Buried beyond history

[Little Jo]

Hi All

I came across this story which I had not heard of before and I believe these soldiers should not be forgotten. It is typical for governments to forget them this would have been seen as negative press and they probably were more concerned about only publishing "Good" news stories. The public was again treated like mushrooms.

Cheers

Tony

By Cameron Stewart
IT was the Australian Army's worst accident, a tragedy so grim and gruesome it tore open the heart of a country town. In a single blinding flash of gelignite, 26 young lives were snuffed out in an underground bunker at an army training camp at Kapooka, near Wagga Wagga in NSW. When they buried the victims three days later, half of the population of Wagga - 7000 men, women and children - lined the streets to bow their heads at the passing parade of coffins. It remains to this day the nation's largest military funeral. But then something strange happened: Australia forgot.

While Diggers who fell on the battlefields of World War II are remembered and venerated each Anzac Day, the 26 souls who died at the Kapooka army training camp on May 21, 1945, were quietly airbrushed from the Anzac story. Their terrible fate was excluded from the official histories of World War II and has all but vanished. "Though the tragedy lives on in local memory and in the minds of the victims' families, it has disappeared altogether from national memory," says Peter Rushbrook, senior lecturer at the Wagga Wagga campus of Charles Sturt University and one of only two historians to have studied the accident.

As the nation prepares to commemorate another Anzac Day, those who died at Kapooka are the forgotten dead. "They had signed up and they were prepared to give the ultimate sacrifice, so it is wrong that they should be forgotten," says Norman Degrandi, an army sapper at the camp at the time of the disaster. So what happened at Kapooka and why did a country that reveres its Anzacs forget their sacrifice?

The day of the accident began like any other at the Royal Australian Engineers Training Camp, a rough bush base where long rows of tents were home to several thousand young army recruits. In Europe, Hitler's Germany had been defeated but the war against Japan was still raging and the Kapooka recruits were to be sent overseas once they had completed their engineer training. It was week four of the 16-week training program, a period known as demolition week because the young trainee sappers would be taught how to set and detonate explosives.

It was also the 31st birthday of one of the instructors, Sergeant Herbert "Jack" Pomeroy, a veteran of the Middle East and New Guinea campaigns and father of four children under the age of five. Pomeroy was bored with instructing and wanted to return to the front line. But having worked in an explosives factory he was considered a "conscientious and solid instructor" for the trainee sappers. On the afternoon of May 21, Pomeroy led 26 young men out into a paddock and down some steps into a large but rudimentary underground dugout where Pomeroy held his lectures. The covered dugout was 6.4m long, 5.8m wide and 2.1m high at its centre, its roof roughly level with the ground outside. Bush timber supported the walls and ceiling, sawdust covered the floor, and the soldiers sat around the edges on old ammunition boxes.

They were young, mostly teenagers. Before joining the army they had worked as farmhands, tractor drivers, motor mechanics, milk factory workers, timber cutters and barbers. Sitting alongside these young recruits was a deadly cache of explosives. "On that day a considerable quantity of explosives had been stored inside: a total of 100lbs (45.4kg) of monobel and 10lbs of gelignite, plus a large quantity of detonators and fuses," says military historian David Mitchell Hill-Green, who examined the Kapooka tragedy only after a chance discovery in the National Archives last year alerted him to the tragedy.

Having explosives and detonators in the same dugout was routine. It was not considered risky because it seemed inconceivable that the detonators could accidentally come into contact with the explosives, which were stored on the far side of the dugout. On this day Pomeroy began his talk on the preparation of hand charges, demonstrating how to cut and crimp safety fuse wire, attach it to a detonator, then place the detonator into a tennis ball-size plug of monobel. As he spoke, another instructor, sergeant Kendall, left the dugout to complete a task. Kendall was walking back towards the dugout when a massive explosion and a wave of searing heat knocked him to the ground. He knew what had happened. "From my position on the ground I could see that the roof of the dugout had caved in and a portion of a man's body had been blown to a position close to me," Kendall recalled at the time.

