William Clarence Marvell Grew up As One of Five Children to George Henry Marvell and Elizabeth Anne Ayers

Emma Jenkins

A Boy from Beaconsfield

William Clarence Marvell grew up as one of five children to George Henry Marvell and Elizabeth Anne Ayers. William was born in Beaconsfield on 11 April 1896. His family lived in various homes around Launceston, moving every couple of years before residing permanently at 20 Mayne Street, Invermay. It is likely that William and his closest brother, Charles Roy, attended Beaconsfield State Primary School during their early years as their father worked at the Beaconsfield Gold Mine. During his years growing up in Launceston, William and his family were parishioners of the Holy Trinity Anglican Church and William and Charles are one set of eight pairs of brothers who enlisted from the parish remembered on the honour board at the Church.

At the age of 16 years, William watched his eldest brother, George Eric, pass away at their family home and as his father suffered from the effects of Phthisis (tuberculosis), brought on by his lengthy time as a miner, William maintained his mother and his siblings for approximately three years before his enlistment into the Australian Imperial Force. Together with Charles, the brothers enlisted on the 14 May 1916 at Claremont in the state’s south, just three days after Charles’ eighteenth birthday. William was 20 years old.

Figures 1 and 2: William Clarence Marvell (left) and his younger brother, Charles Roy Marvell (right)

William was assigned to the 40th Battalion 2nd Reinforcements and left Hobart onboard the Ballarat on 8 August 1916. William endured a brief training period at Codford, in Britain’s 1 south before being marched out to the 40th Battalion and being taken on strength on 12 November 1916. On 23 November, William left South Hampton for France. The 40th Battalion composed part of the 10th Brigade, together with the 37th, 38th and 39th Battalions from Victoria, and acted as reserves. The 10th Brigade joined the 9th and 11th Brigades to form the 3rd Division who entered France and first faced the horrors of the Western Front at Armentieres where they conducted patrols into No Man’s Land and minor raids on the German trenches south of the River Lys to the east of Armentieres where the 10th Brigade was stationed. ‘The Nursery’, as this area was called, although quiet, experienced periods of intense fighting which gave Australian soldiers, including William, the opportunity to become familiar with modern warfare and adjust their expectations. Also, the Marvell brothers were able to experience the European winter and its long lasting effects on the topography and the morale of their fellow soldiers. The low-lying and waterlogged fields of Armentieres meant that the brothers would have had to build up and maintain sand bag mounds and other breastworks and live in above ground shelters constructed from sandbags, timber and galvanized iron. On the 9 December 1916, William and his brother would have faced their first tour of duty as the 40th relieved the 38th in the trenches. The winter conditions prevailed and the Battalion held the front line under enemy sniping until 16 December when they were relieved and became the support Battalion for the Brigade when they moved into the nearby city of Houplines and occupied shattered buildings before being called to the trenches again on 20th December.

William spent much of December 1916, including his first Christmas in Europe, in No. 7 General Hospital with Mumps. His brother instead spent Christmas Day in the front line trenches, assisting the 37th Battalion to raid the enemy trenches from their sector. William was finally discharged to the base depot at St Omer, Northern France on 28 December 1916; rejoining the Battalion in the field on New Year’s Eve. The 40th experienced their first enemy raid on the night of 3 January 1917 when approximately 80 enemy soldiers got within yards of the parapet at Hobbs’ Farm. There were subsequent occasions where the enemy attacked the trenches manned by the 40th however they never made it over their parapet.

January saw William and the 40th stationed at Armentieres until they took over part of the Bois Grenier sector from a British unit on 26 January 1917. The 40th faced an enemy raid on 31 January when the enemy, dressed in white, camouflaged with the snow on the ground and attempted to capture the trenches they occupied near Lille Road. The 40th in early February undertook a series of raids and bombardments. On 19 February 1917 William

2 was wounded whilst on duty, quite possibly during a raid on German trenches that was stifled due to the inability to get through the entanglements in No-Man’s Land. His brother, Charles, was admonished for being drunk whilst on active service and for being absent from the billets during the evening on 6 March 1917. The 10th Brigade, including the 40th, became the reserve and marched back to Tatinghem, near St Omer, for training after spending 14 weeks in the trenches involved with continuous warfare.

