Curran, Joseph
375A Private Joseph Curran - 11th Field Company Engineers
Joseph Patrick Henry Curran was born in Clareville South Australia in 1889 to Joseph and Alice Curran. His siblings were James, Margaret, Mary, John and Lawrence.
He came with the family to Western Australia in the early 1900's and they set up residence in Fremantle, initially residing in Point Street.
Joseph got married to Ada Elaine Norling in 1909 and they would have three children, Dorothy in 1910, Florence in 1911 and Josie.
Joseph played for East Fremantle football club between 1910 to 1912, playing 20 League games.
He then continued with his working career as a tinsmith.
His father died 1914 at point street and Joseph also worked as a lumper on Fremantle wharf.
On the 3rd March 1916 Joseph enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force in Fremantle. He was found to be fit for service, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 7 & 1/2 inches tall;
Weight - 146lbs;
Chest Measurement - 33-36 inches;
Complexion - Fresh;
Eyes - Brown;
Hair - Auburn.
After his successful enlistment Joseph was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was initially assigned to No.60 Training Depot. He was taken through the basics of infantry training at this Depot Camp and on the 1st May 1916 Joseph was assigned to the 2nd Reinforcements to the 5th Division Cyclist Company.
They trained in WA until the 18th July 1916 when they entrained for Fremantle Harbour and boarded the transport ship HMAT Seang Bee. They then set sail for England, arriving at Plymouth on the 9th September 1916. They were then disembarked and sent to the AIF camp at Parkhouse.
On the 10th October 1916 Joseph was then sent to the Cyclists training battalion camp at Chiseldon. Joseph remained here through to 22nd May 1917 when he was detached for duty at the Engineers Training Depot at Brightlingsea.
On the 4th August 1917 Joseph was put in a draft of soldiers going to France. On arrival he was sent to the Engineers training depot at Rouelles. He remained here for several weeks and on the 30th September 1917 Joseph joined the 11th Field Company Engineers.
The 11th Field Company Engineers were then in Belgium about to take part in the Third Battle of Ypres. He served at the Zonnebeke action on October 4th 1917 and came through safely. On the 11th October he was evacuated ill with defective vision but returned to his unit after a few days.
He came through the remainder of the time at Ypres unscathed and continued to serve while they were in the line at Passchendaele.
It was not easy for the Field Engineering Companies to work during this period due to the devastation of the battlefield, the muddy morass of shell holes that covered the area, and being under constant German artillery fire.
The Australians soon left the Passchendaele area and were sent south east of Ypres holding the line between Hollebeke and Messines where they would spend the Belgian winter of 1917/18. They were in this area until the German offensive of March 21st 1918 which broke through the 3rd & 5th British Armies.
The Germans were making a speedy advance towards Amiens and the 3rd & 4th Australian Divisions were sent south to help stop them. The 11th Brigade met the Germans near Sailly Laurette on March 27/28th and brought their advance to a halt. It was a busy time for the Field Engineering Companies as they helped to build defences behind the main line as the Germans were expected to launch another large assault to break through to Amiens. The 11th FCE designed a system of defence from Sailly-le-Sec and Mericourt, between the Somme River and the main road to Bray. Other sections of 11th FCE also began on putting demolition charges on the bridges behind their area in case of a German breakthrough.
The 11th FCE had a large area to cover from Franvillers, Corbie, Heilly and Bonnay. On the 6th April No.1 section of 11th FCE actually blew up a bridge over the Somme at Bouzencourt.
On the 17th April the responsibility for the bridges in this area was passed to the 2nd Australian Tunnelling Company. This may have been a relief for the Company as they were busy erecting shelters, dugouts and headquarters for the 11th Brigade. The 11th FCE remained in this sector until May when they were transferred to Pont Noyelles.
On the 24th April 1918 Joseph had been evacuated due to being exposed to a German gas shell. He was sent to the 6th General Hospital at Rouen and then a convalescent camp at Le Havre. He rejoined his unit on the 25th May 1918. They were then in the line around the Somme River and Villers- Bretonneux. John soon lost a good mate in this sector.
While the 11th FCE were stationed in Rivery, it was a common practice for the engineers to go to the river and throw grenades to catch fish. On the 30th June 1918 Dave McKay and a few Engineers were bombing fish in the river with gun cotton primers. As Dave was about to throw one, it exploded prematurely in his hand, inflicting fatal wounds to his head and arm. Two other sappers were slightly wounded by the explosion.
Despite the medical assistance given to him by the fellow engineers at the scene, Dave died shortly after the explosion. Joseph Curran who had been with him since they were in the Cyclist reinforcements at Blackboy Hill Camp helped to erect a fine cross for Dave’s grave. L/Cpl Dave McKay was buried in Daours Communal Cemetery Extension France in plot III.D.45 in a service conducted by the Reverend A.W. Moore of the 39th Battalion AIF. Many of the Company attended the service, as No.17839 L/Cpl Haddow stated that;
‘McKay was a very popular chap and his death cast a gloom over the company.’
Despite the loss of a close mate, the war went on. On 8th August 1918 the Amiens offensive commenced when Australian, British and Canadian divisions attacked the Germans and broke through their lines. The Field Company Engineers followed up their infantry and helped the infantry consolidate the captured positions as well as repairing roads and trenches.
August and September 1918 was a busy time for his unit as they advanced through Bray, Susanne, Clery and Peronne. The Australians then reached the Hindenburg Line where further action would occur. Joseph missed the unit's last action of the war as he had been granted a fortnight's leave to the UK on the 22nd September 1918. By the time he returned on the 6th October 1918, his unit had been pulled out of the line a few days previously.
They were then in reserve positions when the Armistice was announced on the 11th November 1918. However work for the Field Engineering Companies still proceeded and in December 1918 Joseph hurt his back and also had a fractured fibula.
He was treated at the 11th Field Ambulance and was then sent to the 3rd Australian General Hospital at Abbeville. Joseph remained here till the 1st January 1919 and was then transferred to England and was admitted to the Ontario Military Hospital. He spent three weeks there and was then transferred to the 3rd Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Dartford.
On the 8th February 1919 Joseph was then sent to No.1 Command Depot Camp at Sutton Veny. He would now wait here to be assigned a berth on a transport ship home. On the 3rd March 1919 Joseph went to Portland and boarded the transport ship Euripides and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 10th April 1919.
Joseph was discharged from the AIF on the 27th May 1919.
He then returned to the family home at 8 Point Street Fremantle and resumed his work as a lumper at Fremantle Harbour. In the 1930's the family moved to Carrington street Palmyra. During this time Joseph was still working as a lumper.
In 1933 Joseph's mother died at 46 parry street (later renumbered to 19 Parry)
Joseph and his family remained at Carrington Streett through to World War Two. Sadly his daughter Florence died in 1944. S he was a mother of three children and was married to Frank McGuiness of 6 Scott Street South Fremantle.
Joseph lived in Carrington Street through to the 1970's
His wife Ada died in 1974 and Joseph died on the 12th April 1976 aged 85. He was cremated at Fremantle Cemetery.