FAMILY LIFE

Leonard (Len) Irvine Hines was born on 12 Mar 1896 at “Colyers Leigh”, Moss Vale. Len was the fourth son in a family of nine boys and two girls born to Thomas Uridge Hines and Mary Ann (Patten) Hines. Len’s father, Thomas, had sustained a badly broken leg in a sawmill accident & was left unable to work again in that industry, so in 1903 he took Norman, his eldest son and went by boat and train to Murwillumbah. Here he was able to secure a lease on a farm and a selection of 150 acres adjoining the farm on Jackson’s creek at Zara. The rest of the family arrived in the Tweed in mid-1905. All except the eldest two children attended Zara Public School (later became Chillingham Public School).

ATTESTATION

With his parents’ written consent, Len left his home at Zara and enlisted in Brisbane on 27 Aug 1915 at the age of 19 years 5 months. He answered several questions on the document, and we find out he was born in Moss Vale and a single man. He gave his occupation as farm labourer. His next of kin was his mother, Mrs Hines, of Zara

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, Leonard Irvine Hines, 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

SO, HELP ME, GOD.” 

MEDICAL EXAMINATION

His service record states that he was 5ft 6in (169cm) tall, weighed 9 stone 10 lbs (61kg), had brown hair, a fair complexion. He had a scar on his right arm. Len 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

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 the 13th Reinforcements of the 9th Battalion, with Service Number 4207

9^TH BATTALION

The 9th Infantry Battalion, also known as the "Fighting Ninth," has a proud history within the Australian Army. Its origins trace back to 1867, when it was formed as part of the Queensland Volunteer Rifle Corps. Over time, it evolved into the 9th Battalion of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) during World War I. It symbolizes courage, dedication, and service to Australia

ENOGGERA 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

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 six shillings a day

VOYAGE OVERSEAS BRISBANE TO EGYPT JANUARY 1916

Len embarked with his unit from Brisbane on board HMAT A55 “Kyarra” on 3 January 1916. Alongside his comrades, he 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.

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 the voyage, due to overcrowding, training was limited to mainly to lectures and a little physical training.

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. They disembarked in Alexandria, Egypt on 19 February 1916.

EGYPTIAN TRAINING

When Len arrived in Egypt on 19 February 1916 with the 9th Infantry reinforcements, he entered the Australian training and reinforcement system that had been reorganised after the Gallipoli evacuation in December 1915.

Although his stay in Egypt was only about six weeks, it was an extremely busy period. The Australian camps around Heliopolis, Tel-el-Kebir, Ismailia and the Suez Canal were crowded with thousands of reinforcements preparing for service on the Western Front. During this time Leonard would probably have:

·      Been formally received into a reinforcement camp and had his records checked.

·      Drawn additional equipment and clothing suitable for service in France. The Australian Army was beginning to shift from desert campaigning to trench warfare.

·      Undertaken musketry and rifle practice.

·      Received instruction in trench warfare, bombing (grenades), bayonet fighting, field engineering and gas precautions.

·      Completed route marches and physical training to build fitness after the long sea voyage.

·      Been medically inspected and inoculated.

·      Waited for transport arrangements while the Australian divisions were being reorganised.

This was also a period of major change for the AIF. In February and March 1916 many experienced Gallipoli veterans were being used to form new battalions, while reinforcements such as Leonard were filling the ranks of existing units. The Australian forces were preparing to leave Egypt altogether and join the British Expeditionary Force in France.

THE WESTERN FRONT & TRENCH WARFARE MARCH 1916

On 29 March Len proceeded from Alexandria on board the “Transylvania” and disembarked at Marseilles on 4 Apr 1916 to join the British Expeditionary Force in France. When Len boarded the troopship, he was part of the first great movement of Australian troops from the Middle East to the Western Front. The voyage across the Mediterranean took about ten days, and on arrival at Marseilles on 4 April 1916 he would have immediately noticed a dramatic contrast: instead of Egypt's heat and sand, France offered colder weather, green countryside, and eventually the mud and trenches of the Western Front.

So, although his Egyptian service was brief, it was an important transition period. Len was effectively being transformed from a newly arrived reinforcement into a soldier trained for the very different conditions he would soon face in France with the 9th Battalion.

