Private Henry Benjamin Austin
Service #: 125
Summary
BACKGROUND
Henry Benjamin Austin was born in Casino on the 7th December 1894, son of William George & Amelia (Welsh) Austin. According to NSWBDM & Wikitree.com. Henry had had one sister, Eleanor and two half siblings Amy & Henry, from his mother’s second marriage. Henry married Rose Ellen Bourke in Murwillumbah on the 18th September 1918.
ATTESTATION
Henry travelled from his home at Bilambil to Brisbane on the 15th July 1915 to complete his application. He answered several questions on the document, and we find out he was a single man and gave his occupation as labourer. His next of kin was his sister, illegible, of Tweed Heads
He then signed a declaration confirming he had answered the questions correctly and was willing to voluntarily agree to service in the Military Forces of the Commonwealth of Australia
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CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTING OFFICER
On the second page of the attestation documents the attesting confirms the following; “The foregoing questions were read to the person enlisted in my presence. I have taken care that he understood each question, and his answer to each question has been duly entered as replied to by him”
OATH
He also made the following oath in the presence of the Attesting Officer: “I, Henry Benjamin Austin, swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force until the end of the War, and a further four months thereafter unless sooner lawfully discharged, dismissed or removed therefrom: and that I will resist His Majesty’s enemies and case His Majesty’s peace to be kept and maintained; and I will in all matters appertaining to my services faithfully discharge my duty according to law
He then signed a declaration confirming he had answered the questions correctly and was willing to voluntarily agree to service in the Military Forces of the Commonwealth of Australia
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MEDICAL EXAMINATION
Henry was 19 years 7 months old. He was 5ft 5 ½ inches (1.66m) and weighed 120lbs (55 kgs). He had a fresh complexion, grey eyes and brown hair. His eyesight was good. Henry was Church of England
CERTIFICATE OF MEDICAL EXAMINER
The medical examiner certifies I have examined the abovenamed person, and find that he does not present any of the following conditions, viz: -
Scrofula; phthisis; syphilis; impaired constitution; defective intelligence; defects of vision, voice, or hearing; hernia’ haemorrhoids; varicose veins, beyond a limited extent; marked varicocele with unusually pendent testicle; inveterate cutaneous disease’ chronic ulcers; traces of corporal punishment or evidence of having been marked with the letters D. or B.C; contracted or deformed chest; abnormal curvature of spine; or any other disease or physical defect calculated to unfit him for the duties of a soldier.
He can see the required distance with either eye; his heart and lungs are healthy; he has the free use of his joints and limbs; and he declares he is not subject to fits of any description. I consider him fit for active service
CERTIFICATE OF COMMANDING OFFICER
This is completed during the recruits training. Henry was in Broadmeadows training camp when this was completed on 13th October 1915. The commanding officer certifies that this attestation of the abovenamed person is correct, and that the required forms have been complied with. He then states “I accordingly approve, and appoint him as a private in A company 31st Battalion with service Number 125
BROADMEADOWS TRAINING CAMP
When a new recruit arrived at Broadmeadows Camp in Victoria to begin his military training, he entered one of Australia's largest and busiest military training establishments. Thousands of volunteers passed through the camp during the war, all undergoing the transformation from civilians into soldiers of the Australian Imperial Force.
The training was demanding and designed to prepare men for the realities of active service. The days would have begun early, often before dawn, with physical exercises and parade-ground drill. Instructors placed great emphasis on discipline, teamwork and obedience to orders. Hours were spent learning how to march, form ranks, salute correctly and manoeuvre as part of a larger military unit.
Rifle training was a major component of the course. The recruits would have become familiar with the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle, learning how to clean, maintain and fire it accurately. Musketry practice taught recruits to shoot at varying distances, while field exercises demonstrated how to use cover and move safely under simulated combat conditions.
As training progressed, they would have taken part in route marches that steadily increased in distance. These marches, often conducted carrying full equipment, helped build endurance and accustomed soldiers to the weight they would later carry on active service. Physical fitness was considered essential, and recruits spent many hours exercising, running obstacle courses and undertaking strenuous outdoor activities.
