FAMILY LIFE

Charles Allard was born on 8^th October, 1894 in Burringbar, son of Edward George & Emily Ada (Ellem) Allard. The Allard family had moved to Burringbar in the 1890’s, operating a dairy farm. Charles had four sisters and one brother. He was educated at Burringbar and after leaving school he became a farmhand. Charles’ father, Edward, is listed on the Banner St Memorial, Murwillumbah which lists the 2,348 pioneer settlers of the Tweed district

APPLICATION

Charles Allard was single dairy farmer, eager to do his bit. He travelled to Brisbane on 24^th September 1915 to complete his application which showed his next of kin as his father, Edward, of Burringbar. His medical showed he was 20 years 9 months old, 5ft 4 ¾ inches tall (1.65m), weighed 126 lbs (57kgs), with a dark complexion, brown eyes & black hair. His eyesight was good. Charles was Presbyterian and had a mole on the right side of his back, a scar across the bridge of his nose and a slight scar above his right eye.  He was enlisted as a private into the 26^th Infantry Battalion – 10^th Reinforcements with service No 4069.  

26TH INFANTRY BATTALION

The 26th Infantry Battalion, part of the 7th Brigade, 2nd Division of the Australian Imperial Force, was raised in April 1915 at Enoggera, Queensland. The battalion served in several key campaigns during World War I. Their service is remembered for their resilience and contributions to key victories.

Charles was transferred to the 49^th Battalion on 19^th September 1917

49^th INFANTRY BATTALION

The 49th Infantry Battalion was formed in Egypt on February 27, 1916, as part of the expansion of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) following the Gallipoli Campaign. It was composed of Gallipoli veterans from the 9th Battalion and fresh recruits from Australia. The battalion became part of the 13th Brigade within the 4th Australian Division. The unit earned numerous battle honours and decorations for its service, reflecting its bravery and contributions to the war effort

AUSTRALIAN TRAINING CAMP

Now training for the new recruits began. Firstly, the men received their vaccinations for smallpox, rabies & plague, then a recruit had to be inducted into military forms of discipline, command, and order. This was partially achieved through a program of basic training carried and, in a sense, was maintained for a long as a man was in the service.

It involved marching and drilling with the rifle, cleaning and caring for personal equipment and being supervised and inspected in ways quite different to ordinary civilian life. For example, no boots should be allowed to get in a bad state of wear but must be sent to the bootmaker without delay for repair. Men who were found with hair long and unshaven had to have a haircut and shave

Secondly, after basic training there followed the far more serious exercise of turning a man into a fighting soldier at least partially prepared for the kind of warfare he was about to experience overseas. The topics and exercises in the syllabus of training were a world away from their former lives and included daily physical training, entrenching, wiring, firing rifle grenades, firing the Lewis light machine gun, dealing with gas attack, using hand grenades, using the bayonet, and the routines to be followed in the trenches.

This training was then put into practice during what were called ‘Field Days,’ when men would practice using the skills they had acquired in mock attacks both by day and by night. How well men had learnt to use their weapons, in cooperation with each other in training, would be tested in the harsh reality of the front line. Training would take several months.

VOYAGE OVERSEAS

On March 28, 1916, Charles found himself and more than 900 others on His Majesty’s Troop Ship HMAT Commonwealth bound for the war zone as the 9th-12th replacements for the 7th Infantry headed from Egypt to France after Gallipoli.  They thought it was the start of a new adventure- for many it was their first time so far away from home. However, after some time at sea the biggest problem turned out to be boredom. Attempts at breaking up the boredom, apart from the regular drill, varied. Shipboard activities included regular church parades and concerts. Troops engaged in lifebelt drill; a cookhouse on deck; soldiers on fatigues peeling potatoes 'spud bashing'; going to the dentist; barber, pay day; soldiers cleaning personal equipment; medical inspection. Sports and recreation included boxing, deck quoits, draughts. Also, the commanding officer's morning inspection; kit inspections; submarine drill; recreation such as the on deck 'open air' library, deck billiards, pillow fighting and card games including Nap. As well, conditions on the ships were cramped and the risk of illness was constant.  

