LtCol. King George Augustus DSO & Bar Croix de Guerre (French)

 Dutch version follows the English.

George A King was born in Christchurch on 3 March 1885

He was married in 1910 with Annie King (née Coster) and had a son Edward and daughter Nancy. His daughter Nancy served in WWII for her wartime service, Edward became a Group Captain in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and Sister Nancy King, received the Pacific Star; Italy Star; 1939-45 Star; Defence Medal, War Medal and NZ War Service Medal, recognising the places and time she served. Nan(cy) died in 2014, almost 101 years of age.

Nancy in 2008, with the binoculars of her father,
the teddy bear he gave to her with his dog tag around the neck.

He sailed in October 1914 for service in World War 1. He was killed in action three years later at Passchendaele. He was 32 and commanding 1^st Canterbury battalion when he was killed in action. Nancy was a few months from her fourth birthday.

On 20/02/1916 the New Zealand Pioneer Battalion is formed from 1st and 2nd (and later 3rd) Maori Contingents and remaining men of Otago Mounted Rifles. The Otago men were as angry as Maori at losing their identity and fiercely resent becoming ‘pioneers’. A new badge is issued with the words NZ Pioneer. The Battalion is under Major George Augustus King with Major Peter Buck as second-in-command.

After the NZ Pioneer Bn became the NZ Maori Pioneer Bn, Peter Buck took over command and Lt Col George King became the CO of the 1st Bn Canterbury in the 2nd Brigade of the NZ Division.

In the early morning of 12 October 1917 he and his staff were hit by their own artillery and he died near the Ravebeek on the ‘s Gravenstafel Road.

Lieutenant Colonel George Augustus King was one of 843 New Zealanders to die that day, killed by a shell  from the supporting creeping barrage within a few minutes after 1st Canterbury Battalion crossed the Ravebeek.

He was together with Lieutenant Colonel Alfred Winter-Evans, commanding officer of the 3rd Battalion Rifle Brigade, the highest ranking New Zealand officer to die at Passchendaele that day.

funeral of LtCol King, the Ypres prison wall on the background

When the Maori Pioneer Bn heard the news, they came to the battlefield to recover his body and give him a decent burial in Ypres Reservoir Cemetery, Ieper, Belgium.  The burial was on Sunday 14 October and attended by the Division Commander Maj Gen Sir Andrew Russell.

Maori mourning at his grave

MajGen Russell in the middle of the photo

his original grave

After the war, his horse Nigger was one of the horses who could go back to New Zealand. After a year of quarantine his daughter Nancy was not allowed to ride the horse because Nigger was injured and had rheumatism .
Nigger was one of the four horses (Bess, Beautiful and Dolly from General Sir Andrew Russell where the three others) who came back from World War I. They and the hundreds that never returned are remembered at the Bess Memorial near Bulls. The horses arrived at Kings Wharf in Wellington in 1920 on board the SS Westmeath after an eventful journey from England. They had a fire on board and all the horses' feed was destroyed, so the soldiers fed the horses their bread to ensure their survival.

Nederlandse versie:

George Augustus King DSO & Bar Croix de Guerre

Wordt geboren in Christchurch op 3 Maart 1885

zijn foto en onderscheidingen

Hij huwt Annie King (geboren Coster) in 1910 en heeft een zoon Edward en een dochter Nancy.
Zijn dochter Nancy dient in WOII als verpleegster en Edward wordt Group Captain (Kolonel) bij de Koninklijke Luchtmacht van Nieuw Zeeland.

Nancy King verkrijgt de Pacific Star; Italy Star; 1939-45 Star; Defence Medal, War Medal en NZ War Service Medal, als erkenning voor de tijd dat ze gediend heeft op verschillende plaatsen tijdens de tweede wereldoorlog. Nancy sterft in 2014, bijna 101 jaar.

in 2008 had ik de eer Nancy te mogen ontmoeten

George King komt in dienst in oktober 1914. Drie jaar later wordt hij gedood in Passendale. Hij werd 32 en had het bevel over het 1^ste Canterbury bataljon als hij sterft. Nancy is dan enkele maanden van haar vierde verjaardag.

Op 20/02/1916 wordt het New Zealand Pioneer Battalion samengesteld uit  het 1ste and 2de  (en later 3de) Maori Contingent en een aantal man van de Otago Mounted Rifles. De mannen uit Otago zijn even boos als de Maori omdat ze hun identiteit verliezen en zijn hevig verontwaardigd dat ze pioniers worden. Ze krijgen een nieuwe badge met de woorden NZ Pioneer. Het Bataljon is onder bevel van Majoor George Augustus King met Majoor Peter Buck als tweede in bevel.