1^ST DIVISIONAL BASE DEPOT ETAPLES APRIL 1916

After arriving at Marseilles on 4 April 1916, Len did not go straight to the 9th Battalion. Instead, like thousands of other Australian reinforcements arriving in France for the first time, he was sent to the 1st Australian Divisional Base Depot at Étaples on the French coast.

The period between early April and 25 May 1916 was essentially Len's final preparation for active service at the front. The Base Depot acted as a holding and training establishment where reinforcements were equipped, assessed and trained before being sent forward to replace casualties in their battalions.

For approximately seven weeks, Len would have undergone intensive training designed specifically for the Western Front. This was very different from the training he had received in Egypt. At Étaples he learned the realities of trench warfare, including trench construction, wiring parties, grenade throwing, patrol work, machine-gun fire discipline, and how to move under artillery fire. He would have spent many hours practising attacks across training grounds laid out to resemble German trench systems.

The depot also ensured that every reinforcement was properly clothed and equipped for the colder conditions of northern France. Len would have drawn steel helmets, waterproof clothing and other equipment unfamiliar to many Australians who had trained in Egypt.

The training camps around Étaples were famous for their strict discipline. Long route marches, physical training and field exercises filled most days. Instructors, many of them veterans recently returned from the front, impressed upon new arrivals the importance of keeping low, obeying orders instantly and maintaining equipment. By this stage of the war, the AIF had already learned many hard lessons on Gallipoli and was adapting to the very different demands of fighting in France.

While Len was training, the 9th Battalion was serving in the relatively quiet Armentières sector of northern France, where Australian troops were gaining experience in trench warfare. Casualties from shellfire, snipers, raids and illness created a constant need for reinforcements, and men such as Len were gradually sent forward as vacancies occurred.

THE WESTERN FRONT AND TRENCH WARFARE MAY 1916

On 25 May 1916, Len finally left the Base Depot and joined the 9th Battalion at the front. By then he had spent nearly four months overseas since leaving Egypt and had completed the training considered necessary to prepare him for life in the trenches. The battalion he joined was only weeks away from moving south to the Somme, where it would soon face some of the fiercest fighting of the entire war.

The soldiers 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.

THE BATTLE OF POZIERES JULY 1916

The Battalion’s first major action in France was at Pozieres in the Somme Valley and took place during the Battle of the Somme. Australian forces played a crucial role, capturing the village of Pozières and enduring relentless German artillery bombardments, losing as many men in a few weeks as they did over eight months on Gallipoli.

Less than one third of the Australian reinforcements had fought at Gallipoli; they were largely inexperienced and ill-prepared to deal with the deadly onslaught of the battle-hardened machine that was the German Imperial Army.

The battle was marked by intense fighting, with Australian divisions suffering heavy casualties—over 23,000 men, including 6,800 killed or dying of wounds. Despite the losses, the Australians secured the high ground, which was vital for further Allied operations. On 29 July 1916 official Australian war correspondent Charles Bean recorded in his diary: “Pozieres Ridge is more densely sown with Australian sacrifice than any other place on earth”

KILLED IN ACTION 23^RD JULY 1916

As part of the 1st Australian Division’s thrust towards the Old German Line on 22 Jul 1916, the 9th Battalion suffered considerable casualties. It attacked on the extreme right of the line and it was during this action on 23 July that Private Leonard Irvine Hines was killed; he was 20 years old.

FOR HIS SERVICE

Len was buried in the Pozieres Battlefield by Rev. W.E. Dexter, 1st ANZAC. An enquiry was held into his death with evidence provided by three informants which confirmed he was killed by machine gun fire “about half past 12, in the middle of the day, July 23rd, 1916 in front of Pozieres” F.W. (Pte Kneebone 4216 9th Battalion AIF, Graylingwell Hospital).  As the location of his grave is unknown, his name appears on the Villers Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France. He is also remembered on The Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Panel 56, and The Murwillumbah Cenotaph. His personal effects, which comprised of a “Religious Book, Note Book, Belt, Handkerchief and Writing Pad” were returned to his mother

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