Pte
Horace Leslie Gough
Information about birth
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Date of birth: 23/12/1890 |
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Place of birth: Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia |
General information
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Profession: Bank clerk |
Army information
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Country: Australia |
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Force: Australian Imperial Force |
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Rank: Private |
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Service number: 2007 |
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Enlistment date: 20/11/1916 |
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Enlistment place: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
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Units: — Australian Infantry, 36th Bn. (Last known unit) |
Information about death
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Date of death: 12/10/1917 |
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Place of death: Crest Farm, Passchendaele, Belgium |
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Cause of death: Killed in action (K.I.A.) |
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Age: 26 |
Memorial
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Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial Panel: 25K |
Distinctions and medals 2
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British War Medal Medal |
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Victory Medal Medal |
Points of interest 3
| #1 | Place of birth | ||
| #2 | Enlistment place | ||
| #3 | Place of death (approximate) |
My story
Private Horace Leslie Gough served in the Australian Infantry 36th Battalion part of the 9th Australian Brigade of the 3rd Australian Division. The unit participated on the 12th of October in the First Battle of Passchendaele, a stage in the Third Battle of Ypres.
The 36th Australian Infantry left their bivouacs at 7 p.m. on the 11th of October 1917. It marched to the assembly lines near Tyne Cot Cemetery between Augustus Wood and the Ypres-Roulers railroad. The march to the assembly area proved to be a deadly one. The Battalion suffered about 100 casualties on the route. One hundred men were wounded, dead or missing even before the Battalion had to attack the German positions. The whole 9th Australian Brigade’s advance occurred in total confusion and some troops didn’t make it in time to the assembly point.
The 3rd Australian Division advanced at Zero hour, 5.25 a.m. The 9th Australian Brigade on the right of the Divisional front started the attack with the 34th Battalion and the 35th and 36th Battalion in support. Eight minutes after the attack began, the Germans started shelling the advance and a heavy barrage fell across the Cemetery and the center of Augustus Wood. Smaller German calibers kept on shelling the former railway. The 34th Battalion moved behind the allied barrage. The 35th and 36th Battalions were in close pursuit and had their hands full mopping up unscathed German dug-outs.
When the 34th Battalion reached the first objective, the Red Line. The 35th Battalion leap-frogged over the 34th and resumed the attack towards the Blue Line. The 35th had not gone far when they encountered heavy machinegun fire coming from Crest Farm, on the outskirts of Passchendaele, and from the village itself. The left company of the 35th Battalion was practically wiped out and the left company of the 36th Battalion filled the gap. The two Battalions became isolated, as there was no sign of the 10th Brigade on the left. Only a few men of the 36th Battalion who were advancing with the 35th Battalion reached the Blue Line.
It soon became obvious that it would be an impossible task. The Battalion thereupon consolidated their gains and formed a line. The situation became desperate. The Germans put down an unforgiving machinegun fire and a heavy German artillery barrage came down on the line. On top of the dire situation German snipers, who were still in Augustus Wood, were shooting the advancing troops in the back. Having pinned down the allied attack, the Germans now advanced on the flank and from the front. The men were forced to retreat to a line from Augustus Wood to Defy Crossing.
The Australian Infantry 36th Battalion suffered severe casualties during the attack. Three officers were killed, ten were wounded and one officer went missing, 290 other ranks were wounded and 110 men were killed in action or went missing. Private Horace Leslie Gough was one of them. The eyewitness reports in his Red Cross Wounded and Missing File are pretty consistent. Private Gough was probably badly wounded in the back during the advance. A comrade cared for him and went looking for help. But stretcher bearers were unable to reach or locate Private Gough and Horace Leslie possibly died of his wounds in no man’s land. His remains were never located or identified and Private Horace Leslie Gough is remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial.
The 36th Australian Infantry left their bivouacs at 7 p.m. on the 11th of October 1917. It marched to the assembly lines near Tyne Cot Cemetery between Augustus Wood and the Ypres-Roulers railroad. The march to the assembly area proved to be a deadly one. The Battalion suffered about 100 casualties on the route. One hundred men were wounded, dead or missing even before the Battalion had to attack the German positions. The whole 9th Australian Brigade’s advance occurred in total confusion and some troops didn’t make it in time to the assembly point.
The 3rd Australian Division advanced at Zero hour, 5.25 a.m. The 9th Australian Brigade on the right of the Divisional front started the attack with the 34th Battalion and the 35th and 36th Battalion in support. Eight minutes after the attack began, the Germans started shelling the advance and a heavy barrage fell across the Cemetery and the center of Augustus Wood. Smaller German calibers kept on shelling the former railway. The 34th Battalion moved behind the allied barrage. The 35th and 36th Battalions were in close pursuit and had their hands full mopping up unscathed German dug-outs.
When the 34th Battalion reached the first objective, the Red Line. The 35th Battalion leap-frogged over the 34th and resumed the attack towards the Blue Line. The 35th had not gone far when they encountered heavy machinegun fire coming from Crest Farm, on the outskirts of Passchendaele, and from the village itself. The left company of the 35th Battalion was practically wiped out and the left company of the 36th Battalion filled the gap. The two Battalions became isolated, as there was no sign of the 10th Brigade on the left. Only a few men of the 36th Battalion who were advancing with the 35th Battalion reached the Blue Line.
It soon became obvious that it would be an impossible task. The Battalion thereupon consolidated their gains and formed a line. The situation became desperate. The Germans put down an unforgiving machinegun fire and a heavy German artillery barrage came down on the line. On top of the dire situation German snipers, who were still in Augustus Wood, were shooting the advancing troops in the back. Having pinned down the allied attack, the Germans now advanced on the flank and from the front. The men were forced to retreat to a line from Augustus Wood to Defy Crossing.
The Australian Infantry 36th Battalion suffered severe casualties during the attack. Three officers were killed, ten were wounded and one officer went missing, 290 other ranks were wounded and 110 men were killed in action or went missing. Private Horace Leslie Gough was one of them. The eyewitness reports in his Red Cross Wounded and Missing File are pretty consistent. Private Gough was probably badly wounded in the back during the advance. A comrade cared for him and went looking for help. But stretcher bearers were unable to reach or locate Private Gough and Horace Leslie possibly died of his wounds in no man’s land. His remains were never located or identified and Private Horace Leslie Gough is remembered on the Ypres (Menin Gate) Memorial.
Sources 3
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36th Australian Infantry , (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/53/12). https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1338583 Sources used |
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First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920 (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455, GOUGH H L). http://reocrdsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve/Interface/SearchScreens/NameSearch.aspx Sources used |
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McCarthy C., The Third Ypres Passchendaele. The Day-by-Day Account, ( London, Arms & Armour Press, 1995), pg. 113-115. Sources used |
More information 4
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Commonwealth War Graves Commission Database https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/923800 |
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Namenlijst (In Flanders Fields Museum) https://namenlijst.org/publicsearch/#/person/_id=128a5fc6-0c7f-4ece-9df8-12fa872e414e |
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Lives of the First World War (Imperial War Museum) https://livesofthefirstworldwar.iwm.org.uk/lifestory/7458487 |
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The AIF Project (UNSW Canberra) https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=336859 |