Photo: Gunner 2219 William Henry Sandford, 12 th Army AFA. From the Gunner Bill Lyall collection, courtesy of the late Ken Lyall. June 2015 No.

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1 DIGGER Dedicated to Digger Heritage Photo: Gunner 2219 William Henry Sandford, 12 th Army AFA. From the Gunner Bill Lyall collection, courtesy of the late Ken Lyall. June 2015 No. 51 Magazine of the Families and Friends of the First AIF Inc Edited by Graeme Hosken ISSN

2 Families and Friends of the First AIF Inc Patron-in-Chief: His Excellency General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK MC (Retd) Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia Founder and Patron-in-Memoriam: John Laffin Patrons-in-Memoriam: General Sir John Monash GCMG KCB VD and General Sir Harry Chauvel CGMG KCB President: Russell Curley ABN Secretary: Kathryn Barton Trench talk Graeme Hosken. This issue Feedback from members regarding our first issue with colour (DIGGER 50) has led the committee to approve two changes to DIGGER. From now on, all issues will have a gloss white cover. One issue every year (March) will feature a colour cover photo and a colour centrespread. The Editor will be inviting members to send in colour photos pertaining to the AIF in 1916 for the March issue next year. For example, if you have visited Fromelles, Pozieres and Flers on the Western Front, or Romani in the Sinai, you may have a terrific colour photo or two of the landscape, battlefield memorial, or a cemetery, grave, etc. Thanks to our many contributors to DIGGER 51. There is a wide variety in the types of articles submitted. I hope you enjoy this issue. Please consider sending in a story or photo for publication in DIGGER 52 or 53. New members Jill Bear, Jane Breen, Bernadette Breen, Eve Chappell, Phyll Clinton, Christopher Collins, Claire Dujardin, Mike Fogarty, Lorraine Judge, Jamie Parsons and Jill Scott. Jill Bear was a member of the FFFAIF foundation committee assembled by John Laffin in With John s death in that year and Jill s move to Melbourne, she fell out of the loop and only recently found out that the FFFAIF had been incorporated in Welcome back, Jill! Opening of the Australia in the Great War gallery The Editor was privileged to represent the FFFAIF at the opening of the refurbished WWI galleries at the AWM. Speeches by Director of the AWM Brendan Nelson, the Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, the Minister for Veterans Affairs Michael Ronaldson, Maggie Barry, representing the NZ Prime Minister, and Les Carlyon were all heartfelt and moving. The music perfectly fitted the occasion. After the ceremony, tours of the new gallery were held. [Note: Travel, meals and accommodation were at the Editor s own expense.] John Laffin Lecture Day This year s John Laffin Memorial Lecture will be held at the AWM Theatre on Sunday, 5 July, commencing at 10 am. Morning tea and lunch is provided. After the lectures have concluded you will have time to tour the new WWI gallery. The WWI section is now arranged chronologically, correctly sequencing the battles, the dioramas, the changes in technology and tactics, and the development of the AIF as a fighting force. Please give strong consideration to attending in July and supporting our lecture day and the speakers. Further information has been enclosed with this issue. Cover photo With the death in January of long-standing member and DIGGER contributor Ken Lyall, the Editor felt it fitting to choose an image supplied by Ken from the Bill Lyall collection of over 230 photos taken in Egypt and Gallipoli and on the Western Front William Sandford, despite his youthful appearance in the cover photo, was a 31 year old boundary rider when he enlisted on 29 November, He sailed overseas as part of the 15 th Rfts/3 rd LHR (SA) but was transferred to the 5 th Division Ammunition Column in William transferred to the 12 th Army FA Brigade Ammunition Column in January He later became a gunner. In April 1917, Sandford was found guilty of the civil offence of stealing and sentenced to six months imprisonment with hard labour at Abancourt Military Prison. He served his sentence and returned to his unit, only to suffer from lumbago during the cold winter. In June 1918 he was evacuated to England with chronic rheumatism, which led to him being sent home to Australia and discharged in November He passed away in 1958 in Victoria. Copyright DIGGER All material in DIGGER is copyright. [Note: Opinions expressed by authors in this magazine are not necessarily those of the FFFAIF.] Subject to the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright Act 1968, reproduction in any form is not permitted without written permission of the Editor or Author/s. DIGGER is published four times per year and is available to members only. Images from the AWM are downloaded with kind permission of the esales unit. Contributions of possible articles and illustrative material for DIGGER and any feedback should be sent to Graeme Hosken, Editor of DIGGER, 2 Colony Crescent, Dubbo NSW 2830 or ed to ghoskenaif@bigpond.com. Membership inquiries should be forwarded to Membership Secretary FFFAIF Inc, PO Box 4208, Oatley West NSW 2223 (Australia) or to membership@fffaif.org.au. Standard membership is $50 pa and concessional membership (students, under 18s, seniors) is $40 pa. Family membership is $50 for the first member, then $30 for each additional member residing at the same address. Only one copy of DIGGER is included with each Family Membership. Gift and two or three year memberships are available. A membership form can be downloaded from our website: Telephone inquiries can be made to Please leave a message if not answered and a committee member will return your call. DIGGER 2 Issue 51

3 The Gunners Lyall Ron Keith, Blackwall. The War Diary of 6 th Battery, 2 nd Field Artillery Brigade, Australian Forces Artillery, at Gallipoli for 8 November 1915 states: Received orders during the day that the position of this Battery was to be changed to Browne s [sic] Dip [This has been] effected tonight! Firing began from the new Brown s Dip position, a depression lying just to the west of the Australian trenches facing Lone Pine, the next day. Towards the end of the month the weather turned particularly cold and snow fell on 28 November. The following day was very cold and the Turkish artillery shelled Lone Pine and surrounding areas for about an hour, followed after a 30 minute break with another 30 minutes of heavy shelling, followed by an hour of intermittent shelling. The War Diary continued: Considerable damage done to our position [and] large number of casualties One man (Gr Lyall) of this Battery wounded while mending telegraph wire in Lone Pine. The wounded Australian was Brian Lyall. Brian Lyall s nephew, Ken Lyall, wrote the following profile of his uncle: Brian Lyall was my father s younger brother. He was born in Townsville, North Queensland, in After the death of his father, in 1901, the family returned to live in Victoria to be close to relatives of both his parents and families there. They lived in Melbourne, close to the city proper. Brian and his brother, Bill, became members of the choir at Christ Church, South Yarra, and were educated at a school conducted by that church. The two boys were actively involved in sport, cricket, football and hockey; Brian was also a capable amateur boxer. Left: Brian and Bill Lyall, sparring in their backyard in Around 1912 Brian moved to Neerim, in Gippsland, to work for his uncle, Leitch Hemphill, on his farming property there. Soon after the outbreak of WWI Brian enlisted, like a large numbers of Aussies at that time, looking forward to the great adventure ; he would also have been well aware of the exploits of an uncle, Colonel Percy Ricardo, who formed the Queensland Mounted Infantry which saw action in the Boer War. [Brian] became a member of the Australian artillery unit, the 6 th Battery, and sailed for Egypt in November, After spending some months at Mena Camp, near Cairo, [he] was at Gallipoli at the start of that campaign. Brian Lyall, after returning from Neerim, enlisted on 17 August, 1914, at St Kilda, along with a number of friends from the South Yarra/St Kilda area. These friends were also friends of Brian s brother, Bill, and Bill s future wife, Hilda. Bill was also keen to volunteer but a family decision was made that only Brian would go and that Bill would stay home with his mother, Margaret, and the other three Lyall children, all daughters, Meta, Nan and Kath. As mentioned above, Margaret was now a widow. Left: Brian in Brian was declared medically fit for service. He was 21 years and 6 months of age and his height was recorded as 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 metres). Also recorded was that Brian had a fair complexion, blue eyes, and light brown hair. Brian was sent for training at Broadmeadows Camp and there attached to the 6 th Battery. Above right: Brian at Broadmeadows Camp in Brian left Melbourne on 20 October, 1914, aboard HMAT Shropshire, a passenger-carrying cargo ship of tons converted to a troopship. The Melbourne newspaper, The Argus, of 17 September, 1914, DIGGER 3 Issue 51

4 contained an article on the readiness of the Shropshire to receive the 480 horses and 800 men for active service in Europe. The troops on board, including Brian, would experience conditions on this ship far better than those who were transported to the South African war [as] their quarters are remarkably spacious, airy, and light. Left: Two troopships leaving Port Melbourne in October 1914; HMAT Shropshire is at the far left. The Shropshire reached Egypt on 4 December, 1914, and Brian reached the Mena Camp on 6 December. The troops completed their military training at Mena and Brian was also involved in various other activities: went and looked over the pyramids climbed to the top of the highest and engraved my name on the rock on top; went to Cairo with Captain Stevenson to the Barracks where the Territorials are camped, and then on to the Citadel, where they keep the prisoners this place is in the native quarters and the surroundings are very smelly; went out riding this morning and was thrown three times by the same horse that shied me at Broadmeadows finished up riding him tho!; the 6 th played the 3 rd Battery football in afternoon very friendly game; had to wait in the Officers [sic] Mess this evening because the mess was getting rid of their native waiters. Brian Lyall left Cairo in the evening of 8 April, 1915, after a day at a sports meeting; the French and English population bid us adieu. The 6 th Battery had embarked for Lemnos. Left: Christmas Day at Mena Camp in Brian Lyall s diary for 25 April 1915: Left [Lemnos] at 6.20 am. Firing heard. In sight of land and ships at 12 pm. The warships [sic] big guns were in use Violent bombardment at 5.30 pm. Several shells fell close to our bows and one came right over We are still aboard and itching to get ashore. The infantry attack in the morning, the sailors tell us, was magnificent. But Brian s battery didn t get ashore because there were not enough positions for the guns. On 4 May, Brian s battery was moved to Cape Helles and attached to the English troops. Once ashore, Brian was kept busy in a number of battery jobs, including the laying and repair of telephone wires to observation posts. It was not long after Brian s move that his elder brother, Bill, enlisted. This was in spite of the family decision against it. Bill did not intend to volunteer but received a white feather, a symbol of perceived cowardice. Bill volunteered for service on 15 May, 1915, but was not accepted until 24 June as he had to undergo an additional medical examination. At the time of his enlistment Bill was 24 years of age, 5 feet 9½ inches tall (1.77 metres), of fair complexion with hazel eyes and light brown hair. He weighed 10½ stone (nearly 66.7 kilograms). Unlike Brian, Bill entered the army as a private in the infantry, but on 1 December 1915 he also became a gunner. This meant that, after initial training at both Seymour and Ballarat, Bill also trained at Broadmeadows. Right: Seymour Camp in DIGGER 4 Issue 51

