Pte
Ronald Champ Blom

Informations sur naissance

Année de naissance:
1897
Lieu de naissance:
Studley Park, Kew, Victoria, Australia

Informations générales

Profession:
ouvrier journalier
Religion:
Church of England

Informations service militaire

Pays:
Australia
Force armée:
Australian Imperial Force
Rang:
Private
Numéro de service:
1542A
Incorporation date:
31/08/1915
Incorporation nom de lieu:
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Unités:
 —  Australian Infantry, 22nd Bn. (Victoria)  (Dernière unité connue)

Informations sur décès

Date de décès:
04/10/1917
Lieu de décès:
Zonnebeke Château Grounds, Zonnebeke, Belgique
Cause du décès:
Killed in action (K.I.A.)
Âge:
20

Mémorial

Distinctions et médailles 3

1914-15 Star
Médaille
British War Medal
Médaille
Victory Medal
Médaille

Points d'intérêt 3

#1 Lieu de naissance
#2 Lieu d'enrôlement
#3 Lieu du décès (approximatif)

Mon histoire

Ronald Champ Blom, a former farm labourer, was born in June 1897 in Kew, Victoria, Australia. He was the son of Peter Blom, and the brother of Hay Govert Blom. On August 31, 1915 he enlisted in Melbourne and joined the 8th Light Horse Regiment. He embarked from Melbourne on board HMAT A11 Ascanius on November 10, 1915. In September 1917 he joined the 22nd Battalion, part of the 6th Australian Brigade of the 2nd Australian Division.

On the 4th of October 1917 the 2nd Australian Division participated in the Battle of Broodseinde, a phase in the Third Battle of Ypres. The 22nd Battalion was part of the 6th Brigade, which attacked on the right of the divisional front. The 22nd Battalion would take the first objective, the red line.
Once they had taken this line, the 24th would pass through the 22nd on the right and the 21st would do the same on the left. The Battalion assembled before the attack at the jumping-off positions in front of Tokio, but soon moved closer to the road leading to Tokio on account of German artillery fire on and around Albania. They made use of shell holes and old trench systems to form a line.

At 5.35 a.m. moments before the Battalion would attack, the German artillery, including minenwerfers, started shelling the jump-off line, causing heavy casualties. The Germans were about to attack themselves in the hope of recapturing Zonnebeke. The heavy shell fire was very destructive.

At 6 a.m. the British and Australian artillery opened fire on the German positions and the troops started to advance. The 22nd led off, followed by the 21st and 24th. Zonnebeke Lake was on the jumping-off line on the left. The three battalions had to storm the front over 3oo yards right of the lake. Once they had passed the lake the units on the left had to change direction to cover the ground allotted to them.

The German infantry was utterly surprised by the allied barrage. They were quickly dispersed, killed or taken prisoner by the advancing Australians. Docile Trench and De Knoet Farm fell without much opposition and the 22nd Battalion reached their objective by 6.50 a.m. On the right flank of the 24th Battalion the troops met resistance in Romulus Wood, but the Germans were eventually overpowered. At 7.30 a.m. the 21st and 24th moved up behind the protective barrage, reaching the second objective, the blue line at 8.10 a.m., where the dug in and prepared for eventual counterattacks.

Ronald Champ, aged 20, was killed in action on October 4, 1917. Private Blom was mentioned on a cross close to where he fell, between Brick Kiln and Road and Zonnebeke Lake (28.D.28.a.30.20), together with 4 others. This cross was initially re-erected at Perth China Wall Cemetery (Plot 5, Row M). His remains were not recovered or identified after the war. Ronald Champ Blom has no known grave and is remembered on panel 23D of the Menin Gate Memorial.

Sources 4

22nd Battalion Australian Infantry (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/39/26).
https://www.awm.gov.au/
Sources utilisées
6th Brigade Australian Infantry (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM4 23/6/26).
https://www.awm.gov.au/
Sources utilisées
First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920 (National Archives of Australia, Canberra (NAA), B2455).
https://www.naa.gov.au/
Sources utilisées
Unit embarkation nominal rolls, 1914-18 War (Australian War Memorial, Campbell (AWM), AWM8).
https://www.awm.gov.au/
Sources utilisées

Complément d’informations 4