Another unit completed for my diploma. This unit was Families at war and we had to research and write about a family member that had served either as a solider, nurse or some other form in World War 1 so I wrote about my two times great Uncle, my Great grandmother Lily's brother Augustus Hahnel.
Augustus Hahnel On the 4th of August 1914, Britain and her Empire had declared war on Germany. [1] This news was what the Australian citizens had been waiting eagerly to hear. Volunteers had rushed to enlist with the expectation that the war would be over and won by Christmas that year.[2] Of her population, which then was estimated to be near five million people,[3] 416,809 Australians had enlisted to serve. 412,953 of these people enlisted were in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) and of these, 32,231 were Western Australians[4] Blackboy Hill was Western Australia’s largest military training camp. The training camp was in the Swan region of Perth but has become a dedicated memorial site since 1959. During its operation throughout WW1, Blackboy Hill saw as many as 32,000 troops pass through during the years of 1914-1918.[5] It was here, where my 2nd great uncle Augustus Bernhardt Hahnel had enlisted on the 3rd of August 1915. He was 19,[6] though, his Attestation paper had listed his age as 21 years at the date of his signing.[7] Augustus was one of nine children and his father was Charles Bernhardt Hahnel, a German immigrant who had left his homeland in 1886 to seek a new life and fortune. Not long after his arrival, Charles had met his wife Hannah and they were soon married. Charles was working on the mines in Timor, Victoria. This is where Augustus had been born. He was just a baby when the family picked up and moved across the country to try their luck in the new Queen Margaret Gold Mine in Bulong, Western Australia in 1897[8] Augustus had seemed to be a little on the rebellious side as a youth. In a newspaper article in the Kalgoorlie Minor dated in 1906, he had been charged with the theft of a Pony and sulky at aged 10[9] and had been sent off to reform school for twelve months.[10] Another article had stated his father Charles, had been fined under the ‘Education Act’ for Augustus’ truancy from school.[11] It is with speculation that maybe “Gus” joined the AIF for an adventure, or maybe he was encouraged to smarten up his direction for a new path in life. Whatever his reasons were, he was now enlisted and ready for training. Augustus had started serving his country in the 11th Reinf’s 11th Battalion and boarded the ship at Freemantle on the H.M.A.T A38 Ulysses on the 2nd of November and arrived in Port Tewfik, Egypt on the 26th of November 1915.[12][13] By early March 1916, Private Augustus had been transferred to the 51st Battalion which had been formed in Egypt and was a mix of Gallipoli veterans from the 11th Battalion and new recruits sent in from Australia. The Majority of this Battalion was largely made up of Western Australian men. Augustus and his newly formed company had moved on to the Western Front in France by mid-June 1916, on to a major battle, a first for this new Battalion. “It fought in its first major battle at Mouquet Farm in August and September and suffered casualties equivalent to a third of its strength in both of the attacks (14 August and 3 September) it launched.” Throughout the remainder of the year, the troop had alternated from their frontline duty and the training camps. [14] Throughout his time serving in the AIF, Augustus had just one admittance into the hospital and the condition was listed as venereal. This was late in the year of 1915 in Abbassia, Cairo. There is no other recording of Augustus being wounded or another admittance into hospital during the remainder of his time overseas. Working his way through the ranks from Private, Augustus had earned the rank of Lance Corporal (L/Cpl.) by November 1916 and Lance Sergeant (L/Sgt.) by January 1918. By the end of that same year, Augustus had achieved the rank of Sergeant. I am presuming the fact that Augustus being Australian-born but of German descent (His father was German-born and was naturalised in Australia in 1904[15]) had no contention and bearing a German-sounding name had no real issue with his comrade. Back home in Australia, the tension between the Australian people and the estimated 100,000 Germans living in Australia was very high and for the most part very hostile. Part of a paragraph explaining what life was like for German Australians had stated “In 1915, Germans and Austrians who were old enough to join the army were put into German Concentration Camps across the continent. In New South Wales the three main internment camps were at Trial Bay Gaol, Berrima Gaol and Holsworthy Army Barracks”[16] The Australian Government had spread “a fear campaign epitomised by propaganda such as “Enemy within the Gates”. All Germans and German South Australians had to register and report weekly to their local police station.”[17] I have no knowledge or records to see if this had any effect on the family that had remained in Australia at this time. Augustus had one older brother who was of age to join the AIF, but there are no records to indicate if he had. He had three younger brothers who were not old enough to join the services during World War 1, but they were old enough to serve in World War 2 and his youngest brother Charles had.[18] There have been no records located to see if his father Charles had been interned in the internment camp on Rottnest Island Western Australia. There have been no records, letters or stories passed through the family to decipher whether Augustus had been affected by his German ancestry while he was away at war or if it had any mental effect that may have remained with him on his return home. February 28th, 1919 Augustus Hahnel #3372 had finally boarded the ship S.S Anchises and was heading home after four and a half long years serving overseas away from his home and family. Augustus was one of 758 soldiers and officers returning to Australia on this passenger ship and they arrived and landed in Albany, Western Australia on the 7th of April 1919.[19].[20] Augustus’ Service record shows that he was awarded three medals for his commitment to AIF during the war. He had received the British War Medal, the 1914/15 Star Medal as well as the Victory medal.[21] Augustus was almost 24 years of age when he returned home. He had met his wife Gladys in Kalgoorlie and the two married in 1922 and settled down in Kalgoorlie. The Hahnel’s moved to Perth between 1931 and 1934.[22] Unfortunately, they only shared a short part of their life together as Gladys passed away in 1942.[23] Augustus lived a long life, He had married again, but he did not have any children. Augustus lived till the age of 83 when he passed away on the 27th of October 1979.[24]
0 Comments
|
AuthorMy name is Davina and I have been researching my family history since 2011. I started with almost nothing but ended up with a wealth of information and I needed an outlet to show and display all the information I have found. Archives
September 2023
Categories
All
|