Nadat het NZ Pioneer Bn het NZ Maori Pioneer Bn wordt, neemt Peter Buck het commando over en LtKol George King wordt de bevelhebber  van het 1ste Bataljon Canterbury in de 2^de  Brigade van de NZ Divisie.

In de vroege morgen van 12 oktober 1917 worden hij en zijn staf getroffen door hun eigen artillerie. Hij sterft bij de Ravebeek in de ’s Graventafelstraat.

LtKol George Augustus King is één van de 846 Nieuw Zeelanders die sterven op deze dag, gedood door een granaat van het ondersteunend kruipend spervuur enkele minuten nadat het 1ste Canterbury Bataljon de Ravebeek passeert.

 Hij is, samen met LtKol Alfred Winter-Evans, eenheidscommandant van het 3de Bataljon Rifle Brigade, de hoogste in rang van de Nieuw Zeelandse officieren die sterven in Passendale op deze dag.

Als het Maori Pioneer Bn het slechte nieuws hoort,  komen ze naar het slagveld om zijn lichaam te zoeken en hem een fatsoenlijke begrafenis te geven op Ypres Reservoir Cemetery in Ieper (gelegen achter de gevangenis). De begrafenis wordt gehouden op zondag 14 oktober en wordt bijgewoond door Generaal-Majoor Andrew Russell.

zijn graf in Ieper

Na de oorlog wordt zijn paard, Nigger, terug naar NZ gebracht; Na een jaar in quarantaine krijgt Nancy, zijn dochter, geen toestemming om het paard te berijden omdat Nigger gewond is en last heeft van reuma. 

Nigger is één van de vier paarden (Bess, Beautiful en Dolly van General Sir Andrew Russell waren de drie andere) die terugkomen uit de Eerste Wereldoorlog. Deze paarden en ook de duizenden andere (ongeveer 10.000 in totaal) die nooit terugkwamen worden herdacht bij het Bess Memorial bij Bulls in Nieuw Zeeland.

De paarden komen toe bij Kings Wharf in Wellington in 1920 aan boord van de SS Westmeath na een bewogen reis vanuit Engeland. Er is onderweg een brand aan boord en al het eten voor de paarden was vernietigd. Om de paarden in leven te houden delen de soldaten voor de rest van de reis hun brood met hen.

WWI photos are from Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
(c) research: Freddy Declerck MNZM OAM.

Dave Gallaher, All Black and the Battle of Broodseinde 105 years ago

 Dutch version follows the English, Nederlandstalige versie volgt op de Engelse tekst.

Dave Gallaher - All Black Captain

Dave Gallaher was born in Ramelton, County Donegal, on October 30, 1873. In May 1878 the family left Ireland for a new life in New Zealand and initially farmed at Katikati in the Bay of Plenty before moving to Auckland in the 1890s

Sergeant Dave Gallaher, captain of the 1905 All Black "Originals", was fatally wounded early in the morning of October 4 1917 as the successful push to take ‘s Graventafel Spur took place.

In drizzly rain, his Second Battalion of the Auckland Regiment had advanced through the deep mud of a small river, the Hanebeek, and up the slopes of ‘s Graventafel ready to take over from the leading battalions for the second stage of the attack.

It was as they took over that they came under heavy fire from a German stronghold named Waterloo Farm and Dave Gallaher became one of the 488 New Zealanders to lose their lives in what is known as the Battle of Broodseinde. His grave is at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Nine Elms Cemetery and is frequently visited by everyone from All Blacks and French rugby greats through to small groups of New Zealanders and rugby fans from other countries as they pass through the region.

He was a long man for his time (1.83 m – 84 kg). He became a foreman at a freezing works and a member of the Ponsonby Rugby Club, winning the Auckland senior championship with them in 1897. Between 1896 and 1909 he played 26 representative matches for Auckland.

In January 1901 he joined up to serve in the Boer War, giving his age as 24 rather than the 27 years he was. It was a habit which was to follow him around - for the 1905 All Blacks "Originals" tour to the UK and France he gave his age as 29 when he was 32, when he joined up for World War One he put his birth date three years forward, while his headstone at the Nine Elms Cemetery records him as 41 whereas he was, in fact, a few days short of his 44^th birthday when he died.

