Harold Francis J Maxwell

Harold Francis J Maxwell

Harold Francis Maxwell

• Father: James John Maxwell b. 4 May 1867, d. 28 Sep 1954
• Mother: Margaret Frances Daly b. c 1863, d. 25 Jul 1930

• Birth*: Harold Francis J Maxwell was born in 1892 at Woolgoolga, NSW, Australia.¹
• He was the son of James John Maxwell and Margaret Frances Daly.
• Death*: Harold Francis J Maxwell died on 25 April 1915 at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, Turkey. The cause of death was.²
• Burial*: He was buried at No Known Grave, Turkey; Commemorated on Line Pine Memorial as follows:
  MAXWELL Private HAROLD FRANCIS 740. 9th Bn. Australian Infantry A.I.F. Killed in action 25th April 1915. 31.
• Name Variation: Harold Francis J Maxwell was also known as Harry.
• Occupation*: He was Farrier in 1914.³
• Military Service*: Harold served in the military from on 26 August 1914 to on 26 August 1914; 9th Bn. Regimental No. 740 9th Battalion
  
  The 9th Battalion was among the first infantry units raised for the AIF during the First World War. It was the first battalion recruited in Queensland, and with the 10th, 11th and 12th Battalions it formed the 3rd Brigade.
  
  The battalion was raised within weeks of the declaration of war in August 1914 and embarked just two months later. After preliminary training, the battalion sailed to Egypt, arriving in early December. The 3rd Brigade was the covering force for the ANZAC landing on 25 April 1915, and so was the first ashore at around 4.30 am. The battalion was heavily involved in establishing and defending the front line of the ANZAC beachhead. It served at ANZAC until the evacuation in December 1915.
  
  After the withdrawal from Gallipoli, the battalion returned to Egypt. It was split to help form the 49th Battalion and bought up to strength with reinforcements. In March 1916 the battalion sailed for France and the Western Front. From then until 1918 the battalion took part in operations against the German Army. The battalion's first major action in France was at Pozières in the Somme valley. The 9th Battalion attacked on the extreme right of the line and it was during this action that Private John Leak won, with the bayonet, the battalion's only Victoria Cross. Later the battalion fought at Ypres, in Flanders, before returning to the Somme for winter. In 1917 the battalion moved back to Belgium for the advance to the Hindenburg Line, and in March and April1918 helped stop the German spring offensive. The battalion participated in the great allied offensive of 1918 and fought near Amiens on 8 August. The advance by British and empire troops was the greatest success in a single day on the Western Front, one that German General Erich Ludendorff described as 'the black day of the German Army in this war'.
  
  The battalion continued operations until late September 1918. At 11 am on 11 November 1918, the guns fell silent. The November armistice was followed by the peace treaty of Versailles, signed on 28 June 1919.
  
  In November 1918 members of the AIF began to return to Australia for demobilisation and discharge. On 5 February 1919, the 9th and 10th Battalions were amalgamated.
  
  Gaba Tepe
  A headland about a mile and a quarter south of the Anzac right flank. The Anzac landing was originally known as the Gaba (or Kaba) Tepe landing. Gaba Tepe was a heavily fortified Turkish observation and artillery position, and was one of the objectives of the original plan for the Landing. Gaba Tepe is often mentoned in orders, letters and diaries, but this means in fact the Anzac sector of the peninsula. Even today, some writers state that the Anzacs landed at Gaba Tepe. This is incorrect. In early May an attempt was made by Australian forces to attack the position, but was repulsed with heavy losses. See the record for Lieutenant HWBL Thompson, killed in this action.⁴
• Nickname: His nickname was Mick.⁴