Gunner William Allan Carr, 2/1478. New Zealand Field Artillery ( )

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1 Gunner William Allan Carr, 2/1478 New Zealand Field Artillery ( ) Born in Marlborough, educated in Nelson, William Allan Carr is buried in France killed in action on the Somme in 1916 after surviving Gallipoli. Allan, as he was known by his family, was born at Koromiko (between Blenheim and Picton) on 29 September 1890, first child of Sarah Jane (nee Bright) and William Carr. Sarah was a niece of the well-known Nelson benefactor, Thomas Cawthron. Two brothers, Edward (Ted) and Ernest (Ernie - my grandfather) were born in 1892 and 1893 respectively, both in Palmerston North. The Carr brothers c1910. Left to right: Ted, Allan and Ernest Apart from his army personnel records, most of what we know about Allan was related by the late Sadie Sharpin (the author s mother and daughter of Ernest Carr) to her sons and 1

2 their cousins over many years. According to Sadie, Allan was educated after the family moved to Richmond, near Nelson. In 1904 he attended Nelson College. Allan was possibly curate at the Anglican Church in Richmond and studied at the Church of England s Bishopdale College, Nelson, training for the church ministry, although the Anglican Diocese in Nelson was unable to confirm either of these family stories from its records. He volunteered for the army in January 1915 when (much to Sadie s surprise) his occupation was Grocer, his last employer was given as Common Skelton & Co, Gisborne, and his address was 24 Ormond Road, Gisborne. She never knew he had lived in the North Island. Allan Carr c1912 Allan was initially given the regimental number 25/3292 (the 25 denoting 3 Battalion, NZ Rifle Brigade, part of the 4th Reinforcements) but this was soon changed to 2/1478, the 2 signifying the Artillery, and his rank was Gunner 1. The medical form, completed as part of 1 Gunner is the artillery equivalent of an infantry Private. 2

3 the enlistment process on 22 January 1915, incorrectly gives Allan s age as 25 years 4 months it should have been 24 years 4 months. He is described as being 5 feet 7 inches in height (approx. 1.7m) and weighing 10 stone (63.5 kg) and thus was the shortest and lightest of the three brothers. He was of fair complexion, with fair hair and blue eyes. Allan Carr c1915 Allan s army records show his actual enlistment date and the date from which his army service commenced as 10 February 1915, and on this date he was posted to the Howitzer Battery of the New Zealand Field Artillery (NZFA). At this time the Main Body (the first wave of NZ troops to go to the Northern Hemisphere), including Allan s youngest brother Ernest, was training in Egypt and had already seen brief action against the Turkish army at the Suez Canal. 3

4 Gallipoli Allan embarked for the Dardanelles from New Zealand as part of the 4 th Reinforcements on 17 April 1915, on either HMT 21, 22 or 23 the Willochra, the Knight Templar or the Waitomo respectively. Two days earlier New Zealand troops had set sail from Alexandria for Lemnos, heading for Gallipoli. Although his army records are silent from then until August 1915, we know from his brother Ernest s diary that he landed on Gallipoli on the morning of June 14 and the two brothers met by chance on the beach that afternoon it was a day off for Ernie and he d gone down for a swim 2. They met again the following day and Ernie s diary entry of June 19 records See Alan [sic] every other day. On July 3 the entry says had a yarn to Alan [sic]. See him two or three times a week. Ernest Carr s diary, June 14 & 15, 1915 According to Pugsley (1998:259), Anzac in June and July [1915] was the monotony and uncertainty of trench warfare. The gunners of the artillery faced all the privations of Anzac shared by their infantry and mounted rifles comrades in arms and described in great detail in many publications. However, the artillerymen were busy - Artillery, though limited by [a lack 2 The full entry for 14 June reads: My day off. Went for swim in afternoon. Had a big stroke of luck in afternoon. Standing watching a bomb throwing competition when who should walk up but Alan [sic]. He only landed this morning & might have to go back tonight. Had a yarn for about two hours. A lot of firing going on during the night. 4