In South Africa he saw service in Transvaal, the Orange Free State and the Cape Colony, first as a corporal and later as a squadron sergeant major in the 10^th New Zealand Mounted Rifles.

Following the death of his youngest brother in France in 1916, Dave Gallaher, a married man, a father and over the age of 40, signed up on July 25. He was made a company sergeant major and his unit was in action near La Basseville a few kilometres from Messines end of July 1917. At the end of August 1917 the New Zealand battalions began training for Passchendaele in the area around Lumbres in France.

St Julian in 1917, the last village
Dave Gallaher was passing through.

On October 1, the Auckland battalions marched through what remained of Ypres and on the evening of October 3 were camped at what is now St Julian-Langemark preparing for the next morning's battle. His battalion was part of the second wave of New Zealand's attack, stepping over the first wave at 8 am and tasked with continuing the attack behind the advancing artillery barrage to the Blue Line just in front of the Ravebeek.

NZ division with 1st and 4th Brigade, in red Commonwealth divisions. 
Dark blue German Division, light blue German Regiment.

Australian RAP at Abraham Heights

It was very shortly after the "step over" that Dave Gallaher was wounded in the face. He was evacuated from the battlefield to an Australian Regimental Aid Post (RAP) on Abraham Heights, some 300 metres from where the New Zealand Memorial now stands at 's Graventafel. Later he was transferred by stretcher bearers to Wieltje (St. Jan - Ypres) and later with an ambulance to the 3th  Australian Casualty Clearing Station at Nine Elms in Poperinge but died of his wounds underway or later that day.

Of the nine Gallaher brothers, six had joined up for service in the war and three lost their lives; Dave, Henry (remembered at Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, France) and Douglas, the youngest (buried in Fleurbaix-France). Dave Gallaher was also one of the 13 All Blacks who died in the war.

His daughter Nora Simpson (née Gallaher) died in 1998 and she had 2 children.

Dave Gallaher mid 2nd row

 Dave Gallaher – Kapitein van de All Blacks

 David Gallagher (later Gallaher) wordt geboren in Ramelton, County Donegal, Ierland, op 30 oktober 1873, zoon van James Gallagher, een winkelier, en zijn vrouw, Maria McCloskie, een lerares. In mei 1878 emigreren ze naar Nieuw Zeeland in Katikati, Bay of Plenty, als landbouwers vooraleer te verhuizen naar Auckland.

Sergeant Dave Gallaher, kapitein van de 1905 All Black “Originals” wordt dodelijk gewond in de vroege morgen van 4 oktober 1917 bij de succesvolle aanval bij ’s Graventafel.

Als ze de aanval overnemen komen ze onder hevig vuur vanuit een Duitse stelling, Waterloo Farm genoemd en Dave Gallaher wordt één van de 488 Nieuw Zeelanders die hun leven laten in wat is gekend als de Slag bij Broodseinde. Zijn graf is op de CWGC begraafplaats Nine Elms in Poperinge en wordt regelmatig bezocht door zowel All Blacks en Franse rugbyspelers als door kleine groepen Nieuw Zeelanders en rugby fans vanuit andere landen telkens als ze hier in de regio passeren.

Hij is voor die tijd een grote man van 1,83 m en weegt 84 kg. Hij wordt voorman in een diepvriesbedrijf en lid van de Ponsonby Rugby Club. Voor het eerst geselecteerd voor het Auckland provinciaal team in 1896, wint hij het Auckland senioren kampioenschap met hen in 1897 en heeft dus zijn aandeel bij de ontwikkeling van de Nieuw-Zeelandse nationale passie voor rugby. Tussen 1896 en 1909 speelt hij 26 partijen voor Auckland.

Gedurende de Zuid-Afrikaanse (Boeren) Oorlog (1899-1902), neemt hij dienst in het leger. Hij verzwijgt zijn werkelijke leeftijd, hij doet er drie jaar af (24 i.p.v. 27) en gaat in dienst in januari 1901. Bijna 18 maanden is hij in actieve dienst in Transvaal, Oranje Vrijstaat en de Kaapkolonie, eerst als korporaal en later als eskadron sergeant majoor bij het 10de New Zealand Mounted Rifles. De gewoonte om drie jaar van zijn leeftijd te doen blijft hij consequent volgen

Voor de 1905 All Blacks "Originals" tour naar het VK en Frankrijk geeft hij 29 jaar op i.p.v. 32, en als hij zich aanbiedt voor de Eerste Wereldoorlog doet hij hetzelfde zodat zijn grafzerk op Nine Elms Cemetery 41 jaar aangeeft alhoewel hij net geen 44 jaar is als hij sterft..

