Archie Barwick
Archie Albert Barwick | |
---|---|
Born | 7 March 1890 Colebrook, Tasmania |
Died | 28 January 1966 (aged 75) Uralla, New South Wales |
Allegiance | Australia/ British Empire |
Service/ | First Australian Imperial Force |
Years of service | 1914–1919 |
Rank | Sergeant |
Service number | 914[1] |
Unit | 1st Battalion |
Battles/wars | World War I:
|
Awards | Belgian Croix de Guerre[2] |
Archie Albert Barwick (7 March 1890 – 28 January 1966) was an Australian farmer and soldier known for his diaries of World War I. His set of diaries are recognised as one of the most extensive and well written first hand accounts of military service in World War I.[3][4][according to whom?]
Early life
Barwick was born at Colebrook, Monmouth County
World War I
Archie Barwick enlisted in World War I at 24 years of age at Randwick, New South Wales on the 24 August 1914,
Barwick was sent to war and fought with British Forces against Turk Forces in the bloodbath of the
Barwick returned to Alexandria on 28 Dec 1915
Barwick obtained a position as an Instructor for the Australian 1st Training Battalion at Durrington Camp near
His two brothers Leonard George Barwick (known as Len & b 1894) and Norman Stanley Barwick (known as Stan & 1891-1917) also served in World War I.[5] Len enlisted at Liverpool, New South Wales on 26 October 1914 and served mostly in the 1st Battalion, alongside Archie.[6][5] He obtained Special Leave for 1914 soldiers and returned to Australia, landing at Melbourne on 2 Dec 1918.[5][11][3] Stan enlisted at Clermont, Tasmania on 8 July 1916[12] and served mostly in the 12th Battalion.[13] After training in England, Stan was sent to war and went to the 1st Australian Division Base Depot at Etaples, France on 11 Apr 1917, where he was reunited with his brother Archie recovering from his second wound, from 16–21 April 1917.[14] Stan was killed in action near Remus Wood, Belgium on 8 October 1917.[3][15] He was commemorated with 54,000 men whose graves are not known at Menin Gate Memorial,[16] Ypres, Belgium.
Honours
Barwick was awarded the
Barwick was one of the six Australians whose war experiences were presented in The War That Changed Us, a four-part television documentary series about Australia's involvement in World War I. He has also featured in projects such as AnzacLive and Anzac360.ac360.[20]
Diary
Barwick wrote 16 diaries documenting his war service, approximately 400,000 words in total.[3] He tried to keep a daily record of his experiences,[21] however he was sometimes forced to write entries later or from notes.[22] His diaries are noted for their detailed description of his experiences and for their style, which has been described as similar to the Boys' Own publications.[23][24]
About 4 oclock Reveille sounded & upon we all jumped & got dressed ... we heard a tremendous roar, up we all rushed, to get a look at what was going on, one of our ships had opened fire on "Gaba Tepe" soon the whole fleet of warships were belting away for all they were worth ... we watched this scene for about 10 minutes, & the order came for every man to get ready to move off ... about 5 or 5.30 we heard a crackle of rifle fire & we knew then that the 3rd Brig. had landed, we then got the order to fill the boats & down we filed on to a destroyer ... she had a few wounded & dead men on her, they were the first we had ever seen, they made no difference to us, & now let me say right here, for it is true as true can be, those of our chaps who had cards, fetched them out & started playing ... the destroyer rushed us over as fast & as far as she could & then the sailors met us with rowing boats we quickly filled these & off we went with shells bursting all around us, we were lucky in our boat for only one man was hit ... we reached the beach at last & we leaped out quick & lively, I must have jumped into a deep place for I went in up to my arm-pits & had to struggle ashore with about 150 lb on my back, & rifle held high over my head to keep it from getting wet. some of our Battn's boats were not so lucky as we were, for one or two of them got smashed right up & everyone was drowned they would sink like a stone with such a weight on them after we got ashore Lieut Payne got us together & we started up for the firing line. I should think it was about 6 oclock then for the sun was just rising. ... we scrambled up the hill for about 200 yards, & then we dumped our packs, & started off at a fair pace for the firing line ... it did seem funny to hear the bullets cutting into the scrub alongside of us as we went along, but no one seemed afraid, & we were laughing & joking as we went along, I don't want you to think I am skiting when you read this, for I will take my oath on it that it is true, I know myself I never felt the slightest fear the first day or two, it was when we began to realize that bullets hurt when they hit you, that we knew what fear was.
Archie Barwick, Diary entry for 25 April 1915 describing the first landing at Gallipoli[25]
Life after World War I
An abridged edition of approximately 133,000 words was published in 2013.[26]
Family life
After his return from the War, a welcome party was held for him at Woolbrook, Walcha Shire, New South Wales on 3 May 1919.[27] He lived for some time in Tasmania before returning to New England.
