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| caption2      = 16th Battalion men cleaning out a Gird Trench
 
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==Brief History==
 
==Brief History==
The 16th Battalion AIF was raised from 16 September 1914, six weeks after the outbreak of the First World War. Three-quarters of the battalion were recruited in Western Australia, and the rest in South Australia. With the 13th, 14th and 15th Battalions it formed the 4th Brigade commanded by Colonel John Monash.  
+
The 16th Battalion AIF was raised from 16 September 1914, six weeks after the outbreak of the First World War. Three-quarters of the battalion were recruited in Western Australia, and the rest in South Australia. With the 13th, 14th and 15th Battalions it formed the 4th Brigade commanded by Colonel John Monash. After a period of training in Western Australia, the battalion travelled by sea to Port Melbourne where hey disembarked and were for a time located at the [[Broadmeadows camp]] north of Melbourne where all elements of the 4th Brigade were gathering prior to travelling to Egypt as part of the 2nd Convoy. The 16th Battalion travelled to Alexandria in Egypt aboard [[HMAT A40 Ceramic]], disembarking there on 1 Feb 1915.
  
When the 4th Brigade arrived in Egypt it became part of the New Zealand and Australian Division. The 4th Brigade landed at ANZAC late in the afternoon of 25 April 1915.
 
  
A week after the landing the 16th was thrown into the attack on Bloody Angle suffering many casualties. From May to August the battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC beachhead, and in August the 4th Brigade attacked Hill 971. The hill was taken at great cost, although Turkish reinforcements forced the Australians to withdraw. The battalion served at ANZAC until the evacuation in December.
+
When the 4th Brigade arrived in Egypt in early February 1915 it became part of the New Zealand and Australian Division which trained on the outskirts of Cairo before being called forward to Gallipoli. While 'C' Company travelled to Gallipoli onboard [[HMAT A48 Seang Bee]], the rest of the battalion boarded [[HMT Haida Pascha]] for Mudros harbour on the island of Lemnos arriving outside the harbour late on 15 Apr 1915. The 4th Brigade landed at ANZAC late in the afternoon of 25 April 1915.
 +
 
 +
 
 +
A week after the landing the 16th was thrown into the attack on Bloody Angle suffering many casualties. From May to August the battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC beachhead, and in August the 4th Brigade attacked Hill 971. The hill was taken at great cost, although Turkish reinforcements forced the Australians to withdraw. While on the Gallipoli Peninsular the battalion was engaged in the fighting at '''Bloody Angle''', '''Quinn's''', '''Hill 971''', and '''Aghyl Dere'''.  From 13 September until 2 November the battalion enjoyed a seven week break from the war on Lemnos Island before returning to the fray. The battalion evacuated ANZAC until the evacuation during the nights of 19th and 20th December.
 +
 
  
 
After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the battalion returned to Egypt. While there the AIF expanded and was reorganised. The 16th Battalion was split and provided experienced soldiers for the 48th Battalion. The 4th Brigade was combined with the 12th and 13th Brigades to form the 4th Australian Division.  
 
After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the battalion returned to Egypt. While there the AIF expanded and was reorganised. The 16th Battalion was split and provided experienced soldiers for the 48th Battalion. The 4th Brigade was combined with the 12th and 13th Brigades to form the 4th Australian Division.  
 +
  
 
Its first major action in France was at Poziéres in the Somme valley. The battalion spent much of 1917 in Belgium advancing to the Hindenburg Line. The battalion, along with most of the 4th Brigade, suffered heavy losses at Bullecourt in April 1917, when the brigade attacked strong German positions without the promised tank support. In March and April 1918, the battalion helped to stop the German Spring offensive. The battalion participated in the great allied offensive of 1918, fighting near Amiens on 8 August 1918. This advance by British and empire troops was the greatest success in a single day on the Western Front, one that German General Erich Ludendorff described as '..the black day of the German Army in this war'. The battalion continued operations until late September 1918.
 
