https:\/\/s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com\/awm-media\/collection\/RCDIG0000344\/bundled\/RCDIG0000344.pdf<\/a><\/p>\nModge was now about to enter a whole other world, far removed from the one he had always known. Embarking on the ship in Sydney was just the start of a three-year adventure, that would take Modge to Egypt, Turkey, England, France, Belgium. It is through Clarrie\u2019s recording of the events of 1915 that allows us a glimpse into what Modge might also have been feeling. As the ship prepared to sail on June 25, 1915 Clarrie \u2018went on deck to see swarms of small boats with friends of the boys encircling the ship, saying goodbye.\u2019 <\/em>\u00a0Perhaps sisters Mabel and Eileen were there to farewell him too. Soon each day would be defined by strict timings; drills at 6.30am, breakfast at 8am, rifle exercises at 11am, dinner at 1pm, more drills at 2.30pm, followed by free time. On July 6 all men were ordered \u2018to have our hair cut short, great sport amongst those who failed to have it done, the barber gang went round the ship and anyone with long hair was arrested and clipped, no matter how he struggled and fought, they clipped him just the same.\u2019 <\/em>A week later the men had \u2018machine gun practice at a kite in the air.\u2019 <\/em>This was followed by a concert at night and a boxing match the next night.<\/p>\nBy 17 July they still had \u2018no idea of our destination, except that we are in the Red Sea, weather very hot.\u2019 <\/em>Three days later they arrived at Suez where \u2018Arabs, Egyptians and others swarm around the ship in everything that would float, offering their goods for sale.\u2019 <\/em>A day later the battalion was landed in the Egyptian capital \u2018at 2am and marched out to Heliopolis camp. Up at daylight and visited Cairo in the afternoon.\u2019 <\/em>The Australians already had a reputation in Cairo with the 19th<\/sup> boys no doubt contributing to that. The battalion trained at the Heliopolis camp in Egypt for three weeks before \u2018rumours that we are leaving for the front\u2019 <\/em>circulated on August 13. Three days later the battalion \u2018arrived at Alexandria at 3am and embarked on the HMTS Saturnia, the dirtiest and filthiest ship imaginable, no arrangements for tucker, so we lived on bully (beef) and biscuits.\u2019 <\/em>They headed to Lemnos where the troops stood awaiting further orders. Shortly after they were transferred to the ship HMS Osmanieh<\/em>.<\/p>\nGALLIPOLI<\/strong><\/p>\nAt 1am on August 21, Clarrie, Modge and the other men of the 19th<\/sup> Battalion arrived at the Dardanelles and landed under cover of darkness. \u00a0The troops endured their first baptism of fire soon after, making their way from Reserve Gully to Beauchamp Gully. There was no sleep that first night on the Gallipoli peninsula with \u2018bullets humming over our heads all night.<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 The second day dawned with an even greater realisation, upon encountering the 18th<\/sup> Battalion, who had been \u2018cut to pieces.\u2019 <\/em>Wise words of advice were offered by the wounded, \u2018as the 18th<\/sup> boys were being carried past, they were shouting to us to keep our heads, and give the Turks one for them.\u2019 <\/em>The 19th<\/sup> Battalion was now a support for the action happening at Hill 60<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/em>On August 23, the third day, Clarrie wrote of \u2018digging ourselves in, connecting up with the Gurkhas on our right and the Tommies on our left. We were under heavy fire all the time, but were very lucky only losing about 5 out of our company.\u2019<\/em> \u00a0After digging all night and with exhaustion setting in, a reprieve finally came, with a call to cease digging. \u2018We just dropped down in the trenches we had dug and went to sleep, the first (sleep) for three nights.\u2019<\/em> \u00a0The hardships didn\u2019t end there. Clarrie describes a blazingly hot sun, limited water and millions of flies. The battalion was not relieved in the trenches until days later, on August 27, having endured \u2018bullets humming past you like hail\u2019 <\/em>with hands \u2018raw and bleeding\u2019<\/em> from \u2018the hardest work we have had so far.\u2019 <\/em>A swim in Anzac Cove was the reward for the incredible effort they had put in. Over the following days, the 19th<\/sup> was a support and witness to the bayonet attack on Hill 60 by the New Zealanders.<\/p>\nOn September 5, the battalion\u2019s Major McManamey was killed, \u2018a mighty sad day for us, as he was looked up to as a father by all the boys.