My Grandpa Phillip Stanley Phelan was no longer around by the time I was born, but one thing I was occasionally reminded of by Mum was that he had been a prisoner of war in World War One. Strangely enough, given Stanley was Dad's dad, it was never Dad who mentioned it, always Mum. Dad didn't talk about the past, and I presume his father, like many men of his generation, would not have talked about it either. Fortunately through the National Archives of Australia, the record of every Australian who served in the Great War is freely available, so we can get some idea of what Stan's period of service looked like.
Phillip Stanley Phelan was 23 years and 6 months old when he listed in the AIF on 22 February 1916. He was living with his parents at 55 Railway Place in Flemington, and was a clerk in the Transportation branch of the Victorian Railways. His medical examination reveals him to be 5'7 and 3/4", 139 pounds, with 'fresh' complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. Under distinctive marks it is noted that he sports a tattoo on his right arm (who knew anyone in our family had tatts that far back?!).
Stan's training began at a depot in Geelong but he was transferred to Broadmeadows on 26 April and assigned to the 29th Battalion, 7th reinforcements, with a ranking of Private. In August he was moved to the 14th Battalion, 21st reinforcements. Finally he embarked on the HMAT Nestor from Melbourne on 2 October, the embarkation roll stating that he was an acting Sergeant at this time, but this reverted to Private on disembarkation. On 16 November he arrived at Plymouth and exactly two months later (16 January 1917) was listed as 'proceeding overseas to France per 'SS Princess Victoria' via Folkestone.' On the 21st he was 'taken on strength' to the 14th Battalion, which signaled that his time in action was about to commence.
The next entry in the record is the stamp of 'MISSING' dated France 11 April 1917. Stanley had been reported missing in action from what became known as the First battle of Bullecourt, which had begun at the dawning of that day. Bullecourt was a heavily fortified village forming part of Germany's famed 'Hindenburg Line', to which the Germans had retreated in March. The British forces tried to maintain momentum and the attack on Bullecourt was part of this, but as described on the Australian War Memorial's website, 'the attack was hastily planned and mounted and resulted in disaster. Tanks which were supposed to support the attacking Australian infantry either broke down or were quickly destroyed. Nevertheless, the infantry managed to break into the German defences. Due to uncertainty as to how far they had advanced, supporting artillery fire was withheld, and eventually the Australians were hemmed in and forced to retreat. The two brigades of the 4th Division that carried out the attack, the 4th and 12th, suffered over 3,300 casualties; 1,170 Australians were taken prisoner - the largest number captured in a single engagement during the war.
Phillip Stanley Phelan was in fact one of those 1170 Australians taken prisoner. Les Carlyon in 'The Great War' writes that while the prisoners were treated well enough at the front, once at Lille they were punished. They were 'crowded into dungeons in a fort. For eight days they were fed one slice of bread a day and ersatz coffee. The air was fetid. The men were given no blankets and slept on a damp stone floor.' They were then 'made to work under their own artillery fire for three months.'
According to German records, Stanley was ultimately interred at Limburg an der Lahn in June, a major prisoner of war camp in Germany, known to hold large numbers of the British Army's Irish soldiers. However it wasn't until 19 December 1917 that his family was officially notified that Stan was a Prisoner of War. You can imagine how terrible those few months of not knowing would have been for them. And so this is how Stan saw out the remaining days of the war. One can only wonder what conditions were like, what work he might have been put to, or what things he might have seen while a prisoner of war; perhaps some further research into Limburg may give some clues. In any case, within a few weeks of the Armistice being signed, Stan was repatriated and returned to Britain on 1 December. On 5 March 1919 Stanley embarked for Melbourne on the HMAT 'Nevasa', arriving 25 April, and received his official discharge on 2 June. Interestingly his certificate of discharge described him as now 5'9" and his complexion has changed from 'fresh' to 'dark'. I guess that's what war does to you.