5 In the meantime, Brian s battery had received orders on 13 August to go back to Anzac Cove and this time they landed. The entry in Brian s diary on 4 August indicates that he was no longer just laying and repairing telephone wires: I was doing the part of a gunner for a while, loading the gun, setting fuses, and then had to cart up ammunition. Wish I had to do it every day it feels good to think you are hitting them back something like the sensation in a boxing ring. This tells us something of Brian s roll on Gallipoli: he rarely worked the guns but was mainly associated with the telephone system directing the artillery fire. He was also a batman for Major (formerly Captain) Stevenson. On 28 November, Brian mentions in his diary that he was on phone 4 am 12 pm today. Left: Bill s mother, Bill, and Bill s sweetheart, Hilda, at Seymour Camp in On 29 th November, Brian went, on the orders of Major Stevenson and, in the Major s words, without hesitation or complaint, to locate and repair a telephone line. Brian was struck by a piece of shell [in the small of the back] and also buried to the waist in the dirt knocked down by the explosion. His wounds were rather severe but not serious and Brian was taken from the Field Dressing Station to the Field Hospital on the beach. On the next day Major Stevenson was informed that Brian was doing very well, but Brian died at 2 am on 1 December He was just three weeks short of his twenty-second birthday. Ken Lyall wrote that his grandmother, Brian s mother, was informed of Brian s death on 18 December (her birthday) and that later she was to receive [a] letter from Major Stevenson. Major Stevenson s letter of 2 December, 1915, to Mrs Lyall mentioned that Brian was an honest and respected friend of everyone in the Battery and he was the best liked man in the Battery I could always rely on him carrying out his often dangerous duties faithfully and well and going about them fearlessly but in no-wise [sic] foolishly I always admired his modest and respectful bearing he died as brave and manly as he had lived your son was buried in a cemetery close to Ari Burnu on the beach yesterday afternoon By 20 th December, Anzac had been evacuated by the Australians. Bill Lyall would have heard of his brother s death while training at Broadmeadows. He completed his training in January 1916 and, on 22 January, married his sweetheart of five years, Hilda Maxwell. After a honeymoon of one day, Bill returned to Maribyrnong Camp but was allowed evening leave for a couple of days. While Brian had gone to war in search of adventure, Bill was a sad man when he boarded the troopship Themistocles on 28 January, He was now facing a long separation from his new wife and he was mindful of the many deaths the war had already brought to Australian homes, including that of his brother, Brian. On board ship Bill wrote one of many letters that he was to write to Hilda: my love for you is stronger than ever and I am looking forward to my return already. Something tells me I am coming back. Bill did return, but it was not until March Hilda had moved in with the Lyall family at Ivanhoe, their Elsternwick home, shortly after her marriage. Bill s mother, Margaret Lyall, received a pension of 2 per fortnight from 14 September, 1916, as a result of Brian s death. She died in 1917 and Bill Lyall wrote in his diary that he would have given anything to have seen dear old mother once again but must just find consolation in knowing she is at rest and has no more pain and suffering. She was so brave and kept all her suffering to herself. Above: Bill and his mother in DIGGER 5 Issue 51

6 In early March 1916, Bill, now in Egypt, wrote in his diary: We got our final instructions to proceed to Tel el Kebir [sic] at 6 am this morning. Arrived about 1.20 pm. I am now attached to the Queenslanders & am in the 3 rd Brigade Ammunition Column (BAC) & our duty is to see that the Batteries are Supplied [sic] with ammunition. I met all the old 6 th Battery boys. They all speak kindly of poor old Brian & say he should have been awarded the DCM. Also that the job he was sent out to do had nothing to do with his Battery & that he should not have been sent. Bill left Alexandria on 24 March, 1916, and arrived at Marseilles on 30 March and Le Havre on 9 April. By 15 April he was in the Estaires/Fleurbaix area but by 15 May had still not seen any action. Much of Bill s time since his arrival in France had been spent looking after the horses, greasing wagons, guard duty and carrying ammunition and other supplies. On 15 May he was told to get my kit together and report to the 8 th Battery for duty. Most of this battery was made up of West Australians but the chaps are very decent and I think I will get on all right. Bill thought his new role a much easier job than the BAC but it was also much more dangerous: a piece from a shell hit a gas helmet, and cannoned on to me, but luckily neither of us was hurt; the limber I was riding on overturned and was full of high explosive shells, but luckily no damage was done; the Germans are sending over whizzbangs, they are a small shell but do a great amount of damage. On 18 June, near Laventie, Bill wrote: Last night I was on the gun and still here. We have had a busy day of it have fired hundreds of rounds and are [sic] feeling a bit knocked up now. The noise was something frightful and my ears are tingling now from the effects. We were going hard for over three hours. These stunts don t come too often otherwise I m afraid our ears would have a hard time. As it was we had to put cotton wool in them to keep them from bleeding. On 24 June was the following diary entry: Our guns have been in action all day and we have fired hundreds of shells and also set a town on fire, Fromelles by name, where the Germans keep their supplies, etc. At times during May and June the 8 th Battery [3 rd Army AFA] was working 20 hours per day. Above: Bill Lyall (seated) in By 20 July, Bill was in Pozieres: I am writing these few lines in a captured area and in the firing line. Guns are booming all round us and the noise is terrific the stench of dead bodies is very pronounced and one has to smoke to drown the odour. On 21 July: shells have been bursting around us all day and splinters flying in all directions. One cannot realise what a big bombardment is like until one has been through it. Thousands and thousands of shells are being fired daily and there is a continual stream of them going over our heads all day long. The poor stretcher bearers are having a hell of a time and every one of them deserves a VC. Bill and his battery worked for a few days near La Boiselle before being moved to the Ypres Salient, being bombarded by Germans on 5 September, 1916, before retaliating. They briefly occupied a position opposite Hill 60. Bill writes in his letters and diary over the following weeks and months about the rain and mud, the frightening aspects of war, the terrible wounds and deaths suffered by Allied soldiers, interspersed with expressions of love for his wife and various family matters. He also remembers his dead brother: I am on the telephone tonight and am sitting with the receiver to my ears listening for calls. This is the sort of job poor old Brian had on the Peninsula. Bill is also aware of the lost conscription referendum, expressing his concern at the shortage of Australian soldiers and the fear that the Australian Army may be disbanded and soldiers drafted into other units. Bill was back on the Somme battlefield by 16 November, occupying a position between Ginchy and Delville Wood. The horrible winter of had now started: The weather is very cold and foggy and the frost is something awful we are all suffering from [chilblains] Can you picture your old Bill sitting beside an 18 pounder gun, with ammunition all round him, a telephone on his ear, a small lamp, writing to his wife thousands of miles away? Perhaps it is just as well you can t hear him cursing the frost. Every now and then I have to drop the pencil and rub my hands together to keep the blood circulating. On 25 December: Here we are spending our Christmas in the greatest battlefield of France. It is a cold bleak day DIGGER 6 Issue 51

7 and the wind is blowing a hurricane. I am writing this letter in the gun pit and we ve just finished our Xmas dinner which consisted of tinned fish and two small plum puddings. As well as the dangers of war, Bill also endured bouts of sickness, particularly dysentery, gastritis and trench fever. It was on 10 September, 1917, at La Motte that Bill received a letter (written on 25 July) from his wife informing him of his mother s death. Although Hilda wrote, Don t let it upset you dear, Bill found himself unable to write for a few days, but you will understand I have been so downhearted and upset. My heart feels like breaking when I think of all you brave girls have gone through. My lot is hard, but is nothing compared to yours. A month later Bill had still received no leave since his arrival in France and asked Hilda to apply to have him repatriated to Australia for family reasons. But he was finally granted leave and spent time in London from 13 September to 30 September. In early October 1917, Bill was back in the Ypres sector, near Zillebeke: This is absolutely the hottest place we ve been in and I can tell you, it s simply hell. Night and day we are under violent shell fire and the strain is something awful. Today we had five men killed and two wounded The sights are beyond description and are enough to make the bravest shudder. The impact of the war on Bill increased as 1917 became He had been lucky to have escaped serious injury or death on a number of occasions, but the greatest impact was in the loss of so many friends with whom he had fought. Australian forces had had to help withstand the German offensive and then became part of the Allied offensive of August On 14 September, Bill was promoted to bombardier (a rank equivalent to corporal) and on 8 October the 8 th Battery came out of the line and took no further part in the war. Left: Swanston Street, Melbourne, in November Bill left Liverpool on the troopship Port Denison on 25 March, 1919, and reached Melbourne on 10 May, He was discharged from the AIF on 24 June, 1919, four years after his enlistment. The post-war years were not easy for Bill. Firstly, he had the thoughts of the horrors of war and lost comrades, his permanently damaged hearing (due to working with the guns), and the impacts of gassing and shell shock. Secondly, economic conditions were not always good to Bill and his family. A job promised to be kept for him on his return from France did not eventuate, but he found work with insurance companies, which gave his growing family a good standard of living. The Depression changed all that and he was thankful for a small war pension in 1932 and things became financially better for the family towards the end of the 1930s. But there was happiness as well. Bill and Hilda had five children: William Brian (usually known as Brian and born in 1921); David (1922); Margaret (1923); Ian (1926) and Ken (1928). When World War II began the two eldest children were attached to artillery units but transferred to the Royal Australian Air Force. Bill enlisted in the Volunteer Defence Corps at age 53 in 1941 and served as a guard at a number of prisoner of war camps before being medically discharged in He found work as a clerk at the Department of Primary Industry, retiring in A hearing aid belatedly provided by the Department of Repatriation in 1947 provided Bill with a better quality of life in his later years. Left: Bill Lyall in Tragedy was still to visit the Lyall family. Bill s eldest son, Brian, was lost on a bombing raid over Europe in 1944 and it took fourteen months, after Bill received the first telegram saying that Brian was missing, to confirm his death. Bill Lyall died in 1964, aged 73, as a result of being knocked down by a motor car in his suburban street. Hilda passed away in 1977, aged 85. DIGGER 7 Issue 51