<\/em>\u2019 It came just days after Captain Wilson was also killed, dying in Clarrie\u2019s arms. Death was now a daily reality, with the \u2018heat, flies and stench from the dead bodies terrible.\u2019\u00a0 <\/em>The Gallipoli Peninsula was a place where Modge was subjected to a \u2018daily confrontation with hardship and danger.<\/em>\u2019\u00a0 Aside from the obvious risk of snipers, bombs and machine gun fire, disease also spread quickly due to the unsanitary conditions of the battlefields where rotting bodies could lie for days or weeks in the heat.\u00a0 On September 13, the battalion marched four hours to Pope\u2019s Post<\/strong> to relieve other battalions. It was here they fired their first shots of the war. It coincided with Clarrie coming down with dysentery, no surprise in the appalling circumstances.<\/p>\nModge saw just a few weeks of action at Gallipoli, before being admitted to hospital on the 21st<\/sup> September 1915 suffering from rheumatic fever.\u00a0 This illness caused joint pain, fatigue and potential heart problems. Over 6,000 men were affected by the illness during the Gallipoli campaign. Modge was taken by ship to a hospital in Malta, before being transferred to a hospital in Wandsworth, near London, in England in October 1915.\u00a0 Modge was one of only 40 men from his battalion that was evacuated sick from Gallipoli, with over 250 others wounded or killed.<\/p>\n19th Battalion Gallipoli war diary<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n
ENGLAND<\/strong><\/p>\nIn the five months following his evacuation from Gallipoli, and convalescence in England, it is likely that Modge met a young English girl. \u2018One of the best\u2019 he called her on the back of the photographic postcard he sent to his sister Eileen. This was perhaps a reference to her nursing abilities, a likely place for a young soldier to meet his love interest.<\/p>\nModge’s girlfriend and her young brother, 1918<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n‘One of the best’<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n
There is no easy way to identify who Modge\u2019s girlfriend was without knowing her name. Modge did not reveal this vital detail. The only way her identity may come to light, is if she recorded his name somewhere and that document has survived and been handed down to her descendants and the information posted on a site like Ancestry.com. There is currently no public profile for a Maurice Quirk of a similar age associated with a fianc\u00e9 during WW1 that might lead us to discovering this girl\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n
Around the same time, Modge sent another postcard to his sister Eileen from himself and his mate \u2018Bluey\u2019. Modge signed off the card with three kisses (xxx) and sent one kiss from Bluey as well. They may very well have been convalescing together in England. Bluey\u2019s true identity is also not known.<\/p>\nBluey & Modge, circa 1916<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\nKisses from Bluey and Modge<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n
WESTERN FRONT<\/strong><\/p>\nIn early March 1916, Modge was well enough to be shipped back to Egypt for further training with the 19th<\/sup> Battalion, and shortly thereafter, embarked on the journey back to Europe, landing in France on the 25th<\/sup> March 1916.\u00a0 Two years of intense warfare would follow with barely any relief, in a place now known as the Western Front.\u00a0 Modge\u2019s first entry in his Western Front record reveals a lack of discipline and disobedience, perhaps coming as a result of his long period of convalescence. On the 17th<\/sup> May 1916 he \u2018failed to carry out a duty\u2019, resulting in a penalty of 14 days Field Punishment No.2, which entailed heavy manual labour. This was a punishment Modge clearly learnt his lesson from, initially at least, as his record remained clear for almost a year afterwards.<\/p>\nIn fact, he was soon keen to make up for his apparent lack of dedication. In June 1916, as the Allies were preparing for an offensive against the Germans on the Somme, a series of trench raids at Armentieres were planned to initiate the attack. The raids were designed to inflict damage on the Germans and \u2018obtain prisoners, destroy machine-gun emplacements and capture equipment of any kind.