Spice, Theodore Morley

No.3969 – Private Theodore Spice – 11^th Battalion AIF

Theodore Morley Spice was born in Chittering WA in 1887 to Frederick and Caroline Spice. He was educated in Guildford and after leaving school he took up employment as a Blacksmith’s Striker. During this time Theo also saw service in the cadets and Guildford Volunteer Rifles. In 1908 Theo married Flora Emery, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Emery of Moran St Beaconsfield. They would go on to have two daughters; Isabelle born in 1909 and Doreen in 1911.

On the 21^st August 1915 Theo went to the Francis Street Drill Hall in Perth to enlist in the AIF. He was passed as fit for service with the medical examiner finding him to be 5 feet 8 inches tall; weight of 156 lbs; chest measurement of 36-38 inches; dark complexion; brown eyes and dark hair. His religious denomination was Church of England. Upon his successful enlistment Theo was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.26 Training Depot.

After a short time here, on the 16^th October 1915 Theo was transferred to form a part of the 12^th Reinforcements to the 11^th Battalion AIF. He would train in WA for just over a month as they waited for their embarkation orders to arrive. These orders finally came through and on the 22^nd November 1915 his group went to Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the RMS Mongolia and set sail for Egypt.

After a voyage of just over three weeks, Theo arrived in Egypt in mid December and were then disembarked and sent into the 3^rd Training Battalion. Theo and his group would have been expecting to be sent on to Gallipoli however the Dardanelles was then being evacuated and the Australians involved in that campaign would soon be returning to Egypt. The 11^th Battalion arrived back in Egypt in early January 1916, however as they were soon at their full complement of numbers, Theo was retained in the training battalion for the first two months of 1916.

Due to the large number of reinforcements then available a decision was made to expand the AIF from two infantry divisions to five. To give the new units some experience the decision was made to split the original battalions in half, with one of the halves going on to form the new battalion. Thus on the 28^th February 1916 the 11^th Battalion split, with one half forming the 51^st Battalion.

As a result of this split, the 11^th Battalion needed reinforcements to fill the gaps in numbers and on the 2^nd March 1916 Theo was taken on strength of “B” Company of this unit at Habieta Camp. He would have just over three weeks of training with the 11^th battalion in Egypt as on the 29^th March 1916 they boarded the HMT Corsican in Alexandria and set sail for France, arriving at Marseilles on the 5^th April 1916.

After being disembarked, the 11^th Battalion was marched through the city to the railway station where they boarded trains which took them to the north of France. They were initially billeted in the Armentieres sector and after a few days to find their bearings, the 11^th Battalion had their first taste of Western Front trench life at Fleurbaix. They were to remain in this sector for their first three months in France as they became accustomed to trench life.

On the 30^th May 1916 the trench the 11^th Battalion held was subjected to a short but intense bombardment as the Germans launched a raid on their positions. The German raid was successful and they captured a handful of soldiers while also inflicting serious damage to the 11^th Battalion’s position. Thirty eight soldiers of the 11^th were killed including Theo Spice. His body was recovered and he was buried at Rue Petillon Military Cemetery in a service given by the Reverend W.K. Douglas of the 12^th Battalion AIF.

Theo Spice lies in plot I.H.34 among his mates of the 11^th Battalion.

After the war Flora Spice and her two daughters, living in Hampton Rd Fremantle, would receive a pension from the military authorities. They would also receive Theo’s personal effects and medals. With her two daughters, Flora would later move to Alcester Gardens in East Fremantle. Her brother No.964 Corporal Douglas Emery also served in the 11^th Battalion and would be awarded the Military Medal for bravery at Merris in June 1918. He served at Gallipoli and on the Western Front and came home in late 1918 on Anzac Leave.