8 Left: Hilda and Bill in How is the death of Gunner Brian Lyall remembered? Obviously, he was remembered in the naming of Bill s eldest son. Secondly, Brian Lyall s name is located at Panel 12 in the Commemorative Area at the Australian War Memorial. Brian s name also appears on the Neerim World War I Memorial, 2626 Main Neerim Road, Neerim. Finally, there is the headstone on his grave at the far away Ari Burnu Cemetery, Gallipoli. Far left: Brian s name on the AWM Roll of Honour is arrowed. Left: Ari Burnu Cemetery, Gallipoli, where Brian is buried. Clockwise from above left: Brian Lyall s headstone at Ari Burnu; The Neerim War Memorial in Victoria; Brian s name is fourth from the top on this panel on the Neerim Memorial; the late Ken Lyall, , a great supporter of the FFFAIF. Acknowledgement Significant parts of this article are based on the letters and diary of Bill Lyall and the diary of Brian Lyall. They are found in a book compiled and edited by Ken Lyall: Letters from an ANZAC Gunner (1990). Ken, as mentioned in the text above, was the youngest child of Bill Lyall and the nephew of Brian Lyall. Ken, a member of the FFFAIF, gave permission to the Editor of DIGGER for extracts from Brian s diary to be published; they appear in DIGGER 13, on pages Ken Lyall died on 29 January 2015, aged 86 years. He was responsible for documenting a great amount of his family s history, far beyond the history of the Lyall brothers, and also had a tremendous interest in local area history. He enjoys the love and respect of his wife, children, grandchildren and friends, and I have no way of repaying the kindness shown to me in terms of his friendly giving of his time and his resources Ron. DIGGER 8 Issue 51

9 For Valour: Anzac VCs at Gallipoli, Part 2 Geoff Lewis, Raglan. It was most unusual that three Victoria Crosses were awarded for a single action. However, this occurred during the Anzac offensive at Gallipoli in August 1915 in the Lone Pine trenches. Lieutenant Fred Tubb, Corporal 2130 William Dunstan and Corporal 384 Alexander Burton were all members of the 7 th Battalion, B Company, AIF. Although the awards were for the same action, the role that each played will be described and citations quoted to give readers different perspectives on the same single event. Lieutenant Frederick Harold Tubb: Lone Pine trenches, 9 August 1915 Fred Tubb was the senior officer and most well-known of the three Diggers. He was a grazier from Longwood, Victoria, born on 28 November, 1881, into a school-teaching family. The family had taken up a selection in the area, which Harry, the father, worked part-time. Upon leaving school, Fred managed the property and also saw service in the Australian Mounted Rifles from , and in the Australian Light Horse (Militia) until Already showing leadership qualities, and despite his rather diminutive size (167 cm tall); he had an extroverted nature which attracted a wide circle of friends. Two years before the outbreak of war, be became a member of the 60 th Battalion, Australian Military Forces, in which he was commissioned as a 2 nd lieutenant in Just before the war, he had transferred into the 58 th Battalion (Militia). Right: Studio portrait of Lieutenant Frederick Harold Tubb (later Major Tubb VC). AWM P Upon enlistment, Tubb was allocated to the 7 th Battalion AIF on 24 August On 1 February the following year, he was promoted to 1 st lieutenant, the rank he took to Gallipoli. He did not arrive on the Peninsula until 6 July, and was gazetted as captain on 8 August. He took command of a length of Lone Pine trench, just as the Turks launched a ferocious counter-attack on the sand-bagged position in the early hours of 9 August. Tubb was ordered to Hold at all costs! Fred and eight other men took this order very seriously: For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty at the Lone Pine Trenches, Gallipoli Peninsula, on 9 August, In the early morning the enemy made a determined counter-attack on the centre of a newly-captured trench held by Lieutenant Tubb. They [the Turks] advanced up a sap and blew in a sandbag barricade, leaving only one foot of it standing, but Lieutenant Tubb led his men back, repulsed the enemy and rebuilt the barricade. Strong enemy bombing parties twice again succeeded in blowing in the barricade, but on each occasion Lieutenant Tubb although wounded in the head and arm, held his ground with the greatest coolness and rebuilt it, and finally succeeded in maintaining his position under very heavy bomb fire. [ London Gazette, 15 October, 1915] Two other men in the trench had caught enemy bombs and had either thrown them back or smothered them with their great coats. Tubb was blown from the parapet but continued to encourage his men as they desperately tried to rebuild the barricade. Suddenly, the barricade was blown in by a couple of bombs which also killed or wounded most of the defenders. Left with Dunstan and Burton, Tubb shot, with his Webley, any Turk who appeared, thereby providing cover fire. Eventually, reinforcements arrived and the Johnnies decided not to continue the attack. Fred Tubb returned home to recuperate from his many wounds, as well as a poorly-performed appendectomy. He returned to France in December 1916 and was promoted to major on 17 February He fought on the Menin Road, where he was hit by a sniper s bullet. While being taken to a CCS, an exploding shell mortally wounded him. He is buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery in Belgium. Tubb s Victoria Cross is on display at the Australian War Memorial. DIGGER 9 Issue 51

10 Corporal 2130 William Dunstan: Lone Pine trenches, 9 August 1915 Corporal William Dunstan s story presents us with a different perspective on the action that saw the three men each receive a Victoria Cross. Dunstan and Burton were non-commissioned men, serving directly under the command of Tubb. Dunstan was a newspaper man, who had quite a different background to his two mates. He was born on 8 March, 1895, at Ballarat East, the fourth son of a bootmaker, William John Dunstan, and his wife, Henrietta. Right: Studio portrait of 2130 Corporal (Cpl) William Dunstan, 6 th Reinforcements, 7 th Battalion, of Ballarat East, Vic. The inscription in the lower right hand corner of the image reads Yours very truly, W Dunstan, 30/1/19. AWM P William s school reports from Golden Point State School describe him as a very bright pupil, but family poverty forced him to leave school at 15 to become a clerk in a Ballarat department store. He gained his first military experience while in the compulsory training scheme, reaching the cadet rank of captain. In July 1914, Dunstan was commissioned with the rank of captain in the (Militia) 70 th Battalion. Enlisting on 2 June, 1915, as a private and allocated to the 6 th Reinforcements of the 7 th Battalion, he was on his way to Egypt within a fortnight. From 5 August he was an acting corporal due to his militia experience and four days later, he was recommended for his Victoria Cross. The basic story is the same as Tubb s, but his citation added a few more details to the incident that took place in the Lone Pine trench: For conspicuous bravery at the Lone Pine Trenches, on 9 August In the early morning the enemy made a determined counter-attack on the centre of a newly-captured trench, held by Lieutenant Tubb, Corporals Burton, Dunstan and a few men. They [the enemy] advanced up a sap, blew in a sand bag barricade, leaving only one foot of it standing, but Lieutenant Tubb, with the two Corporals, repulsed the enemy and rebuilt the barricade. Supported by strong bombing parties, the enemy twice succeeded in blowing in the barricade, but on each occasion they were repulsed and the barricade rebuilt, although Lieutenant Tubb was wounded in the head and arm and Corporal Burton was killed by a bomb whilst most gallantly building up the parapet under a hail of bombs. [ London Gazette, 15 October, 1915] Corporal Dunstan s commendation was the same as Burton s. He had already been Mentioned in Despatches (MID) on two occasions, and was invalided home and discharged on 1 February, On 10 June, he received his VC from the Governor-General Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson on the steps of the original (Federal) Parliament House in Melbourne. He rejoined the Citizens Forces in Ballarat with the rank of lieutenant and acting brigade major. He remained in this unit until Civilian life soon took him over and he married Marjorie Cornell in November 1918 at Ballarat. The marriage produced two sons, one of whom became a famous journalist, Keith Dunstan. In 1921, William Dunstan joined the staff of the Herald and Weekly Times as an accountant. He rose to become chief accountant and company secretary in By 1953, the effects of his war wounds forced this conscientious and generous manager to resign, but continue on the board of the company. Survived by his wife and sons, he passed away suddenly on 2 March, Seven Victoria Cross winners were among those who attended his large funeral. His Victoria Cross is on display in the Hall of Valour at the Australian War Memorial. Left: Men of the 1 st Battalion burying the dead in the right hand end of the Lone Pine trenches, which the 1 st Brigade captured on 6 August, In this trench Lieutenant Frederick Harold Tubb, 2130 Corporal William Dunstan and 384 Corporal Alexander Stewart Burton, 7 th Battalion, later won the VC while repulsing a Turkish counter-attack. AWM C DIGGER 10 Issue 51

11 Corporal 384 Alexander Stuart Burton, Lone Pine trenches, 9 August 1915 Alexander Burton was the youngest of the three Diggers involved in the incident related above. He was born on 20 January, 1893, at Kyneton, Victoria, the son of grocer Alfred and his wife, Isabella. Alexander was educated at Euroa State School. Upon leaving school, he joined his father in the firm of A Miller & Co, as an apprentice ironmonger. Like the rest of his family, Alexander practised his religion seriously, and was active in the church community as a member of his church choir. He was wellknown in the district as a talented sportsman. Right: Studio portrait of 384 Corporal Alexander Stewart Burton, VC, 7 th Battalion. This portrait was taken prior to embarkation as a private in August Following his posthumous award of the Victoria Cross, the medal and corporal s stripes were added to the image. AWM H Burton began his compulsory military service in 1911 and enlisted in the AIF on 18 August, 1914, and was allocated to the 7 th Battalion. He embarked in November for Egypt, eventually leaving Mena for Lemnos on 4 April. It was during this period that he, Fred Tubb and William Dunstan became close and firm mates. His battalion landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, but without Alexander, as he was ill in hospital with a severe throat infection. It was a week later when he eventually arrived at Anzac, rejoining his mates as they were fighting for the heights near 400 Plateau. Here he received a slight wound and was promoted to lance corporal, apparently for volunteering and taking part in a dangerous action: the forcing of Saphead D21 in the face of the enemy at Krithia on 5 May. Most of Burton s time on the Peninsula was served at the dangerous Steele s Post. By the time of the August Offensive, he had been further promoted to corporal, soon after his 22 nd birthday. The citation for his posthumous Victoria Cross is the same as that of Dunstan s, except that it noted that Corporal Burton was killed by a bomb, while gallantly building up the parapet under a hail of bombs. The same bomb that killed Burton, also temporarily blinded his mate William Dunstan. The award was gazetted on 15 October, but he was also gazetted as being Mentioned in Dispatches by Sir Ian Hamilton on 28 January There was, however, an ongoing tragedy for Alexander s family. Due to confusion at the time, he was initially reported as slightly wounded. (This was probably caused by confusion with his earlier wound.) The family finally received the official notification of their son s death on 28 August, 1915, and later, a report indicating that he has no known grave was forwarded on 26 November, The only personal effects found amongst Burton s kit were a Testament (Bible), notebook, some photos, a gift box and cards. Obviously, Alexander Burton was a most courageous young man. He was universally liked and respected, according to letters sent to his parents from his mates at Gallipoli. He was killed thinking of his mates over his own safety; a characteristic of all the VC recipients. Alexander Burton is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial and by an oak tree and bridge at his home town, Euroa. In 1967, his family presented his Victoria Cross to the Australian War Memorial for public display. His father lamented that his son was just twenty-two when he was killed. Part 3 of Anzac VCs at Gallipoli will be in the next issue. Free lecture: Poppies, Propaganda and Passchendaele: Australia, Belgium & the Great War On 23 July, 2015, the State Library of New South Wales will host a symposium exploring Australia s complex and little-known relationship with Belgium during the Great War. In the presence of the Ambassador of Belgium to Australia, HE Jean-Luc Bodson, leading scholars well versed in the history of the Great War including Professor Laurence Van Ypersele (Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium), Professor Peter Stanley (UNSW Canberra), Professor Stephen Garton (University of Sydney) and Professor Tom Frame (UNSW Canberra) will deliver presentations on the conduct of the war in Belgium, the interpretation of the war in Australia and memories of the war in both countries. Date/Time: Thursday 23 July, 2015, from 9:45am - 4:00pm. Venue: Metcalfe Auditorium, State Library of New South Wales, Macquarie Street, Sydney. Registration: This is a free event, with morning and afternoon tea provided. Registration is necessary before Wednesday 22 July 2015 (max 140 seats). FFFAIF members are encouraged to attend (please wear your lapel badge). DIGGER 11 Issue 51