Na de dood van zijn jongste broer in Frankrijk (1916), neemt hij dienst op 25 juli. Hij is gehuwd en vader van een dochter. Hij wordt compagnie sergeant majoor en is met zijn eenheid in actie bij La Basseville (Komen-Waasten) eind juli 1917. Eind Augustus begint de training voor de Slag bij Passendale bij Lumbres (omgeving St Omer)  in Frankrijk.

New Zealand Engineers resting in a large shell hole at Spree Farm

Op 1 oktober, marcheren de Auckland bataljons tussen de ruïnes van Ieper naar het front. De laatste nacht van zijn leven brengt David door op 03 oktober 1917 in de velden van St.Juliaan Langemark, waar zijn eenheid de nakende aanval afwacht. Het is in de omgeving van de Capricorn–Canvas loopgraven, aan weerszijden van de huidige Hazeweidestraat, van St.Juliaan richting kruispunt met de Roeselarestraat waar Spree farm gelegen is, een boerderij die dienst doet als relaispost voor draagberries. Waarschijnlijk doet hij die nacht zoals de anderen, wachtend op de vroege morgen in een druilerige regen. Denkend aan thuis, aan zijn vrouw en kind en aan wat de volgende dag brengen zal. Om 5 uur worden diegenen die de slaap hadden kunnen vatten, gewekt. Ze krijgen een karig ontbijt van corned beef, droog brood en water.

Op 4 oktober 1917 om 0600 uur in een miezerige regen gaan ze de aanval in, door de diepe modder van de Hanebeek richting de hoogte van ’s Graventafel. Zijn eenheid, het 2de Bataljon Auckland zit in de tweede lijn, de eerste golf moet de hoogte van ’s Graventafel veroveren en het terrein consolideren op de Rode Lijn. De tweede golf, waar David deel van uitmaakt, moet hen voorbij gaan tot de Blauwe Lijn net voor de Ravebeek. Om 08.00 uur was het eerste objectief bereikt en de tweede golf gaat over de Rode Lijn naar de Blauwe Lijn. Het is kort daarna dat David getroffen wordt, hoogstwaarschijnlijk door machinegeweervuur vanuit Waterloo farm of door een granaatsplinter. Hij wordt vol geraakt in zijn gezicht.
Zwaar gewond, wordt hij weggebracht naar een Australisch Regimental Aid Post (RAP = eerste  hulppost), gevestigd op Abraham Heights op ongeveer een 300 meter ten zuidoosten van het Nieuw Zeelands monument op ’s Graventafel. Zijn strozak is naast deze bezet door een soldaat, Edward Fitzgerald, aan wie een priester de ziekenzalving geeft. De aalmoezenier vraagt, “weet je wie dat is, op de tafel naast jou?" Fitzgerald schudt zijn hoofd. 'Dat is Dave Gallaher, kapitein van de 1905 All Blacks'. Fitzgerald bekijkt Gallaher. De ex-All Black heeft een grote wonde aan de zijkant van zijn hoofd. Het kan, in betere tijden, vergeleken worden met de vorm van een hoefijzer door de trap van een paard. Later wordt hij via een draagberrie naar Wieltje (St. Jan - Ieper) gebracht waar een Advanced Dressing Station (ADS = verbandpost) is en vandaar verder overgebracht naar het 3de Australian Casualty Clearing Station in Nine Elms bij Poperinge waar hij uiteindelijk dezelfde dag begraven wordt.

Van de 9 Gallaher broers nemen David en William dienst in Nieuw Zeeland. Charles en Henry (een tweeling) en Douglas (de jongste) nemen dienst bij de Australian Imperial Forces. David, Henry (herdacht Villers-Bretonneux, Frankrijk) en Douglas(begraven in Fleurbaix, Frankrijk) verliezen hun leven. David is ook één van de 13 All Blacks die sterven tijdens de oorlog.

his daughter Nora with a photo of her father

 Zijn dochter Nora Simpson (geboren Gallaher) sterft in 1998 en laat 2 kinderen na.
No known copyright for the photos. some WWI photos are from Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington, New Zealand.
(c) research: Freddy Declerck MNZM OAM.

