James Newland - First World War

First World War

On 17 August 1914, Newland transferred to the newly raised Australian Imperial Force following the British Empire's declaration of war on Germany and her allies. Assigned to the 12th Battalion, he was made its Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant and embarked from Hobart aboard HMAT Geelong on 20 October, bound for Egypt. Following a brief stop in Western Australia, the troopship arrived at its destination seven weeks later. The 12th Battalion spent the following four months training in the Egyptian desert.

At the commencement of the Gallipoli Campaign, the 3rd Australian Brigade—of which the 12th Battalion was part—was designated as the covering force for the ANZAC landing, and as such was the first unit ashore on 25 April 1915, at approximately 04:30. Newland was wounded in the days following the landing, suffering a gunshot wound to his arm, and was evacuated to the 1st General Hospital. While at the hospital, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant on 22 May, before returning to the 12th Battalion four days later.

Newland was engaged in operations on the Gallipoli Peninsula until 9 June, when he was withdrawn from the area and placed in command of the 12th Battalion's transport elements stationed in Egypt. Promoted to lieutenant on 15 October, he was hospitalised for ten days in November due to dengue fever. Following the Allied evacuation of Gallipoli in December, the 12th Battalion returned to Egypt where Newland continued as transport officer. Promoted to captain on 1 March 1916, he was made adjutant of the 12th Battalion fifteen days later. It embarked for France and the Western Front later that month.

Disembarking at Marseilles, the 12th Battalion was initially posted to the Fleurbaix sector of France. After involvement in minor operations, it transferred to the Somme in July, where it participated in the Battle of Pozières, its first major French action. Newland was posted to command A Company from 8 August, and was subsequently moved to Sausage Valley along with the rest of the 12th Battalion in preparation for an attack on Mouquet Farm.

Mouquet Farm was a ruined complex connected to several German strongpoints, and formed part of the Thiepval defences. On 21 August, Newland led his company in an assault on a series of trenches slightly north east of the farm. By 18:30, the company had captured its objectives and several of Newland's men rushed off in pursuit of the retreating Germans. Newland immediately stopped them and organised the company into a defensive position; the trench was consolidated by 05:00 the next morning. Praised for his "... great coolness and courage under heavy fire" during the attack, he was recommended for the Military Cross. The award, however, was downgraded to a Mention in Despatches, the announcement of which was published in a supplement to the London Gazette on 4 January 1917.

Following its involvement at Pozières and Mouquet Farm, the 12th Battalion was briefly transferred to the Ypres sector in Belgium in September, before returning to Bernafay Wood on the Somme late the following month. Newland was admitted to the 38th Casualty Clearing Station with pyrexia on 4 December. He was moved to the 2nd General Hospital at Le Havre, and returned to the 12th Battalion two weeks later following recuperation. On the same day, he was attached to the headquarters of the 2nd Australian Brigade for duty as a staff officer. He was granted leave on 21 January 1917 on completion of this stint.

Re-joining the 12th Battalion, Newland once again assumed command of A Company. On 26 February 1917, he was tasked with leading it during the 12th Battalion's attack on the village of La Barque during the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line. At Bark Trench, a position on the north side of the centre of La Barque, the company encountered a German strongpoint and Newland received a gunshot wound to the face. He was admitted to the 1st Australian Field Ambulance, and returned to the 12th Battalion on 25 March after a period of hospitalisation at the 7th Stationary Hospital in Boulogne.