Bodsworth Alfred Oswald 1885-1969

Alfred Owen Bodsworth

1885-1969

Father Nm: James Alexander Bodsworth b. 1 July 1854 St Kilda d.27 May 1943 Sandringham, Victoria

Mother Nm: Sarah Ann Blencowe [8437] born 11.6.1857 Moorabbin died 1930 Sandringham: Oldest known Ancestor- Thomas Blencowe died 1755 Kings Sutton.

Marriage:1919 to Emily E Jupp at Richmond England.

K comments: Brother William Gilbert served with the same 14th Bn. AIF. Brother Reginald briefly joined the AIF in 1918 but was demobilised a few months later

Spouse comments: Ethel Emily Bodsworth 1894-1958 (Death record Victoria)

Children:

Birth 9th August 1885

 

WW1

Alfred Oswald Bodsworth,1885, Brighton Vic. Private, 3015, 14th Battalion AIF.

1915

• 12 Jul. Attested at Broadmeadows, Labourer age 29 years 11 months.
• 19 Jul -2 Aug. Stationed at Depot.
• 3 Aug. Transferred to 10th Reinforcements 14th Bn. who was in Gallipoli at this time and evacuated in December 2015 to Egypt.
• 16 Oct. The 10th Reinforcements departed Melbourne on the ship Port Lincoln.

  

• The journey to Egypt would have been via England and a long one at that, this photo shows that on even the first leg a lot of the men suffered seasickness.

  

  At sea. October 1916. Reinforcements suffering from seasickness aboard the SS Port Lincoln. (Donor B. J. & V. Cardiff). Source AWM.

1916

• 12 Jan. Records state that arrived at Moascar, actual date was the  21st of January.
• 4 Feb. Admitted to 4 Australian Field Ambulance and then onto Auxillary Hospital Cairo suffering from Mumps.
• 25 Feb. Discharged from Hospital to O/S Base Ghezireh.
• 15 Mar. Rejoined Battalion at Tel-el-Kebir.

  

• 27-28 Mar. Marched to Mashama on the 27th and then onto Moascar in heavy sand a distance of about 30 miles then on the morning of the 28th marched 12 miles to Serapeum near Alexandria where the battalion stayed until the end of May.
• 2 Jun. Departed Alexandria on the ship HMY Transylvania.
• 7 Jun. Berthed at Marseilles.
• 9-10 Jun. Entrained for a 60 hr journey to arrive eventually at Bailleul on the 11th of June.
• 17 Jun. “The battalion marched on the 17th about eight miles to Fort Rompu, near Armentieres.”³
• “The 4th Brigade was at length, after months of training, about to come to grips with the enemy. The men were tired of continual preparation and anxious to measure themselves against their redoubtable opponents The move to the front line, so long anticipated, was about to become a reality .”³
• 27 Jun. In the trenches Bois Grenier. “The 14th was holding for the first time a section of front line trenches in France, extending from Burnt” Farm to Inflamingerie Farm .”³

“The country here was low-lying and blessed (or rather cursed) with such superabundant rainfall that the whole neighbourhood was permanently saturated with moisture. It was useless to dig trenches—they immediately filled with water. Consequently, it became necessary to build earthworks, and thousands of bags full of earth were employed for that purpose, and piled up six or seven feet high in front of our lines. This entailed enormous labour, and as they were constantly being destroyed by the enemy’s artillery they had to be continually renewed.”³

• 2-3 July. First Trench Raid Bois Grenier. The 14th Bn took part in a Divisional raid on enemy trenches.”Most of the raiders consisted of recent reinforcements who had joined up in Egypt and had no war experience, but the quota also contained a handful of Peninsula veterans.”³
• 3 Jul. German Counter Attack. The battalion underwent a terrific bombardment which buried some men in the trenches. In all the battalion records 40 casualties for this counterattack by German Artillery.³
• The Bn. casualties were 22 killed in this raid and counterattack. (as recorded by CWGC for period 1-4 July 1916.). It would seem the raid was more costly for the 14th Battalion than the 50th (Prussian) Reserve division that was manning the enemy trenches, which repulsed the raid with fewer casualties.
• 4 Jul- 5 Aug. “After the German raid of July 3 little of moment occurred till the 14th was relieved.”³
• 12 Jul.”On the 12th the battalion marched to its former billets at Bailleul, and on the following day entrained at 9 a.m. for Candas (a village adjacent to and south-west of Doullens), which was reached after a long journey …. This journey was necessary owing to the 4th Division being under orders to proceed to the Somme, where a tremendous battle had been proceeding since the first of the month, and in which the Australians ultimately took a prominent part. The battalion detrained at Candas, and marched to Domart, arriving there at 7 p.m., after one of the most exhausting marches the battalion ever had, and going into billets in the town.”³
• 16 Jul-4 Aug. Naours, Heurrisart and Warloy. Moved to Naours on the 16th and stayed for nine days then on the 25th marched to Heurrisart and on the 27th marched to Warloy, staying until the 4th of August.
• 4 Aug. Albert.Readying themselves for upcoming battles.