12 Shoeing Smith 1172 John James Harrison, 10 th LHR Andrew Pittaway, Fremantle. J ohn James Irwin Harrison was born in Sandhurst (Bendigo), Victoria, on 30 July, He was educated in Bendigo and after leaving school did a farrier apprenticeship for four years. After completing his apprenticeship he worked as a farrier and blacksmith in Victoria. John also joined the Victorian Militia Forces and went on to serve in the Boer War with the 5 th Victorian Mounted Rifles. The Rifles departed Victoria for South Africa on 15 February 1901 and mobilised at Pretoria on March 24. He served for 15 months and was discharged May 7, 1902, aged 23 years with the rank of Farrier Sergeant. He was issued with the Queen s South Africa Medal on September 10, 1902; a distinctive medal with three clasps. After returning from South Africa, John and the Harrisons moved to Western Australia and took up residence in Douglas Street in South Fremantle (they later moved to Mandurah Road, South Fremantle). On June 14, 1911, John married Alice Victoria Payne in Fremantle and they would have a daughter, Alice Jean, born in April Prior to the war, John, Alice and their daughter moved south to Nannup where John had secured employment as a blacksmith. On 16 June, 1915, John enlisted in the AIF at the Perth Drill Hall. He was accepted as fit and found to be 5 9½ tall; weight of 146 lbs; chest measurement of inches; fair complexion; grey eyes and brown hair. His religious denomination was Wesleyan. John was assigned to the 8 th Reinforcements to the 10 th Light Horse Regiment with the regimental number His brother-in-law, George Payne, was in the same reinforcement unit. John trained with this reinforcement group in WA until the end of August 1915, when their embarkation orders came through. On 2 September, 1915, John boarded the HMAT Anchises in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for Egypt. After arriving in Egypt in October, it doesn t appear that John was sent to join his regiment on Gallipoli, but it can t be ruled out as his records are sparsely detailed. The first notation in his service form is from April 1916, despite the fact he arrived six months previously. However, on 15 April 1916 he was promoted to shoeing smith and held this rank for the next few months. It seems John was either based with the 10 th Light Horse Transport Lines or a separate squadron. Again, his records are very low on detail. On 7 August, 1916, John was sent sick to hospital at Hod el Fatir. He was soon diagnosed with pneumonia and was sent back with the transport of sick convoy to the base hospital. On 12 August, 1916, he was admitted to the 31 st General Hospital Above: Christmas card sent home by John, at Port Said. Unfortunately, his condition continued to deteriorate and on 15 August, 1916, John Harrison died from his illness. John was buried in Port Said War Memorial Cemetery. Nursing sister, A Davison, of the British Red Cross and Order of St John at 31 st General Hospital wrote to John s wife, Al, on 14 August, 1916, to inform her that her husband was in hospital and too ill to write himself, and telling her that he is a little more comfortable this afternoon and I sincerely hope he will progress favourably and will do our best to let him have every attention and all that is necessary. Just one day later, Wesleyan chaplain, Hugh A Stevens, wrote a poignant letter of comfort to Harrison s family and related that John was unconscious all the while that he was in hospital and passed away quietly at about 3.30 am on 15 August. DIGGER 12 Issue 51

13 His grieving widow kept every possession and document relating to her late husband s war service. Alice Harrison went on to marry David Gunn, whilst her only child, Alice Jean, married George Wylie who himself served overseas in WWI with the Royal Irish Rifles. He emigrated to WA from Northern Ireland in 1925, aged 25. Clockwise from top left: Photograph of the original grave of John Harrison at Port Said Cemetery, Egypt; A poignant postcard kept by John s daughter, Alice; Mementoes of a life the personal possessions of John Harrison, are still within the family. Andrew s book released After many years of research, Andrew Pittaway has released his book on Fremantle enlistments: Fremantle Voices of the Great War. The book was launched on April 18, 2015, by Hon Melissa Parke, Member for Fremantle, at the Army Museum of WA. A number of FFFAIF members were present to congratulate Andrew Frev Ford (Vic), Tim Lycett (Qld), Roland Rayfield, Sandra Playle and Chris and Shirley Durrant (WA). Over men and women from the Fremantle region served in the Great War of Fremantle Voices of the Great War tells the story of their war service through their own accounts taken from diaries, letters, oral histories and over two hundred photos, many never before published. The book can be purchased for $50 plus postage and handling. To order a copy, Andrew advises that you are best to contact him by at fremantleww1@hotmail.com or phone as postal charges will vary depending on your location. DIGGER 13 Issue 51

14 Queensland World War One casualty records revealed Adrian Harrison, Department of Justice and Attorney-General, Queensland. F ew people realise that the Queensland Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (RBDM) holds comprehensive death registrations for a large number of service men and women 1 who enlisted in Queensland and who died while on active duty during both world wars. Only the registries in South Australia and Tasmania took the trouble to compile similar archives. In total, RBDM holds close to death registrations for World War One and a further from World War Two. These records are available for the public to search for free in our online family history research service. Right: Some of the registers holding the World War One death registrations in the RBDM archive. Unlike the standard registers, these are in alphabetical, rather than date of event, order. The First World War registrations were compiled under the direction of George Porter, who became the Queensland Registrar-General in October Mr Porter was by all accounts a bit of a maverick who did not necessarily rely on legislation to back up his decisions, and he took it upon himself to register the deaths of all the men and women who had, in his words, given their lives for Queensland. Mr Porter believed that the registration of the death, and so the ready availability of a death certificate, would provide bereaved families with some form of closure for their lost loved ones, who at best were buried on the other side of the world the British Empire had a strict policy of not repatriating its war dead and at worst, had no known grave at all. Copies of the completed death certificates would be made available to the relatives for two shillings. Compiling and entering the records was a mammoth and complex task. The battalion in which a dead soldier was serving when they died was not necessarily an accurate reflection of where they had enlisted. At the outbreak of war, battalions had been raised largely within individual states [or Military Districts Ed], but as the war progressed and casualties grew, battalions were merged and reorganised and reinforcements were sent wherever they were needed. By the time a volunteer from Queensland died, they could well have been fighting in a unit raised anywhere in Australia. So not only was a list of deceased service personnel needed and Australia had suffered close to killed and missing during the course of the war this had to be cross-checked against where the person had enlisted. There were nearly enlistments registered in Queensland. Once it was established that the dead soldier had indeed enlisted in Queensland, information was taken from their service record and sent to the next of kin on a death registration form. This was accompanied by a letter from George Porter explaining the work the registry was undertaking. The next of kin were asked to add further detail and sign to certify that the information was correct, and if they could not do so, forward it to someone who could. The certified details were then entered into the registers in alphabetical order. It was a process which could take years to complete as many Queensland volunteers had been born in another state and many in a different country altogether 2. Case study: George Porter s accompanying form letter was sent to Thomas Wilson s widow Kate, in Longreach, along with a death registration form. Thomas Wilson [Pte 4232, 26 th Bn] was a railway worker originally from Rockhampton. He volunteered in September 1915 and was sent to the Western Front as a reinforcement to the 26 th Battalion AIF. He was killed in action on November 5, 1916, during the assault on German trenches north of Gueudecourt. It was one of the last actions of the battle of the Somme, which officially ended 13 days later on November 18. The letter was sent to Thomas Wilson s widow in April 1922 but the completed death registration wasn t received back at the registry until October, after being sent on to the soldier s bereaved father. Thomas Wilson has no known grave and is remembered on the Australian War Memorial at Villers- Bretonneux. DIGGER 14 Issue 51

15 The registers themselves were compiled between 1921 and 1924; separate registers were created specifically to record the war dead. As detailed in the first issue of our Family History Newsletter, these registrations were given the prefix letter F in the index, indicating an AIF death from the First World War, and an S indicating a Second World War death that may have occurred outside Australia. Some of those registered had been repatriated to Australia and subsequently died of their wounds. Thanks to the meticulous research of the then Registrar-General George Porter and his staff, many of our brave service personnel who enlisted in Queensland now have their passing recorded at the Registry. To commemorate the ANZAC centenary, RBDM has released two commemorative death certificates. The certificates each feature a different design (poppies and a soldier silhouette). You can search our records for free and order a World War One or World War Two ANZAC commemorative death certificate online. Endnotes: (1) There are at least two Queensland nurses listed in the records as dying in the line of duty; Staff Nurse Norma Violet Mowbray [died of pneumonia, Egypt, 21 January, 1916] from St George and Staff Nurse Rosa O Kane [died Quarantine Station, Perth, 21 December, 1918] from Charters Towers. (2) Close to 20% of those who served in the AIF during WWI were born in the United Kingdom. (3) Thanks to Mike Vitobello, A/Project Manager, Revitalisation Program, RBDM, for contributing this article. Mike has submitted several other articles that will be of interest to our members. Stay tuned! (4) To order a certificate online, go to: Left: Soldiers and nurses stand by some soldiers graves in the Old Cairo Cemetery on the anniversary of the landing at Anzac Cove. They came to lay wreaths and bouquets on the graves after attending a memorial service and marching through the city streets. In the foreground is the grave of Sister Norma Violet Mowbray, Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS), who died of pneumonia on 21 January, AWM C Major Gallipoli resource released Member Kim Phillips has released her life s work : The Spirits of Gallipoli: A Centenary of Anzacs [Book and CD]. The Spirits of Gallipoli, A Centenary of Anzacs tells the stories of 100 Australian soldiers who are commemorated at Gallipoli. Commemorate their deaths, and celebrate their lives. Connect with the men as you learn of their homes, their lives, their families and their journey. Accompanying the book is an interactive CD that pays tribute to all the Australian soldiers who are commemorated at Gallipoli. Never before have the details of the men been provided in full in the one place. Kim has assembled many thousands of photos over the years from a multitude of sources. Included on the CD are: photos of two out of every three men; their headstones; newspaper articles; the ships they sailed on; photos of their names on memorials around Aust, NZ and the UK; photos of each of the panels at Lone Pine and Helles, together with photos of many of the cemeteries and CWGC maps. Cost for one book and CD (incl. p & h) is $65. To order, go to DIGGER 15 Issue 51

