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Home , Battle of Albert (1916), Battle of Albert (1918), Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Delville Wood, Battle of the Selle, George Gosse

Major William Hay Gosse MC - Killed in Action on 5 April 1918

William Hay Gosse was born at Kent Town, South 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 . His service in the Boer War was well recognised and he was immediately given the rank of and posted to “A” Battery of the 79th Brigade, Royal Field (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) . 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 (MG) Battalion, 52nd Brigade; Divisional Mounted Troops: A Squadron, Yorkshire Dragoons and 17th Cyclist Company; Divisional Artillery: 78th, 79th, 80th and 81st Brigades Royal ; 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 .

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 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 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 , where it took part in the great attacks in , and suffered most severely in the heavy fighting. The attacks resulted in the capture of , Fricourt Wood and the trenches around . On the morning of 7 July 1916, two British divisions, including the 17th Northern, were ordered to begin a pincer attack on Mametz Wood. Mametz Wood was an area of approximately 186 acres 4 and was heavily defended by the Germans, including the Prussian Guard, located in various strongholds and trenches. The attack, following the usual preliminary artillery , commenced at 0830 hours. The 17th (Northern) Division attacked from the west and 38th (Welsh) Division from the east. Long before either division could set a foot in the Wood, withering machinegun fire, originating from the adjacent Acid Drop Copse, cut down swathes of the 17th (Northern) Division men, whilst the 38th (Welsh) Division was similarly decimated by fire from the adjacent Flat Iron and Sabot Copses, and from Mametz Wood itself. A protective smokescreen failed to appear. Both attacks petered out with heavy losses which later resulted in recriminations about leadership and fighting performance. Field Marshall Haig formally announced his displeasure, saying he did not accept that the failure of 38th (Welsh) Division to capture Mametz Wood was a credible performance. The former politician, and Lloyd George protégé, Major-General I. Philipps, and his colleague, Major-General T.D. Pilcher, commander of the 17th (Northern) Division, were sent home in disgrace. Three days later, on the 10 July 1916, the two Divisions were again ordered to attack the Wood at 0415 hours. This time the attack was from the south in a full frontal assault, with four battalions of the 38th (Welsh) in the van. Supported by a creeping barrage, they once again advanced under a hail of rifle and machinegun fire, but made it to the edge of the Wood in good numbers and entered it. Fierce fighting erupted among the trees, saplings and brambly undergrowth. Battalion after battalion of reinforcements was thrown into the fight until almost the entire 38th (Welsh) Division was committed. Resistance was finally overcome and by nightfall virtually all the Wood, with the exception of the northern strip, was in British hands. This final area of the Wood was taken by the 21st Division - who had relieved 38th (Welsh) Division on the 11th July - when, on the night of the 11-12 September, in what was almost an anticlimax after all the fighting, the Germans evacuated their remaining lines at the edge of the Wood. It had taken five days in all to capture Mametz Wood, and cost the 38th (Welsh) Division 4,000 killed and wounded - 40% of its strength. Most of the dead that were immediately recovered were buried in what is now known as Flat Iron Copse Cemetery. In , the 17th Division was heavily engaged at and Delville Wood, suffering from heavy and continuous shell and machine-gun fire whilst holding the line. Throughout the winter of 1916-1917, it remained on the Somme and engaged in constant hard fighting and endured great hardships throughout the severe and trying weather conditions. On 1 January 1917, Lieutenant Gosse was promoted to the rank of captain. By now he had served with “A” Battery of the 79th Brigade through all its campaigns to date. In March 1917, the Division was attached to the Cavalry Corps for special service during the Battle of . Its role was to push forward independently in support of the Cavalry should a break-through