  

• 6-16 Aug. The Battle of Pozieres Ridge.
• The engagement of August 7th was the third operation in which the 14th had participated on French soil, and every one of them had been star performances of the very first rank. The intrepidity and elan of the A Company men on July 2, the fortitude and grim resolution of the 14th Platoon on July 3, and the reckless, death-defying valour of the 5th Platoon on August 7, were worthy of the highest traditions of the finest troops in the war. Few units can have started any campaign in the great war with three finer initial records to their credit. Lieutenant Jacka earned the only VC of the war for the battalion. The Bn. was finally relieved on the 14th Aug. Casualties were great in battle this is from the history of the 14th Battalion with first the numbers for the 4th Brigade. It should be not while history records 50 deaths, The “missing” in the battalion were practically all killed and several wounded subsequently dying of wounds raised the fatal casualties of the battalion during the week of battle
  to 87.³
• 19-31 Aug. Alfred was granted leave after Pozieres, he may have had some small wounds, they are however not recorded.
• 1 Sept. Bn. marched to Warloy. A week was subsequently spent in various villages north of Amiens……. Doullens was reached on the 8th, and here the battalion entrained for the north, and on arrival there marched to Zevecoten, near Poperinghe, and billeted in wooden huts.³
• Sept-21 Oct.Oct. The Bn. spent time in Dickiebusch, Zevegoten, Mouquet Farm and the Ypres Salient. On the 21st of October the battalion crossed the Belgian frontier, and entered France, billets being found in farms near
  Steenvorde.³
• 26 Oct. Back to the Somme. The return south took place on the 26th, when the 14th marched to Caestre, entrained for Port Remy, in the lower Somme area, and on arrival marched to billets at Bellancourt.³
  
• Nov-Dec. In November the Bn. at Bellancourt, Bruchamps, La Chaussee, Ribemont, Bernafay Wood, Carlton Camp and Goudecourt. December was spent mainly at Ribemont and Rainneville.

  

1917

• 4-5 Feb. Attack on ‘Stormy Trench’ east of Guedecourt, Somme. The trench was captured but not without casualties. The total in connection with the operation was seventy-two, 5 of the twenty-seven were killed or died of wounds.³
• 8 Feb. The 12th A.I.F. Brigade relieved the 14th on February 8, and on that date, the battalion moved back to Mametz. and the balance of February, all of March and until the 8th of April in training and preparation.
• 9-11 Apr. The Battle of Bullecourt. On April 9 the long-expected British attack
  opened on the Third Army front at Arras, a few miles north of the 14th Bn’s position. The Bn was ordered to attack the Hindenburg line and this attack was to involve tanks, something brand new to the 14th, not helped by deficiencies in the tanks and the tank crew experience.

  

• 11 Apr. The attack was a disaster for the Australian 145 battalion men were killed and overall 1170 Australian prisoners were taken by the Germans.
• 19 Apr. The Bn. marched from Mametz to Ribemont and spent four weeks there recuperating and taking on re-enforcements.
• 31 May. On May 31st the Battalion left Doulieu, and marched about eight miles to Dranoutre, across the Belgian frontier, camping on arrival m the adjoining fields at a place known as Crucifix Corner.
• 7-9 Jun. Messines Ridge. The attack on the Messines Ridge was carried out by the Second Anzac Army Corps. The 14th was on standby on the 7th June but not used and then on the 9th were moved into the front line to take over from the New Zealanders. Casualties were light.
  
• 28 Jun. The Bn. returned to the Messines frontline at Ploegsteert Woods.
• 18 Sept.-6 Oct. Alfred is on leave for this period and goes to the UK. Missing the battle of Polygon Wood where the battalion sustained heavy casualties.(40 battalion men killed as per CWGC records)
• 6 Oct-15 Nov.. Alfred rejoined the Bn. in time to take part in the action at Passchendaele, being in and out of the front line several times. (27 deaths in October and 5 in November in this action).
• The Bn. travelled to a well-earned rest for the winter at Abbeville.

  

