Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

World War 1, Europe England Codford, 51 Battalion, 1917

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1917

Overview

Informal portrait of unidentified soldier at Codford

Historical information

Proximity to Warminster and Salisbury Plain ensured that Sutton Veny and the surrounding villages in the upper Wylye Valley area, was an ideal location to barrack troops in order for them to train prior to deploying to northern France.

Sutton Veny consisted of ten individual camps including a hospital adjacent to the most northerly of the camps. The main camps were in Sutton Veny and Codford; One of those camps was known as Sand Hill camp near Longbridge Deverill, built in 1914 to accommodate infantry units, and taken over by the Australians in October 1917 to be the Overseas Training Brigade's base which had relocated from Perham Downs. Earlier, in December 1916 the No 1 Australian Command Depot moved to Sutton Veny where it remained until 1919. After the Armistice, No 1 Australian General Hospital was transferred to Sutton Veny where it remained until the end of 1919.

At the time Greenhill House was situated in the midst of the largest Australian Imperial Force training and convalescent depots in Great Britain. This mansion, consisting over 50 rooms and with spacious lawns and grounds offered ideal possibilities for rest and recuperation for war weary troops.

In late 1918 and 1919 Spanish Influenza was particularly virulent and many Australian died. The names of 142 Australians and 2 Sisters are recorded in the Australian Chapel in St John's Church, and they are interred in the grave yard.
In 1919 the AIF formed an agricultural training depot at Sutton Veny to prepare and train soldiers for returning to civilian life. At the end of 1919, Australian troops had all left for home, and the huts were demolished and the camp railway lifted

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-P1980.223.2c

Item type

Photographs

Themes

War and Conflict
War and Conflict > World War 1

Year

1917

Geotag

51.162275336266, -2.0338937784299

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