Phil said his grandfather, Arthur Herbert Fowler was a carpenter at Kenmore Hospital when the war broke out. He was married with two young sons when he decided to enlist in 1916. 

He enlisted at the age of 34 with the Australia Imperial Force (AIF) in the First Pioneer Battalion a on April 18, 1916 in Goulburn.

“He was made a corporal at the time of enlistment because he had a trade,” Phil Fowler said.

“Pioneers were basically soldiers, employed as light military combat engineers, whose skills enabled them to construct things such as timber roads across mud-strewn battlefields and build bridges and dugouts and huts. They worked close to the front line.”

Arthur’s diary documents his travels from leaving Goulburn and arriving in Plymouth, England on board the HMAS Wiltshire. He attended training on the Salisbury Plains before being shipped out to Etaples, France from Folkstone. 

In France, he travelled with his battalion through Amiens to Fricourt, at the Somme. His diary entries detail daily tasks such as repairing wagons, building huts and constructing a light railway as the AIF advanced. These entries are interspersed with lighter moments such as “played soccer in afternoon” or “went swimming” or to “went to church.” A special treat was to have a bath in one of the villages, which he managed about once a week. 

Mr Fowler also has a letter from Arthur to his son Jack telling him that “he saw his first flying machine today.” 

Another entry tells how one of his comrades was killed while bombing fish in a nearby river.

A poignant entry on September 19, 1917 from the front line near Ypres, Belgium reads: “Started to work on a new road when Fritz sent a barrage of shells over. Got a slight dose of gas. Carried to the field dressing station.” 

This “slight dose” of the deadly mustard gas was enough to knock Arthur out of the war, as he was sent to a hospital in Dulwich, England where he recovered before being sent home. Mustard gas usually killed men within four to five weeks of exposure, so he had a lucky escape indeed. 

The diary, which was given to soldiers, contains tips including useful knots, maps, military definitions, flags (“so you shot the right people,” quipped Phil), badges and ranks, finding your direction, basic first aid, bugle calls and basic French.

Arthur returned to Goulburn after the war and continued to work at Kenmore. He had two sons – Jack and Harry. Jack was Phil Fowler’s father.