Its first major action in France was at Poziéres in the Somme valley. The battalion spent much of 1917 in Belgium advancing to the Hindenburg Line. The battalion, along with most of the 4th Brigade, suffered heavy losses at Bullecourt in April 1917, when the brigade attacked strong German positions without the promised tank support. In March and April 1918, the battalion helped to stop the German Spring offensive. The battalion participated in the great allied offensive of 1918, fighting near Amiens on 8 August 1918. This advance by British and empire troops was the greatest success in a single day on the Western Front, one that German General Erich Ludendorff described as '..the black day of the German Army in this war'. The battalion continued operations until late September 1918.
  
 
===Battalion Personnel===
 
===Battalion Personnel===
Herbert Wright Aldred
+
A
Frederick James Allison MM
+
* † [[Herbert Wright Aldred]] 15 Sep 1914 - 10 May 1915 - KIA Quinn's Post, Gallipoli
Leith John Newton Angelo
+
* [[Frederick James Allison MM]] 24 Oct 1917 - 3 Oct 1918
Robert Prior Bailey
+
* [[Leith John Newton Angelo]] 1 Mar 1916 - 8 Aug 1918 - WIA near Mericourt, Somme region
Frank Ball
+
B
Edward James Bell
+
* † [[Robert Prior Bailey]] 7 May 1917 - 8 Aug 1918 - KIA near Mericourt-sur-Somme
Clement Wilder Benporath
+
* † [[Frank Ball]] 22 Mar - 2 May 1915 - KIA Bloody Angle, Gallipoli
Arthur Edward Bingham
+
* † [[Edward James Bell]] - 16 Sep 1914 - 25 May 1915 - DOW Gallipoli
Austin Henry (Paddy) Bingham
+
* [[Clement Wilder Benporath]] - 27 Apr - 7 Aug 1915  - WIA Gallipoli
John Blake
+
* [[Arthur Edward Bingham]] - 25 Aug 1916 - 10 Apr 1917 - WIA Bullecourt area
Henry Bolton
+
* † [[Austin Henry (Paddy) Bingham]] 25 - 30 Aug 1916 - KIA Mouquet Farm
Sidney Herrick Carter
+
* [[John Blake]] 6 May 1915 - 11 Apr 1917 - POW 1st Bullecourt
John Thomas Clements
+
* † [[Sydney Fenner Blencowe]] 9 Jan - 2 Mar 1916 - to 48th Battalion
Frederick Lawrence Close
+
* † [[Henry Bolton]] 26 Sep 1914 - 12 Aug 1916 - KIA Pozières
William Francis Cohn
+
C
Victor Thomas Emanuel Compassi
+
* [[Sidney Herrick Carter]] 16 Dec 1916 - 1 Apr 1918 - Injured and not able to rejoin unit
Gordon Vidgen Cross
+
* [[John Thomas Clements]] 27 Jul 1917 -  11 May 1918 -  to 4th Machine Gun Battalion
George Chistopher Dalziell DCM
+
* † [[Frederick Lawrence Close]] 29 Apr -4 May 1915 - KIA 'Baby 700', Gallipoli
Thomas Denteith
+
* [[William Francis Cohn]] 2 Jan 1916 - 11 Apr 1917 - POW 1st Bullecourt
John James Emery
+
* [[Victor Thomas Emanuel Compassi]] 23 Oct - 31 Dec 1915
Charles Fancote
+
* [[Gordon Vidgen Cross]] 4 Oct 1916 - 11 Apr 1917 - POW 1st Bullecourt
Arthur Thomas Feast
+
D
John Edwin Ffoulkes DCM
