Private Ralph Mctackett
Service #: 2822
Summary
FAMILY LIFE
Ralph McTackett was born in 1873 in Grafton, son of Thomas & Maud (Holland)McTackett. He was one of eight children. He married Alma Moore in 1905 in Murwillumbah and had three children when he enlisted. Ralph was a builder
He travelled to Brisbane on 9th May 1916 to complete his application which showed his next of kin as his wife, Alma, of Murwillumbah. He had been an apprentice for 5 years & had spent 3 years in the Queensland Volunteer Rifles. His medical showed he was 42 years 1 month old, 5ft 10 inches tall (1.78m), weighed 150lbs (68kgs), with a dark complexion, brown eyes & grey hair. His eyesight was good. Ralph was Church of England and had 3 vaccinations scars on his left arm & a mole on his forehead.
The Examining Medical Officer stated that Ralph “can see the required distance with either eye; his heart and lungs are healthy; he has the free use of his joints; and he declares he is not subject to fits of any description. I consider him fit for active service.” On the second page of the Attestation Paper, he made the following oath in the presence of the Attesting Officer: “I, Ralph McTackett, swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force until the end of the War … SO HELP ME, GOD.”
He was enlisted as a private into the 4th Pioneer Battalion– 6th Reinforcements with service No 2822 (also 2822a on some records)
4TH PIONEER BATTALION
The 4th Pioneer Battalion was an Australian infantry and light engineer unit raised during World War I as part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). Formed in March 1916 in Egypt, the battalion was assigned to the 4th Division and served on the Western Front in France and Belgium until the end of the war in November 1918. Its service is remembered for its versatility and dedication under challenging conditions
TRAINING AT RIFLE RANGE CAMP, ENOGGERA
Now training for the new recruits began. Firstly, 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.
PROMOTED TO CORPORAL SEPTEMBER 1916
During this training Ralph also undertook training to become a corporal on 1ST September 1916
His unit embarked from Brisbane, Queensland, on board HMAT A36 Boonah on 21 October 1916. The epic voyage across the ocean has been described as “the longest journey to war in the history of the world.” 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. On-board, Officers organised rigorous training drills and exercise sessions for the men. They were expected to do their own washing, sweep the decks and carry out other chores
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.
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. Many of the troops experienced bouts of seasickness on the voyage. The crossing the Equator ceremony, ‘Neptune’s Journey,’ was played-out on each troopship.
FOLKSTONE TRAINING CAMP
They disembarked at Plymouth on 10th January 1917. They had already completed their basic training in Australia but over many more tough months, in English the training camp at Folkstone, 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.
REVERTED TO PRIVATE
On 6th March he reverted to private.
41ST BATTALION & TRENCH WARFARE
On 19th March he proceeded overseas to France and taken on strength on 14th April 1917. 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- SEPTEMBER 1916
After arriving in Europe in mid-1916, Ralph & the 4th Pioneers gained their first experience of trench warfare around Armentieres, which was considered a quiet sector where newly arrived troops could gain experience prior to being committed to more hectic parts of the front. Their stay within the nursery sector was short, as the 4th Division was sent to the Somme shortly afterwards to replace the 2nd Division around Pozieres, arriving in late July – early August. They subsequently took part in the defence of the heights during the final phase of the Battle of Pozieres. This battle commenced on 23 July 1916 and finished on 3 September 1916 and was the first protracted battle for Australian troops on the Western Front. It was at Pozieres that Australian soldiers were exposed to the full horrors of the Western Front. They were subjected to incessant German artillery attacks and devastating machine-gun fire, plus intense frontal assaults, all of which took an overwhelming physical and mental toll. Alec Raws of the Victorian 23rd Battalion later described the battle: “One feels on a battlefield such as this that one can never survive, or that if the body lives the brain must go forever. For the horrors one sees and the never-ending shock of the shells is more than can be borne. Hell must be a home to it”
BATTLE OF BULLECOURT APRIL 1917
The battalion took part – albeit in a support role only and never in their infantry role– in most of the major battles in 1917 that involved Australian troops such as the Battle of Bullecourt. Despite the failure of the 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
They took part in the Battle of 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 British tactical objective was to capture the German defences on the ridge, which ran from Ploegsteert Wood in the south, through Messines and Wytschaete to Mt Sorrel, depriving the German 4th Army of the high ground. The ridge gave commanding views of the British defences and back areas of Ypres to the north, from which the allies intended to conduct the Northern Operation, an advance to Passchendaele Ridge and then the capture of the Belgian coast up to the Dutch frontier. The battle began with the detonation of nineteen mines beneath the German front position, which devastated it and left large craters. A creeping barrage, 700 yd (640 m) deep, began and protected the troops as they secured the ridge with support from tanks, cavalry patrols and aircraft. The effect of the mines, barrages and bombardments was improved by advances in artillery survey, flash spotting and centralised control of artillery from the Second Army headquarters. The attacks from 8 to 14 June advanced the front line beyond the former German Sehnenstellung (Chord Position, the Oost Taverne Line to the British).
BATTLE OF MOQUET FARM JULY TO SEPTEMBER 1917
Their last battle for 1917 was the Battle of Mouquet Farm, which was part of the Battle of the Somme 1916 and began during the Battle of Pozières (23 July – 3 September 1916). The fighting began on 23 July with attacks by the British Reserve Army. The farm was captured by the 3rd Canadian Division of the Canadian Corps on 16 September. The farm was lost to a German counter-attack, before being re-captured on 26 September during an attack by the 11th (Northern) Division during the Battle of Thiepval Ridge. By capturing Mouquet Farm, the British hoped that it would destabilise the German position and enable subsequent gains During the night of 10 August, parties of the 4th Australian Division of the I Anzac Corps, attacked towards the farm and managed to establish advanced posts in the valley south of the farm and to the east
During the battle, the divisions of I Anzac Corps advanced north-west along Pozières ridge, towards Mouquet Farm, with British divisions supporting on the left. The approaches to the farm were watched by German artillery observers, who directed artillery-fire on the attackers from three sides of the salient that had developed in the lines. Many casualties were caused to the attackers as they approached the farm; in August and into September, the Australians were repulsed three times. By 25 September, further attacks had captured part of the farm on the surface but the Germans still held the cellars, dug-outs, and tunnels beneath. The farm was captured on 26 September by the 34th Brigade of the 11th (Northern) Division, in the general attack of the Battle of Thiepval Ridge.
MEDICAL BOARD
On 6th December 1917 Reginald went before the medical board who assessed him as “age debility” which would have been attributed to stress and his age and he was transferred to England on 6th January 1918. Ralph returned home on 10th March 1918.
FOR HIS SERVICE
For his service, Ralph was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. Ralph died on 19 December 1954 and is buried at Point Clare Cemetery, Point Clare, Sect. CE 9 Row 1 Plot 3
If you have any additional information about this individual, we invite you to email us at rsl@msmc.org.au.
Memorial Location
We do not know the memorial location of this individual
Buried Location
Point Clare Cemetery, Point Clare, Sect. CE 9 Row 1 Plot 3