On 4 April 1917, just before the Battalion was due to be entrained back to Steenwerck, William was admitted to No. 7 General Hospital again, this time with Tonsillitis, later deemed to be Diphtheria, only to be discharged back into the field nine days later following a probable period of quarantine. Charles however, enjoyed his last jaunt away from the billets, stripped of eight days pay for being absent without leave from 10am to 6pm on 6 May 1917. These would be the last entries on the service forms before their deaths in July 1917.

The 40th Battalion spent 1917 bogged down in Flanders. Heavy rain and thick, sticky mud made living conditions in the trenches unbearable and progress almost unfathomable. In May the 40th moved into the front line trenches south of the River Douve in St Yves. At this stage, the Battalion, as part of the 3rd Division, were given their preliminary orders for the upcoming attack on the Messines-Wytchaete Ridge. During this time, the Battalion engaged in operations to carry ammunition, making artillery positions, digging trenches and other works to prepare for the attack. On 7 June 1917, William took part in the Battle of Messines, undoubtedly the most enormous attack launched by the Allies during the First World War. The Messines offensive was designed to force the Germans off and away from the Messines Ridge, a 7-mile long salient used by the Germans to control the area and hold ground over the Allies. Gaining this territory was essential for the planned campaign east of Ypres to occur soon after Messines. Under the guidance of General Sir Herbert Plumer, the II ANZAC Corps, consisting of the 25th British, 3rd Australian and the New Zealand Divisions, were to capture the village of Messines and advance out to the flat ground beyond. The 3rd Division’s attacking front line stretched from St Yves to La Petite Douve Farm with William’s 10th Brigade facing the task of crossing the La Douve River, laying down duckboards to assist the following troops and attacking towards the village of Messines. All this was to take place shortly after 3:10am, as 19 enormous mines were set and detonated simultaneously in the biggest explosion the world had ever seen.

Figure 3: A map depicting the attacking positions of the British, Australian and New Zealand divisions involved with the Battle of Messines. There were 46 men from the 40th Battalion that died on 7 June 1917 whilst undertaking their duties on the Messines-Wytchaete Ridge. 343 men were wounded in the chaos or suffered from the effects of gas inhalation. In the confusion, William was one of those who was killed at Messines. Initially, William was reported as wounded, with references coming forward in the Red Cross Enquiry Files confirming that he was shot in the arm and gassed at Messines. He received treatment at a dressing station but required no time in hospital. However, after the death of Charles on 22 June 1917 by a shell on Messines Ridge, it became apparent that William had not been seen on active duty, was not receiving treatment in hospital and was reported as ‘wounded and missing’ in September 1917, three months after the Battle of Messines. As Charles’ friends recalled his death and his burial at the Strand Military Cemetery, Ploegstreet Wood, it was confirmed on 1 November 1917 that William Clarence Marvell was in fact killed in action whilst serving at Messines.

Figures 4 and 5: Notices from the Launceston Examiner, Wednesday 21 November 1917

4 What is most heartbreaking about these circumstances is the losses that Elizabeth Marvell endured since the boys departure in August 1916. After losing her eldest son in 1912, 1917 saw her lose her husband to a lengthy struggle with Tuberculosis in January and in June she was informed that Charles was killed in action but also that William was wounded and remaining at duty when the reality was much more dire. While Elizabeth had the opportunity to grieve her son Charles and compose an inscription for his headstone, ‘Safe in the arms of Jesus’, she was writing letters to the Defence Department requesting any additional belongings and personal effects of William’s that may have been recovered until 1921. Surely the knowledge that her two sons perished 15 days apart, both unaware of the other’s health and wellbeing had a debilitating and lasting effect on her. The guilt and frustration she must have felt knowing that while she was busy grieving one son and anticipating that the other would arrive home; he was already killed before his time. The sadness that would have come from knowing her son lay in an unmarked grave, lay in a field, lay in a trench; knowing that his soul wouldn’t be at rest. And all the while his 10 books, one pipe and a handkerchief would be all that she would receive and all that she had to cling on to as she sought closure of her son’s death.