16 Digger gets a grand send-off Trevor Munro, Dubbo. W hile troving recently I was excited to find who I believed to be another Great War soldier with Wellington connections whom I hadn t uncovered in any of my previous research. The article I came across was from the Wellington Times from November The article was a plea for information about a Private Joseph Mitchell, a returned soldier who had fallen from a train at Newcastle recently and had died as a result of the injuries received. The article had been placed in the Times on behalf of a Mr Julian Windeyer, a Newcastle solicitor, who had taken Mitchell and another ex-soldier under his wing. Windeyer stated that Mitchell had made mention of having worked on a property near Wellington (NSW) prior to enlisting. A constable had spoken to Mitchell at his death bed and asked Mitchell about any next of kin. Mitchell replied, I don t know. I have been on my own since I was six years of age. The constable said that Mitchell had further stated that he didn t even know where he had been born. This, I thought, was turning into an interesting tale. Though I didn t recognise his name from previous research, I looked forward to learning more about Joseph Mitchell. I didn t have to look too far to get more information. A further Trove search [trove.nla.gov.au] showed several articles in the Newcastle Morning Herald and Miners Advocate relating to the returned soldier s death. The Herald stated Joseph Mitchell had lost his right arm on the Dardanelles and that just prior to his death he had been staying at the All Nations Hotel at Newcastle. Mitchell was apparently travelling from Newcastle to Toronto mid-afternoon when he attempted to change carriages near the Cardiff Tunnel. It appears he missed his hold and fell; as a result the train severed both his legs. Joseph Mitchell was quickly taken to the Newcastle Hospital but died at eight o clock that night. At this time I still didn t have his exact date of death, but it looked like being a well-reported incident with potentially more information to be forthcoming. Sadly, it looked like Joseph Mitchell was heading for a pauper s funeral. Mitchell s accident had occurred on the afternoon of 8 November, The Amelioration Committee met in Newcastle on the morning of 10 November and decided that as no next of kin had been located for Mitchell, the Police Department would organise and pay the cost of a pauper s funeral. It was then that Miss Gorman, the secretary of the local Red Cross Society stepped in, with the society agreeing to defray the expenses of the funeral. It was quickly decided that the funeral would be held on the afternoon of Wednesday, 10 November, so that it could be held in conjunction with the military funeral of Private Albert Stewart, who had died while training at the Broadmeadows camp near Newcastle. It was decided that both Mitchell and Private Stewart would be given a joint military funeral. Mitchell s and Stewart s oak coffins were placed side by side on a gun carriage supplied by the Navy and both coffins were draped in their own Union Jack. The carriage was drawn by a horse team controlled by members of the Naval Reserve. The cortege was followed by many of the Broadmeadow trainees and members of the local 16 th Infantry Regiment (Militia). By the time the cortege moved from the hospital mortuary in Telford Street, a large crowd had gathered to watch the event (it was estimated that over three thousand people lined the route that the cortege took to the railway station). The cortege was headed by the officers of the various military units, were followed by the 16 th Infantry s band and then the Newcastle Municipal Band. Reverends Archdall, James, Fraser, Varcoe-Cock and Morrison followed behind the bands. Immediately behind the gun carriage were Private Stewart s relatives (from Tamworth) and friends of both of the deceased. The Newcastle Herald even went to the trouble of naming the individual pall bearers. Private Stewart s pall bearers were Privates Hancock, Gorman, Gray and Bateman, all members of H Company from the Broadmeadows Camp. Ex-Private Mitchell s pall bearers from the mortuary to the railway station had been Newcastle s Mayor Kilgour, Alderman Reid, Mr Julian Windeyer and his son. At the station the cortege transferred to a funeral train, similar to the one, right. Upon the train s arrival at the Sandgate Cemetery, four soldiers from the DIGGER 16 Issue 51

17 Broadmeadows camp took over the roll as pall bearers for Mitchell s coffin. At Sandgate a short combined service was held, then ex-private Mitchell was interred in the Anglican section of the cemetery. Private Stewart was interred in the Presbyterian section, and The Last Post concluded the service. What a fitting farewell to two young men who had been willing to serve their King and Country! I was now keener than ever to locate Joseph Mitchell s military service and work out his Wellington connections. The Newcastle Herald, when reporting on the inquest, gave details of Mitchell s loss of his arm while on Gallipoli. It stated that Mitchell had been a signaller with either the 13 th or 18 th Battalion (unit uncertain, because of the poor text quality). Mitchell claimed he had lost his arm while signalling. What did become apparent from the inquest was that Mitchell had been drinking heavily prior to his accident and that this had probably contributed to him losing his footing on the train. Mrs Edith Flanagan, who had also been staying at the All Nations Hotel (her husband s cousin was the licensee), was kind enough to go to the hospital to support Joseph Mitchell during his final hours. However, Private Joseph Mitchell s battalion was proving to be elusive. Embarkation rolls and nominal rolls were not giving any clues as to his unit. An extended Trove search finally put me out of my misery. The Wellington Times article that Julian Windeyer had initiated had finally drawn a response about Mitchell. It turns out that Mitchell s real name was, in fact, Francis William Corlette, and Corlette had lost his arm in May 1909 in a chaff-cutter accident on Rosalyne Farm, Curra Creek (via Wellington), where he had been employed by Mr Arthur Rich. The article further stated that Corlette had been sent up to Wellington from the Randwick Asylum. From Wellington, Corlette had moved to the Mittagong area and then to Newcastle shortly before his death. An unexpected end to my search for a damaged Digger, but it made for an interesting tale! Right: Not quite the Dardanelles but nonetheless a likely place to lose an arm: a chaff-cutter in operation in the days before WH&S laws. Endnote by the Editor: It seems a consequence of the deception being discovered after the funeral is that Joseph Mitchell lies today in an unmarked grave in Sandgate Cemetery. Private Albert Stewart has a CWGC headstone. [Source: A great cemetery website for researchers if only they were all as good!] Is your membership due? Those members whose subs fall due at the end of June will have received a renewal form with this copy of DIGGER. If you did not receive a form, then your membership is paid up, as you have previously taken out a multi-year membership that has not yet expired. To assist the committee, it would be appreciated if: (a) those renewing pay as promptly as possible subs are due at the end of June (b) those renewing by cheque or money order send in their completed form attached by staple or pin (c) those renewing by direct deposit ( online electronic transfer) to Families & Friends First AIF, BSB , a/c no , ensure that there is some form of member-recognition on the deposit details. Depending on what your bank website allows, it could be: your name e.g. Subs J SMITH, your membership number e.g. AUS 0701 or your mobile or home phone number e.g We have had trouble occasionally in identifying who has paid a deposit, which means you may receive a reminder to pay, even though you have done so. Sending an to enquiries@fffaif.org.au, saying that you have just paid and providing the deposit time and reference is also a good idea. (d) you consider taking out a two or three year membership to reduce the volunteer committee s workload and to avoid having to go through all this again in 12 months time! DIGGER 17 Issue 51

18 Sergeant 484 Louis Shannon Brook, 1 st LHR Margo Piggott, Gilgandra. L ouis Shannon Brook was a 21 year old farmer at Hillside, Curban NSW, when he enlisted in August He was 5 11 tall, 10st 13lb (69kgs) and had a florid complexion, blue eyes and light brown hair. Louis Shannon Brook was born in Pimpinio, Victoria, the second child of Fred and Eliza Brook (nee Bullen) and one of six children. Louis enlisted on 28 August, 1914, in Sydney, along with many men from Gilgandra and the Central West of NSW, and was placed in the 1 st Light Horse Regiment s C Squadron. After training at Rosebery they embarked at Sydney on the Star of Victoria on 20 October, 1914, and were part of the First Convoy that left Albany on 1 November This was to be the last time that many of the young soldiers saw Australia. After training in Egypt, Brook was on Gallipoli from 9 May, 1915, until October, when he was admitted to Cairo Hospital with tonsillitis, rejoining the unit on 2 December in time to be evacuated from Gallipoli later that month. The 1 st Light Horse Regiment was involved in the Third Battle of Gaza (which included Beersheba) from 27 October to 7 November Brook was wounded in action at Tel el Khuweilfe on 3 November with a gunshot wound to the chest. He was one of 57 other ranks wounded, with 13 killed. Ten officers were wounded and three killed. Twenty-two horses were killed, 62 wounded and four were missing. Louis rejoined the 1 st LHR on 4 January Louis promotions were as follows: lance corporal ; corporal and sergeant on The decoration of a Military Medal was approved for Louis Shannon Brook the day before he died. The MM was awarded for Brook s gallantry at Amman, when on 25 September, 1918, his troop had passed through a wire entanglement under machine-gun fire and, unable to withdraw, Brook cut the wire while under heavy fire which enabled his troop to retire to cover. Sergeant Louis Brook was killed in action on 28 September 1918 while on advance patrol. [Left: The well-known photo of the graves of Brook and Radburn. Despite detailed notes and maps on the location of the graves on their service records, they were never found by graves registration units in Radburn was born in Neville, NSW, but worked in Forbes. Note that the crosses wrongly give the date of death as ] A Red Cross Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau report stated: Brook was Sergeant in C Squadron and was known as Loo ; he was tall and fair they [he and Trooper 3371 Clarence William Radburn] were shot by Bedouins Brook was shot through the forehead and was killed instantly the Bedouins were severely punished for their treachery. Trooper 1085 R Coote. The Memorial Plaque and Scroll were received on 10 December 1922 by the next of kin (his father) at 72 Tyler Street, Preston, Victoria. Louis Brook is also commemorated on the grave of his sister, Burly Vera Brook, who died on 25 October, 1916, aged 17 years. The following words are on the headstone in the Collie cemetery in NSW: DIGGER 18 Issue 51