be made. The 17th was subsequently engaged in severe fighting near Monchy and on the Scarpe River. In September, the Division moved north to play its part in the Third Battle of Ypres and the struggle for the Passchendaele Ridge. In the attack on 12 October, it was the only division to gain all its objectives. On 19 June 1917, the Division began the move back to the Arras front and was positioned at a sector facing Greenland Hill. There had been some ground gained on this part of the front since the Division had held the sector in May. The enemy front was now a line of trenches higher up the slope beyond a very narrow “No Man’s Land”. The Germans had dug themselves in very thoroughly and still overlooked all their front trench system. Orders came from Corps Headquarters to “side-slip” to the right and take some ground that included the ruined Chemical Works at Roeux. This additional front was taken on the night of 26 June 1917. 5 Captain Gosse’s intelligence skills played an important role in the eventual capture of Roeux and were recognised when he was subsequently awarded the . He was later promoted to major. The citation read: “For conspicuous energy and gallantry throughout operations extending from 24 June to 23 July 1917. He was always forward in the firing line and when the Battery began to advance was indefatigable in collecting at first hand the most valuable information. He displayed the greatest coolness and judgement in fighting, his Battery often the heaviest shell fire”. On 1 July 1917, Captain Arthur Impey was posted to “A” Battery from the 78th Brigade, RFA as the Battery’s second-in-command (2IC), with Captain Gosse holding the position of Battery Commander. Impey remained with “A” Battery until 3 August when he returned to the UK on leave. On his return in September, Capt Impey retained the position of 2IC to Gosse, who by now would have been promoted to major. On 3 October 1917, Capt Impey was evacuated to No 1 General Hospital, Etretat, suffering from a fractured fibula, a result of a fall on the steps of his dugout. He would not return to his unit until 5 . The Division was then transferred to the Cambrai area in December 1917 and found itself holding the trenches astride the Canal du Nord on the north side of the Cambrai Salient when the Great German Offensive was launched on 21 March 1918. On that day, all enemy attacks on the Division were successfully repulsed, but that night the 17th Division had to retire in order to conform to the general withdrawal of the British Line. Throughout 22-23 March, the Division completely defeated attacks made on it at Hermies and Havrincourt, and earnied special mention in Field Marshall Lord Haig’s official despatches for its gallant defence. Although the 17th Division had successfully repulsed early attacks during the German offensive, other defences had been less successful and the enemy had broken through the allied lines and had retaken Longueval and Delville Wood. Later information showed the enemy had also penetrated into the east of High Wood and numerous other locations taken in the winter of 1916-17. By 26 March 1918, organisation and communication calling for the line to be reinforced, through troop movement and replacement, was chaotic and the Division had no alternative but to retreat over the River Ancre to previously held positions. By the first week of April 1918, the opening moves in the great offensive of the German armies had been brought to a standstill. The Kaiserschalacht (the Kaiser’s Battle, or the Ludendorff Offensive) had not brought the promised decisive victory. On 4 April, Divisional Headquarters were established at Flesselles, about eight miles north of , and the troops were billeted in villages east and west of the Amiens-Doullens road. On 5 April 1918, Major Gosse was leading his Battery against a strong German attack when his command post, a small dug-out used for keeping the maps and telephones, was struck by a shell and he was killed instantly. He was buried by his men in the village of Varennes, near the River Ancre, six miles northwest of the town of Albert. Owing to the intense fighting, no officers were able to attend his funeral service, but on the following day a memorial service was held at his grave. William Hay Gosse was survived by his wife Muriel, his son George and daughter Agnes. Muriel died two years later, leaving George and Agnes in the care of their paternal grandmother. Major Gosse is commemorated on the Victor Harbor War Memorial.

