2018 – Centenary of the Final Campaigns
As reported in last week’s column, the fighting on the Front in 1918 was perhaps the most ferocious of the war to date, with the Germans launching offensives in France and Belgium using troops released from the capitulation of Russia. The German Spring offensives were designed to drive the Allies back over hard-fought ground towards the sea ports. All was to no avail as the Allies repelled and held after initially giving ground.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Private George William ‘Ham’ Bush – 3105, who enlisted in Goulburn from his home in Jerrawa with his cousin ‘Dick’ Bush, was in the thick of the fighting with the 55th Battalion, responding to the German offensives of March and April.
As noted in ‘From The Bush to The Battle Gunning District and the Great War’ by Terry O’Neill, “On April 24th the enemy conducted extremely heavy artillery barrages on both sides of Villiers-Bretonneux as the 13th and 14th Australian Brigades, including the 55th Battalion, successfully counter-attacked. Private ‘Ham’ Bush was wounded in action in this fighting suffering mustard gas poisoning and was treated by the 15th Field Ambulance and 20th Casualty Clearing Station. ….. On 26 April Private Bush was admitted to 16 General Hospital, and his father was advised on 8 May. He rejoined the 55th Battalion on 28 May 1918.”.
The tide was turning in favour of the Allies with Major General Monash leading successful battles with Australian and Allied troops to secure key tactical positions on the Western Front. Losses were high on both sides but the war was slowly being won.
The Sir John Monash Centre has opened in Villiers-Bretonneux on April 16th, 2018. Set on the grounds of the Australian National Memorial and adjacent to the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, the Sir John Monash Centre is one of the key sites of the Australian Remembrance Trail along the Western Front and establishes a lasting international legacy of the Australian Centenary of Anzac 2014-2018.
Upgrades Essential
Essential Energy is the process of doing several non-outage upgrades at the southern end of the village on Bond and Biala streets to allow extra capacity and better power management. This process with continue through to May with a final outage connection in early May to replace key poles and lines on Bond and Biala. Some of those hefty connection costs are going to visible infrastructure upgrades.
‘Crawlin the Hume’ for 2018 Done and Dusted
Just as there is a ‘Haulin the Hume’ that retraces the Old Hume Highway from Sydney to Yass on the odd years, there is a companion event, ‘Crawlin the Hume’ that runs on the even years that retraces the old highway from the Melbourne end through to Albury.
Some locals were confused by Sydney entrants in “Crawlin”, stopping for a break on Sunday afternoon on their way back. The clock has started ticking on ‘Haulin the Hume’ for 2019 with organizer Bruce Gunter ready to do it all again. They drove the section through to Breadalbane.
