Major William Hay Gosse MC - Killed in Action on 5 April 1918
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Major William Hay Gosse MC - Killed in Action on 5 April 1918 William Hay Gosse was born at Kent Town, South Australia on 21 October 1875, the son of famous explorer William Christie and Agnes Gosse (nee Hay). He received his early education at Melbourne Church of England Grammar School and Geelong Grammar School. In 1886, he commenced his studies at the Collegiate School of St. Peter in Adelaide. William later attended the University of Adelaide and from 1895-1897, he was the well-regarded stroke of the University Men’s Rowing Team. Adelaide did not compete in the 1899 Inter-colonial University Boat Race and this allowed William the opportunity to row with the Melbourne team. Despite a strong head wind and five prior losses in succession, William stroked the Melbourne crew to a five-length win on their three-mile home course. In 1896, he had competed in the Oxford-Cambridge boat race at Henley on Thames. In late 1899, William enlisted for service in the South African War (Boer War) as 104 Trooper William Hay Gosse. He was posted to the 2nd South Australian Mounted Rifles Contingent and embarked from Adelaide on 26 January 1900. The Contingent included Trooper Harry “The Breaker” Morant. The conflict in South Africa is generally divided into three phases: The early phase, from October to December 1899, when the British armies, mainly infantry, were defeated or besieged by highly mobile Boer mounted troops. The second phase, from December 1899 until September 1900, which involved a British counter-offensive, resulting in the capture of most of the major towns and cities of South Africa. The third and longest phase, from September 1900 to May 1902, when the war was mainly a guerrilla conflict between British mounted troops and Boer irregulars. The outbreak of war had long been expected in both Britain and Australia. Believing that conflict was imminent, Queensland had offered troops in July 1899, and the same month Britain had requested the participation of New South Wales and Victoria. Each of the colonies ultimately sent between four and six contingents. The first groups arrived in South Africa between November 1899 and March 1900; the second, including the 2nd South Australian Mounted Contingent, between December 1899 and February 1900; the third between April and May 1900; and the fourth between May and June 1900. The 4th Tasmanian, 6th Queensland, South Australian, and Western Australian contingents did not reach South Africa until March–April 1901. A further three contingents were raised by the new Commonwealth in 1901, but as they did not embark until 1902, most arrived too late for any action; indeed, some were still at sea when the war ended on 31 May 1902. The first Australian troops arrived in South Africa in December 1899, too late to become involved in the serious British defeats of “black week” (10–17 December), when 2,300 men were killed or wounded by the Boers in three separate engagements. Five hundred members of the Queensland Mounted Infantry and the NSW Lancers took part in the relief of Kimberley in February 1900, and men of the NSW Mounted Rifles played a minor part in the last major battle of the war, at Paardeberg, in the same month. After a series of defeats in 1900, the Boer armies became fragmented, forming groups of highly mobile commandos which harassed British troop movements and lines of supply. Faced with this type of warfare, the British commanders became increasingly reliant on mounted troops from Britain and the colonies. Conditions for both soldiers and horses were harsh. Without time to acclimatise to the severe environment and in an army with a greatly over-strained logistic system, the horses fared badly. Many died, not just in battle, but of disease, while others succumbed to exhaustion and starvation on the long treks across the veld. Quarantine regulations in Australia ensured that even those which did survive could not return home. In the early stages of the war, Australian soldier losses were so 2 high through illness that components of the First and Second Contingents ceased to exist as viable units after a few months of service. In the second phase of the war, when the British forces captured the major South African towns, over-extended supply lines and inadequate food caused problems. Looting was widespread, and did not stop at the acquisition of bare essentials for men and their horses. Disease and epidemics also took a heavy toll. In early 1900, water contaminated by corpses and human waste infected the army during a period of rest in the captured town of Bloemfontein and 1,000 deaths resulted, mostly from typhoid. After September 1900, by which time the war had become mainly a guerrilla conflict, Australian troops were deployed in sweeping the countryside and enforcing the British policy of cutting the Boer guerrillas off from the support of their farms and