References and endnotes: Australian War Memorial database - Australia and the Boer War, 1899–1902 (4 January 2011). This website provides a summary of Australian participation in the Boer War. 6 members.iinet.net.au/~perthdps/military/bor- sa2.htm#sa2 - Australians in the Boer War Oz- Boer Database Project (8 January 2011). This website provides details of each soldier who served in the Australian contingents during the Boer War. A. Hilliard Atteridge, A History of the 17th (Northern) Division. First published by the University Press, Glasgow (1929); later reprinted as a facsimile edition by The Naval & Military Press, London (date unknown). www.westernfrontassociation.com - The Woods And Copses: Nature's Fortresses of the Somme on the Western Front (4 January 2011). Australian War Memorial – collection item 3DRL/7829 relating to Major William H Gosse MC, 79th Brigade RFA, First World War; and Donald M Hole, HMAS Canberra RAN, Second World War. www.1914-1918.net/17div.htm - The 17th (Northern) Division in 1914-1918; the History of 17th (Northern) Division (9 January 2011). This provides a summary of the battles the 17th (Northern) Division fought in. For detailed accounts of each battle, refer to Wikipedia. www.fylde.demon.co.uk/tucker/tuckerbiography.htm Open Warfare - The Diary of Capt. Arthur Impey, 79th Brigade, Royal Field Artillery (19 August 2010). Additional research by Lt Col N.C. Smith AM, Mostly Unsung Military Research & Publications, Brighton, Victoria, during his visit to the UK National Archives, August 2009. Additional research by Robert Kearney (18 February 2009). Major Gosse’s daughter Agnes (born 1913, died 1981) married Donald Maxwell Hole (born 1905), a serving RAN officer, in 1935. Lieutenant-Commander Hole was killed in action aboard HMAS Canberra on 9 August 1942 during the Battle of Savo Island. On 6 February 1922, the War Office issued the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal to G. Goss, Esquire. The whereabouts of the Memorial Plaque (Dead Man’s Penny), the Memorial Scroll and Major Gosse’s Military Cross and the other medals are not known. Major Gosse’s son George, who was born in 1912, enlisted in the on 1 January 1926, as a cadet. He served with the RAN during World War Two and held the rank of Lieutenant Commander and specialised in the clearance of sea mines. In April 1945, he was sent to Bremen, Germany after the capture of that port. He was awarded the for his actions in disarming new, and previously unknown, German mines in the murky waters of Bremen harbour during May 1945. George Gosse was demobilised in March 1946 and died on 31 December 1964, age 54.

Following pages: Grave of Major William Hay Gosse MC, in the Varennes Military Cemetery, in the village of Varennes, France. View of the Varennes Military Cemetery. Electronic images taken by Ian Milnes on 11 October 2008. At the time a good deal of the Cemetery grounds were being renovated.

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Typed transcript of a letter from the Adjutant of the 79th Brigade to Major Gosse’s banker’s in London. The Bank of Adelaide was a South Australian bank that had been established in 1865. Most Australian banks at this time had branches in London. These items of correspondence were donated by the family of Major Gosse to the Australian War Memorial.

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Typed transcript of a letter sent by the Adjutant of the 79th Brigade RFA, Capt I.B. Persse, to Major Gosse’s widow. The notation “Captain Persse has since been killed in action” is perplexing. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s website reveals that only two soldiers with the surname “Persse” were killed during the First World

War. Capt Edward Aubrey Persse of the 47th Brigade RFA was killed on 14 (buried Pond Farm Cemetery, Belgium), whilst Major Henry Wilfred Persse was killed on 28 June 1918 (buried Longuenesse St Omer Cemetery, France). Neither match the I.B. Persse mentioned in the letter above.

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Document from the British War Office sent to Major Gosse’s son George in 1922 enclosing his father’s war medals. Major Gosse’s widow had died in 1920 and George and his sister were being care for by their grandmother.

12 From website: rowinghistory-aus.info./university-championships/1899.php (8 January 2011)

1899 Australian University Championships— Lower Yarra River, Melbourne VIC After 5 losses in succession, Melbourne broke the drought with a 5 length win on their home course over 3 miles. Sydney was second and Adelaide did not compete. However W H Gosse, the well- regarded stroke of the Adelaide crew in 1895-97 years inclusive, stroked the Melbourne crew this year. The race was held on 10th June 1899 into a strong head breeze over the three mile course. Sydney led up to the open water crossing to Sugar works when Melbourne overhauled them. It was a good race for 2 miles.