Elsewhere across the camp, soldiers assumed the blast was a part of training and it took several minutes for them to register what had happened. One soldier, sergeant Tafe, saw smoke and debris filling the air above the dugout and raced towards it. "A grisly scene confronted him," Mitchell Hill-Green says. "Checking the mass of bodies for signs of life, he found sapper Allan Bartlett in an upright position, imbedded into the southwestern wall by the force of the blast." Miraculously, Bartlett was alive. Two other soldiers in the dugout were also alive, but they died within hours from horrific wounds.

One rescuer observed seven intact bodies seated against the wall with their arms folded. "They looked like men of 80, their faces ash grey," he said. The others were blown to bits. "Nineteen were identified by identity discs," says Rushbrook. "The remaining seven, being unrecognisable, were identified through personal possessions, including wedding rings, dental records and labelled clothing, including braces and civilian underwear. Pomeroy was identified by his engraved watch." Having survived the explosion, Bartlett was able to give evidence to the subsequent military inquiry from his hospital bed. "He described how (another instructor) corporal Cousins was holding a handful of detonators with blue fuses attached before the blast but was right on the other side from where the explosives were," says Mitchell Hill-Green. Bartlett said he had turned to "say something to my mate" and the next thing he recalled he was being "dragged out of the hole".

The army was stunned by the carnage and released a short statement that day saying 26 men had been killed in an explosion and promised an immediate inquiry. Although the country was distracted by the war overseas, the Kapooka tragedy was front-page news, and nowhere more so than in the nearby town of Wagga Wagga. A mass funeral for the victims was held there three days later. "A lorry of wreaths and four flag-draped semi-trailers carrying the coffins crept sombrely past half of Wagga's 14,000 population," says Rushbrook. "After separate denominational funerals, the coffins were lowered simultaneously into the prepared graves. The emotion of the event continues to reverberate in local memory." The government and the media vowed that Kapooka would not be forgotten.

Agriculture minister E.H. Graham said the sappers had "given their lives in the cause of freedom just as assuredly as if they had fallen on the battlefield. We will remember them with gratitude and, by honouring them, honour ourselves." Wagga's Daily Advertiser newspaper stated: "Once in uniform, a person is a soldier of the king and, should death come swiftly in peaceful surroundings far removed from the battlefront, a life has been given for the king as surely as if the soldier had died in combat." But these promises quickly faded. Unlike those who gave their lives on the Kokoda Track or in the deserts of North Africa, there was no national pride in remembering an explosives accident in rural NSW. It was a tragedy that did not fit the Anzac narrative, and, as such, it was not consigned to history.

"As far as I am able to ascertain, there has been no previously detailed published account of the Kapooka tragedy," says Rushbrook, whose account is to be published in the journal of the Australian and New Zealand History of Education Society. "The official history of World War II makes no mention of it, nor does the Australian Centenary History of Defence. The only monuments to the event are a mouldy plaque at the site, now privately owned and locked to the public, and a modest memorial at Wagga's war cemetery." A brief military inquiry explored the tragedy and could find no conclusive cause as to how or why detonators might have made contact with the explosives. It was speculated that an instructor holding a detonator might have tripped. To prevent a repeat tragedy, the army prohibited the use of detonators in the same dugout as explosives.

Rushbrook says that in the years since, the Kapooka tragedy has been consigned to "quiet oblivion". "Social memory and heritage favours those who die valiantly," he says. "There appears to be a public awkwardness, even shame, when lives are taken 'without honour'. The national machine that creates and reinforces heritage, in these cases, remains silent." Mitchell Hill-Green agrees. "This was an awful event that does not sit comfortably in our paradigm of wartime death," he says. "The Anzac legend has become distorted over the years. We forget those soldiers who died during their training in Australia, but their deaths are as poignant as those on foreign fields."

Des Surkitt was a young sapper at the Kapooka camp who lost several mates in the blast and had to pack up their personal possessions and send them back to their families. "It was a terribly upsetting time," Surkitt says. For the next half-century he heard nothing more about the tragedy. "Then one day I was listening to Macca (Ian McNamara, on ABC radio) and they said there was going to be a memorial service in Kapooka," he recalls. Surkitt jumped into his car and drove north from his home in Victoria to attend what was then the 50th anniversary of the tragedy. Among the "few hundred" mourners in attendance was the only surviving sapper, Bartlett, who was by then profoundly deaf. The last direct connection to the Kapooka tragedy has since passed away. "It was no fault of their own that these boys died," says Degrandi. "We should remember them. We owe them that."

