Can you help us identify Throsby?

Throsby William Yabsley was born on 20 May 1889 in Goulburn, New South Wales to George John and Mary Anne (nee Cameron) Yabsley. George had arrived in Australia in 1854 from Port Guernsey Channel Islands with his parents when he was 15. Mary Anne was born in Goulburn. Her parents had arrived as teenagers from the UK in the late 1830’s. George and Mary Anne had three other children, George, Hilda and Elsie, who died young.

Unfortunately, Mary Anne died when Throsby was just two years old. Two years later George married Anna Marie Brown and they had three daughters Ethel, Kate and Irene. When Throsby was 16, Anna Marie passed away. Throsby was working as a painter when he enlisted.

The basis of Throsbys’ unusual name is unknown. There was a Throsby family who were early explorers in the area and there may be a connection through Throsby’s mother to the Throsby family in Berrimah.

Throsby signed up to go to war on 31 August 1915 in Goulburn, NSW. He was 25 years old. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 13th Reinforcements and began his military training in Sydney. The full 2nd Battalion was fighting in Gallipoli at the time. The 13th Reinforcements sailed from Sydney on 20 December 1915 aboard HMAT A6 Aeneas, for the month-long trip to Egypt.

Following the heavy losses at Gallipoli and the thousands of new recruits streaming in from Australia, there were major reorganizations underway when Throsby arrived. The 54th Battalion was formed in mid-February 1916 at the Tel-el-Kebir camp and Throsby was reassigned to this new unit. Training of the Gallipoli vets and the new arrivals continued.

By the end of March, much of the basic training in musketry and bayonet use had been completed and the 54th were sent to march to Ferry Post at the Suez Canal, a trip of about 60 km that took three days. It was a significant challenge, walking over the soft sand in the 38°C heat with each man carrying their own possessions and 120 rounds of ammunition.

After arriving at the camp, they were rewarded with being able to have a swim in the Suez Canal. During their march, H. R. H. the Prince of Wales visited the troops and they greeted him with “enthusiastic cheers”.

Source AWM4 23/71/2, 54th Battalion War Diaries, March 1916, page 13

The call to join with the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front came on 20 June and the 982 soldiers of the 54th Battalion left Egypt. They sailed on the Caledonian for a 10 day trip to Marseilles via Malta. After disembarking there was a three-day train trip to Hazebrouck, 30 km west of Fleurbaix.

By 2 July the Battalion was billeted in barns, stables and private houses in nearby Thiennes. Training now included the use of gas masks and exposure to the effects of artillery shelling. It was hoped that these tests would “inspire the men with great confidence”.

Source AWM4 23/71/6 54th Bn War Diaries July 1916 page 2

On 10 July they moved to Sailly sur la Lys and on the 11th they were into the trenches in Fleurbaix. The health and spirit of the troops was reported as good. After a few days getting exposed to the trenches they moved back to billets in Bac-St-Maur. D Company’s Major Roy Harrison wrote home on July 15th. With his Gallipoli experience, the tone in this letter was certainly circumspect for the upcoming battle.

An attack was planned on the 17th, but it was delayed due to the weather. The weather soon improved and by 2.00 PM on 19 July the Australians were back in the trenches, ready for the Germans. The main objective for the 54th was to take the trenches to the left of a heavily armed elevated German defensive position, the ‘Sugar Loaf’, which dominated the front lines. If the Sugar Loaf could not be taken, the 54th and the other battalions would be subjected to murderous enfiladed fire from the machine guns and counterattacks from that direction.

As they advanced, they were to link up with the 31st and 53rd Battalions. The 54th began to leave their trenches at 5.50 PM. They moved forward in four waves– half of A & B Companies in each of the first two waves and half of C & D in the third and fourth. The first waves did not immediately charge the German lines, they went out into No-Man’s-Land and lay down, waiting for the British bombardment to lift.

At 6.00 PM, the German lines were rushed. The 54th were under heavy artillery, machine gun and rifle fire, but were able to advance rapidly. The 14th Brigade War Diary notes that the artillery had been successful and “very few living Germans were found in the first and second line trenches”.

Some of the advanced trenches were just water filled ditches, which needed to be fortified to be able to hold their advanced position against future attacks. They faced heavy artillery, machine gun and rifle fire, but were able to advance and link up with the 53rd on their right and, with the 53rd, 31st and 32nd, occupy a line from Rouges Bancs to near Delangre Farm. However, the 60th on their far right had been unable to advance due to the devastation from the machine gun emplacement at the Sugar Loaf, leaving this flank exposed.

They held their lines through the night. However, with heavy losses and German counterattacks, the Australians were eventually forced to retreat. This was complicated by the fact that the exposed right flank of the 54th had allowed the Germans access to the first line trench BEHIND them and the Germans in the trench had to be repelled as they retreated. By 7.30 AM on the 20th the 54th were pulled all the way back to Bac-St-Maur, 5 km from the front.

In this very short period of time, of the 982 soldiers of the 54th that left Egypt, initial roll call counts were - 73 killed, 288 wounded and 173 missing. To get some perspective of the battle, when Charles Bean, Australia’s official war historian, attended the battlefield two and half years later, he observed a large amount of bones, torn uniforms and Australian kit still on the battlefield. Ultimately, 173 soldiers from the 54th were killed in action or died from their wounds. Of this, 102 were missing.

Throsby was not at roll call after the battle. There is little information about how far advanced he had been or exactly what happened to him. The only available witness statement about Throsby was from his mate Private Cecil Fuller (4290) of Marrickville, NSW, who said:

Cecil and Henry George Hepenstall (4302) both survived the battle and the War. While this statement is dated 24 August 1916, with the scale of the battle the flow of reliable information back to families was very slow. The Army was also very cautious about making any ‘early’ conclusions regarding advice to families while they worked through collecting hard information from hospitals, POW/German reports, etc.

The Army had contacted Throsby’s father George on about 10 August, but the advice provided was that Throsby was wounded.

In early September they sent a telegram that would have raised the family’s hopes as it said he was “not reported as seriously wounded”, but it did include caveats about the basis for this information.

Throsby’s sister Hilda wrote the Army on 2 September 1916 , noting that:

Hilda wrote again on 4 November, but the Army did not have anything further to offer.

The next news was not until a Court of Enquiry in the field on 4 August 1917 pronounced Throsby’s fate as 'Killed in Action, 19-20 July 1916'.

Throsby was awarded the British War Medal, the Victory Medal and a Memorial Plaque and a Memorial Scroll.

He is commemorated at:

• V.C. Corner (Panel 11) Australian Cemetery Memorial, Fromelles, France,
• the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour in Canberra,
• Moss Vale & District Pictorial Honour Roll,
• Moss Vale RSL War Memorial
• and the Moss Vale War Memorial.

After the battle, the Germans collected 250 bodies from the battlefield and placed them in a mass grave. This grave was not found until 2008 and a large effort to identify the soldiers was begun, based on DNA matching from family donors that have been able to be located. As of April 2024, 180 of the soldiers in the grave have been identified.

Of the 102 missing soldiers from the 54th, 28 have been identified and have been formally identified in the Pheasant Wood Cemetery. Throsby could be one of the yet unidentified soldiers – his family is still hopeful.

(The article below is extracted from ‘DNA test could help match WWI Battle of Fromelles fallen soldier with living relatives’, ABC Riverland Sun 25 Feb 2024, written by Sophie Holder):

While DNA donors have come forward, until the confirmation process is completed, further donors are still being sought.

If you do know anything about Throsby’s family here in Australia or England or Scotland, please contact the Fromelles Association of Australia.