It’s been over a hundred years since a mysterious woman from Castle Bromwich sat at the bedside of a dying Australian soldier, but it feels right to tell their story today.
Yardley Cemetery
Birmingham’s Yardley Cemetery contains 262 1st World War burials, 62 of which form part of the war graves plot. Among these graves is that of a young Australian soldier, Victor Harold Meade, who died on 11th May 1917.
Early Career
Victor was born in 1892 in Geelong, Victoria, Australia, one of four children born to Joseph Meade from Dublin Ireland and Louise Jefferies from Gloucestershire. He worked as a Carpenter before commencing training as a Police Officer in Shanghai, China, where he remained for three years.
Army Enlistment
After the outbreak of WW1, he voluntarily left the Police to travel to Australia and enlist, arriving in Sydney on 24th April, 1916. He signed his attestation papers on 4th May and was assigned to the 13th Battalion Australian Infantry of the Australian Imperial Force.
Embarking for War
On 9th September 1916, Private Meade embarked from Sydney on HMAT Euripides (A14) and disembarked at Plymouth, England on 26th October. Reinforcements were only given basic training in Australia, more thorough training being given in England before deployment. Victor was marched into 4th Training Brigade at Codford, Wiltshire on 4th November.
France
He proceeded overseas for France from Codford via Folkestone on Princess Victoria on 16th January, 1917, arriving at Etaples on 17th January, from where he proceeded to the 4th Australian Divisional Base Depot before joining the 13th Battalion on 21st January and enduring the bloody trench warfare typical of the first world war.
Battle of Bullecourt
After a dismally cold winter in sodden trenches the Australians attempted a series of offensives against the Germans. On 19 March 1917, during the German Army’s withdrawal to the Hindenburg Line, the Australians entered the smouldering remains of the city of Bapaume. They continued their pursuit of the retreating German soldiers, gaining possession of a succession of ruined villages (Vaulx-Vraucourt, Morchies, and Beaumetz), before coming up against the German rearguard which fought ferocious delaying actions at Lagnicourt, Noreuil, and Hermies. Finally, on 9 April, they reached the Hindenburg Line, a seemingly impenetrable line of defences comprising extensive barbed wire entanglements, rows of deep trenches, numerous machine gun nests positioned behind concrete shields, extensive tunnels, slit trenches and deep bunkers.
Four experienced Australian divisions of I ANZAC Corps were part of the British 5th Army under Sir Hubert Gough. He was a relatively young, energetic commander who wanted to attack at Bullecourt to support an important offensive by the adjoining British 3rd Army to the north and the French Army further to the south.
He planned to use the 4th Australian Division and the 62nd British Division to attack the Hindenburg Line near the village of Bullecourt. Rather than wait until he had sufficient artillery resources he decided to employ a dozen tanks to lead the troops through the enemy’s barbed-wire. An attack set for 10 April was suddenly abandoned when the tanks did not arrive. It went ahead the next morning with disastrous results.
The attack opened at dawn on 11th April. At 4.45 a.m., in the freezing cold, Australian soldiers flowed out from behind the shelter of the railway embankment and headed out on to the flat terrain leading up to the Hindenburg Line. They were supported by just eleven tanks and the attackers were soon swamped by German machine gun fire and heavy shelling. Losses came quickly and were huge. Those at the forefront were severely impeded by the barbed wire, many getting entangled and subsequently picked off by German artillery. A few soldiers making good use of hand grenades managed to gain a hold in the German front line and did their best to turn the captured trenches to their advantage. A lack of men and ammunition prevented the Australians from advancing to the second line and they soon came under the intense artillery fire of a German counter-attack. The small pockets of soldiers who attempted an advance were immediately wiped out. The counter-attack was launched by the soldiers of the German 27th Württemberg Division who flowed out of deep underground shelters on the second line, unharmed and ready for action. The Australian retreat was prosecuted in the worst possible conditions; under heavy fire, the soldiers had to cross a no man’s land littered with their fallen comrades. Those who remained in the German trenches were quickly rounded up. After eight hours of fighting, only a tiny minority of the Australian force succeeded in reaching the safety of the Allied line. In the afternoon a spontaneous truce was observed for the soldiers to recover their wounded comrades and remove some of the dead.
By the end of the day the horrific losses became apparent: the Australian 4th Brigade had lost 2,229 soldiers out of 3,000 and 1,170 Australians had been taken prisoner; all the battalions had been put out of action.
Wounded in Action
Private Meade was among those wounded in action. He was taken to 13th Australian Field Ambulance then admitted to Casualty Clearing Station with bullet wounds to right thigh and groin. He was transferred from 49th Casualty Clearing Station to 16 Ambulance Train on 11th April, 1917 and admitted to 10th General Hospital at Rouen on 16th April. Eleven days later, on 27th April, he was transferred to Hospital Ship Western Australia which embarked for England.
The Mysterious Lady
He was admitted to Richmond Military Hospital on 28th April. His records show that, over the next two weeks, he received visits from a Mrs. C Merchant of Castle Bromwich.
Death of Private Meade
Unexpectedly, Private Meade died at 6.25 pm on 11th May from wounds received in action in France and from Septic Pneumonia. His mother was in Hong Kong and was notified of the death by cable.
He was buried in Yardley Cemetery, Birmingham on 15th May, 1917. His coffin was good, polished Elm with brass fittings and the funeral was attended by several relatives. There was insufficient time for the purchase of a grave, and the common grave had therefore to be made use of. However, his father arranged for his body to be exhumed and re-interred in a private grave on 22nd June, 1917.
Who was the mysterious lady from Castle Bromwich?
So, who was the mysterious lady who visited the dying soldier in hospital? To find the answer to that, we need to return to Victor’s childhood. Victor was one of three surviving children, the other two being a brother Francis and a sister Cecilia. They grew up, not in Australia, but in Birmingham, England.
Victor Harold was schooled in Birmingham, England.
The 1901 England Census records him as a 9 year old Scholar living with his family at 36 Armoury Road, Aston, Birmingham. His parents were listed as Joseph Meade (Carpenter & Joiner, aged 44, born Ireland) and Louise Meade (aged 44, born Henbury, Gloucester). Victor was the youngest of 3 children listed on this Census – Cecila (Dressmaker, aged 16, born Ireland), Frank (Scholar, aged 14, born Australia) and Victor.
The 1911 England Census recorded him as a 19 year old Carpenter living with his family at 101 Cato Street, Birmingham in a Tenement with 6 rooms. His parents were listed as Joseph Meade (Carpenter, aged 54) and Louise Meade (aged 54). Joseph and Louise Meade had been married for 27 years & had 4 children, with 1 child deceased. Only 2 sons were listed on this Census – Francis Meade (Policeman, aged 24, born Sydney, NSW, Australia) and Victor.
Victor Meade had been apprenticed with E. Copson, Birmingham for 4 years. His army papers showed that he had also spent time in the Territorial army.
His Sister, Cecilia married Harry Merchant and at the time of Victor’s spell in Richmond Hospital she was living in Campden House, Castle Bromwich and working as a midwife. It was Cecilia who spent time visiting him in hospital and who along with her father, attended his funeral.
Private Victor Harold Meade was entitled to British War Medal and the Victory Medal. A Memorial Scroll & Memorial Plaque were also sent to his mother.
References
https://discoveringanzacs.naa.gov.au/browse/records/390517/3
https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/the-battles-for-bullecourt
