Dunlop, David

295 Gunner David Dunlop - 36th Heavy Artillery Group

David Dunlop was born in Brisbane Queensland circa 1882 to James and Jane Dunlop. 

After being educated in Queensland, David joined the Permanent Australian Artillery in 1907. He was based at a few places around Australia but in the years prior to the Great War, David was working and living at the Fremantle Artillery Barracks. He was based at the Fremantle defences including Fort Forrest.

Initially when the Great War began, the permanent Gunners were not permitted to enlist, however this would soon change. On the 1st June 1915 David and many of the other Permanent Gunners at Fremantle were permitted to sign up for service overseas.

David was passed as fit for service, with the medical examiner recording his physical attributes as;

Height - 5 feet 11 inches tall;

Weight - 143lbs;

Chest Measurement - 35-38 inches;

Complexion - Fresh;

Eyes - Grey;

Hair - Light Brown.

The Gunners who enlisted in WA were then sent to Victoria where the other Artillerymen of the Permanent Forces were gathering. On the 17th July 1915 Arthur and the others of the original Australian Siege Brigade departed from Port Melbourne aboard the transport ship HMAT Orsova which took them to England.

However prior to their departure, the men were marched through the streets of Melbourne, as seen below (Published in the Australasian 24th July 1915)

After arriving in England in September 1915, the men were disembarked and sent to the Artillery training Depot. They were initially stationed at Lydd, then Taunton in Somerset where they spent the Christmas of 1915.

The men were then organised into the 54th and 55th Batteries of the 36th Heavy Artillery Group. David was allotted to the 54th Battery. However in January 1916 David was transferred to the Reinforcements camp and did not embark with this unit when they left for France.

David remained at Taunton Camp until May 1916. On the 19th May David left for France and was taken on strength of the 55th Battery of the 36th Heavy Artillery Group.

The Gunners of the 36th HAG gained experience of the Western Front through April to June 1916. In July 1916 the 36th Heavy Artillery Group supported the British and Australian infantry in the Somme offensive in what was a busy time. They remained in this sector for the next several months.

David's unit were then situated near Bouzincourt on the Somme battlefield providing fire support to the front line.

In April 1917 David's unit moved north to near the Belgian border. They would then provide fire support for the Australian and British soldiers at Ploesgsteert in Belgium. On the 17th April David got into trouble for going absent from a parade. His commanding officer punished him with seven days of Field Punishment No.2.

David's Battery was also kept busy through June and July 1917 with the Battle of Messines and the opening phase of the Third Battle of Ypres. It was a very busy time for the unit.

On the 30th July 1917 David was sent to the 2nd Army Rest Camp for two weeks. He returned on the 12th August 1917 but the following week was then sent for dental treatment. He spent a few weeks away from his unit, returning on the 5th September 1917. 

The Third Battle of Ypres was then in full swing and they provided fire support for infantry operations from August to November 1917. On the 4th October 1917, David's Battery were providing fire support for the Australian infantry's Broodseinde action. The Germans launched an attack at the same time and the Germans counter battery fire fell among the 55th battery Gunns. 

David was wounded when shrapnel struck him in the right shoulder. He was taken to the 4th New Zealand Field Ambulance and then the 12th Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. Fortunately the wound was not severe and David rejoined his unit on the 29th October 1917.

Two days later on the 31st October 1917 David was sent on a fortnight's leave to the UK. He then retuned on the 16th November, but five days later sprained his ankle while on duty and was sent to the 8th General Hospital at Rouen for treatment. He only had a few days here and was then sent to England aboard the hospital ship Western Australia for further treatment. On arrival in England David was admitted to Tooting Military Hospital. It was a severe sprain as David remained in Tooting Military hospital till the 9th January 1918.

David was then transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield. He only had two days there and was then granted a two week furlough.

On the 25th January 1918 David went to No.1 Command Depot Camp at Sutton Veny. He remained here till the 11th February 1918 when he transferred to the Overseas Training Brigade Camp at Longbridge Deverell. On the 24th February 1918 David was then transferred to the Australian Heavy Artillery Training Camp at Dartford. David remained here until the 6th April 1918 when he was returned to France.

David rejoined the 55th battery/2nd Siege Battery on the 17th April 1918.

Since he had left the 55th Battery, much had happened, the Australian Infantry divisions had been sent south to the Somme region where they helped stop the German advance down there. The 36th Heavy Artillery Group was therefore one of the few Australian units still in Belgium when the Germans broke through the British lines in Belgium. Several guns had to be hurriedly withdrawn as the Germans made a rapid advance. 

The guns withdrew into northern France where they could begin firing on the Germans. From May through to July 1918, they were in position in Northern France providing fire support around Merris and Meteren. So when Norm rejoined them they were in northern France.

On the 25th July 1918 David was transferred for duty with the Australian Army Ordnance Corps. He remained with this unit for the rest of the war.

On the 27th November 1918 David was sent to hospital with an abscess on his back. He remained in hospital for a week and then spent a few more weeks in convalescent camps.

On the 29th December 1918 he went to England for a fortnight's furlough and then returned to France and rejoined the Australian Army Ordnance Corps on the 24th January 1919. David only spent around seven more weeks in France as on the 17th March 1919 he was returned to England.

David was sent to Codford Camp where he would wait to be assigned a berth on a troopship home. On the 1st June 1919 he boarded the transport ship Somali and set sail for Australia, reaching Fremantle on the 8th July 1919. He was then disembarked and sent to No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle for a medical checkup.

David was discharge from the AIF on the 6th September 1919 but had rejoined the Permanent Australian Artillery in Fremantle for a short period of time.

He then returned to his family who were living in Esk Queensland. He took up work as a Grazier on the Darling Downs.

He died on the 30th April 1952 in Esk Queensland.