Laurence D McArthy VC, CdeG

Laurence Dominic McCarthy was born on 21 January, 1892, and as a boy of four came under the care of the Sisters of Mercy at Subiaco, Western Australia. At the age of seven, he was transferred to the Christian Brothers at St Joseph's Orphanage, also at Subiaco. There were many hardships for boys and Brothers here. Probably the greatest deficiency was the lack of an adequate water supply. A new site at Clontarf on the right bank of the Canning River was eventually chosen. Now that magnificent buildings adorn the site and well kept roads make access easy, the difficulties of the pioneers are likely to be forgotten.

Laurence moved to Clontarf in 1901, and for four more years he was under the care of Brothers Ryan, Bodkin and O'Connor. Mr. McCarthy remembers the kindness of these Brothers who, to quote his words, "had learnt the significance of Christ's request: Suffer the little children to come unto me." Br Ryan, the Superior, and Br Bodkin, were Irish, the latter being among the four original Brothers who 6ame to Victoria in 1868. Br O'Connor was born in Geelong in 1869 and was an earnest and painstaking primary teacher, loved by the boys. Br Bodkin is described in the Brothers' Educational Record as "tall and thin, with features bronzed by life in the open air and exposure to sun and storm.

To him the essential things in life were prayer, virtue and work He was too closely and too long in contact with concrete facts of life and its ever recurring tragedies to become oblivious of its stem realities .... From early morning to late at night, he was to be seen in the garden working diligently, and cheerfully with his boys.

In his presence, they seemed ever happy and ever at their best. He had gained their confidence, respect and affection; consequently, he had unlimited influence with them," Young McCarthy joined in this activity - studies from 8 to 3.30, then gardening, land reclamation (a swamp had to be transformed into a vegetable garden), and fanning. He has described Br Bodkin as a saint, and it is interesting to speculate on the effect of this Irish Brother and his confreres in moulding the "digger", who would need something of virtue and a capacity for sacrifice in the days ahead.

At the age of 14, Laurence McCarthy was placed on a farm and, when 1914 came, he was at Lion Hill, now Mt Helena, a contractor in the timber industry, cutting sleepers for the Western Australian Railways.

When he enlisted on 16 October, 1914, he entered Blackboy Hill Camp with men such as Murray ( Sgt, later LtCol, H.W. Murray VC, CMG, DSO, DCM.), Black (Major P.C.H. Black, DSO, DCM, killed at Bullecourt I I April 1917), and others who were to form the 16th Battalion. With her sister battalions, the 13th (New South Wales), the 15th (Queensland and Tasmania), and the 14th, raised in Victoria, the 16th was to see action on Gallipoli and during the bitter fighting on French soil. It included enlistments from South Australia, so the four battalions united in 4th Brigade contained representation from all states of the Commonwealth. The Brigade came into being after the formation of First Division, AIF, and possessed the status of an independent infantry group.

Mr. McCarthy landed at Gallipoli as a private on the first Anzac Day, 25 April, 1915, and was promoted to Lance Corporal on 13 May. Two months later, on 19 July, he gained his second stripe. He was made a Sergeant on I September and, except for a short spell of sickness on the Isle of Imbros near Gallipoli, was at the front until the evacuation on 20 December, 1915. After a period as Company Sergeant Major, Laurence McCarthy was promoted to Lieutenant in 1917.

During the years in France, he served in the actions that made the 4th Brigade and the 16th Battalion famous. The names still echo down the years - Amiens, Armentieres, Ypres and the Menin Road, Villers-Bretonneux, Pozieres, Bullecourt, St Quentin. These are the cities and towns in or near the terrible Somme, where the 4th Brigade fought in battle after battle, and the battalions suffered tragic losses. In 1916, Lt McCarthy was awarded the Croix de Guerre by the French Government after heavy fighting against well-defended, under-ground German fortifications at Mouquet Farm. On 2 April, 1917, he was wounded at Bullecourt where there were heavy casualties in the 16th.

However, he was able to rejoin the battalion on 9 July. In 1918, the 16th Battalion took part in the big push against the German defences, consolidated in the Hindenburg Line. On 23 August, near Madam Wood, east of Vermandovillers, Lt McCarthy was involved in what the Australian official war historian (Dr Bean) has described as perhaps the most effective feat of individual fighting in the history of the AIF, next to Jacka's at Pozieres.

The circumstances of the action at Madam Wood do not concern us here. The citation and other details are in the official documents, and Mr. McCarthy has never discussed them with the writer. Those who remain with us are more concerned with, devoting their time to causes that will help their comrades and the families of the dead. He is at present President of the 14th Bn and the 4th Bde Association, and is a Trustee of the St Kilda Memorial Hall. He makes no secret of the fact that he wishes to repay, as best he can, his debt to the Christian Brothers.

Mr. McCarthy was in the trenches on Armistice Day (11 November, 1918). On 15 January, 1919, he was married in England to Florence Norville. Mr. and Mrs. McCarthy are at present living in Melbourne.

Their only son, Laurence Norville McCarthy, enlisted in the Second AIF in September, 1939. He was a Lance Sergeant, when killed in action with the 24th Battalion in Bougainville on 20 May 1945.

KGM (1963)