Fieldcraft formed another important part of the curriculum. Vincent would have learned how to establish camps, dig trenches, construct defensive positions, send messages, perform sentry duties and operate in small groups. Bayonet practice was particularly vigorous, with recruits charging straw-filled dummies while instructors encouraged aggressive spirit and determination.
Life at Broadmeadows was not always comfortable. The camp consisted largely of tents and simple wooden buildings. Recruits slept in crowded conditions and were expected to maintain strict standards of cleanliness and hygiene. The Victorian weather could be challenging, with cold, wet winters turning parts of the camp into mud. Despite these hardships, strong friendships often developed among the men as they shared training, meals and leisure time together.
Instructors included experienced soldiers who understood the conditions recruits would soon encounter overseas and sought to prepare them as thoroughly as possible.
Broadmeadows represented the beginning of a recruit’s military journey. The weeks spent there would have been physically exhausting and mentally challenging, but they equipped him with the skills, discipline and confidence needed before embarking for service abroad. Like many young Australians of the period, he left Broadmeadows a very different man from the one who had first arrived at the camp gates. Training could take several months
INNOCULATIONS
All recruits were given a range of inoculations while in camp. The most important jab was to protect against smallpox and typhoid – indeed, having this was an essential precondition of enlisting.
THE UNIFORM
The recruits were issued with their uniform- service dress jacket was made of Australian wool and its loose fit gave the wearer more allowance for movement. The four large pockets were very useful. A unique feature designed for comfort was the pleated back, which provided a double thickness of cloth down the back that the pack rubbed against. Breeches were corduroy worn with wool wrap puttees. The famous khaki felt slouch hat or early service cap is probably the most distinctive part of the uniform. turned up on the left and featuring a plain khaki band, chinstrap and “rising sun” badge.
SOLDIER’S KIT
Australia's World War I soldiers went to war weighed down by almost 30 kilograms of clothes, weapons, tools and kit.
· Breeches: made from khaki woollen cord fabric, with side pockets and button flies. Soldiers were issued with two pairs of breeches, plus a pair of dungarees. The breeches ended above the ankles and the gap was filled with puttees.
· Braces: worn with breeches.
· Puttees: The men wound these strips of woollen cloth, almost three metres long, upwards from the ankle to just below the knee. Soldiers disliked the puttees, probably with good reason: the tight binding restricted circulation and might even have contributed to the high incidence of trench foot. Mounted troops wore leather leggings.
· Shirt: Soldiers were given two grey, collarless, flannel shirt, plus a military shirt.
· Ankle boots: brown and lace-up.
· Socks: Made from wool or cotton. Soldiers were issued with three pairs.
· Greatcoat: the khaki woollen coat (which weighed about 3kg) often doubled as a soldier's bedding and was his chief protection against the cold and wet. The coat came into its own when snow hit Gallipoli in November 1915 and also on the Western Front.
· Jersey
· Singlets: Soldiers were issued with 2 woollen singlets.
· Cotton "drawers" (underpants): Soldiers were issued with two pairs.
· Abdominal belts: a sort of cummerbund that was issued to keep soldiers warm and supposedly ward off disease.
· Backpacks and webbing: The main backpack was a rectangular sack measuring about 15 inches x 13 inches, closed at the top by a folding cover secured by two straps. The webbing included a web belt, cartridge pouches, small haversack, bayonet frog, an entrenching tool holder (plus another holder for its handle), and a water-bottle holder.
· Identity disc: Soldiers were initially issued with one medal "dog tag" on a cord, but later in the war they were given two tags, made of compressed fibre.
· Soldiers were also issued with a "housewife" - a sewing kit containing such items as needles, thimble, thread, wool and button so they could carry out running repairs.
· Also in their kit were a short-magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) rifle, a rifle sling, a bayonet and scabbard, and an "entrenching tool" (they were "diggers" after all). This came in two parts, with the helve (handle) separate from the spade part.