19 In Loving Memory Of BURLY VERA BROOK Died 25 th Oct 1916 Aged 17 years Also No 484 Sergt L.S. Brook M.M. 1 st LIGHT HORSE KILLED IN ACTION PALESTINE 28 TH SEP 1918 AGED 25 YEARS Thy Will Be Done. Left: The grave of Louis Brook s sister, who predeceased him. The Collie cemetery is west of Gilgandra. The Gilgandra Shire gave all local returned men and the families of the Fallen, a scroll [left]. Many of these scrolls have survived to today, showing how valued and appreciated they were. A diary written by Trooper John Wilde was found at the Dubbo rubbish tip. Fortunately, it was handed over to military historian and FFFAIF member, Maurice Campbell, and so will be preserved. In the diary Wilde wrote: we came into combat with Bedouins who shot Radburn and Brooks [sic] and we returned that night to camp at a quarter to eleven. Endnotes by the Editor: (1) Extracts from Wilde s diary were published in DIGGER 13. (2) A differentangled photo of the grave was featured in DIGGER 14, while AWM P shows the men of the burial party. (3) The Red Cross Wounding and Missing files provide an insight into the revenge for Brook s death, a man who was very well-liked in the 1 st LHR. The sergeant was popular and his death caused a gloom in the regiment Tpr 4213 McTaggart. We saw some Bedouins getting away as quickly as possible and we raced after them and killed them all but two got away on camels. Sgt Brook s friends remained behind and got his valuables and next morning they were buried where they had fallen. Tpr 2834 Ross. He was a universal favourite Cpl 718 Hardy. When Major Harris, who was the officer in charge, heard that Brook was killed, he gave orders for the Bedouin to be pursued, and about 24 of them were killed. RSM 129 Jones (who admits he was not an eye witness). Sgt 446 Trethewey stated that several of the Bedouin were killed. (4) The Red Cross files provide quite an accurate description of the location of the graves of Brook and Radburn. Using that information and the photographs, it should be possible to find the burial site. By 1922, though, the graves could not be found. I do not know if the IWGC had access to these records in Those who died gave their lives, those who lived through it all gave the rest of their lives. Chris Hillman of Clyro, UK, in an to the Editor. DIGGER 19 Issue 51

20 The Howes family Stephen Brooks, Barooga. Frederick Golden Howes was a Scotsman who enlisted into the 3 rd Battalion of the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (AN&MEF) during November He was a widower with six sons and two daughters. He gave his age as 40 years and two months, and had served for 15 years in the RNVR at Aberdeen, Scotland. Howes died of malaria and cardiac arrest not long after arriving in Papua New Guinea. He was buried in the Old German Cemetery, at Madang, which in 1914 was the mainland centre for the German Lutheran Church and its missionaries, the German New Guinea Company and a haven for malaria and other then untreatable tropical diseases. All the other identifiable graves in this cemetery are German except the one of Private Howes, Service Number 148, 3 rd Battalion, Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force. A brass Commonwealth War Graves plaque is bolted to the concrete plinth. Frederick Howes was actually 51 years of age at time of his death and had left three younger sons aged 15, 13 and 10 under the care of his brother, the boys uncle, Arthur Howes. Arthur was to also lose his son, Albert Amos Howes [Pte 4204, 13 th Bn], killed on 29 August, [Right: Albert Amos Howes. AWM P ] Frederick Golden Howes had two older sons who were original Anzacs, both being severely wounded at the Landing in Private 1201 George Anderson Howes left Australia in December 1914 with the 4 th Battalion AIF and was wounded in the foot during the Landing at Anzac Cove. After being evacuated to Egypt he was returned home to Australia in November Private 540 Henry Yorston Howes was an original member of D Company, 1 st Battalion, who enlisted in August 1914, age 20 years and one month. At the Landing at Anzac he had his right foot shattered by a bullet and was evacuated to England on 2 May, Henry transferred to the 14 th Light Trench Mortar Battery in July 1916 and was wounded again in May 1917, with several shrapnel wounds to his face, arm and leg. He was evacuated again to England and returned to France in February Henry was wounded in action for a third time in April, this time by gas, which caused burns and blistering of his feet. After several months in hospital he was returned to his unit and was given permission to return to Australia in October 1918, on special Anzac Leave. The 15 year old son mentioned above made his way to Melbourne in 1916 and enlisted under the name of Donald Mackie McKenzie, gave his age as 18 years and one month, and embarked Australia in March 1916 with the 22 nd Battalion. His real name was Albert Amies Howes and he was in fact only 16 years of age. He used his married sister s husband s name when he enlisted. During 1916, Albert transferred to the 57 th Battalion [Gunner 4170] and was wounded in action on 23 November 1916, with gunshot wounds to the thigh, right arm and both legs, diagnosed as severe, and evacuated to England. He was discharged from hospital in February 1917 and spent most of the rest of the war with various training units in England. He married in Aberdeen, Scotland, in July 1918 to a 17 year old Williamina Bowden, while he was AWL. He admitted to the authorities that he had changed his name, and was returned to Australia in November Frederick Golden Howes also had a brother in the Navy, Z/299 Able Bodied Seaman Wilfred Golden Howes, of the (British) Nelson Battalion, RNVR. Wilfred died of wounds at 5.30 am in the 15 th General Hospital, Alexandria, on 8 May, He had suffered severe gunshot wounds to the upper extremities on or about 1 May 1915, also at Gallipoli. Wilfred Howes is buried in the Chatby War Memorial Cemetery, Egypt. Postscript by the Editor: Private Albert Amos Howes, 13 th Bn In searching for the above photograph of Albert Amos Howes on the AWM site, I came across a photo of an artefact relating to the discovery of Albert s body on the Pozieres battlefield. The following is taken from the AWM website. Albert Howes enlisted in the AIF in August He was 22 years old and working as a machinist. After training in Australia he embarked with the 13 th Reinforcements to the 13 th Battalion on 20 December, aboard HMAT Aeneas. He trained further in Egypt, serving there until 1 June when he travelled with his unit to France. DIGGER 20 Issue 51

21 On the night of 28/29 August, the 13 th Battalion relieved the 15 th Battalion near Mouquet Farm. At some point on 29 August, Howes, who was serving with A Company on the left of the line, went missing. It may have happened during the day, when the battalion endured heavy shelling from their own artillery, or later that night during an attack on the German lines which began at 11 pm. During the battle, A Company went 36 metres out into No-man s land, following up the artillery barrage, and met strong German opposition from machine-gun and rifle fire and bombs. The company rushed and captured its first objective, but later had to withdraw. It was not until a court of inquiry was held in January 1917 that Howes was formally noted as killed in action. His family tried a number of ways to find out what had happened to him but to no avail. The Red Cross received differing accounts from soldiers in his unit, including two soldiers that advised that Howes had been taken a prisoner of war. When Howes body was finally recovered in 1925 it was reinterred in the AIF Burial Ground in Flers, France. A watch, which had confirmed his identity, was forwarded to his father, Arthur, in November Left: Remains of a damaged silver wrist watch. The glass and hands are missing and many of the numbers on the face are worn. The frame for the glass is misshapen and is not attached to the watch. One bracket for the wrist band is broken off and the wrist band is absent. The inner workings of the watch are rusted and the silver back is broken off. Engraved on the outside of the back is TO/ ALBERT/FROM/FATHER & MOTHER/OCT On the inside are maker s marks and the following text lightly scratched into the watch 4204, 13 Batt/ Some further text is now illegible. [REL/ ] This watch was found on the body of 4204 Private Albert Amos Howes when it was discovered and exhumed in Howes body was located at French 1: map reference 57.d.R28. c.00. The service number and unit scratched into the watch, together with the inscription from his parents on the back, which recorded Howes first given name, allowed the authorities to identify his remains. Endnote by the Editor: Albert s watch was chosen for display in the new Australia and the Great War gallery in the AWM. While researching this article I discovered that the caption for the watch incorrectly stated that Albert was in the 15 th Battalion. I contacted the AWM and the correction to 13 th Battalion was made before the opening of the new WWI gallery. My input to the multi-million dollar project! FFFAIF delegation to Canberra for the AWM Conference: Gallipoli 1915 A Century On Ron Keith, Blackwall. A large number of members attended the conference Gallipoli 1915 held at the Australian National University from 18 to 20 March, Some of the FFFAIF participants are shown in the photograph, left to right: Keith Lamb, Margaret Kelly, Graeme Hosken, Ron Keith, John Boyd, Bill Latham with guest Peter Warner. Other members who attended were Bill Clifford, Michael Christie, Joe Crumlin, Rupert Dalley, Andrea Gerrard, Jeremy Marples, Brendan Nelson, Jim Roche, Bruce Scates, Rae Frances, Garry Snowden, Paul Simadas and Sue Tongue. A great roll-up at what was a very good conference. The FFFAIF were probably the largest group to attend from any one association. Endnote by the Editor: In a show of friendship with Turkey, the above members chose to dine at the onehatted Ottoman Cuisine restaurant in Barton. Very nice it was too! DIGGER 21 Issue 51

22 The Great War diaries of 2063 Lance Corporal William Dalton Lycett, 4 th Field Ambulance, 15 th Aust. Light Railway Operating Coy, AIF Part 2: Training in Egypt Transcribed by grandson, Tim Lycett, Paradise Point, and edited by Graeme Hosken. Thursday 4 th February, 1915 Reveille was at 6.30 am this morning, but we were not called out till after breakfast. We then went on parade and were detailed off in sections for fatigue duty, such as putting tents up and unloading wagons. I was with a section with 12 men and we had to put a large double marquee up for the officers mess. It took us till dinner time to fix it up. After dinner we were unpacking wagons and doing general fatigue duty to get the camp straight. Just before tea we had another blanket issued and were told that general leave for the camp was given every night from 5 pm to pm to go into Heliopolis, but if we wished to go to Cairo we must apply for a special pass, otherwise we would not be allowed to go. I went into Heliopolis this evening. Friday 5 th February, 1915 Reveille at 6 am this morning. Parade at 6.45 am with physical drill till 7.45 and breakfast at 8 am. Parade again at 9 am. I was not on this parade as I was assisting to unpack instruments and drugs and to get the dispensary in order. I was on this work till tea time after which I went into Heliopolis again to have a look round. It is a fine looking place, the buildings being very noticeable. I had a look at the Grand Palace Hotel, which is now turned into a base hospital. It is a very large and magnificent building. The natives are all along the streets hawking goods of all kinds but mostly cheap goods, and anything I wish to buy I have to argue and bargain as they invariably ask about four times the value of their articles. I had a donkey ride for fun, cost a piastre, 2½ pence. Saturday 6 th February, 1915 Physical drill again this morning till breakfast time, after which I was at the dispensary again till dinner time. I applied for a pass to go to Cairo and was given one so along with three pals we went to Cairo about 2 pm. It cost half a piastre (1¼ pence) in the electric car from Heliopolis to Cairo station. Cairo is a fine looking place and seems fairly busy. We had a look round some of the main streets and I was impressed with some of the buildings. We had tea at a restaurant: ham and eggs (3) and stuffed tomatoes, which cost 8 piastres (1/8). We then hired a carriage and pair of horses to take us to a suburb called Gamrah, where one of my pals had a friend. It cost us 2/- for the drive and we did not find the place we wanted, so went to some pictures. Arrived back at camp about 10 pm. Right: An informal group portrait of unidentified members of probably the 4 th Field Ambulance early after their arrival in Egypt. A Sunday 7 th February, 1915 Paraded this morning at 7 am and was busy erecting tents till breakfast time after which I went to church parade which was held close to our camp on the desert. After church parade we had a march past the Brigadier General and then went to our tents. I spent the afternoon in writing letters home and I also had a visit from J Brownell [Pte 61 Joseph Brownell] who I knew in Crewe, England, and who is with the 2 nd Stationary Hospital at present stationed at the Grand Palace Hotel, DIGGER 22 Issue 51