WWI Belgians on CWGC Cemeteries!

 for most of the people it's unknown that Belgians are buried on CWGC Cemeteries. Usually British soldiers and soldiers from the Commonwealth Countries are buried on this cemeteries. Sometimes there are also German burials. Sometimes it's logic, wounded Germans who are as prisoner of war captured by the British eventually died from their wounds and they have been buried in the CWGC cemeteries. Also Belgians have been brought to Casualty Clearing Station and Hospitals as wounded or ill and sometimes they died too.

This will not given all the answers on the 360 Belgians that are buried on CWGC cemeteries, but looking at the statistics in this article, you will find some answers, that's for sure.

also 3 members of the Merchant Navy, strictly they are civilians, are listed apart in the CWGC database.

 

Of course, most of the fatalities in African countries are Belgians who have been in our colony at the time, but also some of the Indigenous people who have been served in the Belgian Army

 

the countries where they are buried

Here you can see on what cemeteries they are buried, this is also a special information. May I suggest, when you visit one of those places, that you pay your respect at the gravestone? I have seen some on places where I have already been without knowing they are buried there, it's a pity I didn't know, because I would surely be gone to visit them.

 

 

The Belgians sorted by rank
 

 

 

this is an extra table with all the names/age/date of death and unit/regiment of the Belgians who are on a CWGC cemetery

The WW1 Death in Numbers for the ANZAC's

 Part 1 New Zealand

this tables give the number of New Zealand soldiers death or missing per country (where they are buried and/or commemorated) and per regiment, other tables are following in this blog. These are people serving for New Zealand in WWI. There have been New Zealanders serving for other countries e.g. Australia, but they are NOT in these tables they will be counted in the Australian tables in Part 2. Some extended research on those tables will give you another view of what happens, when during the war and where the remains are. 

As far as I know this calculations based on the real numbers from the data available in the CWGC database have never been done before, also - I suppose - because it gives us another view on what many people thought. A couple of examples will help to understand; you will see that the losses are extremely high in the infantry battalions, nevertheless there was a significant loss in other regiments as well, but never so high. that's the reason why, when people make a book or article about a battle, it is almost always seen in the perspective of the infantry while other groups of soldiers (here marked as regiments - as it is in the CWGC database) are almost never mentioned (pioneers, artillery, etc... have been part of the divisions and they had losses too). One life lost is one too many!
 

Another example are the losses per day/month/year. Here you can clearly see what the loss was when the soldiers where in Gallipoli (1915), the Somme France (1916), Belgium (1917), and the Last 100 Days in France(1918). I know, some will say that people died in hospitals behind the front line (on the same day of a battle in another place) because they have been wounded earlier on days of a significant battle. That is correct, but it is very easy to see where they died (and are buried) and if you know the distance of the burial place to the place of the battle (see google maps) you can see very easy and clear if it was possible that this victim was buried as a victim of this battle or not. Some victims died days/months and even years after the battle they have wounded. I don't say that the numbers of people that died on a specific day were killed in action (KIA) in a specific battle but it's sure that the total numbers and distribution of the numbers per day as they are recorded show the significance of that day and that battle.

The next question is if these numbers are correct. These numbers are the outcome of an analysis of the records in the CWGC database and if there are mistakes in the database there will be also mistakes in these numbers. However, I'm quite sure that these mistakes are not high and very acceptable. I think it's the only available reliable database because it has been checked during more than 100 years by family, researchers, employees and members of the different Commonwealth Countries.

this tables have been calculated from an extract of the CWGC database on 08/02/2022. 

thanks to the amazing work of the CWGC and giving us, researchers, on line access for free it is possible to do some extended research that never has been done before. 

the same remarks I was given for the New Zealanders are valuable for the Australians in Part 2 of this article.

Don't forget, it is not because they are buried in France or the UK that they did not died from wounds received in another country like Belgium. Therefore we are sure that there are more victims in Belgium than it's stated in the official statistics. some wounded have been transported to casualty clearing stations just over the border in France where they died or they have been transported to Hospitals in France or the UK where they died some days, weeks, months or even years after they received their wounds in Belgium. Anyway we should not forget the sacrifice they did 105 years ago. On the other hand I know that people who have been wounded in Northern France have been buried in Comines-Warneton AKA Plugstreet/Ploegsteert (Belgium) but these are exceptional.

click on the table(s) to see more details and discover how many in what country are buried or commemorated.

Scroll down to see more statistics.