Archie Barwick married Mona Carroll in 1930. The couple had three children, John, Judy and Tim, and lived on the property Rooya, Abington Creek near
When invasion by Japan was feared in World War II, Barwick was placed in charge of the local Volunteer Defence Corps.[3]
Archie Barwick died on 28 January 1966 at Uralla, New South Wales.[3][28]
Works
- Barwick, Archie (2013), In great spirits: the WWI diary of Archie Barwick, Sydney South, NSW HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN 978-0-7322-9718-3
See also
References
- ^ "First World War Embarkation Rolls – Archie Albert Barwick". Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "National Archives of Australia – Digital copy of item with barcode 3055128". National Archives of Australia. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ ISBN 9780732297183.
- ^ Cochrane, Peter (6 April 2011). "Oh God what a fight". The Australian. Nationwide News Pty Limited. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Archie Barwick diaries". Curio. State Library of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d "Barwick Leonard George : SERN 1035 : POB Hobart TAS : POE Liverpool NSW : NOK Barwick G A". National Archives of Australia. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Major General Sir John Headlam (1921). Official Names of the Battles Fought by Forces of the British Empire During the Great War, 1914-19. London: His Majesty's Stationery Office.
- ^ "PERSONAL". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 7 July 1917. p. 3. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ "Barwick diaries, 22 August 1914 – 26 January 1919 / Archie Barwick". Catalogue. State Library of NSW. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ "ROLL OF HONOUR. 399th CASUALTY LIST". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 11 May 1918. p. 7. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ "RETURNING ANZACS". The Sydney Morning Herald. NSW: National Library of Australia. 11 November 1918. p. 8. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ "Barwick, Norman Stanley, Corporal, Regimental Number 6617, 12th Battalion [Application for War Gratuity]". National Archives of Australia. Archived from the original on 11 August 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ National Archives Aus ADF Personnel Rec-Army-WWI sB2455 6617 1914-20
- ^ ISBN 9780733629327.
- ^ "Tasmanian Casualties". Examiner. Launceston, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 7 December 1917. p. 3 Edition: DAILY. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
- ^ Barwick, Stan. "Commonwealth War Graves Commission".
- ^ "TASMANIA". The Mercury. Hobart, Tas.: National Library of Australia. 9 April 1918. p. 6. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
- ^ "FIFTH SUPPLEMENT TO the London Gazette". The London Gazette. No. 30792. 9 July 1918. Archived from the original on 17 August 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ "Honours and Awards – Archie Albert Barwick". Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2014.
- ^ "Filming in the footsteps of WWI heroes and the shadow of Hitler's evil". NewsComAu. 10 November 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
- ^ "Item 03: Archie Barwick diary, 10 May-23 July 1916". State Library of NSW. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ "Item 09: Archie Barwick diary, 14 April 1917 – 19 May 1917". State Library of NSW. Archived from the original on 27 June 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
- ^ MacFie, Peter (December 2008). "First World War soldiers of the Richmond Municipality". Papers and Proceedings: Tasmanian Historical Research Association. 55 (3): 222–234. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- ^ Perkins, Yvonne. "The Diaries of a WWI Soldier". Stumbling Past. Yvonne Perkins. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2014.
- ^ "Item 01: Archie Barwick diary, 22 August 1914 – September 1915". State Library of New South Wales. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- New South Wales Government. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
- ^ "SOLDIERS OF THE NORTH". Daily Observer. Tamworth, NSW: National Library of Australia. 7 May 1919. p. 5. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- ^ Affairs, Australian Government Department of Veterans (12 December 2018). "'Anzac 360' brings the Remembrance Trail to life". www.dva.gov.au. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
Further reading
- Bean, C.E.W. (1921). Official history of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Angus & Robertson.
- Carlyon, Les (2010). Gallipoli. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 9780330426039.
- Carylon, Les (2006). The Great War. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 9781405037617.
- Conde, Anne-Marie (April 2005). "Capturing the records of war: collecting at the Mitchell Library and the Australian War Memorial". Australian Historical Studies. 37 (125): 134–152. S2CID 144456137. Archived from the originalon 27 July 2014.
- Fussell, Paul (2000). The Great War and Modern Memory. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195021714.
- Kerr, Greg (2000). Private wars: personal records of the Anzacs in the Great War. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195507997.
- King, Jonathan (2010). Gallipoli diaries: the Anzacs' own story day by day. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780731813551.
- King, Jonathan (2010). The Western Front diaries: the ANZACs' own story, battle by battle. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9780731814398.