+
* [[George Chistopher Dalziell DCM]] 23 Oct 1915 - 27 Feb 1919
Herbert Fuhrmann
+
* † [[Thomas Denteith]] 21 Jan - 11 Apr 1917 - KIA 1st Bullecourt
Alfred Gittins
+
E
Frederick Sidney Gladstone
+
* [[John James Emery]]  ?? - 1 May 1915 - KIA Gallipoli as a reinforcement before joining the battalion
Leslie James Godfrey
+
F
Rupert Arthur Kent Goodchild
+
* [[Charles Fancote]] 21 Jun - 29 Sep 1917 - WIA near Ploegeteert
Edwin Patrick Hanrahan
+
* † [[Arthur Thomas Feast]] 30 Oct 1916 - 28 Sep 1917 - DOW Polygon Woods
George Harris
+
* [[John Edwin Ffoulkes DCM]] 7 Mar 1916 - 26 Jan 1919
Phillip (Harry) Harrison
+
* [[George Weston Firns]] 2 Aug 1915 - 2 Mar 1916 - to 48th Battalion
William Hart
+
* † [[Osborne Fisher]] 5 Feb - 2 Mar 1916 - to 48th Battalion
Matthew Harwood
+
* † [[Walter Stanley Fisher]] 26 Feb - 2 Apr 1916 - to 48th Battalion
Edward Hobson
+
* † [[Herbert Fuhrmann]] 13 Feb - 8 Aug 1917 - KIA Messines area
James Owen Horrocks
+
G
James Kirk
+
* [[William Henry Gibbs]] 2 Jan 1917 - 30 Mar 1919
James Edward Laugher
+
* [[Eugene Anthony Gillespie]] 26 Jan - 21 May 1918 -- to 4th Australian Broad Gauge Railway Operating Company
George William Liddington
+
* [[Alfred Gittins]] 9 Feb - 4 Jul 1918 - WIA Hamel
William Wilfred Gerald Liddington
+
* [[Frederick Sidney Gladstone]] 4 Oct 1916 - 30 Mar 1918 - WIA (2nd time) Hébuterne
Angus Lindt
+
* [[Leslie James Godfrey]] 2 May - 16 Sep 1916 - to 4th Machine Gun Company
Ernest Edward Lockhart
+
* † [[Rupert Arthur Kent Goodchild]] 22 Sep 1914 - 26 Apr 1915 - KIA Pope's Hill, Gallipoli
Samuel Thomas Lowth
+
H
Claude Robert Marsh
+
* [[John Richard (Jack) Hall]]
Victor Henry Marshall
+
* [[Edwin Patrick Hanrahan]] a reinforcement that never reached the battalion in the field.
George Henry Martin MM MID
+
* [[George Harris]] 4 Oct 1916 - 5 Apr 1918
Benjamin Arthur McEvoy
+
* † [[Phillip (Harry) Harrison]] 15 Sep 1914 - 7 Aug 1915 - KIA Hill 971, Gallipoli
Patrick O'Connell McKenna
+
* [[William John (Bill) Hart]] 24 Sep 1914 - 2 Oct 1918
Albert Tom Milton
+
* [[Matthew Harwood]] 7 Mar 1916 - 10 Jun 1917 - Medical return to Australia
Thomas William Moore
+
* [[Edward Hobson]] 21 Jan - 11 Apr 1917 - WIA 1st Bullecourt
Frank Myales
+
* [[James Owen Horrocks]] ?? Jul - 3 Dec 1915 & 6 May 1917 - 29 Dec 1918
George Emanuel Nettleton
+
K
Ernest Clifford Noyce
+
* [[James Kirk]] 15 Sep 1914 - 3 May 1915 - WIA Gallipoli
Patrick Joseph O'Brien
+
L
Bernard O'Reilly
+
* † [[James Edward Laugher]] 27 Sep 1914 - 2 May 1915 - KIA Baby 700, Gallipoli
William Plant
+
* [[George William Liddington]] 23 Sep 1914 - 9 Jun 1918
Frederick Rawlinson
+
* [[William Wilfred Gerald Liddington]] 13 Oct 1917 - 11 May 1918 - to 4th Machine Gun Battalion
