Portrait of Stephen Downes
Australian Uniform circa 1917
Photograph C. Gary Houseman

In any event, later in EGYPT and FRANCE he served the 8th Field Company Engineers as a Sapper, and he served with that unit until badly wounded on 9 Feb 1917. The unit Commander's Diary records the wounding as occuring on the 10th. While later documents indicate that discharge was due to gun shot wounds (GSW), the actual cause of injury was shrapnel from an artillery shell burst.

After recuperating in ENGLAND, he most probably took his furlough at his Aunt Mary Ann Dobby's farm at DACRE, YORKSHIRE, (see image above. By that time the property would have been held by her sons. Thomas would be about 50 years of age and Robert about 48 years at that time. On return to LONDON he was classified as Totally and Permanently Injured (TPI was the term generally used) and he was repatriated to AUSTRALIA for "Change", a scheme whereby soldiers who were wounded or shell-shocked were send home for a year and, theoretically returned to combat when recovered. I have yet to find a record where a soldier was actually returned to combat.

The portrait to the right closely matches the pattern of photographs of Yorkshire veterans published in local papers, and is most likely to have been taken when Stephen returned to Dacre on furlough after having been grievously wounded.

Stephen Downes was classified as Totally and Permanently Incapacitated (TPI) and unable to continue his service. He remained in AUSTRALIA and was awarded a disability pension of £3/-/- per fortnight (later recorded in the documents supporting his application for free passage of Rosa Houseman to £-/30/- shillings (which was £1/10/- or $3.00).

His furlough was apparently quite a happy time, as Rosa Houseman travelled to AUSTRALIA by ship under free passage arrangements put in place by the government, in 1919 and they were married the next day in STOCKTON, NSW.

Stephen Downes, civilian portrait circa 1943
[Photograph Clive Mitchell-Taylor]

In the time between repatriated and Rosa arriving in AUSTRALIA he was employed in "irregular light work at Mount Kembla Colliery and his earnings average about £2/6/-" ($4.60). This was recorded in the letter approving free passage for Rosa Houseman on 3 May 1918. [The Mount Kembla Colliery was at the escarpment overlooking WOLLONGONG] The letter was also annotated with a statement that "Above applicant has also applied to Lands Dept of N.S.W. for assistance to enable him to start in bee-keeping, as per file A/18/325." which was initialled "R.G 8/5/18". The letter is registered as 3147-3149 over the date 10/5/18. The letter also gives his former unit as the 7th Field Coy, proving that the earlier military confusion with unit titles and numbering was the gift that keeps on giving.

He soon started a carrying business in STOCKTON, NSW and later moved to TAMWORTH with his family. In about 1929 he leased a small section of Piper & Sons' skin depot at 237 Peel Street and used it to set up a furniture selling business. About a year later, he moved to a bigger shop at 350 Peel Street, a few doors down from the now Westpac Bank. There, in addition to selling furniture, he advertised 'linos, bedding and floor coverings'.

I am grateful to the Tamworth Historical Society for this further information concerning his life in TAMWORTH. Thank you!  My grandfather died before I was born and there was little or no information other than the fact that he had a furniture shop and my mother stated that it was not unusual for her to arrive home from school and find that her clothing and other possessions were stacked on the floor as her father had sold her bedroom furniture.

After World War One, Stephen never returned to England while Rosa did return to her home county and extensive family there, once with youngest daughter Roslyn who went to school there as the visit was quite lengthy.

During 1939 Stephen Downes began looking for bigger premises. He eventually moved to the building which had been vacated by Gordon Gow at 416-418 Peel Street. In 1942 ill-health prompted him to take another TAMWORTH furniture business owned by Roy Piper into partnership and Piper closed his own shop at 453-455 Peel Street to enable him to concentrate on his work with Stephen Downes. A couple of years later, further deterioration in health prompted him to sell his share to Roy Piper and retire.

Stephen Downes was involved with the community as a highly successful lawn bowler, representing NSW, and as an Alderman and Deputy Mayor of TAMWORTH from 1944 to until his death on 8 Mar 1947 in TAMWORTH, of a lung abcess, stomach ulcer and carcinoma of the stomach and leg.

