Chigwidden Gilbert Josiah 1885-1967

Gilbert Josiah Chigwidden
1885-1967

Father Nm: John Henry Chigwidden born  21 APR 1854  One Tree Hill
died 1924  Victoria, Australia

Mother Nm: Rose Blencowe [9517] born 10. May 1858 Terang, Victoria, Australia
died 24 August 1946  Victoria, Australia

Marriage:1916 Victoria to Beatrice Mabel Tamlyn

K comments:

Spouse comments: Beatrice Mabel Tamlyn born 1890, Maldon, Victoria died 8 SEP 1975 • Bexley North, New South Wales

Children:

Born 1885 Riverton SA

11 April 1885 Minorta SA twin to John Blencowe Chigwidden

1903-1904

Joined the 8th Australian Infantry Regiment which was founded in the northern part of Victoria in 1903.

Australian Imperial Force

29th Battalion AIF patch

32nd Battalion AIF patch
WW1

Gilbert Josiah Chigwidden, 1885, Ballarat, 3772, L/Cprl, 29th and 32nd Battalion’s AIF.

1916
  • 11 Apr. Enlisted at age 31 yrs. Occupation Motor driver. Address 206 Macarthur Street, Ballarat, Victoria. Marital status Married. Next of kin Wife, Mrs Beatrice Mabel Chigwidden, 206 Macarthur Street, Ballarat, Victoria.
  • 19 Sept. Embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A73 Commonwealth as the 9th Reinforcements to the 29th Bn.
  • 14 Nov. Disembarked at Plymouth, England.
  • 17 Dec. Embarked from Folkestone to France
  • 18 Dec.Marched into Base Depot Etaples.
  • 23 Dec.Marched out to join Battalion.
  • 29 Dec. Taken on Strength of the 29th Battalion at Dernacourt in the Somme.
  • Jan. Time at Montauban repair of roads and Railway. Monthly casualties 3 KIA 22 Wounded.
  • Feb. Most of the time at Trones Wood and then in the front line from 25th Feb to end of the month . Monthly casualties 14 KIA 7 Wounded.
  • Post capture of Bapaume. The 29th Bn. was sent to take up a position east of Bapaume after its capture. The line was near Velu and to the Bapaume Rd. On the 23rd a German Counter attack at Beametz caused some of theBn. to temporarily retire however the Bn. successfully held off the attack. Casualties (22 KIA this day).
  • March Casualties reported in war diary as;
    • KIA 28
    • Wounded 91
    • Died of wounds 1
    • Missing 11

The Bn. now had a long quiet spell they were used only as support in the following attack by the 8th Bde on Bullecourt and then had to wait until September before their next action.

  • 1-17 Sept. Blaringhem
  • 17-18 Sept. Steenvoorde
  • 19 Sept. Route march to Wippenhoek
  • 24 Sept. Left for Chateau Regard (south of Ypres).
  • 25 Sept. Ordered to move to Halfway House then onto Hooge.
  • 26 Sept.Attacked enemy positions in Polygon Wood. Took first objective and achieved final objective after 7 hours fighting. 120 POW’s and 30 guns captured. Repulsed enemy counter-attack.
  • 27 Sept. Relieved by 30th Bn. Casualties from war diary for the month 42 KIA, 4 died of wound, 192 Wounded and 20 Missing . Note CWGC records 68 deaths in the period 26-30 Sept.
  • Gilbert writes to the Mother of a fallen Comrade. Published in the Sea Lake Times and Berriwillock Advertiser on the 5th of Jan the letter of condolence to the mother of  George S H Blight. It seems George was killed by a shell between 26-27th Sept. Gilbert writes ” I am writing this snort note to express to you ail my sincere sympathy with you in your sad bereavement.George and I were in the same batch.I can assure you that any mother, had she been able to witness the magnificent way in which our boys fought and fell, would have felt proud of her son in that brave company. George was hit with a piece of shell while we were advancing on the enemy, and he only lived a few minutes. The shell landed amidst four of them, and killed two others. When he fell, George asked the only surviving member of the group of four to take his machine gun and keep, going- He also asked him to let me know and tell me to write home……I will arrange to have, a cross placed on his grave, and if at all possible, will attend to it myself while up that way. However, you can rest assured that the cross. will be put up. If there is anything more I can do for you I will be only to ready to do it….”