Edwin Lawrence Reed
+
* [[Angus Lindt]] 23 Oct 1915 - 23 Jan 1919
William Edward Reed
+
* † [[Ernest Edward Lockhart]] 23 Oct 1915 - 12 Aug 1916 - DOW Pozières
Egbert Robert Trethowan Reeves
+
* [[Samuel Thomas Lowth]] 7 May - 26 Sep 1917 - WIA Polygon Wood
John Edmond Rhodes
+
M
Hartland Wheare Richards
+
* [[Claude Robert Marsh]] 13 Feb - 11 Apr 1917 - POW 1st Bullecourt
James Edward Richardson
+
* † [[Victor Henry Marshall]] 15 Sep 1914 - 9 Apr 1917
Alexander Robinson
+
* [[Alfred Arthur Martin]] 5 Feb - 3 Mar 1916 - to 48th Battalion
Alfred Arthur (Fred) Rouse
+
* [[George Henry Martin MM MID]] 16 Oct 1914 - 10 Aug 1918
Robert Melville Salter
+
* [[Harold Percival Martin]] 19 Jan - 6 Feb 1918 -  to 32nd Battalion
William Thomas Saw
+
* [[Benjamin Arthur McEvoy]] 30 Apr - 5 Aug 1917 - WIA Messines area 
* [[Frederick William Scott]] ?? Sep 1916 -  
+
* [[Patrick O'Connell McKenna]] 15 Sep 1014 - 2 May 1915 - WIA Baby 700 Gallipoli
Joseph Scott
+
* [[Albert Tom Milton]] 11 Jun 1917 - 8 Aug 1918 - WIA Battle of Amiens
Clarence Otto Sladden
+
* [[Thomas William Moore]] 21 Jan 1917 - 18 Sep 1918 - WIA near Beaumetz
Albert Squire
+
* [[Frank Myales]] 26 Jan 1918 - 22 Feb 1919
John Donald Stalker
+
N
 +
* [[George Emanuel Nettleton]] 30 Apr 1917 - 11 May 1918 - to 4th Machine Gun Battalion
 +
* † [[Ernest Clifford Noyce]] 17 Oct 1916 - 6 Feb 1917 - KIA near Ypres
 +
O
 +
* [[Patrick Joseph O'Brien]] 27 - 30 Jul 1917 - regular defaulter
 +
* [[Bernard O'Reilly]] 27 Apr 1915 ? - 12 Mar 1916 - to 48th Battalion
 +
P
 +
* [[William Plant]] 17 Jul 1916 - ?? Dec 1918
 +
R
 +
* [[Frederick Rawlinson]] 16 Oct 1914 - 11 Apr 1917 - POW 1st Bullecourt
 +
* [[Edwin Lawrence Reed]] 27 Jul 1917 - 4 Mar 1919
 +
* † [[William Edward Reed]] 15 Sep 1914 - 8 Aug 1917 - KIA Messines
 +
* [[Egbert Robert Trethowan Reeves]] 2 Jan - 11 Apr 1917 - POW 1st Bullecourt
 +
* [[John Edmond Rhodes]] 13 Feb - 11 Apr 1917 - POW 1st Bullecourt
 +
* [[Hartland Wheare Richards]] 21 Jan - 11 Apr 1917 - POW 1st Bullecourt
 +
* † [[James Edward Richardson]] 9 Feb - 22 Aug 1918 - KIA Madame Wood
 +
* [[Alexander Robinson]] 17 Oct 1916 - 9 Nov 1918
 +
* † [[Alfred Arthur (Fred) Rouse]] 23 Aug 1916 - 11 Apr 1917 - KIA 1st Bullecourt
 +
S
 +
* † [[Robert Melville Salter]] 21 Sep 1914 - 11 Apr 1916
 +
* [[William Thomas Saw]] 30 Oct 1916 - 21 Mar 1919
 +
* [[Frederick William Scott]] 9 Sep 1914 - 13 Mar 1916 - to 48th Battalion
 +
* † [[Joseph Scott]] 16 Dec 1916 - 11 Apr 1917 - WIA & POW who DOW in captivity
 +
* [[Clarence Otto Sladden]] 27 Jul 1917 - 23 Apr 1919
 +
* † [[Albert Squire]] 29 Jan - 5 Apr 1918 - KIA Hebuterne
 +
* [[John Donald Stalker]] 28 Jul 1915 - 4 Feb 1917 - WIA Flers area
 