EGYPTIAN OVERSEAS TRAINING CAMP

They had already completed their basic training in Australia but over many more tough months, in the Egyptian training camp, the volunteers left their old lives farther behind. They began their training with physical fitness exercises, they were taught individual and unit discipline, how to follow commands, how to march, some basic field skills and how to safely handle his weapons. Training would be for eight hours a day six days a week. All day long, in every valley of the Sahara for miles around the Pyramids of Giza were groups or lines of men advancing, retiring, drilling or squatted near their piled arms listening to their officer. For many of the battalions many miles of desert had to be covered in the morning and evening to and from their allotted training areas. At first, to harden the troops, they wore full kit with heavy packs. Their backs became drenched with perspiration, and the bitter desert wind blew on them as they camped for their midday meal and many deaths from pneumonia were attributed to this cause.

HOSPITALISATION- MUMPS

During this time Charles was admitted to the 4th Auxiliary Hospital in Heliopolis with mumps. During this time, mumps was a dangerous disease and is a contagious disease spreading very easily in the crowded conditions of the camp. Charles would have suffered fever, headaches, tiredness, body aches & poor appetite. There is no specific treatment for mumps. Instead, treatment focuses on symptom relief. Treatment would have included plenty of rest, lots of fluids, using a warm or cool compress to relieve facial pain and swelling & eating foods that do not need a lot of chewing

 TRENCH WARFARE

The 26^th Battalion now headed to fight on the Western Font & on 29^th September 1916 Charles sailed to France to join his unit. The recruits now found themselves fighting the German in trench warfare. On the Western Front in 1914–1918, both sides constructed elaborate trench, underground, and dugout systems opposing each other along a front, protected from assault by barbed wire. The area between opposing trench lines (known as "no man's land") was fully exposed to artillery fire from both sides. Attacks, even if successful, often sustained severe casualties. Trench warfare created a living environment for the men which was harsh, stagnant, and extremely dangerous. Not only were trenches constantly under threat of attack from shells or other weapons, but there were also many health risks that developed into large-scale problems for medical personnel. Apart from the inescapable cold during the winters in France & Belgium, trenches were often completely waterlogged and muddy, and crawling with lice and rats

The time soldiers spent in the trenches varied depending on factors like their army's rotation system and the intensity of the conflict in their sector. On average:

·      Front-line trenches: Soldiers typically remained here for about 4–6 days at a time. This was where the fighting was most intense and the conditions were the harshest.

·      Support and reserve trenches: After time on the front line, soldiers were rotated to these positions for around 6–12 days. These trenches were set further back and offered slightly better conditions.

·      Rest periods: Soldiers were then moved away from the trench system entirely for rest, training, and recovery, often lasting several weeks, depending on operational needs.

The rotation system helped prevent complete physical and mental exhaustion, but the constant dangers of trench life meant there was rarely any true respite.

 BATTLE OF MOQUET SEPTEMBER 1916

The 26th Battalion which Charles had joined as a replacement are credited with being the first to successfully breach the German barbed wire at Mouquet and enter the German trenches. When the replacements arrived in the trenches the battle-weary veterans took one look at them and pitied them, they were so fresh faced and as one said, “they looked just like normal men” something they had not seen for some time. From the War Diaries, the replacements acquitted themselves with credit. They later attacked Thieval north of Pozieres and breached the trenches but were driven out by concentrated machine gun and heavy artillery fire.

 Charles recounted how during a barrage his trench was collapsed and luckily, he was dug out and saved or risked being buried alive. The War Diaries for his Battalion cover this incident and relate the heavy loss of life with most buried alive. The normal routine for manning the trenches was to have 15 days in the trenches followed by eight back at the Nursery. Where possible longer rest periods were given back from the front and if you were lucky after 12 months, they received a ticket to England every four months for eight days. 