[Howard]

This incident is well known locally and the is a memorial erected at the site of the bunker. I'm fairly sure a memorial service is held at the site on an annual basis. I'll snap some pics of the memorial next time i drive past, it is right on the edge of the Olympic highway, south west of Wagga Wagga.

[Private_collector]

Yes, please do show us the memorial. This is a very interesting and tragic part of Aust history I had not heard about before......ever!

[hrpearce]

As Howard said the story is well known in this area and has been on the news regularly in the past few years since the new memorial was unveiled.

[Shane]

I wounder how many lives have been lost at Kapooka since the day it began. Would not have a clue if this is right or not or it was said to give us the "shits" but we were told that 16 young men had taken their lives there. Maybe, maybe not who knows.

[Marc Montgomery]

It is a tragic fact that even today, every year in military training exercises, someone dies. It is a testament to the inherent dangers of the profession. They are all heroes in my opinion whether they are serving the country at war, or practice during peace...it's always dangerous, they are always putting themselves in harms way in service of their country.

[Howard]

G'Day All,
So I pulled up to have a look and take some photos.
Very long dried grass on the road side... Watch for wriggly sticks!
Now, just step over this stock fence... Watch the barbed wire!
Here it is! Bugger! Not it! All this time, I was wrong...
So I have done some research, and now know the precise location. Next visit to Wagga I'll snap some photos, I promise.
Meanwhile, have a look at this... YouTube Video
about the book available on the subject, by Andrew Johnston, has been recently published. Link to Book page.

[Little Jo]

Hi Howard

Thank you so much for posting the Y-tube clip. It is very moving and one questions why it always takes us so long to tell the story. When I located and read the story I knew I had to post it for others to read. These incidents should never be covered up, the story however bad should be openly reported and discussed. There have been to many incidents in the Army that are quickly covered up.

LEST WE FORGET.

Cheers

Tony

[maple_leaf_eh]

In 1974 a frag' grenade exploded in a pyrotechnics safety lecture at the Camp Valcartier army cadet summer camp. Six boys died and 54 cadets were injured. << http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10148751-as-you-were>>

It seems a long-service but disinterested Regular Force officer was in a rush to do anything other than teach cadets. Over a span of several days which included a live fire grenade range, crossloading of crates of dummy and live frag grenades, and arriving at the cadet camp. The investigation concentrated on finding out if one of the kids had brought the grenade into the lecture, with no regard for the grieving of teenage boys alone and away from their families. The kids were terrorized by the investigators, and extremely little information or reassurance about the accident. They were civilians wearing uniforms. Although not subject to the Code of Service Discipline, they were ordered not to talk or tell anyone.

The survivors carried tremendous Post Traumatic Stress into the adult lives. Some did not survive or thrive. Others became investigators. The result has only this year been recognition of the accident, the commissioning of a more therapeutic investigation and the possibility of survivors pensions.

I know three of the cadets, either as hometown friends or as reserve acquaintances. If I'd joined cadets a year earlier, I could have been in that lecture.

[John Mackie]

What a disaster....

What a moving tribute on you tube...

This year is the 70 th ...

How about as many MLU , KVE and general public jioning in with the poeple of Wagga / Kapooka next May to commerate.

[Neil Ashley]

Unfortunately the youtube clip is barred in the UK on copyright grounds.

[Howard]

Originally Posted by John 4172

What a disaster....
What a moving tribute on you tube...
This year is the 70 th ...
How about as many MLU , KVE and general public jioning in with the poeple of Wagga / Kapooka next May to commerate.

THAT, my friend, sounds like an AWESOME idea.
Time to fire off a few emails.
H
(Maybe tomorrow... It's Christmas!)

[Howard]

Happy New Year, All!
I managed to visit the site, and took a few photos.


Above: the actual site of the explosion. Property boundary changes and road realignment places the actual site on private land, the memorial is erected on Commonwealth land directly opposite.


Above: The memorial stone placed directly opposite the original site.