Men's Eight Time: 23 mins 2 1/2 secs. Margin: 5 lengths

1st Melbourne University - Bow: Hyam (Harold) G M Brasch, 2: Walter StG Sproule, 3: George Edward Broughton, 4: Percy Clarke Hunt, 5: Richard Alfred O'Brien, 6: Hugh Edward Bullivant, 7: J A Wallace, Str: William Hay Gosse, Cox: H Miller, Cch: George Upward

Melbourne University Rowing Team: Back row: G E Broughton, R A O'Brien, P C Hunt, W St G Sproule. Front row: H E Bullivant, W H Gosse, Cch: George E Upward, H Miller, J A Wallace, H Brasch.

Below: One of 1899 oars with the names of the crew members inscribed.

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From www.1914-1918net The 17th (Northern) Division in 1914-1918: The history of 17th (Northern) Division

This Division was established by the Northern Command in September 1914, as part of the Army Orders authorising Kitchener's Second New Army, K2. Early days were somewhat chaotic, the new volunteers having very few trained officers and NCOs to command them, no organised billets or equipment. The units of the Division initially concentrated in the Wareham - Lulworth - Swanage - Wool- Bovington area of Dorset but moved in late May 1915 to the Winchester area. After receiving an order that the Division would be retained for home defence (subsequently cancelled), advance parties left for France on 6 July. Main embarkation began on 12 July and units moved to concentrate near St Omer. The Division served on the Western Front for the remainder of the war, taking part in many of the significant actions: 1915 The Division spent its initial period of trench familiarisation and then holding the front lines in the southern area of the Ypres salient. 1916 The Division was involved in fighting at the Bluff (south east of Ypres on the Comines canal), part of a number of engagements officially known as the Actions of Spring 1916. The * in which the Division captured Fricourt The * The battles marked * are phases of the Battles of the Somme 1916 1917 The First Battle of the Scarpe** The Second Battle of the Scarpe** The Capture of Roeux** The battles marked ** are phases of the Arras Offensive The First *** The Second Battle of Passchendaele*** The battles marked *** are phases of the Third Battles of Ypres 1918 The Battle of St Quentin+ The Battle of + The battles marked + are phases of the First Battles of the Somme 1918 The The Battle of Albert++ The Battle of Bapaume++ The battles marked ++ are phases of the Second Battles of the Somme 1918 The Battle of Havrincourt^ The Battle of Epehy^ The 1918^ The battles marked ^ are phases of the Battles of the The pursuit to the Selle The ^^ The Battle of the Sambre^^ The battles marked ^^ are phases of the Final Advance in Artois

When the Armistice came into effect at 11am on 11 November 1918 the leading elements of the Division were south east of Maubeuge. Over the next two days the Division was withdrawn to the 14 area west of Le Cateau; on 6 December it moved behind Amiens and went to billets around Hallencourt. Demobilisation began in January 1919 and the Division ceased to exist at the end of May. In all the 17th (Northern) Division had suffered the loss of 40258 killed, wounded and missing. The order of battle of the 17th (Northern) Division 50th Brigade 10th Bn, the West 7th Bn, the East Yorkshire Regiment 7th Bn, the Yorkshire Regiment disbanded February 1918 7th Bn, the York & Lancaster Regiment left March 1915 6th Bn, the Dorsetshire Regiment joined March 1915 50th Machine Gun Company joined 12 February 1916 left to move into 17th MG Battalion 24 February 1918 50th Trench Mortar Battery formed by 25 June 1916