5 of] ammunition on both sides, attempted to destroy the trenches, and death or injury came by sniper s bullet, shrapnel pellet or gassing and asphyxiation in a collapsed trench or mine shaft. Pugsley goes on to say [w]ithin the Anzac perimeter it was an artilleryman s nightmare. There was not enough space to lay out the guns properly, and what areas there were meant dragging the guns up the steep cliffs onto the plateaus which were open to Turkish fire. (1998:259). Allan was one of the Fourth Reinforcements and arrived with a four-gun battery, bringing the NZ Field Artillery Brigade up to four batteries of 18-pounders There was also the invaluable 4.5inch howitzer battery. (Pugsley, 1998:259) 3. As noted above, Allan had been posted to the howitzer battery. NZ soldiers manning a howitzer on Gallipoli, 1915 He was on Gallipoli for the great August offensive which involved feint attacks at Suvla Bay (where the British failed), Lone Pine and The Nek (where the Australians suffered huge casualties after terrible fighting), and the main assault on Chunuk Bair, from where could be seen the Dardanelles. New Zealand troops held Chunuk Bair for 36 hours before the relatively inexperienced English New Army troops who relieved them on 10 August were 3 The onset of trench warfare after the first few months of the First World War greatly increased the demand for howitzers that gave a steep angle of descent, which were better suited than guns to the task of striking targets in a vertical plane (such as trenches), with large amounts of explosive and considerably less barrel wear. ( 5

6 swept from the tops by Turkish troops under Mustafa Kemal (later known as Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey). Needless to say, Pugsley, acknowledged as New Zealand s leading Gallipoli historian, writes in considerable detail on these battles. Following the July 3 diary entry referring to the two brothers meeting regularly, the next mention of Allan in Ernie s diary is on August 27 where he records Went to beach for swim & to see if any word of Alan [sic] at battery. However, on August 22 Allan was admitted to HS [Hospital Ship] Caledonia at Mudros (on Lemnos), bound for England, suffering from Fistula 4. There is one further diary entry mentioning Allan on December 10 Ernie noted Sgt Guy of Nelson Comp. [Company] just back from England met Alan [sic] in hospital said he was looking well. By this time, as noted below, Allan was out of hospital and being prepared to return to the war but no doubt the message from Sergeant Guy was very happily received by the youngest brother. England Allan was admitted to the Duchess of Connaught s Canadian Red Cross Hospital at Taplow on 1 September It may have been here that Allan met Eileen, the Irish nurse he apparently became engaged to, and whose name became Sadie Sharpin s middle name. On 4 October Allan was discharged and given 14 days furlough where did he go, what did he do? Although we don t know for certain, he is bound to have gone to London to the Carrs relatives, the Grummants 6 of Brixton, for at least some of the time. Ernest was a regular visitor there when he was in England in Sadie thought Allan might have gone to Ireland and she did recall that there was something about Eileen s background that bothered the family perhaps she was Roman Catholic? On other occasions I recall her saying that it may have been Irish nationalist or Sinn Fein connections. Sadie believed that after the war Eileen had emigrated to Australia. 4 A fistula is an abnormal connection between an organ, vessel, or intestine and another structure. Fistulas are usually the result of injury or surgery. It can also result from infection or inflammation. 5 Taplow is a village in Buckinghamshire, England on the east bank of the River Thames). On the outbreak of war in 1915 the Astor family had invited the Canadian Red Cross to build a military hospital on part of the Cliveden estate. The Red Cross built a small hospital on the site with equipment from Canada. 6 Thomas Cawthron s mother was Sarah Grummant. 6

7 Allan reported back to the depot, as required, on 19 October 1915 and would have gone into a retraining programme before being Returned [to] active service on 11 January He disembarked from the HMT Briton at Alexandria, Egypt, on 23 January 1916 for the second time, almost a year to the day after his army medical examination in Gisborne. On the same day he was posted to the 2 nd BAC (Brigade Ammunition Column), and then transferred to the 4 th BAC on 1 March A week later, on 8 March 1916, Allan was transferred again, this time back to the howitzers with 15 Battery. In the absence of any evidence, such as a diary, we can only wonder whether Allan met up with his youngest brother in Egypt. Ernie had been there since the withdrawal from the Gallipoli Peninsula in December 1915 and from 1 March had become a member of the newly-formed NZ Machine Gun Corps (NZMGC). 8 France On 5 April 15 Battery sailed for France from Alexandria on the HMT Minnesoka, arriving at Marseilles five days later. The entire NZ Division, about 15,000 men, moved to France on five troop ships at this time. 7 In the early years of WWI, a BAC was made up of 158 men, commanded by a Captain, with 3 Lieutenants or Second-Lieutenants. The job of the BAC was to bring ammunition and other supplies to the Battery positions from the Divisional ammunition dumps. 8 Ernie was a Sergeant in 2 Company, NZMGC. See Ernest Carr s Great War Story, Part Two:

