APPLICATION

Edward Blundell was born in 1879 in Staffordshire. He, his wife & their 4 children were living in Murwillumbah when he decided to enlist on 31^st January 1916. He travelled to Brisbane to complete his application which showed his occupation as painter & his next of kin as his wife, Louisa, of Murwillumbah.

His medical showed he was 37 years 9 months old, 5ft 5 ½ inches tall (1.66m), weighed 124 lbs (56kgs), with a dark complexion, brown eyes & brown hair. His eyesight was good. Edward was Church of England and had a scar on his left shin & 5 vaccine scars.  He was enlisted as a private into the 31^st Infantry Battalion – 6^th Reinforcements with service No 2876a

 31^ST INFANTRY BATTALION

The 31st Infantry Battalion, part of the 8th Brigade, 5th Division of the Australian Imperial Force, was raised in August 1915. The battalion served in several key campaigns during World War I

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

The battalion sailed on 14^th April 1916 on the HMAT Ceramic. 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. The disembarked at Port Said on 16^th May then sailed for England, arriving in Plymouth on 16^th June 1916

OVERSEAS TRAINING CAMP

They had already completed very basic training in Australia but over many more tough months, in the English 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

HOSPITALISATION LUMBAR MYALGIA 31ST AUGUST 1916

During this time Edward was admitted to Fargo Hospital with Lumbar Myalgia on 31^st August. Pain that is often severe is the most prominent among the symptoms of myalgia. The onset is usually sudden and lingers for a few days to several weeks depending on the intensity and the cause of the pain. The pain is also associated with stiffness and spasm. The most common cause of myalgia is tension or stress that results from an injury or excessive use of the affected muscle. Edward was engaging in actions with which he was unfamiliar, lifting heavy objects and generally anxious about what was happening and what would happen. Rest is one of the best treatments for this condition and Edward remained in hospital till 1^st September

OVERSEAS SERVICE -TRENCH WARFARE

He then proceeded to France in September 1916 to be taken on strength with the 31^st Battalion, which in mid-1916 had proceeded to France, destined for the Western front from Egypt. 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, 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 FROMELLES JULY 1916- GAS ATTACK

The 31st Battalion had fought its first major battle at Fromelles on 19 July 1916, having only entered the front-line trenches 3 days previously. The attack was a disastrous introduction to battle for the 31st – it suffered 572 casualties, over half of its strength. Although it still spent periods in the front line, the 31st played no major offensive role for the rest of the year but defended the front line, just fighting the Germans in a daily grind in the trenches. There is no record of when Edward was gassed except on 14^th October he rejoined his unit from hospital.

An eye witness describes what happens in a gas attack- “[T]he next thing we heard was this sizzling—you know, I mean you could hear this damn stuff coming on—and then saw this awful cloud coming over. A great yellow, greenish-yellow, cloud. It was not very high; about I would say it wasn’t more than 20 feet up. Nobody knew what to think. But immediately it got there we knew what to think, I mean we knew what it was. Well then of course you immediately began to choke, then word came: whatever you do not go down. You see if you got to the bottom of the trench, you got the full blast of it because it was heavy stuff, it went down.”

Caring for mustard victims differed from caring for chlorine or phosgene casualties. Once evacuated, chlorine and phosgene victims received oxygen and bed rest until they were healthy enough to return to the front. However, soldiers exposed to mustard gas, especially in high concentrations or for long periods of time, needed to bathe with hot soap and water to remove the chemical from their skin. If it was not scrubbed off within 30 minutes of exposure, blistering occurred. Portable shower units with specially trained medics helped minimize its blistering effect. These consisted of a “bath truck that was provided with a hot water boiler and a number of fold-down shower heads.”

After the troops showered, the chemical corps issued them new uniforms in exchange for their contaminated clothing. These discarded clothes were then decontaminated and reissued to other exposed soldiers. Because mustard gas induced eye injuries, casualties had their eyes washed as quickly as possible to minimize the duration of acute conjunctivitis, which generally lasted several weeks. Soldiers’ care became increasingly difficult in the last year of the war with the increased frequency of gas attacks. Also, mustard gas damaged the lungs more severely than either chlorine or phosgene did, and these lesions were much more difficult to treat. The recuperation time from mustard gas exposure—46 days—was like that of phosgene.

WOUNDED IN ACTION 3RD NOVEMBER 1916

On 3^rd November 1916 he was again wounded in action with a gunshot wound to his neck & right arm (severe). On 12^th November he was transferred to the 2^nd Southern General Hospital in England. On 2^nd January 1917 he was marched into No.1 Command Depot, Perham Downs. 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. From there he was transferred to No.4 Command Depot, Wareham which received men who will be fit for duty in periods ranging from 3 weeks to 3 months.

HOSPITALISATION 17TH MARCH 1917

On 8^th February he left Folkstone on the SS Invicta to rejoin his unit. On 17^th March he was admitted to a French hospital with deafness. Soldiers were exposed to up to 185 dB of sustained noise from new, high-energy weapons, which caused ‘labyrinthine concussion’. He rejoined the unit on 8^th April 1917. From here the records get very hard to follow, with little details. On 18^th May he was marched into 5^th division base depot but back in hospital on 16^th June. On 22^nd June he again marches into 5^th division base depot but back in hospital 14^th July with deafness.  On 22^nd July he is marched into 4^th division base depot then received a medical discharge and returned home to Australia on 18^th October 1917 per the Beltana

GOING HOME

Edward was discharged on 15^th February 1918 with chronic otitis myalgia. For his service, John was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal and his name is recorded on the

Parish of Murwillumbah First World War Roll of Honour and the Dungay Public School WWI Honour Roll. Edward died on 28th October 1959, aged 80, in Brisbane and is buried at Toowong Cemetery, Brisbane, plot 21-19-27. He has a monument at Queensland Garden of Remembrance, Bridgeman Downs, Brisbane City,  plot, Wall 7 Row C

On 4^th April 1918 Edward was living in Clayfield, Qld and applied for pensions for his wife, Louisa, his son, Edward, & daughters, Kitty, Iris & Phillis. They were all rejected on the grounds that Edward’s incapacity, if any, is not the result of employment in connection to warlike operations. 

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