51st Brigade 7th Bn, the Lincolnshire Regiment 7th Bn, the Border Regiment 8th Bn, the South disbanded February 1918 10th Bn, the Sherwood Foresters 51st Machine Gun Company joined 12 February 1916 left to move into 17th MG Battalion 24 February 1918 51st Trench Mortar Battery formed by 3 July 1916 3/4th Bn, the Royal West Kent Regiment joined 22 June 1917, left 12 July 1917

52nd Brigade 9th Bn, the Northumberland Fusiliers left August 1917 10th Bn, the Lancashire Fusiliers 9th Bn, the Duke of Wellington's 12th Bn, the 52nd Machine Gun Company joined 12 February 1916 left to move into 17th MG Battalion 24 February 1918 52nd Trench Mortar Battery formed by 15 June 1916 3/4th Bn, the Royal West Kent Regiment joined 3 August 1917, disbanded by 20 February 1918

Divisional Troops 6th Bn, the Dorsetshire Regiment left March 1915 7th Bn, the York & Lancaster Regiment joined as Pioneer Bn March 1915 3/4th Bn, the Royal West Kent Regiment attached as Pioneer Bn 12 July - 3 August 1917 12th Motor Machine Gun Battery joined 10 July 1915, left 7 May 1916 236th Machine Gun Company joined 17 July 1917 left to move into 17th MG Battalion 24 February 1918 17th Battalion Machine Gun Corps formed 24 February 1918 15

Divisional Mounted Troops A Sqn, the Yorkshire Dragoons left 10 May 1916 Yeomanry 17th Divisional Cyclist Company, Army left 24 May 1916 Cyclist Corps

Divisional Artillery LXXVIII Brigade, RFA LXXIX Brigade, RFA LXXX Brigade, RFA broken up 31 August 1916 LXXXI (Howitzer) Brigade, RFA broken up 1-27 January 1917 17th Divisional Ammunition Column RFA 17th Heavy Battery, RGA raised with the Division but moved independently to France and joined XXIX Heavy Artillery Brigade on 9 October 1915 V.17 Heavy Trench Mortar Battery RFA joined 22 August 1916, left 28 February 1918 X.17, Y.17 and Z.17 Medium Mortar formed by 22 August 1916; by 28 February 1918, Z Batteries RFA broken up and batteries reorganised to have 6 x 6-inch weapons each

Royal Engineers 77th Field Company 78th Field Company 93rd Field Company 17th Divisional Signals Company

Royal Army Medical Corps 51st Field Ambulance 52nd Field Ambulance 53rd Field Ambulance 34th Sanitary Section left 10 March 1917

Other Divisional Troops 17th Divisional Train ASC 146, 147, 148 and 149 Companies 29th Mobile Veterinary Section AVC 218th Divisional Employment Company joined 9 June 1917 17th Divisional Motor Ambulance absorbed into Divisional Train 2 April 1916 Workshop

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From Australian Naval Personalities – Sea Power Centre (www.navy.gov.au) - 10 January 2010.

PUBLICATION: PAPERS IN AUSTRALIAN MARITIME AFFAIRS NO. 17 – GOSSE, GEORGE (1912-1964)