The two following tables are given the numbers per regiment and the numbers per country while the table above this is given more detail, the numbers per regiment in a certain country.

the names of the regiments are coming from the CWGC database and sometimes you can ask questions about the names, but it is what it is; e.g. the Maori Reinforcements is stated as a regiment, there are only two victims. They are buried in Devonport (NZ) where the Maori reinforcements were trained. I suppose it was not sure yet to what regiment they would belong after departure abroad and that's why they are considered as belonging to the Maori Reinforcements as a regiment.

The numbers per country in the following table shows very well the sacrifice at the Western Front. More than 2/3 of the victims are in France and Belgium! It's difficult to say how many have been wounded in one country and died in another at the Western Front because casualty clearing stations have been used in France and Belgium. Hospitals have been used in France and the UK. 

Death and missing per year, you will see that the CWGC database has numbers until the end of August 1921. Even after this date people died of wounds received during the war. I don't know why they choose this date as end date but I'm confident they have thought about this more than I ever can do.

death and missing per year, per month and per day, so for every day from the start of the war till end of August 1921, you can see exactly how many died or are missing on a particular day during the war

 

 this table shows you per country how many are buried/missing per year. If you know where the soldiers have been during a certain year you can easily compare the losses per battle. As an example you can compare 1916-1918 (Western Front) with 1915 (Gallipoli).

 

 

 

The following table shows the number of victims per age; 5,837 have no age in the CWGC database, but I'm sure there is a possibility to find some of them in the personal military files.

the following table gives the numbers per rank. Sometimes you see serjeant and sometimes sergeant, I suppose this rank is equal, same for ser(j)((g)eant major, but I decided to take the same name as used in the CWGC database; Showing the numbers this way, as statistic information, is also a possibility to correct mistakes in the naming of certain data by those responsible for the correctness. they are sorted alphabetically per rank.

 

 

 the following tables are the numbers of fatalities per cemetery/memorial, highest numbers first. As can be seen most people are remembered on the Caterpillar Valley (New Zealand) Memorial Memorial in France. The New Zealand fatalities are buried/remembered on 829 different places.

 

 

 

the following table gives the top  208 of victims per name. There are 6,549 different names in the CWGC database for soldiers serving with New Zealand. 4,056 names have only one single victim. Smith is the most used name with 192 death or missing soldiers.

 

number of death/missing per day above 19/day, highest first. 12/10/1917 is the Blackest Day in the history of New Zealand, date known as the 1st Battle of Passchendaele.

 

Order of Battle New Zealand Division
only the Infantry Battalions

 

  

Part 2 Australia

knowing that Australia came with 5 divisions to WWI and New Zealand with 1 division, there are almost 3.5 times as much death/missing
( 62,329 versus 18,070 ).

when you click on the table you'll see a bigger picture of the table details

fatalities per country, about 75% of the victims are buried/remembered at the Western Front!

 

buried/remembered per regiment

 

 

 

number of death/missing per age, for 24,080 people their age is not known in the CWGC database.The youngest was 14, the oldest 64.

number of death/missing per rank, they are sorted alphabetically per rank.

the following tables are the numbers remembered or buried per cemetery/memorial, highest numbers first. As can be seen there are most people remembered on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial. they are buried/remembered on 1,560 places.

 

 

 this is the resume of the tables following, the numbers are given per month/per year

the following tables give the number per day, per month per year. so you can see for a particular day during WWI ending 31/08/1921 how many are missing/death in the CWGC database.

very interesting table showing the fatalities per country and per year

number of death/remembered per name, highest first, top 206. there are 15,006 unique names (way too much to publish here).

number of death/missing per day above 99/day highest number first. 04/10/1917 was the Blackest Day for Australia during WWI, the Battle of Broodseinde with 1,282 death or missing.

 

 

Order of Battle Australian Divisions
only the Infantry Battalions

 

 

 

If you want to use this tables or part of it, please mention the copyright information:
source: CWGC database on 08/02/2022 (c) Freddy Declerck

 

 

some people are still not convinced about the slaughter of Passchendaele (1917) compared with the Somme (1916), the 100 Last Days (1918) and even Gallipoli (1915) .If you only compare the Blackest Day (most losses that day), numbers are not lying, October 1917 have been for both countries the highest sacrifice. Their time in Belgium shows the highest losses.That's why the Belgians will never forget and we should spread the history as it is to everyone, everywhere because we should be grateful for their sacrifice. 

Lest we forget.