Stanley Phelan in soldier's garb (photos courtesy of the Australian War Memorial). Presumably these were taken during the war: although Stanley Phelan did not marry Bertha Cowan until December 1923, they must have been 'courting' for several years, as she appears with him in the second photo.
Phillip Stanley Phelan was 23 years and 6 months old when he listed in the AIF on 22 February 1916. He was living with his parents at 55 Railway Place in Flemington, and was a clerk in the Transportation branch of the Victorian Railways. His medical examination reveals him to be 5'7 and 3/4", 139 pounds, with 'fresh' complexion, blue eyes and brown hair. Under distinctive marks it is noted that he sports a tattoo on his right arm (who knew anyone in our family had tatts that far back?!).
Stan's training began at a depot in Geelong but he was transferred to Broadmeadows on 26 April and assigned to the 29th Battalion, 7th reinforcements, with a ranking of Private. In August he was moved to the 14th Battalion, 21st reinforcements. Finally he embarked on the HMAT Nestor from Melbourne on 2 October, the embarkation roll stating that he was an acting Sergeant at this time, but this reverted to Private on disembarkation. On 16 November he arrived at Plymouth and exactly two months later (16 January 1917) was listed as 'proceeding overseas to France per 'SS Princess Victoria' via Folkestone.' On the 21st he was 'taken on strength' to the 14th Battalion, which signaled that his time in action was about to commence.
The next entry in the record is the stamp of 'MISSING' dated France 11 April 1917. Stanley had been reported missing in action from what became known as the First battle of Bullecourt, which had begun at the dawning of that day. Bullecourt was a heavily fortified village forming part of Germany's famed 'Hindenburg Line', to which the Germans had retreated in March. The British forces tried to maintain momentum and the attack on Bullecourt was part of this, but as described on the Australian War Memorial's website, 'the attack was hastily planned and mounted and resulted in disaster. Tanks which were supposed to support the attacking Australian infantry either broke down or were quickly destroyed. Nevertheless, the infantry managed to break into the German defences. Due to uncertainty as to how far they had advanced, supporting artillery fire was withheld, and eventually the Australians were hemmed in and forced to retreat. The two brigades of the 4th Division that carried out the attack, the 4th and 12th, suffered over 3,300 casualties; 1,170 Australians were taken prisoner - the largest number captured in a single engagement during the war.
Phillip Stanley Phelan was in fact one of those 1170 Australians taken prisoner. Les Carlyon in 'The Great War' writes that while the prisoners were treated well enough at the front, once at Lille they were punished. They were 'crowded into dungeons in a fort. For eight days they were fed one slice of bread a day and ersatz coffee. The air was fetid. The men were given no blankets and slept on a damp stone floor.' They were then 'made to work under their own artillery fire for three months.'
According to German records, Stanley was ultimately interred at Limburg an der Lahn in June, a major prisoner of war camp in Germany, known to hold large numbers of the British Army's Irish soldiers. However it wasn't until 19 December 1917 that his family was officially notified that Stan was a Prisoner of War. You can imagine how terrible those few months of not knowing would have been for them. And so this is how Stan saw out the remaining days of the war. One can only wonder what conditions were like, what work he might have been put to, or what things he might have seen while a prisoner of war; perhaps some further research into Limburg may give some clues. In any case, within a few weeks of the Armistice being signed, Stan was repatriated and returned to Britain on 1 December. On 5 March 1919 Stanley embarked for Melbourne on the HMAT 'Nevasa', arriving 25 April, and received his official discharge on 2 June. Interestingly his certificate of discharge described him as now 5'9" and his complexion has changed from 'fresh' to 'dark'. I guess that's what war does to you.
Stanley Phelan in soldier's garb (photos courtesy of the Australian War Memorial). Presumably these were taken during the war: although Stanley Phelan did not marry Bertha Cowan until December 1923, they must have been 'courting' for several years, as she appears with him in the second photo.
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