Stories of Interest

The material on this page has been put together in .pdf format

 Read Johan's story when he met Ms Woodward the daughter of

Captain Oliver Holmes Woodward MC & Bar (2), 1st Australian Tunnelling Company

select the photo below..  

L-R Capt Oliver WOODWARD (photo courtesy of the AWM)

& Johan and Ms Barbara Woodward

In August 1915 he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force; he was commissioned and posted to No.1 Company of the newly raised Mining Battalion.

He sailed for France in March 1916. On its arrival in Flanders the battalion was broken up and the 1st Tunnelling Company became an independent engineer unit.

Deployed in the Armentières sector, France, the company fought on the surface as well as underground and in June 1916 Woodward won the Military Cross for blowing up a snipers' post in no man's land.

select Johan above to read his story..

'Johan explains how these WW1 booby traps from both sides caused injury and even death...'

Select the photo above to read my story trip of the trip back to Flanders and The Somme.

Johan and Steve in the Aussie Bar Fromelles

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