Bomford - Beaten down by blood: the battle of Mont St Quentin-Peronne 1918

www.bigskypublishing.com.au

Michele Bomford

Copyright Michele Bomford 2012

First published 2012

Copyright remains the property of the author and apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without written permission.

All inquiries should be made to the publishers.

Big Sky Publishing Pty Ltd

PO Box 303, Newport, NSW 2106, Australia

Cover design and typesetting: Think Productions

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Author: Bomford, Michele.

Title: Beaten down by blood : the battle of Mont St Quentin-Pronne 1918 /

Michele Bomford.

ISBN: 9781921941948 (pbk.)

Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.

Subjects: Somme, 2nd Battle of the, France, 1918.

Australians--Warfare--France--Somme.

World War, 1914-1918--Participation, Australian.

Somme (France)--History, Military.

Dewey Number: 940.435

National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry

Author: Bomford, Michele.

Title: Beaten down by blood [electronic resource] : the battle of Mont St Quentin-Pronne 1918 / Michele Bomford.

ISBN: 9781921941955 (ebook : epub)

Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.

Subjects: Somme, 2nd Battle of the, France, 1918.

Australians--Warfare--France--Somme.

World War, 1914-1918--Participation, Australian.

Somme (France)--History, Military.

Dewey Number: 940.435

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CONTENTS

In Memory of my father, Raymond Leslie Sowden (1922-1991), who inspired my love of History, and dedicated to the men of Mont St Quentin-Pronne.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My principal debt is to three men without whose help, encouragement and support this book would not have come together as it has. Dr Peter Stanley (Director of the Centre for Historical Research, National Museum of Australia) has been my mentor and guide throughout the project, offering advice on sources, style and structure and giving generously of his time and expertise in discussions with me and in reading a draft of the manuscript.

Through Peter, I had the privilege to make contact with Brigadier Chris Roberts AM CSC (Retd), who believed in the manuscript enough to read it and make extensive and detailed comments particularly on the military aspects of the battle. Chris took the time and effort to talk me through the battle and both he and his wife Judy offered me great hospitality when I stayed with them in Canberra to undertake this task. He also contacted Jack Sheldon, an authority on the German Army, who provided some important insights into the German formations fighting at Mont St Quentin and Pronne.

Chris introduced me to Major General Paul Stevens (Retd), an ex-artilleryman, who also gave very graciously of his time in helping me to better understand how the artillery worked at Mont St Quentin-Pronne. In what was a very difficult and somewhat controversial aspect of the battle, Pauls expertise was invaluable. In dealing with the stories of the men of Mont St Quentin-Pronne, I was overwhelmed by the interest shown by their descendents, whose insights into their lives and in some cases the photographs they have so generously permitted me to use have enriched this book. I owe a debt of gratitude to Jan and Des Lawson, Margaret Handley, Reg and Wanda Nash (Oscar Lawson), Sue Ash (Daniel Anthon), Margaret Clarke and Bettye Smythe (Percy Smythe), Douglas Fussell (Leslie Fussell), Frank Brewer (Frank Brewer), Pamela Goesch (Bert Bishop), Jeff Lowndes and Brenda Piggford (Mark Lowndes), Marianne Pollock (Albert Blackmore) and Neville Sowden (Claude Sowden).

I appreciate the assistance of the staffs at the Research Centre, Australian War Memorial, Canberra, the Mitchell Library in Sydney, the State Library of Victoria and the Churchill Archives Centre in Cambridge, England. David Roberts, the Archivist at Newington College in Stanmore, Sydney, trawled the archives to find photographs of and information about John McDonald and Michele Brown from Burwood Municipal Library in Sydney willingly tracked down the Durrant article. Anna Kowalik and Amelia Blefari translated some German sources, while Amy and Michel Meallonnier did a great job in translating some difficult French sources relating to the history of Pronne.

The team at Big Sky Publishing, particularly Denny Neave, have made this book a reality. The maps reflect Eric Olasons cartographic skills; he has done wonders with my sketchy drawings. Roger Lee and the Army History Unit have given unstinting support; Dr Andrew Richardson has coordinated all the photographs for this book. I must acknowledge a Grant I received from the AHU in 2009 which enabled me to undertake my fieldwork in France in 2010. My thanks to Veronica Coyne and Ken Pearson-Smith for supporting my application for this Grant. I owe a huge debt of gratitude to my very thorough, approachable and patient Editor, Cathy McCullagh.