A couple of more can be found Here

[John McGillivray]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

In 1974 a frag' grenade exploded in a pyrotechnics safety lecture at the Camp Valcartier army cadet summer camp. Six boys died and 54 cadets were injured. << http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10148751-as-you-were>>

It seems a long-service but disinterested Regular Force officer was in a rush to do anything other than teach cadets. Over a span of several days which included a live fire grenade range, crossloading of crates of dummy and live frag grenades, and arriving at the cadet camp. The investigation concentrated on finding out if one of the kids had brought the grenade into the lecture, with no regard for the grieving of teenage boys alone and away from their families. The kids were terrorized by the investigators, and extremely little information or reassurance about the accident. They were civilians wearing uniforms. Although not subject to the Code of Service Discipline, they were ordered not to talk or tell anyone.

The survivors carried tremendous Post Traumatic Stress into the adult lives. Some did not survive or thrive. Others became investigators. The result has only this year been recognition of the accident, the commissioning of a more therapeutic investigation and the possibility of survivors pensions.

I know three of the cadets, either as hometown friends or as reserve acquaintances. If I'd joined cadets a year earlier, I could have been in that lecture.

I was in Valcartier that summer on my Arty Tech course, and remember that night very well. One of my friends there that summer was a medic and one of the responders.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by John McGillivray

I was in Valcartier that summer on my Arty Tech course, and remember that night very well. One of my friends there that summer was a medic and one of the responders.

VERY OFF TOPIC

Ah, the tradition of pin ups is strong. Was that a CP inside a cargo Deuce?

[maple_leaf_eh]

Originally Posted by Howard

...


Above: The memorial stone placed directly opposite the original site.

...

With your permission, I will share this with the Canadian Military Engineer Association. There was a similar catastrophic accident with Engineer trainees in British Columbia. The motto UBIQUE is ours too.

http://users.uniserve.com/~echo2/rem...ce/slesse.html

[Howard]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

With your permission, I will share this with the Canadian Military Engineer Association. There was a similar catastrophic accident with Engineer trainees in British Columbia. The motto UBIQUE is ours too.

Of course, Terry. Forward, copy, print... whatever
H

[Robert Bergeron]

Thanks for posting this most saddening piece to our attention.

We shall forever remember them . They shall never grow old.

Thanks to our friends from the Commonwealth.

Excerp from Flander's fields, a war poem :

''... We lived, felt dawn,
saw sunset glow.
loved and were loved,
and now we lie in
Flander's FIELDS.

.. if ye break faith with us who die.
We shall not sleep, tough poppies grow,
In Flander's fields.


Lt col John McCrae

a Canadian officer of WW1

[John McGillivray]

Originally Posted by maple_leaf_eh

VERY OFF TOPIC

Ah, the tradition of pin ups is strong. Was that a CP inside a cargo Deuce?

Yes. Each Arty unit would build their own GPOs and Battery CPs. ¾ tons would be fitted out as GPOs while Deuces would be used for the Bty CP. The one in the photos belongs to X Bty 5RALC.

[Howard]

G'Day all,
I've spoken to some people about us being involved in this year's commemeration.
At this point all energies are being focused upon the Gallipoli 100 year ANZAC service, but it seems likely that the will be a special commemoration of the tragedy.
More news as it comes to hand.
H

[Howard]

G'Day All,
The word is:
Members of the public are welcome to attend. Normally, those attending park at the Kapooka entrance and are bussed to the site.
The officer in charge would like to see some MV's there, but space is limited, and therefore there are logistics and safety concerns to be addressed.
I need to know some firm numbers of who would like to attend with their MV.
PM me or email me please.
Thanks In Advance
H

[Ganmain Tony]

As discussed over the phone - I'm in

[Howard]

Finally, I received word back from Kapooka today.
As previously stated, the service is open to the public. However they have a specific request for those of us attending in MV's.

The service is 2.00pm 21st May

I have been instructed to have any MV's parked before this time, suggested 1.45pm.
I suggest we assemble at San Isidore, on the corner of Kapooka Rd and Benedict Ave, BEFORE 1.30pm. Those of us in Civy vehicles can park there and catch a ride in the MV's.
Important to note, no access will be available from the South (off Olympic Highway) before or during the service. Guests are parking at the Kapooka front gates, and then being bussed out to the site. Traffic from the North will be closed shortly before the service as well, which is why we have to be there early.
So far we have one blitz, a Harley & sidecar, and possibly two jeeps.
Please if you are able come along. 70th anniversary don't come around too often in one man's lifetime.
Email me if you intend on coming.
Cheers
H