HINDENBURG LINE- 1916-1917

The harsh winter of 1916–17 was spent occupying defensive positions along the front and training behind the lines. Christmas was spent in the trenches around Amiens, but in early January 1917, the 26th Battalion was transferred to the Ancre Valley and then to Le Sars later in the month. As the German Army withdrew towards the Hindenburg Line, the 26th was involved in a number of actions at Warlencourt and Lagnicourt in March. The Hindenburg Line was a heavily fortified German defensive position built during the winter of 1916–1917 on the Western Front in France. It stretched from Arras to Laffaux, near Soissons on the Aisne. The Germans constructed it to shorten their front lines, conserve troops, and strengthen their defences after suffering heavy losses in battles like Verdun and the Somme. The line consisted of concrete bunkers, barbed wire, and deep trenches, making it extremely difficult to breach. It resisted all Allied attacks in 1917 but was finally broken in late 1918

BATTLE OF BULLECOURT MAY 1917

In May they joined the Second Battle of Bullecourt (part of the Battle of the Somme), where they were used mainly in a support role during the initial attack, being held back as part of the 2nd Division's reserve. During the attack, a company from the 26th was detached to help bolster the 5th Brigade, and later it was thrust into the line to help defend the gains after a German counterattack fell on the 6th Brigade's left flank.

Despite the failure of a first attack on 11 April 1917, a few weeks later General Gough once again tried to break the Hindenburg Line at Bullecourt. On 3 May 1917 the 2nd Australian Division attacked with the British alongside. Although the brigade on the right faltered under deadly machine-gun fire, the 6th Brigade got into the enemy’s trenches and, despite heavy shellfire and counter attacks, bravely held on.

 The 1st Division relieved the 2nd, and soon the 5th Division took its turn. Finally, after more than a week, the Germans gave up these blood-soaked fields. Then the depleted Australian battalions were withdrawn to recover. The furious fighting, which in the end only advanced the line a kilometre or so, had been at the heavy cost of another 7,000 Australian casualties.

'The Second Bullecourt battle was, in some ways, the stoutest achievement of the Australian soldier in France'.

BATTLE OF MESSINES JUNE 1917

On the June 17, 1917, the Australians were withdrawn from the Battle of the Somme to the battle for Messines which was initiated by the detonation of five-hundred tonnes of high explosives placed in 19 tunnels dug by the British, including Australian, tunnellers under the German fortifications along the Messines Ridge.

 The resultant explosion, the largest ever in the world to that date, was clearly felt and heard in London. The Battle for Messines was the first time the new reinforcements were subjected to Phosgene Gas. This gas had previously been delivered by hand grenade and being subject to wind and how far it could be thrown was not all that popular with the enemy. Later the Germans perfected artillery and mortar shells which delivered the gas into the back of the enemy lines. Charles along with the rest of his group would have experienced gas to some degree.

BATTLE OF MENIN ROAD SEPTEMBER 1917

The battalion was moved to Belgium again, where they joined the battle at Menin Road. This was an offensive operation, part of the Third Battle of Ypres on the Western Front, undertaken by the British Second Army to take sections of the curving ridge, east of Ypres, which the Menin Road crossed. This action saw the first involvement of Australian units (1st and 2nd Divisions AIF) in the Third Battle of Ypres. The attack was successful along its entire front, though the advancing troops had to overcome formidable entrenched German defensive positions which included mutually supporting concrete pill-box strongpoints and resist fierce German counter-attacks. A feature of this battle was the intensity of the opening British artillery support. The two AIF Divisions sustained 5,013 casualties in the action

 PROMOTION AND TRANSFER TO THE 49^TH BATTALION

On 19^th September 1917 Charles was appointed Lance Corporal in the 49^th Battalion. They were also fighting in Belgium and were active in the Battle of Polygon Wood, just days after Charles joined them.

 BATTLE OF POLYGON WOOD 1917 SEPTEMBER 26^TH - OCTOBER 3^RD

Polygon Wood was the second of three battles between 20 September and 4 October 1917 in which ‘step by step’ or ‘bite and hold’ tactics were used to batter down the formidable German defensive positions. After an opening bombardment the infantry would advance for a prescribed distance behind a ‘creeping’ barrage of shells. This barrage would keep the Germans in their ‘pillboxes’ until British soldiers were almost upon them. The enemy positions would then be captured consolidated and protected from counter-attack by artillery. Artillery would be brought forward and the next ‘bite’ attempted. In this way the British aimed to work their way from their start lines near Ypres to the heights of the ridge ten kilometres away at Passchendaele village. Charles Bean, the Australian Official Historian described the opening barrage on 26 September as the most perfect that ever protected Australian troops and that it rolled ahead of the troops roaring ‘like a Gippsland bushfire’. The battle cost 5,770 Australian casualties

SOMME VALLEY 1918

In early 1918 they were moved south to the Somme Valley. Following the collapse of Tsarist Russia in late 1917, the Germans were able to transfer large amounts of equipment and manpower from the Eastern Front to the Western Front and subsequently launched their Spring Offensive in March. Falling on the southern flanks of the sector held by the British Third and Fifth Armies, the offensive initially succeeded in driving the Allies back and in late March, as the Germans closed in on the vital railhead around Amiens, the five Australian divisions, which had been grouped together as part of the Australian Corps, were transferred to the Somme to help blunt the attack. 