· Soldiers were issued with eating equipment (knife, fork, spoon, an enamel mug, water bottle (with two-point capacity), and a mess tin with carrier.
· They also had a clasp knife (with marlin spike, tin-opener and lanyard), razor, shaving kit, soap, comb, two towels, field dressing (carried in the tunic's inside pocket), and a hold-all, in which they could pack their private possessions.
· No item was probably looked after more carefully than their service pay book: privates were paid five shillings a day
VOYAGE OVERSEAS FROM MELBOURNE TO EGYPT NOVEMBER 1915
The embarkation rolls show Henry as one of the original members of A Company, 31st Battalion, and confirms that his unit embarked from Melbourne aboard HMAT Wandilla (A62) on 9 November 1915, arriving at Suez on 7 December 1915.
Alongside his comrades, Henry marched aboard, his boots ringing on the gangway. As the ship’s lines were cast off and the quay began to slip away, the reality of war lay ahead, but for now, the sea breeze carried only the sound of voices and the excitement of men bound for adventure, duty, and the unknown.
SLEEPING & LIVING ARRANGEMENTS
Recruits likely slept in a crowded troop deck below, where rows of hammocks or three-tier wooden bunks were crammed close together.
Air below decks could be stuffy, especially in warmer climates, and seasickness was common during the first few days.
DAILY ROUTINE
Reveille early each morning, followed by physical exercises on the open decks (weather permitting). There were parades and inspections—officers ensured uniforms, rifles, and kit were clean and in order. Training was a little problematic—drill without much space, rifle maintenance, lectures on military discipline, signalling, and trench warfare theory. The ship’s decks were used for marching in tight circles or practising bayonet thrusts into stuffed sacks. Rifle shooting was impossible at sea, so soldiers learned to strip and clean their weapons until it was second nature.
MEALS
Three hearty meals a day were served; breakfast usually consisted of porridge, stew, and tea. Lunch included soup, meat, vegetables, and pudding. Meat, bread with jam and tea was served for dinner. The meals were served in shifts from the ship’s galley. Queues were long, and eating on a rolling ship meant many tried to eat quickly before nausea set in.
HEALTH & SANITATION
Shipboard hygiene was critical—every man was ordered to scrub his section daily to prevent disease. Saltwater baths were the norm, with freshwater rationed for drinking.
THE VOYAGE EXPERIENCE
Entertainment included church drill, concerts, singalongs, card games, and makeshift cricket matches on deck when the weather allowed. To keep up morale, an area of the ship was roped off where regular boxing and wrestling tournaments were held. This became commonly known as the Stoush Stadium. No letters could be sent until they reached port, but men often wrote diaries or unsent letters to be posted later.
The 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
CROSSING THE EQUATOR CEREMONY
The crossing the Equator ceremony, ‘Neptune’s Journey,’ was played-out on each troopship.
SIGHTS AT SEA
On the way to Egypt the ship would pass through the Great Australian Bight, cross the Indian Ocean, and stop at Colombo (Ceylon now Sri Lanka) for coal and supplies.
SECURITY
By late 1914, German raiders were active, so lifeboat drills were frequent, and lookouts kept watch for suspicious ships. Troopships generally sailed in convoys or at least took zig-zag courses to make torpedo attacks harder. Ships often travelled under blackout conditions at night, with lookouts specifically watching for periscopes or torpedo wakes.
APPROACHING EGYPT
After several weeks at sea, the men finally saw the dusty shoreline of Port Said or Alexandria. The reality of leaving home truly sank in. The recruits would soon exchange the ship’s cramped decks for the sandy training grounds of Egypt, preparing for what lay ahead.
EGYTPIAN TRAINING CAMPS
Following a month-long voyage across the Indian Ocean, the transport reached Suez on 7 December 1915, where the battalion would begin the next stage of its training in Egypt before eventually proceeding to the Western Front.
When the train finally rattled into the siding near the Camp, Henry found himself staring at an extraordinary sight — the vast Pyramids looming on the horizon, their ancient stones glowing gold in the late afternoon sun. Rows of khaki tents stretched out across the sand, the dust curling in little eddies around the tent pegs.