Unlike some AIF battalions, the 29th had a relatively quiet time during the German Spring Offensive of 1918 as the 5th Division was in reserve for a lot of the time. When the Allies took to the offensive again, the 29th fought in a minor attack at Morlancourt on 29 July, and then in August and September took part in the great advance that followed the battle of Amiens.5

1918
  • 11-25 Jan. Given leave to the UK.
  • 21 Apr. Promoted to Lance Corporal.
  • 7-9 May. On the 7th May the 29th were at Sailley-Les-Sec when the Australian forces attacked Bullecourt for a second time in 1918 On the 7th.While 40kms away from the action at Bullecourt, the Bn. and its enemy alertness heightened by the big attack and regular Bn. patrols suffered regular casualties around this period.
  • 8 Aug. Battle of Amiens.
    • Setting out from the positions of Villers-Bretonneux and Hamel, the Australian troops in two hours had accomplished all their objectives, and the Canadian troops that had begun the attack alongside them had advanced several kilometres. In just over 3 hours, the enemy’s front line had been overrun. In total, the Allied forces captured 29,144 prisoners, 338 guns, and liberated 116 towns and villages. Ludendorff called 8 August “the black day of the German army.”6
    • Bn. Casualties CWGC records 25 men KIA on the 8th and 9th of August.
  • 29 Sept. The attack on the Hindenburg Line.The Allies by September were in full flow advancing towards the Hindenburg Line having capture the Hindenburg outposts. On the 29th Sept. the Bn. advance temporarily halted at Villeret in dense fog but later in the day advanced through Bellicourt and to the east of the village. At 9pm orders issued to advance to the east side of Nauroy.
  • 30 Sept. The Bn. in conjunction with 31st Bn. and 57th Bn “mopped up” the village of Nauroy capturing  POWs and anti tanks rifles. The Bn. advanced further to Sugar Factory but enemy MG fire drove the battalion back to the original line at Nauroy. CWGC reports 11 men killed on the 30th Sept. in what was the last main combat for the 29th Battalion of the war.
  • 12 Oct. The Australian forces having suffered losses was reconstructed the result was that the 29th Bn. was disbanded on this date to strengthen other battalions of the 8th Bde. Gilbert was transferred to the 32nd Battalion.
  • 11 Nov.At the Armistice the 8th Bde as part of the 5th Division was at rest. The Division stayed on for a while in France but soon started to send men back home.
1919
  • 20 Jan-3 Feb. On leave to UK.
  • 12 Feb. Rejoined 32nd Bn. in France.
  • 17 Apr. Marched out for return to Australia and on the 23rd april embarked from le Havre for England
  • 24 Apr. Weymouth awaiting ship to Australia
  • 10 Jun . Embarked on HMAT “Port Lyttleton” for Australia.
  •  10 Jul. Arrived Melborne on this day as reported by The Argus Newspaper.
Sources
  1. Service File of Gilbert Josiah Chigwidden
  2. 29th Bn. War Diaries
  3. The AIF in France
  4. First World War Official Histories
  5. Australian War Memorial
  6. The Battle of Amiens
Medals

Awarded the 1914-15 Star British and Victory medals.

After the War.
1936

Living at Bendigo with wife  occupation Bookkeeper

WW2

Enlisted in Australian Civilian Army regiment number V81883 probably served 1939-1945 in an administrative role in Australia

Death 1867

Died 20 FEB 1967 , Baldwin, Victoria, Australia

GALLERY