This record was prepared and presented by Clive Mitchell-Taylor - 18 Jun 2018, 17 Dec 2022 and Jan 2024 - grandson of Stephen Downes.

Documents of Stephen Downes and Rosa Downes, née Houseman are:

• Stephen Downes UK Census;
  
  
• Stephen Downs Passage to Australia
  
  
• WW1 Nominal Roll;
  
  
• WW1 Embarkation Roll;
  
  
• WW1 Service Record;
  
  
• War Diary of 8 Field Company, Engineers, Feb 1917;
  
  
• Discharge Certificate,
  
  
• Rosa Houseman Passage to Australia
  
  
• Downes/Houseman Marriage Certificate, 6 Sep 1919;
  
  
• Stephen Downes Death 8 Mar 1947;
  
  
• Rosa Houseman's Birth Certificate 1894; and
  
  
• Rosa Downes nèe Houseman's Death Certificate 1974.
  
  

Relatives who Served

Brother Thomas Downes served with the 2nd/6th Duke of Wellington's West Riding Regiment and was WIA, DOW

Brother Joseph Downes served with the 2nd/5th Battalion, Prince of Wales' Own, West Yorkshire Regiment.

Brother-in-law Walter Houseman served with the 1st/8th Battalion Durham Light Infantry and was KIA.

Brother-in-law George Houseman served with the 1st/5th Battalion Duke of Wales' Own, West Yorkshire Regiment and was WIA.

Brother-in-law Thomas Edward Inman, husband of his sister served with the 1st Battalion, Prince of Wales' Own, West Yorkshire Regiment and was KIA.

Daughter Eleanor Joy Douglas née Downes, Women's Air Training Corps, Womens' Auxilliary Australian Air Force and No 3 Bombing and Gunnery School, World War 2.

Son-in-law Bruce Edward Douglas, WIA, MID 4th Infantry Training Battalion, C Troop, 17^th Anti-Tank Battery Port Moresby and 31/51 Australian Infantry Battalion, World War 2.

---

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Abbreviations or acronyms which have a dotted underline can be expanded by moving the cursor over the term - e.g. WIA. The cursor will be replaced by ? and the expanded abbreviation will be displayed. This is gradually being incorporated into the site, replacing the the current expansion of abbreviations. There may be a discernable delay of about a second before the expansion is first provided.

There is also a separate list of abbreviations which is available through the menu at the top of this page or the hyperlink here.  Abbreviations are inconsistent, even within a single occurence where a term is abbreviated.

There are a number of sources for tracing abbreviations used in Australian and New Zealand service records. Those used when operating with the British or US forces can generally be found, especially in World War 1. Abbreviations used solely within Australia in WW2 are most difficult to trace, particularly when they are regional. Sometimes a 'best guess' is the only answer.

Duplicated Pages

Some of the service information may appear to be duplicated although individual occurrences are not in the same order and different abbreviations used. This occurs when the unit and Army records are amalgamated upon discharge or death in Service.

Service Numbers

Service numbers in WW1 were unique to the unit (e.g. Battalion) or Corps (e.g. Artillery). In WW2 Service Numbers were unique to the State in which they were allotted. For further information about identity numbers for Service personnel, see Regimental and Service Numbers

Dates of Occurrence and Reporting

The date of reporting an incident may be hours, days or months after the date on which incident actually occurred.

The original service record is amended only when the incident is reported which means that events are not necessarily recorded in in strict chronological sequence. This is the date shown on the left of the page of the original record, and also on the left in my transcription but readers should note that at times there may be no date of reporting at all, particularly when service personel are repatriated for discharge at the end of hostilities.

To assist the reader, when transcribing the military record I have done my best to record events in their chronological sequence. This is date is on the right of the page of the original record and also on the right in my transcription.

For clarity I have transcribed all dates into the format d MMM yyyy.

The following information and chronological table are a summary of the entries from the service record of Stephen Downes.

[Based on information in Redcoats to Cams, Ian Kuring.]

In December 1914, battalions of about 1000 men were organised into eight companies each divided into half of 60 men and then into two sections of around 30 men. Command was highly centralised with companies commanded by a Captain, half-companies by Lieutentants and sections by a Sergeant.