Figure 6: Consignment notice delivering William’s remaining personal effects to Elizabeth on 23 March 1918

But Elizabeth Marvell commemorated her boys with an inscription on the tombstone of her first son, George Eric, at the Carr Villa Memorial Park in Kings Meadows. While far away from their place of rest, the site would have provided Elizabeth, her daughter Lillian and

5 youngest son Cyril, a final reflective space to celebrate the lives of these men. I, too, have been drawn to the grave as a place to reflect on all I have uncovered about William and Charles Marvell and am amazed by the circumstances that brought our lives together. I picked their names off the cenotaph in Patterson Street, Launceston – a choice made entirely at random. I learned that they were associated with the Holy Trinity Anglican Church – an organisation from which people in my community approached me upon hearing of my research. And in the most remarkable twist of fate – I learned that the Marvell family lived in the house next door to where I lived in my first two years in Launceston. Following their stories has enriched my life and my understandings, and I hope that I have provided some retrospective closure on their lives in their memoriam.

Figure 6: The headstone for George Eric, William Clarence and Charles Roy Marvell at Carr Villa Memorial Park

Acknowledgements

Alex Lyall at the Beaconsfield Mine and Heritage Centre who allowed me to pick her brains and shuffle through her archives for images of the brothers and their family in Beaconsfield.

Robyn McKenzie and the staff at the St Patrick’s College Mary MacKillop Library who provided me with much insight, ideas and assistance when I felt like I was at a dead end.

Annette and Ian Walker who stumbled across a book on their shelf and thought of me – it was greatly appreciated and immensely helpful in understanding the 40th Battalion and their movements.

Dennis Mann at the Holy Trinity Church in Launceston for reaching out to me and sharing his knowledge about the honour board at the Church and what he knew about the Marvell brothers.

The staff at the Launceston LINC in the archives department who provided much assistance in tracking down early copies of The Daily Telegraph Launceston and loading the microfilm!

Everyone involved with the 2016 Frank MacDonald MM Memorial Prize for their kind words, encouragement and support in not only the research, but the emotional investment into the project and the personal responsibility I felt to tell the story of these two soldiers.

I am eternally indebted to the people who work at the Australian War Memorial, National Archives of Australia and Trove, as without their work in maintaining, sorting, scanning, digitalizing, uploading and sharing of the documents that have lead me to uncover so much about not only these two specific brothers, but their life in Launceston and their family, and the role of the 40th Battalion in the First World War, this paper would not be possible as would much of the work undertaken by the participants in the Frank MacDonald MM Prize throughout the years.

7 Emma Jenkins

Bibliography

Secondary sources Books Broinowski, L (ed.), Tasmania’s War Record 1914-1918, J. Walch and Sons Ltd, Hobart, 1921. Oldham, Peter, Battleground Europe: Messines Ridge, Pen and Sword Military, South Yorkshire, 2012.

Websites ANZACs in France, ‘Australian Battlefields of World War I – France’, 2010, viewed on 30 April 2016, http://www.anzacsinfrance.com/1916/.

Australian Army, ‘The Battle of Messines 1917’, 2016, viewed on 27 March 2016, http://www.army.gov.au/Our-history/History-in-Focus/The-Battle-of-Messines- 1917.

Australians on the Western Front 1914-1918, ‘The Windmill – Pozieres, France’, 2016, viewed on 23 April 2016, http://www.ww1westernfront.gov.au/pozieres- windmill/road-to-flers/somme-winter.php.

Australian War Memorial, ‘3rd Australian Infantry Battalion’, 2016, viewed on 28 March 2016, https://www.awm.gov.au/unit/U51443/.

Australian War Memorial, ‘Australian’s in France’, 2016, viewed on 28 March 2016, https://www.awm.gov.au/ww1/1916/essay/.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission, ‘Marvell, William Clarence’, 2016, viewed on 7 November 2015, http://www.cwgc.org/find-war- dead/casualty/1599622/MARVELL,%20WILLIAM%20CLARENCE.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission, ‘Marvell, Charles Roy’, 2016, viewed on 7 November 2015, http://www.cwgc.org/find-war- dead/casualty/165385/MARVELL,%20CHARLES%20ROY.

Digger History, ‘40th Battalion AIF’, 2002, viewed on May 15 2016, http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts- periods/ww1/1aif/3div/10bde/40th_battalion_aif.htm.

Digger History, ‘Third Division AIF’, 2002, viewed on 15 May 2016, http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-conflicts- periods/ww1/1aif/3div/3rd_division.htm.

Gravesites of Tasmania, ‘Marvell, William Clarence’, 2011, viewed on 7 November 2015, http://www.gravesoftas.com.au/War%20Casualties/WW1/Notes/Surnames%20M/ Marvell,%20William%20Clarence.htm.

