Berthold Wiesner

[Mike Cecil]

Research can sometimes throw up the most curious - and sad - information not directly related to the line of inquiry.

Berthold is a case in point. A farmer from Ganmain, NSW, he served with the AIF on the Western Front and was wounded. He was on his way home to Australia aboard the hospital transport Corinthic in early 1918 when he went missing. The inquiry concluded he had gone overboard due to 'a state of despondency.'

The ship had departed Devonport, England on 10 January, and docked in Melbourne on 3 March, so Berthold went overboard only a few days before he was due to arrive in Melbourne, so probably somewhere across the Great Australian Bight.

Such losses at sea were not common, but certainly did occur. We can only wonder at their state of mind and what finally drove them to end their lives so close to home.

He is, quite rightly, recorded on the National ROH.

Mike

[Hanno Spoelstra]

A sad story, Mike.

Despondency? Could it also be seasickness? I once saw one of the crew being releaved of his duties, consigned to his quarters, and sent home in the next port. He was so sick he wanted to jump overboard and drown himself to get rid of it. A serious risk to his life and to the rest of the crew and ship.

Hanno

[Tony Smith]

If only someone had got to Bert in time and told him that one day, Ganmain would become the Cab 12 centre of the Universe. That would have raised his spirits immensely.

Although when enlisted, Bertold Theodore Immanuel Wiesner was a Farmer at Ganmain, he was born in Walla Walla. Walla Walla was founded by a group of German Lutheran Zionists who trekked overland from Adelaide. Nearby (at Walbundrie) is a Wiesner's Swamp, so the family were at least prominent in that group. Although upright and hard-working, the christian group were proud of their German roots and remained independant of wider Australian interaction.

Of course, you might have to consider that his German name might have some bearing on his thoughts on life once back in Australia. He would have no doubt have had many hurdles to clear to enlist in the first place, perhaps had some conflicting experiences in Europe relating to his German heritage, and despite his AIF service, would still have faced the prospect of some anti-German animosity on his return. Perhaps his family or community had been harassed while he was away, again despite his service (Nearby to Walla Walla and Walbundrie was the village of Germanton. Public anti-German agitation in WW1 saw the name changed to Holbrook).

From Wikipedia (if you can consider that reliable): "At the turn of the twentieth century, Walla Walla was charactered by its close-knit community which contributed to its preservation of the German language and the old ways. Although the First World War fostered a sense of nationalism (albeit strongly allied to the British Empire) this period was a challenging time for the Walla Walla community due to its ethnicity and the political issues of conscription and disenfranchisement from the electoral roll. According to one view, Walla Walla was reported as 'Berlin' and a 'hotbed of disloyalty'. In all, four local residents, including two Justices of the Peace and members of the Culcairn Shire Council were interned in the Holdsworthy Concentration Camp."

Depending on the extent of his injuries, he may have not liked his prospects of being capable of returning to a life of farming and physical activity, without any of the disability support and welfare programs that are taken for granted today.

And the fact that he was returning on a Hospital ship relatively alone as compared to his "Mates" returning together on a troopship in a group would have also made him feel isolated.

Today, there are organisations such as R U OK to help people from getting to the point of considering suicide, but back in WW1 there was little consideration of the risks and danger signs, even on such a hotspot as a Hospital Ship. What Psychological expertise there was didn't recognise PTSD or depression and tended to write it off as shell shock or malingering. Harden up, Man! Get yourself together!

PS the phone directory shows many listings for "Wiesner" in the Walla Walla, Walbundrie and Holbrook areas, so some part of the family line continued on.

[Mike Cecil]

Tony,

Very interesting background, thanks for that.

I'm certain we will never actually know what happened to Berthold other than he went missing at sea. The inquiry simply concluded that he voluntarily went overboard in state of despondency - the conclusion appearing to be more from a lack of any real evidence to the contrary.

Corinthic was in use for that voyage as a hospital transport, rather than a hospital ship, so the patients were all classed as low-level medical cases capable of looking after themselves with minimal medical assistance. That's why there were only 34 medical staff aboard for a total of 1160-odd patients.

Berthold's wounds were shrapnel to hand and thigh, with the thigh wound considered 'slight'. He also appears to have contracted hepatitis, and this appears to be the main reason he was RTA and not held until recovery and returned to unit.

Mike

[Mike K]

Sadly, events like that were not uncommon. I recall the case of a small ship packed with returning WW1 troops, they had made it back to their home port, a small coastal village in Scotland from memory.

The vessel was caught in bad weather , and being night time chaos ensued, the vessel foundered . Many of the troops drowned right in front of their home town.

Another WW1 case where two or three troop trains collided in the Nth of England . Hundreds died . The carriages had gas bottles beneath to power the gas lit carriages , plus the wooden carriages , it all went up like a fireball. The court of inquiry blamed the signal operators who were jailed for years. But modern day methods have revealed, the cause of it all, was actually the railway companies themselves, they overloaded the system way beyond its designed specs.

PS found this: it was sailors not soldiers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMY_Iolaire

and then the train disaster https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinti..._rail_disaster

[Mike Cecil]

After placing the evidence before the AWM Roll of Honour (ROH) curators, Berthold's place of death has now been corrected on the on-line ROH.

A good result, I think.

Mike