SECOND BATTLE OF DERNANCOURT 1918 APRIL 5^TH

The 4th Division took up positions around Dernancourt, along the River Ancre, and on 5 April played a significant part in repelling a German attack there during the Second Battle of Dernancourt, where in the words of author Chris Coulthard-Clark, the 4th Division "faced the strongest attack mounted against Australians during the war". For their part, the 49th Battalion, supported by part of the 45th, put in a vital counter-attack late in the afternoon amidst heavy rain, which saved the situation for the Australians, whose line had been penetrated by a German counterattack across a railway bridge west of the town; in doing so they suffered heavily, though, losing 14 officers and 207 other ranks

 BATTLE OF VILLERS-BRETONNEUX 1918 APRIL 24^TH TO 25^TH

Later in the month, they took part in the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, launching an Anzac Day attack that successfully recaptured the town, which had been lost the previous day following an attack by four German divisions.  The town of Villers-Bretonneux, located near Amiens, was strategically important, as its capture would have allowed German forces to threaten the vital British supply hub.

 On 24 April, German forces launched an attack using tanks, marking the first-ever tank battle in history. They successfully captured the town, but later that night, Australian and British troops launched a daring counterattack, encircling the Germans and forcing them to retreat. By 25 April, the town was liberated, coinciding with the third anniversary of the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli2.

 The battle was a turning point, halting the German advance and demonstrating the effectiveness of Australian troops in defensive and offensive operations. Today, Villers-Bretonneux remains a site of remembrance, with the Australian National Memorial honouring those who fought there

WOUNDED IN ACTION APRIL 1918

One of the casualties of this action was Charles, who was wounded in action on 26^th April, with no details. The wound was mild as he was discharged on 28^th April.

 HOSPITALISATION JULY- SEPTEMBER 1918

On 17^th July 1918 he was admitted to the 1^st General Hospital in Rouen, sick- no details.

 DISCIPLINED SEPTEMBER 1918

While in hospital, on 14^th September 1918 he was absent from parade from 11am and returned 7 days later. He was awarded 168 hours detention by Major S. Shilling

COMMAND DEPOT SEPTEMBER- OCTOBER 1918

In mid-September Charles was transferred to a command depot in France. Here he would convalesce but continue with drilling & training as the technology and techniques were rapidly changing and soldiers had to be up to date when they were ready to rejoin their units. This ensured they did not lose their sharpness for battle and that a unit’s cohesiveness was retrained.

 WAR ENDING

He rejoined his unit on 19^th October but the end of the war was in sight and on 11^th November the fighting was officially over so he prepared to return to Australia. After the Armistice, the Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes insisted Australian troops be repatriated (returned home) as quickly as possible. This logistical challenge was enormous with 135,000 troops brought home from Britain in 147 voyages, and 16,773 troops from the Middle East in 56 voyages, mostly on a first come, first go basis. There was a lack of suitable ships to transport personnel home and many had to wait several months before they were headed back to Australia. He was given leave in England from 23^rd October to 9^th November.

 PROMOTION JANUARY 1919

On 11^th January 1919 he was promoted from Lance Corporal to Temporary Corporal.

GOING HOME

He returned to Australia on 13^th April 1919 on the same ship as he arrived in, the Commonwealth, arriving home on the 12^th June. Charles was discharged 28^th July 1919. For his service, Charles was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal.

LIFE IN AUSTRALIA

When he returned to Australia with the help of his family and his accrued pay, he purchased a going dairy at Dicksons Road. He married Elsie Gladys Robinson in 1925. He went on to farm at Upper Burringbar passing away February 7, 1956, aged 61. He is buried in Murwillumbah General Cemetery, Church of England section Plot B2-24.

If you have any additional information about this individual, we invite you to email us at rsl@msmc.org.au.