Andrew John Brooks (1884 - 1976)

Ancestors Descendants

This category is managed by the The Great War Project in association with the Categorization Project. For assistance with this or related categories ask in G2G making sure to tag your question with both categorization and Great_War. New Zealand Brooks

Biography

Andrew was born in Tokomairiro, New Zealand on the 13th June 1884, son of Richey Brooks and Martha Hamilton who had immigrated out to New Zealand from Ireland.

Andrew left New Zealand for New South Wales, Australia in 1911 to become a cadet in the Salvation Army at the age of 27 years old.

On 3 Dec 1914, Andrew married Eva Trenwith Eva Trenwith.

When War broke out (WW1), Andrew enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) in Rockhampton, Queensland. As of 30th July 1915, Andrew was 31 years of age when he joined the 25th Battalion.

Private (No.2338A)

He embarked for Egypt aboard the H.M.A.T. Warilda (#A69) on 5th October 1915 with stops in Sydney and Fremantle arriving in Port Said, Egypt on the 8th Nov 1915.

Andrew contrated influenza just before arriving in Egypt resulting in spending time at the No.2 Australian General Hospital at Mena Camp, Cairp, Egypt and also Ghezireh Palace Hotel (Now Marriott) and finally discharged on the 22nd Nov 1915.

On the 23rd Nov 1915, Andrew was returned to duty and sent to join the 9th Battalion at Zeitoun, Cairo at the ANZAC Military Training Camp. Andrew spent three months training till the 28th Feb 1916 before joining the Battalion at Habeita where he would remain until the 27th March 1916. On the 4th March 2016, Andrew was transferred to the 9th Battalion of the 3rd Infantry Brigade as a D Company Signaller. On the 26th March 1916, Andrew caught a train to Alexandria where he boarded the RMS Saxion to Marseilles, France on the 27th March 1916. Having spent a day in Malta, the 9th Battalion disembarked in Marseilles on the morning of 2nd April 1916. RMS Saxonia was a Passenger Ship (Part of the British Cunard Line but requisitioned for government service and taken off her Trieste-Boston Route)

In France with the 9th Battalion, Andrew was present at the battle of Pozieres in the Somme valley. The 9th Battalion attacked on the extreme right of the line and it was during this action that Private John Leak won the battalion's only Victoria Cross of the war. Brooks was wounded in action with a gun shot wound to the scalp on 28th April 1916 (Only 18 days into the war). Andrew was transferred to Casualty Clearing Station No. 7, located in Merville, France, near Lille. After two days at the CCS, Andrew was extracted by train No. 14 on 22nd April 1916 to #20 General Hospital in Camiers, France about 2hrs away where he was admitted from the 23rd April 2016 until the 29th May 1916.

On being discharged from Hospital, Private Andrew was then transferred to the 1st A.D.B.D. (Australian Divisonal Base Depot) in Étaples near Camiers Andrew was subjected to tests and further training including a strict medical check before returning to his unit on the 29th July 1916.

On the 29th July 1916, Private Andrew had re-joined his Unit on the Front and fortunately missing some of the bloodiest days of the Battle of Pozières. By the time Andrew had arrived in Pozières, the village had been destroyed. On the 19th August 1916, the 3rd Australian Infantry Brigade with Andrew’s 9th Battalion move into position to relieve the 1st Brigade. The 9th would move on the left followed eastwards by the 12th, the 10th and the 1st Battalion of the 1st Brigade on the right sapping forward and entrenching along the front so as to build up a new firing line further east. On the 21st August 1916, the 3rd Brigade including the 9th Battalion attacked the enemy’s position as per Division Orders No. 51 and Brigade Operation Order No. 29 The attack of the 3rd Brigade including Private Andrew took place in board daylight which was the first time that the Australians had done this on the Somme. He was later recommended for a Mention in Despatches on 27th August 1916.

“On the Afternoon and Evening of the 21st August at Pozières, France, this man “Private Andrew Brooks” showed great courage in carrying messages to Battalion Headquarters. During the afternoon the enemy bombarded our front and support trenches very heavily. This man dashed across 300 yards of open ground which was controlled by the German Snipers and eventually through the artillery barrage on the support and communication trenches”

On the morning of the 22nd August, an early morning mist allowed the men to work on a line joining the new positon until the mist begin to then and shots were coming in from short range wounding many of the diggers. Andrew’s 3rd Brigade lost 840 men in front of the Mouquet Farm within the 1st Division with another 92 Officers and 2,558 other ranks falling. After the battle of Pozières, the Australians had suffered as many losses in six weeks as they had in the Gallipoli Campaign

Later the battalion fought at Ypres, before returning to the Somme during the winter of 1916. In 1917 the battalion moved back to Belgium for the advance on the Hindenburg Line, and in March and April 1918 helped stop the German Spring Offensive. The battalion participated in the great allied offensive of 1918 and fought near Amiens on 8th August, with the battalion continuing on operations until late September 1918.

In November 1918, the AIF began to return to Australia for demobilisation and discharge. Private Andrew Brooks while still in Europe was promoted to Temporary Corporal on 4th Jan 1919 followed by a promotion to Temporary Sergeant on 1st April 1919 and was permitted to retain rank on 30th April1919.

Sergeant Andrew Books returned to Australia on the H.M.T. Suffolk, disembarking on the 31st May 1919 and finally discharged from the Army on the 25th July 1919 at the Keswick Barracks in Adelaide, Australia after spending a total of 3 years, 241 days overseas.

On returning to Australia, Andrew Brooks rejoined the Salvation Army and eventually attained the senior rank of Brigadier in this organisation, returning to New Zealand in 1942, and then retired from the Salvation Army in 1949.

He passed away in 1976.

^[1]

Sources

1. ↑
   • Confirmation of place of birth as Drury in New Zealand Cemetery Records 1800-2007 for Andrew John Brooks
   • Marriage to Eva Trenwith confirmed as 3 Dec 1914 in Australia Marriage Index, 1788-1950. Registration Number 003038 Pg2900
   • Letters handed down from Eva Trenwith Matthew Rattray.
   • Personal Service Record - Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force Records.
   https://www.ancestry.ca/imageviewer/collections/60864/images/3129978_0001?pId=101775
   • AIF No. 2 General Hospital Medical Records
   • Recommendation: Mention in Despatches - Pozieres, France 27 Aug 1916.
   https://www.ancestry.ca/mediaui-viewer/tree/40656174/person/20181220835/media/b67943be-14be-4ea6-9bbf-57c790ea1c97
   • New Zealand Cemetery Records, 1800-2007 for Andrew John Brooks confirming death at 92 years old on the 18th Jun 1976 and buried 21st Jun 1976.