families. This meant the destruction of Boer farms, the confiscation of horses, cattle and wagons, and the rounding up of the inhabitants, usually women and children. These civilian captives were taken to concentration camps where, weakened by malnutrition, thousands died of contagious diseases. By mid-1901, the war for the Australians was characterised by long rides, often at night, followed by an attack on a Boer farmhouse or encampment (laager) at dawn. The skirmishes were often minor, involving small Boer forces quickly overwhelmed by superior numbers. There were occasional fights between the Australians and larger Boer forces, but encounters with Boer commandos were rare. In May 1901, the 2nd South Australian Mounted Contingent returned to Australia and Trooper Gosse was demobilised. In 1908, William took up land in Western Australia and commenced farming in the Harvey region. Whilst on a holiday in the eastern states in 1910, he indicated to relatives and friends of his intention to marry the following year. In 1911, he married Muriel Mary Davidson. They had two children; a son, George, born 16 February 1912 at Harvey, Western Australia and a daughter, Agnes, born 22 May 1913 at Cootamundra, New South Wales. William and his family holidayed regularly at Victor Harbor in the family summer home. On 7 May 1915, with the war in Europe entering its second year, William volunteered for service with the British Army. His service in the Boer War was well recognised and he was immediately given the rank of Lieutenant and posted to “A” Battery of the 79th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (RFA). The largest arm of artillery, the horse-drawn mobile RFA was responsible for the medium calibre guns and howitzers deployed close to the front line to support the infantry. It was organised into Brigades which were under command of Divisions or higher formations. The 79th Brigade RFA was under the command of the British 17th (Northern) Division. A whole new form of artillery was developed to meet the unusual conditions of war on the Western Front – the trench mortar. These lighter weapons were manned by infantry and the RFA provided the manpower for the heavier mortars. The 17th (Northern) Division was established in September 1914 as part of the Army Orders authorising Kitchener’s Second New Army, K2. An infantry division was allocated twelve batteries of artillery grouped into four brigades of three batteries, one of these brigades being armed with howitzers and the remaining with QF18-pounder guns. The batteries were usually named “A” to “D” and comprised each 198 soldiers at full establishment. Each battery was commanded by a major or captain, with a captain as second-in-command, and three lieutenants each in charge of two- gun sections. During the early stage of the war, things were somewhat chaotic as the new volunteers had very few trained officers and NCOs to command them, no organised billets and little equipment. Their training over the winter of 1914-1915 was most likely to have been at Swanage, Dorset and Salisbury Plain. 3 In January 1915, Major General T.D. Pilcher, C.B. was appointed to command the 17th Division and he immediately proceeded to its headquarters in Wareham, Dorset. The units of the Division were then billeted in a number of locations in Dorset but in late May 1915, orders were received to move to the Winchester area. This consolidation was completed on 4 July 1915 with a divisional structure of: Divisional Headquarters: 50th Brigade, 51st Brigade and Motor Machine Gun (MG) Battalion, 52nd Brigade; Divisional Mounted Troops: A Squadron, Yorkshire Dragoons and 17th Cyclist Company; Divisional Artillery: 78th, 79th, 80th and 81st Brigades Royal Field Artillery; Divisional Engineers: Pioneer Battalion and 51st, 52nd and 53rd Field Ambulances. Studio portrait of Major William Hay Gosse, the photographer is unknown. This photograph was purchased from the Australian War Memorial. After receiving orders that the 17th Division would be retained for home defence, and then having the orders subsequently cancelled, advance parties of the Division left for France on 6 July 1915. The Infantry Battalions were to be conveyed by train to Folkestone for embarkation to Boulogne and the remaining units were to march from Winchester to Southampton, and embark for Havre on 12-15 July 1915. On arrival in France, the Division reformed near St Omer and then served with distinction on the Western Front for the remainder of the war, taking part in many significant actions. The Division’s first experience of war was in the trenches of the Ypres Salient in Belgium, a very trying sector for new and inexperienced troops. They at once proved their worth and took part in several minor actions. After some time in the Salient, the Division moved to the Armentieres (France) area, and then in June 1916 to the Somme, where it took part in the great attacks in July 1916, and suffered most severely in the heavy fighting.