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Anzac Labour

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Anzac Labour Workplace Cultures in the Australian Imperial Force during the First World War Nathan Wise Lecturer in Public and Applied History, University of New England, Australia Palgrave macmillan

Nathan Wise 2014 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014 978-1-137-36397-8 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No portion of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, Saffron House, 6 10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2014 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS. Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin s Press LLC, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010. Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies and has companies and representatives throughout the world. Palgrave and Macmillan are registered trademarks in the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-47318-2 ISBN 978-1-137-36398-5 ( ebook) DOI 10.1057/9781137363985 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

Contents Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Note on Style vii ix xi 1 Introduction 1 2 Civilian to Soldier: The Transition of Men From Civil Employment to Military Service 8 A fair day s pay for a fair day s work 8 Adjusting to military life in training camps 15 The absence of a military tradition 18 The managerial role of officers 20 Industrial action in the AIF 26 Routines aboard troopships 30 Initial experiences in Egypt 32 3 The Nature of Work Gallipoli 35 The invasion of the Gallipoli Peninsula 35 Adjusting to the conditions 38 Work below ground 42 A never-ending job 44 4 The Nature of Work The Western Front 49 The real work of war 49 Time spent in the trenches 52 At the going down of the sun night work 55 The horrible nature of work 58 Work behind the lines 62 The pursuit of manliness, pride and social power through work 68 Humour and protest 77 Cooperative resistance and unit cohesion 83 Mutiny on the Western Front 86 v

vi Contents 5 The Nature of Work The Near East 91 The role of the mounted arms and the work of the mounted soldier 91 Working relationships with animals 93 The impact of environmental factors on work 103 The monotony of military life in the Near East 106 The class of war in the Near East 110 6 Return Home: Perhaps Tomorrow We Will Know Exactly How the Situation Stands 116 Armistice 116 Continued work in Europe 120 Rebuilding, rehabilitation and BON-MILITARY ENJOYMENT 123 From one home to another 129 Peace at last 135 7 Conclusion 139 Notes 143 Bibliography 168 Index 180

Acknowledgements One of the most difficult aspects of any extensive scholarly work is selecting the words to sufficiently convey the overwhelming sense of gratitude the author feels towards those who have contributed in so many ways towards the completion of the work. I feel an immense sense of appreciation to Raelene Frances, Bruce Scates, John McQuilton and Tony Harris. I cannot thank you enough for your guidance and encouragement both within the context of this research, and in broader scholarly life. I would also like to thank Melanie Oppenheimer, Peter Way and Janet Watson for their advice on this research. Thank you in particular Melanie for supporting and mentoring me over the past few years as I transformed that work into this book. Much of this research would not have been possible were it not for the funding support received from generous benefactors over the years. This research was assisted for two-and-a-half years by a University Postgraduate Award from the University of New South Wales. Funding was received in 2005 by holding the Milt Luger Fellowship at the State Library of New South Wales, and this enabled me to conduct a detailed analysis of the records of the Mitchell Library. Further funding was received in 2006 through a research grant from the Australian Army History Unit. The School of Business at the University of Sydney also allowed me to present some of my findings at the annual Labour History Conference through a postgraduate scholarship. To all people associated with these organisations I am very grateful. This gratitude also extends through to the archivists and associated staff at the archives and libraries visited over the past decade. In particular I would like to acknowledge the assistance provided by: Mark Hildebrand, Elizabeth Ellis and other staff at the Mitchell Library and the State Library of New South Wales; Katharine Higgon and the staff at the Liddell Hart Archives at King s College, London; the staff in the research centre at the Australian War Memorial; the staff at the National Archives of Australia; the staff at the Noel Butlin Archives at the Australian National University; the staff at the State Library of Tasmania; and the staff at the State Library of Victoria. In addition to these larger holdings, I was also assisted in the formulation of this research by smaller archives and historical societies around Australia, vii

viii Acknowledgements and I would like to thank: Caroline Merrylees and the Hay Historical Society; Clive Polkinghome and the Griffith Genealogical and Historical Society; Fiona Schirmer and the Lockhart and District Historical Society; the Temora Rural Museum; the Albury and District Historical Society; the Charles Sturt University Archives; the Marrickville Archives; and the Wagga Wagga Historical Society. Peter Dennis at the Australian Defence Force Academy in Canberra was also kind in providing access to an early online version of AIF Project, and Rowan Cahill, Bradon Elem, Greg Patmore, Margaret Walters and Terry Irving supported the exposure of this research through the Sydney branch of the Australian Society for the Study of Labour History. Finally, I would like to thank my friends and family who have supported my life around this research. To my father, Barry, mother, Gillian, and brother, Gavin, thank you as always for your love and support throughout everything. Most importantly of all, thank you to my partner Jenny, and to our children, Matilda and Lachlan. Thank you for your love and support, and for the motivation you continue to provide.

Abbreviations 2/Lt AAMC AGH AIF ANZAC ASC AWM Bde Bn or Btn Bty or Btty Capt or Cpt CB CO Coy Div Dvr EEF FAB Gnr GOC HMAS HMAT HQ or HQRS ICC L-Cpl LHA Lt ML NAA NCO OC Pte QMS Reg Second Lieutenant Australian Army Medical Corps Australian General Hospital Australian Imperial Force Australia and New Zealand Army Corps Army Service Corps Australian War Memorial Brigade Battalion Battery Captain Confined to barracks Commanding Officer Company Division Driver Egyptian Expeditionary Force Field Artillery Brigade Gunner General Officer Commanding His Majesty s Australian Ship His Majesty s Australia Transport Headquarters Imperial Camel Corps Lance Corporal Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives, King s College, London Lieutenant Mitchell Library, Sydney National Archives of Australia Non-commissioned officer Officer Commanding Private Quartermaster Sergeant Regiment ix

x List of Abbreviations RFA RHA RMS Sgt SLVIC SM Spr Royal Field Artillery Royal Horse Artillery Royal Mail Ship Sergeant State Library of Victoria Sergeant-Major Sapper

Note on Style The focus of this book is upon representing the attitudes and experiences of men who served in the military through an examination of their letters, diaries, and memoirs. The environment in which that primary source material was written was not always comfortable, the material used to write with rarely the preferred option, and the time available to write often limited. In addition, the educational backgrounds and literacy levels of these men varied considerably. As a result, there are a large number of grammatical and spelling errors: capital letters are misused, full stops and commas often completely omitted, and words frequently misspelled. In some diaries, sentences give way to short one or two word summaries of daily life. To retain the feel of the material, and to maintain strong links with the thoughts of the diary and letter writers, hereafter referred to as chroniclers, the author has retained these errors in quotes such that they are as they appear in the original source. In addition, because of the frequency of these mistakes in some sources, sic has generally not been used to denote that these errors are as written, as such usage would flood many entries and reduce the significance of the extract. Given the omission of sic, the author has made careful attempts to keep the extracts provided as accurate as possible; spelling mistakes, missing or misplaced letters, and the lack of punctuation have been checked and re-checked with the original source to ensure they all appear as written. Ultimately keeping the material in this way provides the reader with greater insight into the situation and mindset of Australian soldiers of the First World War. These men were not always given the time or space to think carefully about what to write down, and thus the extracts appear as close as possible to the way they were originally recorded. xi