23 Heliopolis. We had a short talk about old times. After tea I went out with another young fellow for a walk round the town. We paid a visit to Luna Park and found it very up to date. It is only open on Sundays and I only saw about six females there, although the place was full of men. Monday 8 th February, 1915 Reveille at 6 am. Paraded at 6.45 am and put some more tents up for the officers. After breakfast we were on the same job and the same again in the afternoon till 4.30 pm when we were told off into different tents. The same lot of fellows who were in my tent got together in our new tent so we were alright. We got fixed up in our new tent and had tea and then four of us went out for a walk. We went to the American Mission and I wrote a letter to my brother Harold. The Mission was crowded with soldiers and a man was playing the piano and the men were singing. After a short time an officer came in and started a mission service. He spoke in a splendid manner and gave some of the very best advice. Tuesday 9 th February, 1915 Reveille at 6 am. Physical drill at 6.45 am till 7.45 am. After breakfast I was told off with five others to assist the Quartermaster. We went to the Army Service Corps and loaded eight wagons with fodder for our horses and brought them to our lines and unloaded them. It was dinner time by the time we had done this. After dinner we went on the same job only it was for tucker for the men; we were at this till tea time. We had a little trouble at tea time owing to short rations being issued. We all got up from the mess tables and paraded before the officers and they promised to have the matter fixed up. I did not go out after tea just stayed in and went to bed early. Wednesday 10 th February, 1915 Reveille at 5.45 am this morning and paraded at We were dismissed after being told to get ready for a full days march in full kit. We had rations issued at 7.30 am consisting of a piece of bread (about ½ lb) and about 1 oz of cheese. Also a 7 lb tin of jam was taken for A Section. This had to do us for dinner. We moved away about 8 am. All the 4 th Brigade was out and of course we are the AMC for that brigade. We had to march to Abbassia, a suburb of Cairo about five miles from Heliopolis and there we met the 1 st Expeditionary Force who had marched out to meet us. It was a general concentration of the Australian troops and they looked well. I don t know how many there were. Thursday 11 th February, 1915 Reveille at 6 am. Physical drill at 6.45 am. Breakfast at 8 am. After breakfast we fixed up a marquee for a hospital tent for A Section and it was arranged I should go on duty from 3.30 pm till pm with two other men. I went on at 3.30 pm and found nine patients all suffering from colds, slight influenza. We were paid about 4.30 pm. I received 16/- in Egyptian money. After tea was over for the patients we arranged for two of us to go out for an hour or so to Heliopolis while the other stayed and looked after the patients. One of the other boys and myself went out and we met three others out of our tent, so we went to Luna Park for an hour and enjoyed ourselves. It is marvellous that there were no women or girls at such a place, I did not see a single one, just soldiers. Was back at camp before 9.30 pm and stayed in the hospital till pm. Friday 12 th February 1915 Did not have to get up for parade this morning after working late in the hospital. While we are on hospital work we don t have to attend parades, but as the DGM General Williams [Colonel William Daniel Campbell Williams, Surgeon General, 1 st Div HQ] was expected to inspect us we were told to be on parade at 9.15 am. We paraded but were told to fall out, so we (three of us) went into Heliopolis to have a hot bath, which we did not get as there was no hot water till 4 pm. We had a walk round and went to the American Mission where I bought some post cards and posted them, also wrote a letter. We then had dinner, after which we went to the Grand Palace Hotel which is now a base hospital and had a look round it. It is lovely from the outside but it is wonderful inside. It cost 3 million pounds to build and pounds to furnish. We were back at camp at 3 pm, ready to go on duty at 3.30 pm. Same nine patients in hospital. Nothing to do, only feed them and give them medicine every four hours. Right: 1 st Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis, near Cairo, located in the former Heliopolis Palace Hotel. AWM P DIGGER 23 Issue 51

24 Saturday 13 th February, 1915 Got up about 7.30 am and spent the morning in having a good clean up and rearranged my kit. At midday we (five of us) got passes to go to Cairo. From Cairo we took a taxi, cost us about 1/6 each to Mena. There is a large camp at Mena, also the Pyramids. Arriving at the foot of the pyramids we took a guide; cost us 1/- each to take us round. Our guide was the man who acted as guide to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. He took us round the pyramids and explained things as we went along. The first pyramid, which is the largest, is 451 feet high and was built 3700 BC. The stone was brought from a quarry 18 miles away and it took men 33 years to build it. We had to take our boots and leggings off to go inside. We entered through a small opening and followed our guide; it is just a small tunnel running right into the heart of the pyramid. A good distance in, it branches off into two tunnels, each leading to a stone chamber, one of which was the tomb for the King (Pharaoh) and the other for the Queen. The pyramids are simply tombs. The sides of the pyramids are now just like steps, but at one time they were covered with plaster or mortar which has worn off with time, except for a little at the top of the second one. We had a look at The Sphinx and were in the Temple of Shefron. They are at present digging out an underground city, but we were unable to get in. The pyramids are called, the pyramids of Charep, Shefron and Mancaro [In Greek, Cheops, Chephren and Mykerinus; now known as Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure after the pharaohs they were built for Ed]. We were back at camp just after 10 pm. Sunday 14 th February, 1915 We had a very quiet day today and I was glad as I was very stiff after climbing round the pyramids yesterday. I came on duty at 7.30 am and was on till pm, which is two shifts. This is on account of the other fellows doing my shift yesterday so I could get a day off and so I am doing the same for them today. I have eight patients, one of whom is a suspected enteric fever case. He is to be sent to the base hospital tomorrow. I had to miss church parade this morning, but it was held close to the hospital and I could hear as much as if I was there. It has been a long day, 16 hours on, at the hospital, but things were very quiet and I wrote a couple of letters in the evening. General Sir Ian Hamilton was here today and inspected our whole division. I believe he was very pleased with the troops. Our division is composed of New Zealand and Australian troops, combined, the Australian part of it being the 4 th Brigade, of which our corps is a part. I was not on parade at this inspection as I had been on duty all the night before and had today off to get some sleep. Monday 15 th February, 1915 I stayed in camp all day today. I was resting and reading till 3.30, when I went on duty in the hospital. Only have three patients in today and one who is our own Corps is convalescent. One of the others is suffering from dysentery and the other has a very bad cold, so none are serious. I was on till 6 pm by myself as the other fellow who should be with me is doing some carpentering. He joined me about 6 pm and we had a quiet night till when we turned in. I wrote a couple of letters and read a little. Made a cup of cocoa and had some bread and butter before we turned in, just to warm us up, as it is very cold and chilly tonight. Tuesday 16th February, 1915 After breakfast this morning I had a walk into Heliopolis with two other chaps. We went to the America Mission and read some of the English papers which are, of course, not up to date, but still very welcome. I was playing the piano while my two friends were writing and the lady missionary gave me a small book of the Gospel according to St John. We stayed and had a cup of tea and sandwich and a cake each, instead of going back to camp for dinner. It cost us 2 piastres (5d) each. We returned to camp at 3.30 pm and two of us went on at the hospital. Only one patient in today with slight ptomaine poisoning so not much to do. Everything went off pretty quiet and we turned in at pm. Wednesday 17 th February, 1915 Went on the hospital at 7.30 am this morning. We only had one patient to start with, but had nine when I knocked off at 3.30 pm. There was nothing of interest happened while I was at the hospital. I went for a walk into Heliopolis this evening along with two of the fellows out of our tent and a friend of one of them out of the Light Horse. We were back at 8.30 pm and had a little sing-song in the tent for half an hour, after which I made my bed and turned in. I was up at 6 am this morning, as a new order has been issued to the effect that everyone must turn out for roll call on the 6.45 am parade except those working all night. Thursday 18 th February, 1915 Was on parade for roll call at 6.45 am this morning. Went on the hospital at 7.30 am. Five of our patients were sent to the general hospital. I had to go into Cairo after breakfast to get some quotations for copper tanks for Captain Dawson. I tramped all over Cairo but was unsuccessful. I arrived back at Heliopolis about 3.30 pm and had a look round. I bought a small vase, gold inlaid to send to my fiancée while I was in DIGGER 24 Issue 51