In early 1915 Australia reduced the number of Companies to four, but doubled their size to more than 220 men. Each rifle company had a headquarters and four platoons. Each platoon had a headquarters and four rifle sections of 10 men commanded by corporals.

From early 1916 light machineguns replaced medium machine guns and were eventually issued to each rifle platoon.

During 1917 rifle platoons were reorganised to have a light machine gun section, a rifle grenade section, a hand grenade/bombing section and a rifle assault section.

By mid 1918, the number of officers had increased to 38 but the number of other ranks had declined to 900. At the same time, the firepower of the battalion was greatly augmented with hand and rifle grenades and Lewis Guns, of which there was 34 per battalion.

Rifle, Small Magazine Lee-Enfield .303in, Mark III with sword bayonet

UNIT SHOULDER PATCH
19^th INFANTRY BATTALION

ENTITLED TO WEAR ANZAC 'A'

The 19^th Battalion was raised at Liverpool in New South Wales in March 1915 as part of the 5th Brigade. A large number of the 19^th's original recruits had already served with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) in the operations to capture German New Guinea in 1914. The 19^th left Australia in late June, trained in Egypt from late July until mid-August, and on 19 August landed at ANZAC Cove.

At Gallipoli the Battalion participated in the last action of the August Offensive ' the attack on Hill 60 ' before settling into defensive routine in the trenches. From mid-September, until its withdrawal from the peninsula on the night of 19 December, the 19^th Battalion was responsible for the defence of Pope's Hill.

After further training in Egypt, the 19^th Battalion proceeded to France. It took part in its first major offensive around Pozieres between late July and the end of August 1916. After a spell in a quieter sector of the front in Belgium, the 2nd Division, which included the 5th Brigade, came south again in October. The 19^th Battalion attacked near Flers between 14 and 16 November, in conditions that Charles Bean described as the worst ever encountered by the AIF.

In 1917, the 19^th was involved in the follow-up of German forces after their retreat to the Hindenburg Line, and was one of four battalions to defeat a counter- stroke by a German force, almost five times as strong, at Lagincourt. The Battalion took part in three major battles before the year was out, second Bullecourt (3-4 May) in France, and Menin Road (20-22 September) and Poelcappelle (9-10 October) in Belgium.

The spring of 1918 brought a major German offensive that the 19^th Battalion helped to stop. For his actions during the fighting around Hangard Wood on 7 April, Lieutenant Percy Storkey was awarded the Victoria Cross. With this last desperate offensive defeated, the 19^th participated in the battles that pushed the German Army ever closer to defeat: Amiens on 8 August, the legendary attack on Mont St Quentin on 31 August, and the forcing of the Beaurevoir Line around Montbrehain on 3 October. Montbrehain was the battalion's last battle. The casualties of 1918, combined with long-term leave for 1914 enlistees, and dwindling new enlistments had sapped the strength of the AIF. On 10 October 1918 the 19^th Battalion was disbanded to reinforce other battalions in the brigade.

UNIT SHOULDER PATCH
8^TH FIELD COMPANY ENGINEERS



ENTITLED TO WEAR ANZAC A

Each Division had three Field Engineer Companies under command, numbered the same as the Brigades of the Division. The 5^th Division thus had the 8^th 14^th and 15^th Field Company of Engineers on strength.

During WW 1 the Engineers undertook a raft of tasks broadly divided into mobility, counter mobility and construction as well as survey and mapping, and specialised tunnelling and mining operations. The Field Companies' scope of works concentrated on the former rather than the latter.

They undertook a broad range of tasks including preparation and supervision of the construction of defensive and gun positions, excavation of trenches and dugouts, erection of wire and other obstacles, preparation of command posts, signalling and water supply, field engineering, road and bridge construction and route maintenance. They also undertook obstacle breaching and crossing. For example in the lead up to the attack at Mont St Quentin the Engineers were required to carry out two river crossing / bridging operations.

Engineers also had responsibility for signalling although this function became more specialised as the war progressed, eventually leading to the creation of a separate Signals Corps.

