Ives, Arthur James
4224 Private Arthur James Ives - 1st Australian Pioneer Battalion AIF
Arthur James Ives was born on the 22nd January 1886 to James and Charlotte Ives and had three siblings, Percival in 1882, Henrietta in 1884 and Mary 1888.
The family moved to Western Australia in the 1900's and set up residence in North Fremantle, in 90 Thompson Road.
After leaving school Arthur was employed as a Blacksmiths Striker. He lived at Thompson Road North Fremantle through to his service in the Great War.
On the 25th September 1915 Arthur enlisted into the Australian Imperial Force. He was found to be fit for enlistment, with the medical examiner, recording Arthur's physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 9 & 1/2 inches tall;
Weight - 177lbs;
Chest Measurement - 38-40 inches;
Complexion - Dark;
Eyes - Grey;
Hair - Ginger.
Upon his successful enlistment, Arthur was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the depot training camp. He had seven weeks in the training camp being taken through the basics of infantry work and on the 4th December 1915 he was transferred to the 13th Reinforcements to the 12th Battalion AIF.
On the 29th January 1916 Arthur and his group entrained for Fremantle Harbour where they boarded the transport ship HMAT Runic. The ship then set sail for Egypt, arriving at Suez in February 1916.
After being disembarked Arthur and his group were sent into the AIF reinforcement camp. The 12th battalion was already at full capacity so Arthur was retained in the 1st Division reinforcement group. On the 29th March 1916 Arthur left Egypt aboard the transport ship HMT Transylvania and set sail for France, arriving at Marseilles on the 4th April 1916.
The reinforcements such as Arthur were then entrained north for Etaples, which is where the 1st Australian Division Base Depot Camp was first established. Arthur would remain in this camp for around seven weeks. When he left camp on the 24th May 1916 he was sent to join the 1st Australian Pioneer Battalion.
This unit was situated in the Armentieres sector near Estaires and Bois Grenier. They would remain here through to July 1916 when they were sent to the Somme battlefield.
Trained as infantrymen, the pioneers were tasked with light combat engineer functions in the field, with a large number of personnel possessing useful trades from civilian life. They used construction and engineering skills to assist with digging trenches, labouring, constructing strong points and undertaking battlefield clearance. At the same time, they could be used as infantry. Each of the Australian infantry divisions had a Pioneer Battalion.
Arthur served with his unit through the Battle of the Somme at Pozieres and Mouquet Farm in July and August 1916 and came through unscathed. The unit was then sent to Belgium for six weeks in September and October 1916 before returning to the Somme battlefield.
The 1st Australian Division were to spend the 1916/17 French winter in the vicinity of Flers on the Somme battlefield. Conditions were horrendous and the Pioneers battled against the conditions to keep the roads and trenches passable. On the 8th December 1916 a shell exploded near Arthur, shrapnel hitting him in the head, ankle and leg.
He was evacuated by stretcher bearers to the Field Ambulance and then the 38th Casualty Clearing Station. His wounds had been initially treated but he was then sent to the town of Camiers where he was admitted to the 20th General Hospital. He received treatment here for over two weeks and on the 29th December 1916 was shipped to England.
The wound to his head was particularly severe and on arrival in England Arthur was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Netley. For a while he was listed as dangerously ill and it was not clear if Arthur would survive. He was in the hospital at Netley for the next five months.
He was battling the head wound plus a fractured leg and was labelled as paraplegia. On the 24th May 1917 Arthur was transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield. He would remain here until it was deemed safe enough to return Arthur to Australia.
On the 3rd July 1917 Arthur was sent aboard a hospital ship Karoola and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 18th August 1917. Upon being disembarked Arthur was immediately sent to No.8 Australian General Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle. He would face more medical treatment here over the next few months.
The Swan Express newspaper made mentions of Arthur having day trips from the hospital to the Royal Show and also the Races. He was also reported to be a very good poker player.
Arthur was discharged from the AIF on the 18th February 1918. After his discharged he was granted a pension of 60/- per fortnight.
After his discharge and release from hospital Arthur returned to live at 90 Thompson Road North Fremantle.
His father died in May 1931 in Fremantle and mother in 1933 in Fremantle, though he still had other family members to assist when needed.
By 1937 Arthur was living at 1 Stirling Highway North Fremantle which was the Swan Hotel. (later renumbered to 201 Queen Victoria Street). However a few years later in 1943 Arthur was residing as 3 Burt Street in Cottesloe. He would live there for the next few years.
His brother Percy died in 1947 in Perth, and Arthur died at Hollywood Hospital on the 29th June 1951 aged 65. He was buried in Karrakatta Cemetery plot Roman Catholic AA 0278A.