GOSSE, GEORGE (1912-1964), naval officer and designer, was born on 16 February 1912 at Harvey, Western Australia, elder child of native-born parents William Hay Gosse, farmer, and his wife Muriel, née Davidson. W.C. Gosse was George's grandfather and (Sir) James Gosse his uncle. An artillery officer in the British Army during , William was awarded the Military Cross; he was killed in action in 1918. His widow died two years later, leaving George and his sister in the care of their paternal grandmother. Educated at the Collegiate School of St Peter, Adelaide, in 1926 Gosse entered the RANC, Jervis Bay. A member of his family described him as 'so like his father, gay, feckless, fearless and gregarious'. He gained colours for hockey and on graduating was awarded the prize for engineering (theory). From January 1930 he successively served in the Lieutenant Commander cruisers, HMAS Australia and HMAS Canberra, and in May George Gosse was promoted . In July 1931 he took passage to AWM 081387 England for further sea training and courses with the RN. Initially, Gosse was appointed to the battleship, HMS Ramillies, in the Mediterranean Fleet. His training included an air course in HMS Glorious and destroyer training in HMS Worcester. In September 1932, he joined the RN College, Greenwich. Proximity to the attractions of London, the company of young Adelaideans on 'grand tours', and a passion for sports cars brought about his undoing. Having failed the examination for lieutenant, he was sent home and his appointment terminated on 30 October 1933. Gosse 'knocked about', resisting the temptation of serious employment. In the chapel of his old school on 1 October 1938 he married Diana Skottowe. On 21 October 1940 he enlisted as an ordinary seaman in the Royal Australian Naval Volunteer Reserve. He was commissioned sub- lieutenant in April 1941 while posted to HMS King Alfred; in December he joined HMIS Hooghly at Calcutta, India, as mine disposal officer. Official reports noted his reliability, keenness and ingenuity. Always cheerful under difficulties, he got on well with officers and men, and exhibited 'a daring character and a good knowledge of mines in which he is very interested'. He was made provisional lieutenant in February 1942. From late 1944 Gosse served in HMS Vernon (D) at Brixham, Devon, England, the base for the RN's port clearance diving operations in Europe. Described at this time as sporting a bold, black beard, he had soft green eyes and a softer voice, and was somewhat of a law unto himself. Yet, he was inventive and had a fascination with things mechanical. Although he had qualified as a shallow-water diver in January 1945, he lacked practice when he went to Germany to begin underwater mine-disposal operations at Bremen, following its capture in April. In command of Naval Party 1571, Gosse directed a search for mines laid by the retreating Germans in the waters of Bremen's Übersee Hafen. On 8 May his men found 'a D-type mine with additional 17 fittings'. Known as the 'Oyster', it was pressure operated, with acoustic and magnetic units incorporated in its detonation train. At about 6 pm next day Gosse dived on the mine. Even with the aid of a waterproof torch, he could not see the device in the mud and proceeded to work by touch. He also had difficulty in stabilising his buoyancy and had to secure himself to the mine's marker- buoy rope to keep his depth steady. Gosse used tools which he had improvised, removed the primer release and then extracted the primer 'about eighteen inches [46 cm] down a two-inch tube'. He had interrupted the detonation train and the mine was safe. While he was releasing himself from his makeshift tether, there was a small explosion. Later examination of the landed mine showed that water had entered through the primer tube and operated a mechanism designed to respond to changing water pressure and trigger the detonator if the mine were raised. Gosse rendered safe two more 'Oyster' mines at Bremen. In 1946 he was awarded the George Cross. Having been promoted acting lieutenant commander on 30 September 1945, he was demobilised on 20 March 1946.

Image from the Imperial War Museum, A030625. Description: Lieutenant George Gosse, RANVR, of Adelaide, Australia, removing the clock of the first pressure magnetic mine to be recovered at Bremen after rendering it safe under water. He is a member of a British Naval P Party, the "human minesweepers" who cleared Europe's liberated ports.

Back in Adelaide, Gosse invented many practical household gadgets and fittings, but lost interest once he had met the challenge of concept and design: for the most part, his work was unspectacular. He was president (1946-48) of the Sporting Car Club of South Australia. In 1953 he was chosen as a member of the coronation contingent, which went to England in HMAS Sydney. Survived by his wife and two daughters, he died of a coronary occlusion on 31 December 1964 at Maslin Beach and was cremated. Written by I. McL. Crawford. I. McL. Crawford, 'Gosse, George (1912-1964)', in Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol. 14, Melbourne University Press, Melbourne, 1996, pp. 300-301, as modified for Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs, No. 17. The ADB biographies are available online at www.adb.online.anu.edu.au

Compiled by the RSL Victor Harbor Sub-branch History Research Team (January 2011).