During an interim period, soldiers typically:
· Recovered from the voyage: After long sea travel from Australia, troops needed time to rest and regain strength.
· Underwent medical inspections: To check for illnesses, infections, or conditions like venereal disease that might delay their training.
· Received equipment and uniforms: Egypt's heat made the heavy wool uniforms uncomfortable. As a result, lighter clothing was often issued or obtained locally. Soldiers frequently wore:
ü Khaki cotton shirts without the tunic
ü Lightweight drill uniforms made from cotton
ü Shorts on some occasions, particularly in camp
ü Pith helmets or sun helmets for fatigue duties and work in the sun, although the slouch hat remained the iconic Australian headgear
· Were assigned to training battalions: Administrative processing sorted soldiers into reinforcement drafts for specific front-line battalions.
· Drilled lightly: They performed light drills, parades, and familiarisation routines while waiting for formal training slots to open. Then formal training began
Life at the camp was nothing like the camp back home. Here, the desert heat was intense even in the early hours, and the days began with the bugler’s call well before sunrise. The men formed up on the sandy parade ground, rifles over their shoulders, boots sinking into the powdery surface as they marched in formation. Drill sessions were longer and harder than anything they had experienced in Australia — endless turns, wheeling movements, and column changes designed to make the battalion move as a single, disciplined unit.
Weapons training was constant. Each man practised rapid loading and firing with his Lee–Enfield until the action felt like second nature. Bayonet drills took on a fierce intensity: lunging, parrying, and withdrawing in perfect rhythm under the watchful eye of the instructors. There was musketry practice at the range, too, where the sound of rifle fire cracked sharply across the desert, the targets standing out as black specks against the glaring sand.
Route marches tested endurance. Fully equipped with packs, rifles, and webbing, the men marched for miles through the heat haze, learning to pace themselves and conserve water. Sand found its way into every seam of clothing, into boots and rifles, and the men soon understood that maintaining their kit — keeping it clean and in working order — could mean the difference between life and death.
There was also instruction in trench construction and maintenance. Under the relentless sun, the recruits helped dig and reinforce shallow practice trenches, learning how to build firing steps, drainage channels, and parapets. Though the work was exhausting, it gave the men an idea of the conditions they would soon face on the Gallipoli Peninsula.
Evenings brought some relief. After the day’s training, Henry and his mates might head into Cairo, where the narrow lanes bustled with traders calling their wares and the air was rich with the smell of cooking fires, sweet pastries, and tobacco smoke. The muezzin’s call to prayer echoed over the rooftops, mingling with the laughter of soldiers from across the Empire. On rest days, they visited the Pyramids and posed for photographs, the Sphinx silent and inscrutable behind them.
Yet even in those moments of wonder, the reality of war was never far away. Each man knew their time was coming when they had to face the brutal realities of desert warfare
17 JANUARY 1916 – ADMITTED TO 8TH FIELD AMBULANCE, SERAPEUM – LUMBAGO
While training in Egypt, Henry was admitted to the 8th Field Ambulance at Serapeum suffering from lumbago, a term used at the time for pain in the lower back. The condition was common among soldiers and was often brought on by the physical demands of military life. Long route marches across the desert, carrying heavy packs, rifles and equipment, sleeping on hard ground and the constant strain of training could all contribute to back injuries and muscular pain. Henry would most likely have been placed on light duties or complete rest while medical staff treated him with heat applications, massage and other remedies available at the time. Fortunately, most cases responded well to treatment, and once his symptoms improved, he was able to return to his battalion.
During the weeks that followed, Henry resumed training with the 31st Battalion in the Canal Zone. The battalion was rebuilding and preparing for service on the Western Front, and much of the soldiers' time was occupied with route marches, musketry training, bayonet practice, field exercises and the countless routines of military life. Like his comrades, Henry was learning the skills that would soon be tested under very different conditions in France.
