Lance Corporal Albert Thomas Ticklie, 48th Australian Infantry Battalion
Australian War MemorialAlbert Ticklie was born on 10 October 1899 in Encounter Bay, South Australia. He was one of 13 children born to John Ticklie, an engine driver, and his wife Elizabeth. Albert received his education at Victor Harbour Public School, but little else is known about his childhood. When the First World War broke out in 1914, he was living in Western Australia and working as a timber cutter.
Albert Ticklie enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 6 October 1915. He was assigned to the 13th Reinforcements of the 16th Battalion with the rank of private, and began a short period of training in Australia. He embarked for active service from Fremantle on 26 January 1916, sailing on the troopship Runic.
Private Ticklie disembarked in Egypt in late February, arriving in the aftermath of the recently abandoned Gallipoli campaign. In April 1916, he was transferred to the newly-raised 48th Battalion. A short time later, he embarked for the Western Front and arrived in the French city of Marseilles in early June. From there, he and his comrades were immediately sent north to the border of France and Belgium, which had once been the site of heavy fighting.
In August his unit was drawn into the fighting around the village of Pozieres. Here, the 48th Battalion was tasked with defending ground captured during earlier attacks by the 2nd Division. Ticklie’s unit entered the front lines on 5 August 1916, coming under horrendous shelling and machine-gun fire from enemy lines, enduring what is believed to be the heaviest barrage ever experienced by Australian troops. During this period, Ticklie was hit by shrapnel while attempting to rescue the wounded from no man’s land. Suffering wounds to his thigh, he was sent to hospital in the city of Etaples and did not re-join his unit until the end of September 1916. Ticklie was later awarded the Military Cross for his actions at Pozieres.
In October, Ticklie was promoted to lance corporal, before settling into a routine of training and duty in the trenches as a bitterly cold winter began to set in. In early 1917 however, German forces began their strategic withdrawal to the fortified Hindenburg Line. Allied units eagerly followed the enemy’s retreat, believing the war was perhaps finally drawing to a close. It was not long, however, until their withdrawal halted at the enemy’s new front line, near the French village of Bullecourt. Here, the allies planned to mount an attack to break through German lines and capture the village.
Ticklie’s unit attacked on the morning of 11 April 1917, under cover from tanks, rather than artillery. As they jumped over the parapet, the tanks quickly proved ineffective and the attacking infantry were left exposed to murderous enemy fire. One of Ticklie’s comrades described the attack in a letter home:
“I tell you it was hell let loose on that day. Our guns opened fire at 4am and the air seemed to be on fire with shells screeching over us. Of course Fritz took a tumble that we were going to attack and opened fire in return and it was awful… when we hopped out the machine guns and rifles tore into us. Men were dropping all round and when the officers saw the state of things they ordered us to drop down and what was left of us dropped into shell holes and kept low. My mate had a bullet right through his ribs and another poor fellow who made an attempt to go back to the trenches was shot dead.”
Soon forced to retreat, allied units suffered more than 3,000 casualties in one day. Among the missing was Lance Corporal Albert Ticklie. He remained missing for several months, during which time the Red Cross endeavoured to uncover his fate. Many of Ticklie’s comrades testified that they had seen him wounded during the attack on Bullecourt. Corporal Bates noted:
“I saw him wounded through the throat and side at the Hindenburg Line, Bullecourt. I helped bandage him and put an overcoat over him but I do not think he could have lived. We had to evacuate the position as Fritz had the range and was lobbing shells very thick and we had to leave all dead and wounded …”
Following his death, Ticklie’s family paid tribute to him with a poem placed in The West Australian newspaper. It read:
“In the dawn of splendid manhood,
When the tide of life ran high,
With courage in his bearing,
As he waved his last goodbye.”
Lance Corporal Albert Ticklie was 24 years old.
- AWM Roll of Honour https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1671487
