Battle of FromellesPrint Page

Dr Quarmby spoke about his relatives Corporal Alfred George Tuck and Mr Ryan who died on their first day of battle on July 19, 1916 at Fromelles. Their bodies lay in mass unmarked graves until they were identified by DNA from surviving family members.

Mr Howard, who opened the school 15 years ago, praised the college for honouring Anzac soldiers. “We remember particularly the terrible battle at Fromelles described as the worst day in Australia’s history because of the terrible losses,” he said.
Wollondilly Advertiser, June 19 2018. 

The battle of Fromelles on 19 July 1916 was a bloody initiation for Australian soldiers to warfare on the Western Front. Soldiers of the newly arrived 5th Australian Division, together with the British 61st Division, were ordered to attack strongly fortified German front line positions near the Aubers Ridge in French Flanders. The attack was intended as a feint to hold German reserves from moving south to the Somme where a large Allied offensive had begun on 1 July.

The feint was a disastrous failure. Australian and British soldiers assaulted over open ground in broad daylight and under direct observation and heavy fire from the German lines. Over 5,500 Australians became casualties. Almost 2,000 of them were killed in action or died of wounds and some 400 were captured. This is believed to be the greatest loss by a single division in 24 hours during the entirety of World War One. Some consider Fromelles the most tragic event in Australia’s history.