MARCH–JULY 1916 – FRANCE
In March 1916 Henry embarked from Alexandria with the 31st Battalion and crossed the Mediterranean to France. After landing at Marseilles, the battalion travelled north by train through the French countryside towards the Western Front. For many Australians this journey provided their first glimpse of a nation at war, with towns crowded by troops, military hospitals and endless supply depots supporting the armies in the field.
During the months that followed, Henry settled into the realities of trench warfare. The battalion spent time in front-line, support and reserve positions while the men learned from more experienced units already serving in France. Much of the work was arduous and often dangerous. Nights were spent repairing trenches, laying barbed wire, carrying ammunition and supplies forward, and standing guard against enemy patrols. By day the men endured artillery fire, snipers and the constant discomfort of mud, cold and cramped conditions. Although the battalion had not yet taken part in a major offensive, Henry was gradually gaining experience of the conditions that defined the Western Front.
20–21 JULY 1916 – WOUNDED AND SHELL SHOCK
On 20 July 1916 Henry became a casualty during the battalion's first major battle on the Somme. The fighting around Fromelles was intense, with Australian troops advancing under devastating artillery and machine-gun fire. Amid the chaos and destruction Henry was wounded and evacuated from the battlefield.
The following day he was admitted to the 14th Stationary Hospital at Boulogne suffering from shell shock. At the time, shell shock was a term used to describe the effects of prolonged exposure to battle, heavy artillery bombardment and extreme stress. Soldiers could experience exhaustion, tremors, nervous disorders, insomnia, headaches and an inability to cope with further combat. Henry's condition was serious enough for medical authorities to decide that he should be removed from France and sent to England for further treatment.
JULY–OCTOBER 1916 – ENGLAND
After crossing the English Channel, Henry was admitted to the 4th London General Hospital before being transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield. There he received specialist treatment among other Australian soldiers recovering from wounds and illness. His days were no longer governed by military operations but by medical examinations, rest periods and gradual rehabilitation.
Although his physical wounds may have healed, the effects of shell shock often lingered long after a soldier left the battlefield. Henry was granted a period of furlough, but on 9 October 1916 he was readmitted to hospital suffering from shell shock and a condition described as a dilated heart. This diagnosis was commonly applied to soldiers who suffered exhaustion, stress-related heart symptoms and shortness of breath following the strain of active service. Medical officers increasingly recognised that the physical and mental burdens of modern warfare could affect a soldier long after the fighting had ended.
GOING HOME OCTOBER 1916
Despite months of treatment, Henry's health had not recovered sufficiently for a return to duty. Military authorities therefore determined that he was no longer fit for active service overseas. After being discharged from hospital on 15 October 1916, he embarked the following day aboard Karoola for the long voyage home to Australia.
DECEMBER 1916 – JANUARY 1917
Henry arrived back in Melbourne on 2 December 1916 after less than a year overseas. Although his military career had been cut short, he had experienced the harsh training camps of Egypt, the dangerous trenches of France and the terrible ordeal of the Somme. Following medical assessment in Australia, he was formally discharged from the Australian Imperial Force by the 1st Military District on 17 January 1917, his service brought to an end by the wounds and illnesses he had suffered during the war.
For his service Henry was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal
PENSION
Henry was granted a pension of 3 pounds per fortnight from the 18th January 1917
DEATH AND BURIAL
Henry died on the 26th April 1991, aged 96. Although Henry's military service was cut short by wounds and illness sustained during the war, he recovered sufficiently to enjoy a long life after his return to Australia. He lived to the remarkable age of 96 years, a testament to his resilience and determination following the hardships he endured as a young soldier on the battlefields of the First World War. Henry is buried at Casino Lawn Cemetery. He is memorialised at The Queensland Garden of Remembrance, Bridgeman Downs, Plot Wall 10 Row R
If you have any additional information about this individual, we invite you to email us at rsl@msmc.org.au.
Memorial Location
The Queensland Garden of Remembrance, Bridgeman Downs, Plot Wall 10 Row R
Buried Location
Casino Lawn Cemetery
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