipoli area suffered horrendous storms & deluges that washed away embattlements. During all of November and into December the brave Diggers at Durrant’s Post completed scouting patrols, employed sharp-shooters and snipers to attack the enemy positions. The majority of the ‘fresh’ men continued the work of holding the ground that had been secured at such a high cost of lives lost, by both the Australian and particularly, in this area, our New Zealand brothers.

The official account says that on the 15-16^th of December preparations and preliminary evacuations took place while laying charges, destroying equipment that could not be transported. The report also suggests that they prepared automatically firing rifles, on delayed timers, that would fool the enemy after they left. The evacuation then took place for these men on the 18^th and 19^th of December with Captain Twynham playing a major part in getting his men out safely.




*LEST WE FORGET THESE BRAVE MEN*

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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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