Sad tale from Passchendaele
Writing the story of an Australian who perished at the Battle of Passchendaele is always going to unearth terrible truths. Local author, Steve Hodder, this week launched his book “Norb O’reilly, The Life Worth Fighting For”, about a real Australian soldier who suffered alongside and ultimately died with, many thousands on Belgian soil leaving a legacy and an ongoing story back home. As told to Yvette Aubusson-foley.
How is your book connected to the Battle of Passchendaele?
The book’s central figure Norb O’reilly was killed in the Battle of Passchendaele. This area in Flanders, bounded by Ypres in the south and Passchendaele in the north was the most heavily contested territory during the war.
A stalemate existed between the two sides for the entire duration. The radius of the battlefield (the Ypres Salient) was only 13 kilometres. Soldiers in the salient endured the worst extremes of trench warfare. One British soldier said: “they called it Passchendaele, we called it Hell.”
What do you know about the Battle of Passchendaele, that you didn't know before you started researching your story?
The extent of casualties sustained during such a relatively short period. Passchendaele was the Allied Command’s main objective during the 14 week campaign from July 31 to November 10 1917. In terms of human lives it was the most expensive parcel of land fought over during the war. In total, there were more than half a million casualties on both sides. Australian forces sustained 38,000 casualties, 11,000 of which were killed. In October alone 6,500 Australians were killed, making it the bloodiest month in Australian military history.
What was it like for Norb?
Norb was fatally wounded in his first day of battle. He was an infantryman in one of the storming battalions and one of the first to go over the top. Norb knew it was unlikely that he’d survive. He’d pretty much resigned himself to that fact in a poem he wrote to his fiancée Maggie Ward, a few weeks before his death.
The poem, titled “Cainbable Creek”, was about his home and the times he spent with Maggie before the war. The final lines sum up his feelings: Cainbable you are watching dearest haunts me daily like a spell Calls me back again in spirit to the spot I love so well Brings me back when I am weary the peace of soul I vainly seek Though I never more shall see you peaceful cool Cainbable Creek
What was it like for his family? Did people back in Australia have a clue about the horrors?
Norb enlisted in October 1916. At that point, the war had been raging for a couple of years and millions of lives had already been lost. Norb and his family knew the risks. In his book Green Mountains, Norb’s younger brother Bernard recalled Norb’s farewell: “Dad stood by, saying little, thinking much, and Mother’s goodbye to her big son is still my greatest argument against war.”
Have you travelled to the battle scene? What was that like?
The beautiful French/belgian countryside as it is today makes it hard to visualise how awful it must have been during the war years. But the number and size of the cemeteries across the region are stark indicators of the devastation. They are like the ads on vacant billboards that say; “Unsee This.”
This event has bonded us to Belgium forever. Did you get a sense of how the people of Belgium view this battle and/or Australians?
Our experience with the Belgian people was one of mutual respect and appreciation of our shared history.
Norb and his family knew the risks. In his book Green Mountains, Norb’s younger brother Bernard recalled Norb’s farewell: “Dad stood by, saying little, thinking much, and Mother’s goodbye to her big son is still my greatest argument against war.”
We assume the enormous casualties were people killed in battle, but what other dangers were there in that terrible environment?
Millions of civilians died from hunger and disease during and after the war. But for the soldiers at the time, maintaining their mental health would have been incredibly difficult. It is known that men who suffered serious mental breakdowns were shot for reasons of cowardice or desertion when they couldn’t or wouldn’t go into the front line. The British shot more than 300 of their own men for these reasons.
In a place like Dubbo and surrounding villages, the human cost of WW1 decimated communities. Did you get a sense of that impact back on home soil, while researching Norb O'reilly?
The population in Dubbo between the war years of 1914-18 was about 4,500 to 5,000. About 1680 men enlisted at Dubbo and of those about 340 were Dubbo locals or from an 80 kilometre radius. The average casualty rate among Australian soldiers (killed or wounded) was about 40 per cent, which indicates total casualties for Dubbo were about 140. That estimate however may not be an accurate reflection as there are 105 names on the Victoria Park cenotaph identifying local soldiers who were killed, which suggests a lot more were wounded.
The 1,340 men who enlisted at Dubbo but did not come from here included recruits from every state in Australia and a significant number from overseas. About 175 were listed as being born in places such as Canada, Scotland, England, Ireland, Wales, New Zealand, Italy, Russia, Denmark, Singapore, Norway, USA, France, Sweden and Switzerland.
In addition, at least 14 nurses from the Dubbo district volunteered for overseas service during the war. Most enlisted with the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS). More than 2,200 Australian women served overseas in the AANS and 45 ANZAC nurses died in active duty.