The bravery of my grandfather, James Joseph Lee, was officially recognised through a Mention in Despatches for 'valuable services rendered in connection with the war' in France in March 1918 and in northern France near the border with Belgium in August and September 1918. An officer working in Signals training in England from early 1916 to late 1917, James was transferred to active duty in France in November 1917. This year I'm planning to follow James's service record as a centenary of the First World War - I'd better get moving though as it will soon be March. I need to determine whether the Mention in Despatches relates to the same battles as the Belgian Croix de Guerre, or earlier incidents in France, or perhaps recognition for his work in the 'depots'. My brother John thinks that it is almost certainly the former, but I'm uncertain. I need to check out his service record carefully to see where he was in March 1918; to locate Proyart and Hesbecourt; and more!
Later (25/2): It seems that both Proyart and Hesbecourt are in the North of France near the border with Belgium; so the battles referred to fall within the Western Front/ 'France and Flanders' category. I've started to try to track the timeline for James Lee moving into active duty with the 2nd Battalion, and things are starting to make sense. On November 1, 1917, facing a manpower crisis, it was decided to combine five divisions to form one, the Australian Corps. James was recommissioned (word) from his roles at Perham Downs to the 2nd Battalion within this umbrella in mid November 2017. The 2nd Battalion was involved in significant battles in March and again in the 'Hundred Days Offensive' period under the command of Sir John Monash in August/September 1918. It is possible that James' 'Mention in Despatches' on March 13 2018 relates to either his service at Perham Downs or to battles in France March 1918, and is separate from his later recommendation for operations on 28 August and 16 September for the Belgian Croix de Guerre. (Need to tighten this up!) Comments are closed.
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The Journey ...An 'occasional blog' recording elements of my renewed family history journey. This is the second wave in my 'family history' journey. The first lasted from 2010 to 2014. with intermittent bursts since then. It's time to revisit, to share more stories, to edit, to tackle uncertainties... Categories
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