* [[James Strachan]] 13 Feb 1917 (WIA 11 Apr 1917 Bullecourt)
 
* [[James Strachan]] 13 Feb 1917 (WIA 11 Apr 1917 Bullecourt)
Allan Leslie Thomas
+
T
Aubrey Turner
+
* † [[Albert Thomas Ticklie MM]] 1 Mar - 1 Apr 1916 - to 48th Battalion
Herbert Winton Turner
+
* † [[Ernest Charles Thomas]] 21 Jan - 29 Sep 1917 - DOW Polygon Wood (wounded 26 Sep)
 +
* [[Allan Leslie Thomas]] 15 Oct 1914 - 26 Apr 1915 - WIA Gallipoli
 +
* [[Aubrey Turner]] 30 Apr - 2 Nov 1918 - illness
 +
* † [[Herbert Winton Turner]] 23Jan - 11 Apr 1917 - KIA 1st Bullecourt
 
U
 
U
John Francis Ullyott
+
* [[John Francis Ullyott]] 26 May 1916 - 11 Apr 1917 - POW 1ST Bullecourt
David Dickson Waddell
+
W
Harold Watts
+
* † [[David Dickson Waddell]] 2 Apr - 6 Aug 1916 - KIA Pozières
Lawrence Hamill White MM
+
* [[Matthew Walsh]] 27 Jul - 15 Sep 1917 - to 32nd Battalion
Aubrey Jesse Whittington MM
+
* † [[Harold Watts]] 15 Sep 1914 - 2 May 1915
James Arthur Williams
+
* † [[Lawrence Hamill White MM]] 1 Jun - 14 Oct 1916
Douglas Campbell Wills Winning
+
* [[James Murray Whiteley]] 8 Jan - 13 Mar 1916 - to 12th Machine Gun Company
Cyril Arthur Woodland
+
* [[Aubrey Jesse Whittington MM]] 14 Oct 1914 - 11 Apr 1917 POW 1st Bullecourt
George Young
+
* [[James Arthur (Artie) Williams]] 18 Feb 1918 - 12 May 1919
 
+
* [[Douglas Campbell Wills Winning]] 15 Apr 1918 - early 1919
 +
* [[Cyril Arthur Woodland]] 2 Jan 1917 - 9 Jan 1918
 +
Y
 +
* [[George Young]] 15 Oct 1914 - 28 Apr 1915 - WIA Pope's Hill, Gallipoli
  
 
==Battle Honours==
 
==Battle Honours==
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* 7 foreign awards.
 
* 7 foreign awards.
  
==Notes==
+
==Notes - further reading==
 
History sourced from the AWM website.  Accessed 29 Dec 2017.
 
History sourced from the AWM website.  Accessed 29 Dec 2017.
 +
For further detail see:<br>
 +
*''The Old Sixteenth'' by Capt C. Longmore, 1929, History Committee of the 16th Battalion Association.
 
<references />
 
<references />
  

Latest revision as of 20:25, 1 November 2023

16th Battalion.jpg
Shoulder patch
16th Bn.jpg
16th Battalion men cleaning out a Gird Trench


Brief History

The 16th Battalion AIF was raised from 16 September 1914, six weeks after the outbreak of the First World War. Three-quarters of the battalion were recruited in Western Australia, and the rest in South Australia. With the 13th, 14th and 15th Battalions it formed the 4th Brigade commanded by Colonel John Monash. After a period of training in Western Australia, the battalion travelled by sea to Port Melbourne where hey disembarked and were for a time located at the Broadmeadows camp north of Melbourne where all elements of the 4th Brigade were gathering prior to travelling to Egypt as part of the 2nd Convoy. The 16th Battalion travelled to Alexandria in Egypt aboard HMAT A40 Ceramic, disembarking there on 1 Feb 1915.