8 The description and comments that follow with regard to the NZFA s time in France are based largely on Lieutenant JR Byrnes 1922 semi-official history of New Zealand s artillery in WWI, NZ Artillery in the Field, (pages ) 9, complemented by Macdonald s very readable On My Way to the Somme 10, published over 80 years later in From Marseilles the NZ Division travelled by train to the north of France, a journey of more than 50 hours via the Rhone Valley, Lyons, Dijon, and Rouen. The NZFA were then billeted in small villages near the port city of Le Havre. Camouflaged British 4.5 inch field howitzers on the Western Front, probably 1917 In early May the NZFA, with the wider NZ Division, moved into the Reserve Area near Armentieres. Then in mid-may they took over a four mile sector of front line trenches. Three months later, in mid-august, the NZ artillery was relieved by the 51st (Highland) Division. Byrne commented The New Zealanders displayed for the Scottish troops a regard 9 Thanks to Victoria University s Electronic Text Collection, this publication is available on-line at: 10 Macdonald, Andrew. (2005). On My Way to the Somme: New Zealanders and the bloody offensive of Auckland: Harper Collins 11 The difference in writing style is very notable and where one is written from first-hand experience and recent memory, the later one includes many extracts from soldiers diaries and letters as well as quoting official documents and Byrne s account. 8

9 greater than they had seemed to entertain for other Home troops with whom they had been associated; and this found expression in a great deal of fraternising in the streets and in billets as well as in the more congenial atmosphere of the numerous estaminets 12. The Somme In the first week of September the artillery and the infantry of the NZ Division moved to new positions in the Somme area in preparation for their coming role in the major push that was planned for the middle of the month. Two Brigades of the NZFA were to support the NZ infantry while the other two would support other British troops. A New Zealand gun team on the move in northern France 13. As the NZFA took up their new positions they were subjected to heavy fire from the German artillery and suffered a number of casualties. On 11 September, the day before the bombardment was to commence, 15 Battery (and Allan Carr) was shifted to a new position near Longueval An estaminet is a café-type place, sometimes a private home, serving food and drink. 13 The horses are pulling a 4.5-inch howitzer. Credit: Alexander Turnbull Library 14 Caterpillar Valley Cemetery at Longueval houses the New Zealand Memorial to the Missing, commemorating 1205 NZ soldiers killed at the Somme who have no known grave. 9

10 At 6.20am on 15 September, a fine autumn morning, and after a three day bombardment, the infantry left their trenches, going over the top and attacked their German counterparts. This was the beginning of the Battle of Flers-Courcelette. It was a successful day for the NZ Division in terms of achieving the objectives set for it by the high command. It is also notable for being the first day tanks were used in battle. On the 18 th, however, the weather broke and as MacDonald describes In the field artillery s [gun] pits, gun platforms began to sink and the walls collapsed. Artillerymen spent hours struggling through the mud to their new battery positions with 20 horses lugging each gun. New Zealand s 2 nd Infantry Brigade, supported by the NZFA and 2 Company, NZMGC, made a small but highly successful advance on 20 September to straighten the front line of trenches. Ernie Carr was badly wounded on 20 September and sent to England to recover. I don t know if the two brothers met in France unfortunately there is no 1916 diary - but with Ernie being evacuated to England, they never saw each other again. The rain then stopped for a few days and artillery action was resumed by both sides but heavy rain began again at the end of September. MacDonald says It was a period of unremitting, hard, physical toil for all ranks [and] one gets a sense of despair while reading the diaries and letters of New Zealand artillerymen who remained on the Somme through October. By early October the artillerymen had had enough and wanted to leave the Somme for good. The New Zealand Division, but not the artillery, was withdrawn from the line on the night of the 3rd-4th October, relieved by the 41st Division. The NZFA however remained in action for another three weeks. Macdonald says that In the three weeks to 27 October, the artillerymen were frequently under hostile shellfire, be it explosive, shrapnel or gas. And further, that based on CWGC data, 76 artillerymen [were] killed between 3 and 26 October, or about three men a day. The worst days were 5, 7 and 21 October when, respectively, 11, 12 and 14 men were killed by German counter-battery fire. Allan Carr was one of those killed on 7 October, though just how his records don t disclose. Byrne, however, does describe how, on 7 October, the artillery was subjected to heavy counter-fire by the Germans the positions were "crumped" with 5.9's 15, and a lot of casualties were caused, particularly in the 15th Battery where five other ranks were killed and several wounded with one shell [underlining added ed.]. It seems likely that this was when Allan was killed. The NZFA was relieved on 25/26 October by the 1 st Australian Divisional Artillery 16. But back now to Allan Carr and the 7 th of October. On one sheet of Allan s records it states Reported killed in action (2.c.178) 7/10/16 and 5 of c.s.n. M.35.2 G6580. Extract inch howitzers 16 Macdonald summarises: In its 52-day tour on the Somme, the New Zealand Field Artillery suffered some 500 casualties. Of those, 135 were killed or died of wounds Altogether, New Zealand artillerymen had fired some 50,000 shells at enemy positions between 31 August and 26 October. (page 290) 10