\u2019\u00a0 Modge\u2019s fellow Sydney-sider Clarrie Wallach, now a Lieutenant, was instructed to form a raiding party and asked for volunteers amongst his men. A total of 9 officers and 73 other ranks from various battalions of the 5th<\/sup> Brigade, including Modge, took part in raids on German trenches on the night of the 25th<\/sup> June 1916, south-east of Bois Grenier. The raids were considered very important and ultimately successful, with a loss of only 1 killed and 13 wounded on the Allied side, and 30 killed and 4 captured on the German side. Recognition was given to each of the men who participated by stamping the details onto their service record.\u00a0 A young soldier by the name of William Jackson (from the 17th<\/sup> Battalion) won the first Victoria Cross (VC) on the Western Front for his actions during these raids.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n1916 trench raids<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n
Modge\u2019s participation in the Armentieres trench raids was a small taste of things to come.\u00a0 During 1916, the 19th<\/sup> Battalion would be involved in the battles of Pozieres,<\/strong> Mouquet Farm<\/strong> and The Maze<\/strong>.\u00a0 The first major offensive, Pozieres<\/strong>, took place between late July and late August 1916. During the battle, the Germans used many weapons to halt the Allied advancement, including explosives, shrapnel and gas. The continual bombardment of the men of the 2nd<\/sup> Division, including the 19th<\/sup> Battalion, holding the end of the line at Pozieres village, caused many men to be evacuated with shell shock, a psychological condition with symptoms ranging from mental breakdowns to nightmares and panic attacks. Although Modge appears to have escaped the battle with no injuries, two of his mates from Woollahra were not so lucky, suffering severe shell shock.\u00a0 The men of the 2nd<\/sup> Division held the line at Pozieres <\/strong>for 12 days, in a feat that has been called \u2018arguably the most severe shelling endured over a prolonged period during the whole war<\/em>.\u2019\u00a0 The battles of Pozieres,<\/strong> and later Mouquet Farm<\/strong>, fought in late August, inflicted around 8,000 casualties on the 2nd<\/sup> Division, severely weakening it and putting it out of action for a number of months.<\/p>\nIt was to be November before the 19th<\/sup> Battalion saw action again, this time at The Maze<\/strong>, near Flers in Belgium.\u00a0 By now winter had started to bite and heavy rain had fallen. Charles Bean, a leading WW1 correspondent and photographer, observed that in order to keep warm whilst on duty in the trenches, the men were forced to regularly walk up and down the narrow trenches or stamp their feet on the spot, producing deep wells of mud.\u00a0 Frost bite led to \u2018trench feet\u2019, a condition that saw some men having their toes or feet amputated due to gangrene. Modge\u2019s skills as a bootmaker would have been extremely useful both for himself and his battalion mates during the long winter months in France, repairing boots to help prevent trench foot casualties. Some men kept their spirits up during this time, using the long hours in the trenches to write letters home to family and friends. Modge\u2019s cousin Walter Faddy (of the 18th<\/sup> Battalion) wrote home commenting light heartedly that the boys had \u2018plenty of mud to kick about\u2019<\/em>.\u00a0 It was a common practice for the men to sanitise their letters so as not to worry their loved ones waiting at home. Others described that period as the \u2018coldest winter in living memory.\u2019<\/p>\nIn mid-November 1916, during the battle of The Maze<\/strong>, the 19th<\/sup> Battalion held the position against the enemy for two days and nights.\u00a0 Many Germans were captured in trench raids, during which Modge\u2019s mate, Private Bob Tidyman, was killed whilst guarding prisoners.\u00a0 \u2018A man\u2019s battalion was the centre of his existence<\/em>\u2019 and this would have been a terrible blow for Modge.\u00a0 The following year, 1917, was to prove just as tough as 1916.\u00a0 Modge and the rest of the 19th<\/sup> Battalion would fight their way through three more major battles, at Second Bullecourt<\/strong>, Menin Road<\/strong> and Broodseinde Ridge<\/strong>.\u00a0 The war raged on relentlessly, giving no relief.\u00a0 Each day brought hard physical labour, like digging and reinforcing trenches and marching to new battlegrounds with the ever-changing front line.<\/p>\nBy April 1917, after twelve months of continuous service, Modge could wait no longer for a leave of absence to be approved.\u00a0 On April 3rd<\/sup>, he took matters into his own hands, somehow obtaining a forged leave pass and headed to the town of Amiens.