When the 4th Brigade arrived in Egypt in early February 1915 it became part of the New Zealand and Australian Division which trained on the outskirts of Cairo before being called forward to Gallipoli. While 'C' Company travelled to Gallipoli onboard HMAT A48 Seang Bee, the rest of the battalion boarded HMT Haida Pascha for Mudros harbour on the island of Lemnos arriving outside the harbour late on 15 Apr 1915. The 4th Brigade landed at ANZAC late in the afternoon of 25 April 1915.


A week after the landing the 16th was thrown into the attack on Bloody Angle suffering many casualties. From May to August the battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC beachhead, and in August the 4th Brigade attacked Hill 971. The hill was taken at great cost, although Turkish reinforcements forced the Australians to withdraw. While on the Gallipoli Peninsular the battalion was engaged in the fighting at Bloody Angle, Quinn's, Hill 971, and Aghyl Dere. From 13 September until 2 November the battalion enjoyed a seven week break from the war on Lemnos Island before returning to the fray. The battalion evacuated ANZAC until the evacuation during the nights of 19th and 20th December.


After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the battalion returned to Egypt. While there the AIF expanded and was reorganised. The 16th Battalion was split and provided experienced soldiers for the 48th Battalion. The 4th Brigade was combined with the 12th and 13th Brigades to form the 4th Australian Division.


Its first major action in France was at Poziéres in the Somme valley. The battalion spent much of 1917 in Belgium advancing to the Hindenburg Line. The battalion, along with most of the 4th Brigade, suffered heavy losses at Bullecourt in April 1917, when the brigade attacked strong German positions without the promised tank support. In March and April 1918, the battalion helped to stop the German Spring offensive. The battalion participated in the great allied offensive of 1918, fighting near Amiens on 8 August 1918. This advance by British and empire troops was the greatest success in a single day on the Western Front, one that German General Erich Ludendorff described as '..the black day of the German Army in this war'. The battalion continued operations until late September 1918.

Battalion Personnel

A

B

C

D

E

  • John James Emery  ?? - 1 May 1915 - KIA Gallipoli as a reinforcement before joining the battalion

F

G

H

K

  • James Kirk 15 Sep 1914 - 3 May 1915 - WIA Gallipoli

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

W

Y

  • George Young 15 Oct 1914 - 28 Apr 1915 - WIA Pope's Hill, Gallipoli

Battle Honours

  • Anzac
  • Landing at Anzac
  • Defence of Anzac
  • Suvla
  • Sari Bair
  • Gallipoli, 1915
  • Egypt, 1915-16
  • Somme, 1916-18
  • Pozières
  • Bullecourt
  • Messines, 1917
  • Ypres, 1917
  • Menin Road
  • Polygon Wood
  • Passchendaele
  • Arras, 1918
  • Ancre, 1918
  • Hamel
  • Amiens
  • Albert, 1918
  • Hindenburg Line
  • Epéhy
  • France and Flanders, 1916-18

Individual Honours

  • 3 Victoria Crosses (Pte Martin O'Meara, LCpl Tom Axford, Lt LD "Fats" McCarthy)
  • 2 Companion of the Order of Bath
  • 1 Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George
  • 12 Distinguished Service Orders and 1 bar
  • 25 Military Crosses and 5 bars, one second bar
  • 30 Distinguished Service Orders and 1 bar
  • 163 Military Medals and 12 bars
  • 5 Meritorious Service Medals
  • 50 Mentioned in Despatches and
  • 7 foreign awards.

Notes - further reading

History sourced from the AWM website. Accessed 29 Dec 2017. For further detail see:

  • The Old Sixteenth by Capt C. Longmore, 1929, History Committee of the 16th Battalion Association.


External Links