1918

• 14-25 Mar. The German spring offensive was underway when the 14th Bn was sent south from the Ypres Salient to meet the attack. The Bn. was bussed via Bavincourt on their way to attack the village of Hebuterne. “En route crowds of
  French refugees were met rushing back panic-stricken from the neighbouring villages, bringing their belongings with them. Whole families could be seen (some comprising old women.. to children barely able to walk), some leading
  cows and horses, others dragging perambulators or carts laden with household goods. Mixed up with them was the debris of the retreating British army, all
  moving in the same direction, ie to the rear.”³
• 26 Mar.”Just after dark on the 26th, an attack was launched by the capture of 4th Brigade (16th Battalion on the right, 13th Hebuterne. in the centre, 15th on the left, and 14th in reserve near the Crucifix), and Hebuterne was occupied before daylight.”³
• 27-31 Mar. The 14th Bn. used to advance several times over the period.”The total casualties of the Battalion for the five days in the line (to the end of March)
  were three officers and fifty-two other ranks, by no means excessive considering the tactical results achieved, and the casualties inflicted by our men on the enemy.”³
• 14 Apr. Arrived at Allonville.
• 25 Apr-26 May. In and out of the line at Villers Brettoneux. The bn. casualties for this period was 21 men killed according to CWGC records.
• 31 May. Great loss at Allonville.”On the morning of the 31st, the enemy
  sent some shells into Allonville, and about the third or fourth of them (an H.V shell from a gun of large calibre) crashed into the barn tenanted by A Company’s personnel, dislodging one of the supporting beams, and, exploding in the building, causing two sections of the barn, together with the roof, to collapse, and fall upon the sleeping and crowded men, with terrible results. The casualties caused by this shell were set out officially as thirteen killed and fifty-six wounded, but many of the wounded subsequently died as the result of their injuries.”³
• 15-30 Jun. Aubigny. In the action at Hamel, the 14th Bn. was mostly held in Reserve. Took part in a raid on the night of the 15th. Casualties 2 killed and 12 wounded (war diary).
• 31 Jul-20 Aug. Battle of Amiens.

  

  • 31 Jul. “The Battalion, much refreshed by the pleasant fortnight spent near Querrieu, left that village on the last day of July,..and marched via Daours to a wood near Villers Bretonneux, where it remained till .. going into the front line.”³
  • 8 Jul. The 14th advanced accompanied by Tanks of the 8th Tank Bn. and a Machine Gun attachment made good progress until they reached the Ridge at Cerisy. “In front was a valley, and on the opposite side of it Cerisy Ridge, tenanted by the enemy As the infantry reached the crest of the ridge, it came into the enemy’s vision, and consequently under machine-gun fire and sniping, which grew
    hotter and hotter as the advance progressed. It developed into a series of short dashes forward, as men rushed from shell-hole to shell-hole. There was little cover, and casualties began to increase.”³
  • The resultant capture of Cerisy Ridge and then the capture of Morcourt by A Company was achieved practically without casualties.
  • 8-12 Jul. Casualties for the period were 25 men killed as per CWGC records.
• After its retirement from the Harbonnieres area, the Battalion remained for about a fortnight at Cardonnette, near Allonville, reorganising and refitting after Battalion’s recent operations. During this respite, the men were better clothed than they had been for a considerable time.
• 8 Sept. The war now took on the pattern of the pursuit of the German Army and the 14th Bn. were to be a Reserve battalion of the 4th Brigade AIF. On the 8th of September, they were bussed to Peronne.
• 15 Sept. It was on this day that Alfreds’ brother William joined the battalion for what was to be the last big push of the battalion in the war.
• 18-20 Sept. Attack on Hindenburg Line.

  

  • 18 Sept. The 14th Bn. chosen for the most difficult part of the attack. “Scarcely had the battalion passed red line and topped the ridge opposite Buisson Ridge, then the objective, as well as the copses in front, vomited innumerable machine-guns.” “Buisson Ridge was
    attained only with more casualties, and, on the crest, the terrible machine-gun fire for the second time brought the advance to a halt.”³
  • 19-20 Sept. Eventually all objectives were captured and the enemy fled.”Our casualties were 101 including three officers wounded and 21 other ranks killed or died of wounds—certainly a large proportion of the Battalion’s fighting strength, but relatively small considering the difficulties surmounted, casualties inflicted, and wonderful results achieved. The fatal casualties included no less than five sergeants Five Sergeants striking tribute to their gallant leadership.”³

1919

• 21 Jan. Alfred embarks for England where in early April he married Emily Jupp in Richmond Surrey. The AIF had many men in similar circumstances so they organised “Wives and families” ships to return them to Australia.
• 5 Apr-16 May.Embarked for Australia arriving at Melbourne on the 16th May 1919.
• 10 Jul. Discharged from the AIF.

Sources

1. Service Records for AO Bodsworth
2. War Diary of the 14th Battalion AIF
3. The history of the Fourteenth Battalion, A.I.F. Newton Wanliss, State Library Victoria.

Medals

Awarded the 1914-15 Star British and Victory medals.

After the War.

Death 1969

First name(s) Alfred Oswald Last name Bodsworth
The birth year 1885
Birth date 09 Aug 1885
Death year 1969
Death date 12 Sep 1969
Cemetery Yarra Junction Cemetery, City Wesburn, State Victoria

Gallery

3015 Religion CS

Occupation Labourer

Address Sandringham, Victoria

Marital status Single

Age at embarkation 30

Next of kin Father, James Bodsworth, Bridge Street, Sandringham, Victoria

Enlistment date 12 July 1915

Rank on enlistment Private

Unit name 14th Battalion, 10th Reinforcement

AWM Embarkation Roll number 23/31/3

Embarkation details Unit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A17 Port Lincoln on 16 October 1915

Rank from Nominal Roll Private

Unit from Nominal Roll 14th Battalion

Fate Returned to Australia 5 April 1919