\u00a0 Freedom did not last long however, for he was arrested by the Military Police just 18 hours later. More field punishment and forfeiture of pay followed, hopefully made more bearable by his short taste of freedom.\u00a0 Blemishes on a soldier\u2019s war record were common and Modge\u2019s contained three; the two charges of Absent without Leave and the charge of failing to carry out a duty. However there was recognition too. At the end of 1917, Modge was issued with two brass \u2018A\u2019 symbols to be placed on the sleeves of his uniform, signifying his involvement in the Gallipoli campaign.\u00a0 This marked him as an original member of the 19th<\/sup> Battalion, an experienced and valuable soldier.<\/p>\nChristmas Day 1917 for the 19th<\/sup> Battalion men was spent the same way as the previous year; holding the line. They had been moved to a location near De\u00fbl\u00e9mont<\/strong>, on the river Lys. (France\/Belgium border). However, the men were better equipped than the previous year to deal with the freezing cold. Those in the front trenches had been issued with gum boots and on Christmas Day the men tucked into a stew and had a tipple of rum. It was an unusually quiet period with no enemies encountered during the night patrols and no casualties recorded from Christmas Eve to New Year\u2019s Day 1918.<\/p>\nAs another year came around, Modge would surely have been war weary and hoping for an end to the bloodshed.\u00a0 January 8 saw heavy snowfall and January 17 heavy rainfall, which resulted in all available men of the battalion draining and repairing the trenches. Then on January 20, a brief respite came in the form of leave to England or \u2018Blighty leave\u2019, as it was called. Modge had waited almost two years for this leave, supposed to be an annual privilege. Perhaps seizing the chance to spend more time with his fianc\u00e9, he unofficially extended his leave for an extra week, incurring a loss of 31 days\u2019 pay. It is likely that the portrait Modge had taken of himself (wearing the A for Anzac on his sleeve) was done at this time.<\/p>\n
Modge arrived back in France in mid-February 1918, at a time when both the Germans and the Allies were stepping up the campaign for victory as the war entered what would be its final year.\u00a0 The 19th<\/sup> Battalion would soon be drawn into the battles surrounding the town of Villers-Bretonneux<\/strong>.\u00a0 Leaving Nieppe<\/strong> on 24 March, the 19th<\/sup> Battalion headed for the Messines <\/strong>sector (now called Mesen, in Belgium). Two weeks later, the battalion was located near Villers-Bretonneux <\/strong>and on the 6th<\/sup> April, an order was given for an attack on the Germans at Hangard Wood<\/strong>. The war diaries of the 19th<\/sup> Battalion and the 5th<\/sup> Division paint a sobering picture of what unfolded for Modge.<\/p>\nIt is not clear which company (consisting of somewhere between 100 to 225 men) Captain Clarrie Wallach was in command of, although it may have been \u2018C\u2019 company, of which Modge was a part. One platoon of \u2018C\u2019 company (30-60 men) took part in the attack, along with one platoon of \u2018D\u2019 company and some members of the 20th<\/sup> Battalion. \u00a0The diaries reveal that;<\/p>\n\u2018At zero hour (5am), 20th<\/sup> Battalion (was) not in position, (so the) 19th<\/sup> commander decided to move off without them. The company moved through to (the) outer edge of wood without any frontal opposition but was troubled by machine gun fire from the right flank. On reaching the outer edge of (the) wood, (the) enemy forward trench was encountered. Only 2 officers and 10 other ranks had cleared the wood, these belonging to the right platoon of our company. The attention of this party was attracted by a large enemy party (strength about 80 to 100) who were holding up troops on the right and they immediately turned to this party and charged with bayonets from the rear, taking them by surprise and capturing about 60 prisoners. A large number of casualties was inflicted on the enemy and a Lewis gun was captured and brought back. (They) were noticed to be retreating and our party pushed on to and reached the objective line and linked up with 20th<\/sup> Battalion party who were on the left. Here the ground was covered with a thick growth about chest high and as this position offered no field of fire, officers of 19th<\/sup> and 20th<\/sup> Battalions consulted and decided to push further forward. After proceeding about 70 yards large numbers of (the) enemy, three to four hundred strong, were massed on a very steep hill in the immediate front and about 300 yards distant. Other enemy parties were moving on our right and left flanks and opened fire. There was still no field of fire open to our party owing to the undergrowth and after a consultation of (the) three officers present, it was agreed that the position was impossible and therefore (the) party moved back under pressure of heavy enemy machine gun and rifle fire. Report received from (the) stretcher bearing parties and others moving back indicate that the enemy has re-occupied the trench from which he was driven by the 19th<\/sup> Battalion party. Definitive casualties cannot yet be stated. Two officers are known to be killed and one wounded and one missing. Heavy casualties are expected amongst other ranks.