11 from Reports of Burials No B This is presumably a map reference and it does suggest that initially Allan was identified and buried in a marked grave rather than just disappearing as thousands did. He was later moved to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission s (CWGC) Bulls Road Cemetery, Flers, Somme. Until I visited the cemetery in 2013 I had been under the misapprehension that he had no known grave but this is not the case 17. When he joined up in 1915 Allan was living in Gisborne and his name, therefore, is recorded on the Gisborne city war memorial (see photos over page). It is also recorded in the Nelson College Roll of Honour, on display in the College s Scriptorium. Allan was awarded the Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal which were forwarded to his mother. Sadly, they are no longer in the family. However, the Gallipoli Medallion, not struck until 1967 and awarded to veterans or their families, was claimed by Allan s niece, Sadie Sharpin, in 2005, and is now held by the author. Phil Sharpin Nelson April See Appendix 1, Nelson Mail article. 11

12 Author at Gisborne War Memorial,

13 Allan Carr s Gallipoli Medallion. 13

14 Appendix 1: Commonwealth War Graves Commission Certificate 14

15 Appendix 2 15

16 References Byrne, Lieutenant J. R. (1922). New Zealand Artillery in the Field, Auckland: Whitcombe and Tombs. (Available from the New Zealand Electronic Text Collection, Victoria University of Wellington - Macdonald, Andrew. (2005). On My Way to the Somme: New Zealanders and the bloody offensive of Auckland: Harper Collins Pugsley, Christopher. (1998). Gallipoli: The New Zealand Story. (Auckland: Reed). Sharpin, Sadie semi-formal interview with author, 8 October 2005 (and many other conversations over the years up to 2011). Photo Acknowledgements Page 1 the Carr brothers, circa Author s collection, from Sadie Sharpin Page 2 Allan Carr, circa Author s collection, from Sadie Sharpin Page 3 - Allan Carr in uniform, circa From a post card in the author s collection, from Sadie Sharpin Page 4 Ernest Carr s 1915 diary original diary with author, on loan from Michael Kitchin another of Ernest s grandsons Page 5 - NZ soldiers manning a howitzer on Gallipoli: %2C %3APhotograph+albums+relating+to+World+War+I+including+the+Gallipoli+campaig Page 7 Duchess of Connaught Hospital, Taplow: Page 8 - British howitzers: Page 9 NZ gun team on the move. Alexander Turnbull Library Page 11 Bulls Road Cemetery, Flers: Page 12 Author at the Gisborne war memorial, 2009 Photo in author s collection; (photo by James Turner) Page 13 - Gallipoli Medallion medallion and photo in author s collection (photo by Trish Bray) Appendix 1 Commonwealth War Grave Commission Certificate: Appendix 2 Nelson Mail article & photo, 27 April 2013 (photo by Ian Reid) This BIOGRAPHY was researched and prepared by Phil Sharpin, grandson of the subject. 16