SAPPER HENRY JAMES GREENTREE
2562 / 3302 – 2nd Tunnelling Company
Henry James Greentree was born in Gympie, Queensland on 3rd December, 1895 and was just twenty years old when he enlisted for service to his country during World War I on 26th January, 1916. He left his job as a painter and said good-bye to his mother Mrs B. Greentree and friends in Gympie as he left for training camp.
After his short military training of a few months Sapper 3302 Henry James Greentree was one of the Reinforcements to the Australian Mining Corps which departed on transport A69 Warilda from Sydney, NSW on 22nd May 1916 for Melbourne. There further volunteers to the Mining Corps joined the ship which left Melbourne on 25th May, 1916 and sailed via Durban, Cape Town and St Vincent ending at Plymouth, England on 18th July, 1916. From there the Reinforcements were detrained from Amesbury to Tidworth and the troops marched into the Australian Training Base at Perham Downs on the Salisbury Plains, England.
Meanwhile in France, the First Australian Mining Corps had just arrived from Australia in June 1916 and upon reporting to the British were told that the Corps was being divided.
“The Australians had thought they would work as companies distributed within the Anzac Corps. But the British argued that mining would never require the wholesale movement of a mining battalion to accompany infantry operations accordingly, their corps organization was abandoned, and three separate companies were formed. In April 1916, each of the four British armies had between five and ten mining companies attached. The first two Australian Tunnelling companies (ATC) were attached to the British Second Army, while the 3rd ATC went to the first Army.” (‘Phantom Soldiers’ by Roy Macleod)
Training for the front completed the recruits left Perham Downs for France. After their arrival the reinforcements marched into the 2nd Australian General Base Depot and were placed in the 1st Anzac Reinforcement Camp, France about 12th October, 1916. Several days later around 18th October they were assigned to the 1st Anzac Entrenching Battalion and deployed shortly afterwards by attachment to the 1st Canadian Tunnelling Company on 26th October, 1916.
By 9th February, 1917 their unit was transferred to the 2nd Australian Tunnelling Company and remained with this company until mid April, 1917. It seems that orders were given or volunteers requested for “supernumeracy duty to establishment of the 3rd Pioneer Battalion” in France and authorisation for this was noted on 17th April, 1917. Nine of the men who sailed on A69 Warilda including Sapper Greentree and all from within the section of the 2nd Tunnelling Company, it seems left this company to be part of the 3rd Pioneer Battalion. Their regimental number was reassigned with an added letter a –e.g. 3645 became 3645a.
Some of these men were given training courses such as a course for Non-Commissioned Officers, the Pioneer Training Battalion in Fovant, France and the Jellahabad Barracks at Tidworth, England; or the Gas School in England. Sometime after training two were promoted to Sergeant and one to Lance Corporal.
Like all Battalions on the Western Front, the Pioneers and Field Companies were very vulnerable to attack from the enemy. It is known that of the nine who transferred three suffered gun shot wounds, one – mustard gas poisoning and two died of wounds.
Seven of the nine Pioneers returned to Australia.
Sapper Greentree’s service with the 2nd Tunnelling Company was brief compared with those members who served their full term as Tunnellers but his service with the 3rd Pioneer Battalion was no less dangerous.
After the Armistice Sapper Greentree remained with his unit and returned to Australia on 11th May, 1919.
In 1941 when World War II was looming closer to Australia, Henry Greentree at the age of forty-six years again enlisted for duty with the Australian Army. Enlisting in Brisbane he was assigned the Regimental number Q90128 and the rank of Private. He served until he was discharged on 8th January, 1946.
© Donna Baldey