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\nModge Quirk likely took the brunt of the German machine gun fire, dying where he fell. There was just six months of the war left. Modge\u2019s body was retrieved and buried in Crucifix Corner Cemetery, at Villers-Bretonneux. He was one of the 33,407 Australians killed on the Western Front from 1916-1918.<\/p>\n
Captain Percy Storkey, leading a group of men from the 19th<\/sup> Battalion, charged the Germans during this attack at Hangard Wood, for which he was awarded a Victoria Cross. Captain Clarrie Wallach, a talented footballer, was hit in both legs. He was transported to a hospital in England, where life-saving surgery meant amputation of one leg, followed by the other. He died, despite the best efforts to save him.<\/p>\nOver a dozen others from the 19th<\/sup> Battalion died that day at Hangard Wood, including;<\/p>\nCorporal Donald Anderson (479) from B company, a married Scotchman, wounded in the leg, close to the German line, who another man tried to drag to safety but couldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n
Lieutenant Leslie Hugh Bignell, killed outright by machine gun fire and buried in the vicinity of where he fell<\/p>\n
Lt James Glen McDonald (1732), who had survived a previous gun-shot wound to the chest, killed close to the enemy line and unable to be retrieved when the enemy recaptured the area.<\/p>\n
All of these army files make for harrowing reading.<\/p>\n
In what was an additional blow to the families, some of the dead men\u2019s personal items were being sent home onboard the HMAT Buronga<\/em> when it was sunk by the Germans in July 1918. All souls on board were saved but the clothing, letters, photos and other precious mementos were all lost. Captain Wallach\u2019s personal items were among those lost to the sea.<\/p>\nModge\u2019s death cast a dark shadow over an already grieving family. Jack and Mick, still on active duty on the Western Front, were no doubt deeply affected by their own war experiences but then also had to endure the loss of their brother and best mate. Mabel and Eileen lost a protector. And then there was Modge\u2019s girlfriend. She may never have known what happened to Modge.<\/p>\n
What we do know is that Modge was a much-cherished member of the extended Quirk and Poulter families. On the first anniversary of Modge\u2019s death, his grieving siblings placed memorial notices in the Sydney Morning Herald.<\/p>\n
His heart was good, his spirit brave,<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nHis resting place, a hero\u2019s grave.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Lest we forget<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nTribute to Modge, 1919<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A 20 minute read This Anzac Day 2025, we remember the sacrifices of my paternal 2 x Great Uncle, Maurice Quirk. Why do our Anzacs forebears command such reverence, out of all our ancestors and past family members? Each Anzac Day in April and Remembrance Day in November, we pause to remember those who fought […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quirkycharacters.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quirkycharacters.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quirkycharacters.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quirkycharacters.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quirkycharacters.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/quirkycharacters.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":443,"href":"https:\/\/quirkycharacters.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439\/revisions\/443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quirkycharacters.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quirkycharacters.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quirkycharacters.com.au\/stories\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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