FAMILY LIFE

Joseph Raymond Harrison was born in Berry in 1897, son of Daniel “Donald” Harrison & Hannah (Hetherington) Harrison. He was the younger brother to his 2 older sisters. The family are all buried in Murwillumbah General Cemetery. His mother is listed on the Banner St Memorial, Murwillumbah which lists the 2348 pioneer settlers of the Tweed district

 APPLICATION

Joseph was single farmer, living in Burringbar, 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 mother, Hannah. His medical showed he was 18 years 9 months old, 5ft 6 ¼ inches tall (1.68m), weighed 127 lbs (56kgs), with a dark complexion, green eyes & dark brown hair.  His eyesight was good. Joseph was Presbyterian and had several moles on his body.  He was enlisted as a private into the 26^th Infantry Battalion – 10^th Reinforcements with service No 4140

 26^TH INFANTRY BATTALION

The 26th was originally raised in April 1915 during World War I as part of the Australian Imperial Force and was assigned to the 7th Brigade. The legacy of the 26th Infantry Battalion is deeply rooted in its remarkable contributions during both World Wars. It is remembered for its bravery and resilience in key battles

 AUSTRALIAN TRAINING CAMP

As was the case with men from the Northern Rivers district in New South Wales, they trained at Rifle Range Camp, Enoggera near Brisbane. The Barracks Block was built as accommodation for men in two dormitories, each 36 feet by 22 feet (10.97 x 6.7 metres). Beds or bunks were not provided, instead each man slept on a palliasse with ground sheet on the floor. For many it was their first time away from home. Men from every walk of life, from clerks and teachers to factory and shop workers, were crammed together

 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, Joseph 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.  It was a foretaste of what was to come

 EGYPTIAN 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.  Later, as soldiers specialised in a particular area (for example, machine gunner or signaller) they would be trained in specific skills and would take part in practice manoeuvres and sham fights. They would spend many hours learning training in the use of bayonets, anti- gas training and guard duty along with lectures on camouflage or trench warfare and much more.

 TRENCH WARFARE WESTERN FRONT

The 26^th battalion fought at Gallipoli in the latter stages of that campaign before being withdrawn to Egypt in late 1915. In mid-1916, it was sent to Europe where it served in the trenches of the Western Front in France and Belgium for the rest of the war. 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 POZIERES JULY TO SEPTEMBER 1916

On 5^th September 1916 Joseph sailed to France and on 20^th September Joseph was taken on strength. The AIF had suffered considerable losses in their early battles in France, so Joseph and his companions were pushed straight into the Battle for Pozieres on the Somme River. The 26th Battalion which Joseph 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 Thiepval north of Pozieres and breached the trenches but were driven out by concentrated machine gun and heavy artillery fire

 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 days 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.

 HOSPITALISATION -PUO OCTOBER 1916

On 20^th October 1916 Joseph was admitted to a hospital in the field. These hospitals were set up immediately behind the lines, often housed in tents, including wards and operating theatres. He was diagnosed with PUO-pyrexia of unknown origin. Trench fever, often classed as “pyrexia,” is a condition that was first reported from troops in Flanders in 1915, when individuals suffered from a febrile illness that relapsed in five-day cycles. At the time, the cause of the disease was unknown. He was discharged to duty on 28^th October and rejoined his unit on 4^th November 1916.

 HOSPITALISATION TRENCH FEET NOVEMBER 1916

On 25^th November he was admitted with trench feet. Another common and serious issue, the issue was prominent in trenches that were dug in land that was at, or near, sea level, where the water table was just beneath the surface.  The soldiers would hit water after a couple of feet and the trenches would flood. After long periods standing in soaking wet socks and boots, trench foot would start to set in. The men’s feet would swell and go numb and then the skin would start to turn red or blue. Untreated feet often became gangrenous and the condition could lead to nerve damage, tissue loss and ultimately the need for amputation. 

 JANUARY 1917

Joseph rejoined his battalion on 27^th January 1917. In the coming months the Australian successes at and around Pozieres increased troop morale as it was now realised by a battle-weary Allied force that the Germans could be beaten. The German High Command also realised this and to break moral concentrated their heavy artillery fire over the trenches to an area known as the “Nursery” where reinforcements and the soldiers from the trenches were resting.

 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.

 THE BATTLE OF PASSCHENDAELE OCTOBER 1917

On 15^th September he was given leave in England, returning on 26^th September. In the next few weeks there were many significant battled fought in Belgium and the 26^th took part in the Battle of Passchendaele. This battle took place on the Western Front, from July to November 1917, for control of the ridges south and east of the Belgian city of Ypres in West Flanders. Passchendaele lies on the last ridge east of Ypres, 8 km from Roulers a junction of the Bruges to Kortrijk railway. The station at Roulers was on the main supply route of the German 4th Army. Also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Passchendaele takes place in Ypres, Belgium, as British forces, with help from the French and the use of tanks, launch an attack to wrest control of Ypres from the Germans. Attacks and counterattacks ensue for four months in the rain and mud, with Canadian forces brought in to help relieve the troops but little ground being won. In the end, it is considered a victory for the Allies, with but one that costs both sides more than 550,000 casualties.

 KILLED IN ACTION 8^TH OCTOBER 1917

One of the casualties of this battle was Joseph who was killed on 8^th October 1917

 IN MEMORIAM

For his service, Joseph was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. He is memorialised at the Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres, Flanders, Belgium and his name is located at panel 107 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial. Joseph’s effects were returned to his mother and consisted of his kit store book, 2 razors, a wallet, letter, cards, 2 lighters, bag handle & 2 lighters. His mother was granted pension of 1 pound 6 shillings per fortnight from 13 January 1918.  Hannah received his Victory Medal on 2^nd March 1923. 

---

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

We do not have any additional documents or pictures related to this individual.