8 Gravesites of Tasmania, ‘Marvell, Charles Roy’, 2011, viewed on 7 November 2015, http://www.gravesoftas.com.au/War%20Casualties/WW1/Notes/Surnames%20M/ Marvell,%20Charles%20Roy.htm.

In the Footsteps, ‘The 3rd Australian Division at the Battle of Messines’, 2016, viewed on 15 May 2016, http://www.inthefootsteps.com/history/messines/3AusDivmessines.html.

Launceston City Council, ‘Carr Villa Memorial Park’, 2016, viewed on 27 March 2016, http://www.launceston.tas.gov.au/lcc/index.php?c=30.

Southern Districts Rifle Club, ‘Centenary of World War 1 (1914-1918), 2014, viewed on 27 March 2016, http://www.sdrc.com.au/WWI%20Australian%20Battalions.html.

Primary sources

Newspaper Articles

The Daily Telegraph, ‘Dedication Ar Memorial Holy Trinity Church’, Monday 23 December 1918, p.6.

The Daily Telegraph, ‘Tasmanian Casualties Personal Notices’, Thursday 22 November 1917, p.4.

The Examiner, ‘Death on Active Service’, Wednesday 21 November 1917, p.1.

The Examiner, ‘Deaths’, Tuesday 20 August 1912, p.1.

The Examiner, ‘In Memoriam’, Tuesday 19 August 1913, p.1.

The Examiner, ‘Deaths’, Thursday 12 July 1917, p.1.

The Examiner, ‘War Memorial Beaconsfield Tribute: The Unveiling Ceremony’, Tuesday 5 February 1924, p.8.

The Mercury, ‘Wounded’, Friday 13 July 1917, p.2.

The North-Eastern Advertiser, ‘Tasmania’s Roll of Honour’, Friday 13 July 1917, p.2.

The Weekly Courier, ‘Roll of Honour’, Tuesday 26 July 1917, p.23.

Images

Roll of Honour (World War One) for the State School, Beaconsfield, Tasmania, reference QVM:1998:P1541, viewed on 28 March 2015, http://www.qvmag.tas.gov.au/qvmag/?c=11&imageID=QVM:1998:P:1541&historyO nlineSearch=.

Government Documents

9 The Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau files, 1914-18 War 1DRL/0428, ‘1894 Private William Clarence Marvell 40th Battalion’, viewed 7 November 2015, https://www.awm.gov.au/images/collection/pdf/RCDIG1053634-- 1-.pdf

The Red Cross Society Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau files, 1914-18 War 1DRL/0428, ‘1893 Private Charles Roy Marvell 40th Battalion’, viewed 7 November 2015, https://www.awm.gov.au/images/collection/pdf/RCDIG1053627--1-.pdf

‘Will No. 10400 Marvell, George Henry’, 1917, viewed 15 December 2015, https://stors.tas.gov.au/AD960-1-38-10400

Imperial War Grace Commision, ‘Comprehensive Report Headstone Personal Inscriptions’, viewed 7 November 2015, http://www.cwgc.org/find-war- dead/casualty/165385/MARVELL,%20CHARLES%20ROY.

Service Records and Archived Documents

NAA: B2455, Marvell William Clarence, viewed 7 November 2015, http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8215344

 Australian Imperial Force Attestation of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad  Casualty Form – Active Service (Army Form B. 103)  Certificate of Attesting Officer and Oath Taken by Person Enlisting  Field Service (Army Form B 2090A)  Certificate of Medical Examination  Statement of Service  Communication from E. A. Marvell regarding personal effects of W. C. Marvell and C. R. Marvell, 3 March 1921 and return letter dated 17 March 1921  Death Certificate (B.R. Form No. 6)  Receipt for Consignment from Defence Department (B.R. Form No. 2)  Kit Store Inventory of Effects noting 10 books, 1 pipe and a handkerchief  War Pension Statement  Telegram notifying wounding dated 5 March 1917  B.R. Form No. 9 notifying second occurrence of wounding 2 July 1917  Parents signature of consent for enlistment in Australian Imperial Force

NAA: B2455, Marvell Charles Roy, viewed 7 November 2015, http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/ViewImage.aspx?B=8215343

 Australian Imperial Force Attestation of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad  Casualty Form – Active Service (Army Form B. 103)  Field Service (Army Form B 2090A)  Army Form B 122 detailing offenses whilst on active service  Receipt of three photographs of the grave of C. R. Marvell  War Pension Statement  Receipt Slip for Memorial Scroll