Pte
Bert William Greathead

Information about birth

Year of birth:
1892
Place of birth:
Gippsland, Victoria, Australia

General information

Profession:
Labourer

Army information

Country:
Australia
Force:
Australian Imperial Force
Rank:
Private
Service number:
4427
Enlistment date:
12/11/1915
Enlistment place:
Casula, New South Wales, Australia
Units:
 —  Australian Infantry, 20th Bn. (New South Wales)  (Last known unit)

Information about death

Date of death:
09/10/1917
Place of death:
Defy Crossing, Belgium
Cause of death:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Age:
25

Cemetery

Distinctions and medals 2

Points of interest 2

#1 Place of birth
#2 Enlistment place

My story

Private Bert William Greathead served in the Australian Infantry 20th Battalion, part of the 5th Brigade, of the 2nd Australian Division.
On the 9th of October 1917 the 20th Battalion Australian Infantry took part in the Battle of Poelcapelle, a stage in the Third Battle of Ypres. The 2nd Australian Division was to cover the right flank of the 66th British Division, and it attacked with the 5th and 6th Australian Brigades, respectively on the left and right flank.
The 5th Australian Brigade attacked with the 20th Battalion, the 17th Battalion was in support. At 5.30 a.m. the barrage came down short and some shells fell behind the attacking troops. When the men advanced they came under enfilade machine gun fire from a German position across the railway in the 66th Divisional area. Nevertheless they men were able to capture a German strongpoint at Defy Crossing. By 8.25 a.m. the Battalion took their first objective, the Red Line, which was occupied with only slight casualties.
The 17th Battalion moved through the 20th and advanced on the Blue Line, supported by parties of the 20th Battalion. The intermixed troops cleared Decoy Wood and Rhine. On the left the railway cutting was cleared with grenades and bayonets. The intermixed troops reached their final objective, but with so few men remaining, they were soon forced to pull back to the first objective, which they consolidated.
Private Bert William Greathead was killed in action on the 9th of October 1917. He was initially buried near Defy Crossing. According to a witness report in his Red Cross Wounded and Missing File, he was killed by a shell and buried close to where he fell. His remains were exhumed after the war and were interred in Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood.

Files 2

Sources 4

20th Australian Infantry Battalion, (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/37/27).
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583
Sources used
Australian War Memorial
https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/P10237331
Sources used
First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920, (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455, GREATHEAD B W).
http://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/BasicSearch.aspx.
Sources used
McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, (London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 104-106.
Sources used

More information 4