Brenton, Angus

No.4210 – Private Angus Brenton – 12^th Battalion AIF

Angus Brenton was born in Penola South Australia in 1894 to Jane and Thomas Brenton. The family later moved to Western Australia where they took up residence in 48 Victoria Road Fremantle.

On 27^th September 1915 he went and enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force in Pingelly in country WA. The examining doctor recorded his attributes as 5 feet 9 inches tall, weight of 111.4 stone, chest measurement of 37 inches, fair complexion, brown eyes and dark hair. His religion was Presbyterian.

Angus was initially sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to No.32 Training Depot. On the 4^th December 1915 he was then assigned to the 13^th Reinforcements to the 12^th Battalion AIF. He trained with this group in WA until the 29^th January 1916 when he boarded the HMAT Runic in Fremantle Harbour for the journey overseas. This troopship departure may have been visible from his home in Victoria Rd (Queen Victoria St)

Upon arrival in Egypt, Angus came down ill and on 28^th February was sent to 1^st Australian Dermatological Hospital in Abbassia. He remained here until the 26^th March 1916 when he was sent to the 3^rd Training Battalion. He remained in camp in Egypt for the next several weeks.

On the 30^th May 1916 he boarded the transport ship Tunisian arriving at Marseilles France on the 6^th June 1916. From there Angus took the train north where he joined the 1^st Australian Division Base Depot at Etaples. He remained here for a further two months as the 12^th Battalion were currently at a full complement of number.

Angus fortunately missed the 12^th Battalion’s first foray at Pozieres where the Battalion suffered heavy casualties, but it wasn’t long before reinforcements were needed and on the 4^th August 1916 Angus joined the unit which was then currently resting out of the line. The battalion were about to go into the line again and on the 19^th August the 12^th Battalion attacked Mouquet Farm. During the attack Angus was wounded in the hand and was evacuated to the Field Ambulance station. The wound was serious enough that he was evacuated to the 18^th General hospital at Camieres.

He only spent a few weeks in hospital and then returned to the 1^st Australian Division Base Depot at Etaples. Angus rejoined the 12^th Battalion on the 19^th September 1916. The unit was then in Belgium for a few weeks but in October returned to the Somme where they would spend the 1916/17 winter. On the 11^th November Angus was evacuated sick, suffering from trench feet. This was a condition caused by the freezing conditions. After being evacuated to the 2^nd Field Ambulance, he was then sent to the 36^th Casualty Clearing Station and then on to the 2^nd Canadian General Hospital at La Treport. On the 19^th November 1916, Angus was evacuated to hospital In England where he was admitted to 4^th Southern General Hospital. His condition was quite serious as Angus remained in hospital in England until the 23^rd February 1917. He was then granted a period of leave and on the 10^th March returned to the training camp at Perham Downs. Three days later Angus reported sick and was transferred to the 1^st Australian Dermatological Hospital with Venereal Disease. Angus remained in hospital until the 1^st May 1917 when he returned to the Training Camp at Perham Downs.

On the 22^nd May 1917, Angus was put into a draft of soldiers bound for France and on the 23^rd May joined the 1^st Australian Division Base Depot. He eventually rejoined the 12^th Battalion on the 16^th June 1917.

The 12^th Battalion were then resting out of the line for a few months of training. In September 1917 the 12^th Battalion proceeded to Belgium where they would take part in the Third Battle of Ypres. Angus fought at the Battle of Menin Road on the 20^th September 1917 and saw subsequent action in the areas around Zonnebeke, Celtic Wood and Passchendaele. He came through this period from September to November without being wounded.

On the 21^st November 1917, Angus suffered a recurrence of his foot issues and was thus sent to the 3^rd Canadian General Hospital at Boulogne. He spent a week there and was then sent to England. He was admitted to the City of Middlesex War Hospital on the 28^th November 1917 and would be in hospital until February 1918. After being released he was granted a period of furlough.

Angus was then classed as B1a3 fitness level which meant that he was not yet ready for service at the front. From February to May 1918 he remained in the training camps in England where he would regain his fitness. He returned to France at the end of the month, rejoining the 12^th Battalion on the 28^th May 1918. The 12^th Battalion were then in the line at Meteren in Northern France. The 12^th Battalion would remain in this sector until the first week in August 1918.

 They then entrained south for the Somme where they would take part in the large advance from Villers-Bretonneux, which is commonly called the Battle of Amiens. While the 12^th Battalion were not involved in the opening day advance of August 8^th, they continued the successful advance on the 9^th August and would be constantly on the move till late September 1918. They would be attacking places such as Rosiers, Herlevile, Framerville, Peronne and the Hindenburg Outpost line at Le Verguier.

In their last action, Angus was wounded in the arm and was evacuated to hospital. On the 27^th September he was transferred to the War hospital in Bath. On the 6^th November 1918 Angus was transferred to No.3 Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford where he remained until the 1^st February 1919.

Angus never returned to France as he was booked a passage home aboard the ship Leicestershire and left England on the 3^rd May 1919. He disembarked at Fremantle on the 11^th June 1919. He was discharged from the AIF on the 8^th August 1919. Angus would qualify for the British War Medal and Victory Medal.

Angus lived until the age of 76, dying in 1971 at Hollywood Hospital. He was then cremated at Karrakatta and his ashes taken by the war graves authorities.

Angus’s brother Samuel also served in the 1^st AIF with the 2^nd Australian Tunnelling Company from 1916 to 1919.