The decoration consists of a four-pointed star in bright bronze as shown, with the date 1914-15 on the central scroll. The reverse is plain, and is stamped with the name and unit of the recipient. The ribbon is red, white and blue, shaded and watered, worn with the red nearest the centre of the breast. It is atached to the medal through a ring.

It is similar in shape and description to the 1914 Star, to which few, if any, Australians were entitled. Those entitled were those who had already served with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) in the operations to capture German New Guinea in 1914.

The decoration, sanctioned in 1918, was issued "to all officers, warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and men of the British, Dominion, Colonial and Indian Forces, including civilian medical practitioners, nursing sisters, nurses and others eployed with military hospitals, who actually served on the establishment of a unit in a theatre of war as defined in Appendix 'A'. Individuals in possession of the 1914 Star will not be eligible for the award of this decoration."

Appendix 'A' included the Western, Eastern, Egyptian, African, Asiatic and Australasian Theatres of war, with commencement dates individual to countries and campaigns.

This medal was approved by King George V in 1919 to record the bringing of the war to a successful conclusion and the arduous services rendered by His Majesty's Forces.

The medal, which is supended from its ribbon by means of a straight clasp, without swivel, bears on the obverse the effigy of His Majesty - exactly similar to that on a half-crown - with the legend 'Georgivus V : Omn : Rex et Ind : Imp'.

The reverse bears a design which represents St George on horseback, trampling underfoot the eagle shield of the central powers and a skull and crossbones, the emblems of death. Overhead is the risen sun of victory. The male figure, rather than a symbolical female one, was chosen because man had borne the brunt of the fighting. The figure was mounted on horseback as symbolical of man's mind controlling force (represented by the horse) of far greater strength than his own. The design is thus also symbolical of the mechanical and scientific appliances which helped so largely to win the war.

The ribbon has a orange watered centre with stripes of white and black at each side and with borders of royal blue. It is stated that the colours have no particular signification.

This medal, of bronze, bears on the obverse a winged figure of Victory, full length in the middle of the medal and full face; the borders and the backgound plain, without either incription or date. On the reverse is an inscription. "The Great War for Civilization." and either the names of the different Allied and Associated Powers, or their coats of arms.

The rim is plain, and the medal hangs from a ring. The ribbon is red in the centre, with green and violet on either side shaded to form the colours of two rainbows.

It has also been approved that any officer or man who has been "mentioned in despatches" shall wear a small bronze oak leaf on the ribbon of this medal. Only one oak leaf is so worn, no matter how many "mentions" the wearer may have received.

The medal is designed to obviate the exchange of Allied Commemorative war medals, and is issued only to those who actually served on the establishment of a unit or ship in a theatre of war. [This is an important distinction, as those Australians who served only in Australia, or only in Australia and England, were not entitled to the award.]

The ANZAC 'A'

The Rising Sun Badge

Wound Stripe

Army Order No.204 Headquarters, 1st A.N.Z.A.C., 9th August, 1916. (slightly amended for layout)
DISTINCTIONS FOR OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS WHO HAVE BEEN WOUNDED

Long Service Badges

[Image from http://www.diggerhistory.info]

Overseas Service Chevrons

[http://au.geocities.com/fortysecondbattalion/level2/reference/01nos-standards.htm]
[Image from http://www.diggerhistory.info]

Some Government Issued Badges

Nearest Female Relative Badge	War Widows Guild Brooch	Silver War Badge	Discharged Returned Soldier Badge
Government issued badge in enamel and sterling silver issued to the wife, mother or nearest female relative of a serving soldier. Additional bars were suspended below for further individuals.	Membership badge of a Kookaburra in sterling silver, issued by the Government to the widows of men who lost their lives due to their service. Numbered on the reverse.	Awarded to service personnel who sustained a wound, or contracted sickness of disability in the course of the war as a result of which they were invalided out, or to soldiers who had retired during the course of the war.	First issued in 1916. Slight variations are indicative of a number of makers. 267,300 were issued. Numbered on the reverse but the numbers have no link withlength of service or Service Number.

[Badge information collated from Australian War Memorial, "Australians Awarded" by Clive Johnson and en.wikipedia.com]

---

Copyright © Margaret Wine and Clive Mitchell-Taylor 2017- 2024
[Except as otherwise noted]