25 Heliopolis. Arrived at camp about 4.30 pm thoroughly tired out. After tea I just lay down in the tent and yarned with three other of the boys who did not go out and I turned in for the night about 9 pm. Friday 19 th February, 1915 Went on at the hospital at 7.30 am this morning and as I heard there was to be a march, I asked Captain Dawson if I could go and he said certainly. We set out from camp at 10 am, taking our midday rations with us: bread, sardines and jam. We marched through Heliopolis and then turned off into the desert. All the troops were out from round here, engaged in tactical manoeuvres. We marched about five or six miles from camp and then sat down about noon and had dinner. We stayed where we were till about 3.45 pm and then had word from Headquarters to start for home, which we reached about 5.30 pm. The Colonel complimented us on our march and dismissed us. I did not go out after tea, just stayed in the tent and yarned with the boys. Saturday 20 th February, 1915 On again at the hospital at 7.30 am, only had four patients today. We, the 4 th Field Ambulance, and our camp, was inspected at 10 am by Inspector General Battie VC [William Battie (Babtie) VC, Inspector General, British Indian Army Medical Services], who I believe is the head of the entire Australasian AMC. I have not heard yet what the outcome of the inspection is. This afternoon I played for the 4 th Field Ambulance soccer team against the East Lancashire RFA on the Heliopolis Sports Club s ground. After a good game we won by one goal to nil. This is our first match and I played centre-half. I enjoyed the game very much, but was a little tired at the finish. I came straight back to camp and had a cold shower before tea. After tea I lay down in my tent and had a look at the letters again which I received last mail. Sunday 21 st February, 1915 On parade at 6.45 am this morning and went on the hospital at 7.30 am. We had four patients when I went on but one was discharged fit for duty and the other three were sent to the base hospital, leaving us without any patients at all, so we cleaned up the hospital thoroughly ready for inspection by Major Meikle [Alexander Jamieson Meikle, 4 th FA] and Captain Dawson. After inspection we made a cup of coffee and settled down for a read. After I was off duty at 3.30 pm I went to the Heliopolis Post Office to register a parcel to be sent to Melbourne and to post some letters. The Post Office was closed and I could not send the parcel, so I returned to camp and had tea, did not go out tonight, stayed and talked war with the boys. Monday 22 nd February, 1915 Had a medical inspection today. On parade at 6.45 am this morning and went on the hospital at 7.30 am. We had no patients at all in today so I wrote three letters and talked with the other two orderlies till dinner time. After dinner I went back to the hospital as we had to stay there even though we had no patients. We had everything clean and tidy and at 3.30 pm we were relieved. I immediately went and had a shower bath as it has been pretty warm today and then got dressed and went to the Heliopolis Post Office and posted my letters and a book of views, also registered a parcel containing a small Egyptian vase which I was sending to my fiancée. Returned to camp for tea and did not go out again. Tuesday 23 rd February, 1915 On parade 6.45 am for roll call and was on at the hospital at 7.30 am. We received four patients during the morning. One of them was one of the boys from our own tent and he was sent during the day to the base hospital. His case was queried lumbago and he seemed pretty bad. None of the other three were very sick, just slight colds. After dinner we had a grand parade and were inspected by Surgeon General Williams, head of the AAMC. He passed some comments on our not being fully equipped and as we were dismissed he complimented us on our general appearance and behaviour during inspection. He had a look round the hospitals and seemed quite satisfied. I did not go out of camp this evening and turned into bed about 8 pm. Above: General Williams DMS inspecting the 4 th Field Ambulance belonging to the 4 th Australian Infantry Brigade camped along side of us. Heliopolis March 15 Dr P Fiaschi, 1 st LHFA. [Fiaschi s caption seems to be dated wrongly, as Will records the inspection as being held on 23 March.] AWM P DIGGER 25 Issue 51

26 Wednesday 24 th February, 1915 On parade 6.45 am and on duty at the hospital at 7.30 am We had no patients today so Captain Dawson gave us permission to go on a march with the stretcher-bearers. We marched through Zeitoun to the native village of Matarich about four miles from our camp. We had a look at and a drink from the Virgin s Well which is at this village. It is the well Joseph and Mary with the infant Jesus rested at and drank from in their flight from Jerusalem to Egypt. The tree under which they rested is also alongside the well and is years old. It is dead now and is propped up to keep it in place. Left: Water wheel at Matarich. Photo taken by Captain Edward McKenna. Museum Victoria. MM We also went inside the church adjoining which was built in It is lovely inside and has six beautiful paintings on the walls, three each side, of the flight from Jerusalem. They are about six feet square. 1 st : Massacre of Infants. 2 nd : Warning to flee. 3 rd : Flight from Jerusalem. 4 th : Resting on the Banks of the Nile. 5 th : Resting under the tree alongside the church. 6 th : Entering old Heliopolis. It was a most interesting trip. I added my signature to the church book. We were paid this afternoon. I drew I went to Cairo as soon as we were paid, with three pals, and we went and had a splendid meal for 2/6 each. This was our main object in going. We had a look around and returned to camp by 10 pm, when I received a letter from Mother which I read and then turned in. Thursday 25 th February, 1915 On parade as usual for roll call at 6.45 am and at the hospital at 7.30 am. No patients today. Received a letter from Daisy this morning, so set to to write to Mother and Daisy. Nothing of interest occurred today past the usual routine except for a kit inspection about 11 am. Finished my letters after dinner and was relieved at hospital at 3.30 pm. Had a lay down in the tent till tea-time. After tea I went to the American Mission to get stamps and to post letters. Was back in camp before 8 pm and did some more writing as I was by myself till I turned in to go to sleep about 9 pm. My pal is in hospital since dinner time with influenza. Temperature is 92º in the shade. Right: Men of the 4 th A Field Ambulance. AWM Friday 26 th February, 1915 Reveille at 6 am this morning. Paraded at 6.30 am and had breakfast at 7 am with orders to be ready in full marching order by 8 am. This referred to everyone except A Section tent division (of which I am one) and we had to look after our own hospital and B & C Sections as well. The reason for this was that a number of New Zealand troops had been sent out to act as the enemy and attack Zeitoun about 1½ miles from our camp. Another body of troops occupied Zeitoun to resist the supposed enemy and our men had to be ready in case they were needed to pick up supposed wounded. Our men were all ready and lay about camp in full kit, ready to be away at a moment s notice, but they were not called on till 4 pm, and 10 minutes before they could get right away the order was countermanded as they were not needed. This is how we will be under actual war conditions. Nothing of interest happened concerning myself at the hospital. Saturday 27 th February, 1915 On parade for roll call at 6.45 am and at the hospital at 7.30 am. We only had two patients and we sent them to the base hospital and just cleaned up. At half past one, all our tent except one who is in the base hospital DIGGER 26 Issue 51

27 with lumbago, set out for Heliopolis and we had our photos taken 10 of us. We just had a walk round and returned to camp for tea. It has been pretty warm all day and a fresh wind blowing the sand about made it uncomfortable to be out. After tea, four of us played euchre just to pass the time away until about 8.30 pm when we turned in and went to sleep. Some of our fellows had a drink and were troublesome last night. We were paraded today and restrictions placed on our leave. Sunday 28 th February, 1915 On parade at 6.45 am. No patients in hospital today. Spent the morning in reading a book. After dinner, four of us went for a walk to the Virgin s Well and the tree and church again. Two of the boys had cameras and wanted to take some photos. They took one of the church with two of us standing on the steps, one of the tree with two of us standing by, and one of the Well with two of us standing by it. I had another drink out of the Well. On our way back we stopped a native cart with some natives and two of us stood by while the others got snaps of us. Returned to camp for tea feeling tired; we had done about 10 miles. Did not go out of camp again. Monday 1 st March, 1915 On parade 6.45 am for roll call, had five patients in hospital today. Captain Dawson asked me if I could mend some of our stretchers which were broken and as I could, he told me to get on with them. Could not find any tools at all to work with but managed to improvise sufficient to take them to pieces. I could not put them together again as I had no bolts, so had to leave them. After dinner I had nothing to do so started to darn a pair of socks which, for my first attempt, I considered I did well. I also sewed some buttons on my clothes. This kept me occupied till tea time, after which we had a short game of euchre and then I did a little writing before turning in. Tuesday 2 nd March, 1915 On parade 6.45 am and went for physical drill till breakfast time. We marched into Heliopolis and had some physical drill on a square in the town then returned to camp for breakfast. After breakfast I went into the hospital till dinner time. After dinner we were all issued with sun helmets and puggarees. I spent the rest of the afternoon in putting my puggaree round by helmet. It was a bit awkward at first but I eventually managed it to my satisfaction. I did not go out after tea, so settled down and did some writing, after which we all yarned in the tent till bedtime when we turned in early, as we are expecting a long march tomorrow. Wednesday 3 rd March, 1915 Reveille at 5.30 am this morning, breakfast at 8.30 am. We marched off to take up our positions for the divisional manoeuvres. We marched to Abbassia and joined the rest of the 4 th Brigade. At 9.50 am the Light Horse moved away and we followed at 10 am. Our manoeuvres for today consisted of protecting Cairo, which was supposedly being attacked by Turks approaching from the Suez Canal. Our forces moved very quickly and covered an extensive area from what I could see. Our corps marched along the Cairo-Canal road for about four miles, then we camped and prepared to receive wounded as in real battle. We had just got things ready when we received orders to move four miles further on. Just got camp broke up when we received further orders to stay where we were. Remained here till 4.45 pm, Arrived back at camp 6 pm. Did not go out again, went to bed early having marched about 15 miles. I believe those manoeuvres were very successful. Thursday 4 th March, 1915 Reveille at 6.30 am with no parade till 9.30 am. This was to give us a little extra rest after our exertions of yesterday. My shift on the hospital has been changed today and I am going on duty at pm to 7.30 am tomorrow so I have got today to myself. I spent the morning reading till dinner time and after dinner I arranged for an interview with our lieutenant-dentist who has only been with our corps two days and who is to attend to the teeth of the 4 th Brigade while he is with us. I heard he was only staying with us three weeks so got in early. At 3 pm he started on my teeth and filled one in the lower jaw. I have to see him at 2 pm tomorrow about some more. Did not go out of camp at all this evening. Went on duty at pm. Three patients in hospital so not much to do on our shift till 7.30 am in the morning. Friday 5 th March, 1915 Came off duty at hospital at 7.30 am and after breakfast I turned in for a sleep till dinner time. At 2 pm I attended again at the dentist and had another tooth stopped. We had another full marching order parade at 3.15 pm and were inspected again by Surgeon General Williams. Everything and everywhere in the camp was inspected and I think we shall be leaving here shortly. After the parade we were not allowed to take any of our kit off, as we were under orders to move off on a march at any time Headquarters notified us. We lay about our tents and about 9 pm rations were issued. At pm we had orders to fall in and marched off at We marched about four miles and bivouacked on the desert for the night at about 12 pm. DIGGER 27 Issue 51

28 Saturday 6 th March, 1915 Our bivouac finished at 3.45 am this morning when we had orders to get out. It was a very cold night and I don t think anyone slept much. We had no blankets, only our overcoats. Set out for camp at 4 am and got back at 5.30 am. We were dismissed and turned in for a sleep till 7.30 am, when we were up again for breakfast. I felt pretty tired and as I have to go on at the hospital at pm tonight until 7.30 am tomorrow, I spent the rest of the day lying down and reading. After tea, three of us went to Heliopolis and had a good hot bath. Cost us 5 piastres (12/½) but was worth it. Had a look round Heliopolis and called for our photos, which were not finished. Was back at camp at 8 pm and on at the hospital at pm. Sunday 7 th March, 1915 Finished my shift in the hospital at 7.30 am this morning. We had no patients at all, so things were pretty easy. I had a sleep after breakfast till dinner time. After dinner I lay down and read till 3.30 pm when I went in the hospital again as we had changed shifts. We had one patient who had come in during the morning. During the afternoon I wrote some letters and after tea I settled down and had a good read. We had practically nothing to do but still we had to remain in the hospital in case any other patients should come. It has been a beast of a day, fairly hot and a very strong wind blowing the sand about. I finished my shift at pm. Monday 8 th March, 1915 Was up at 6 am this morning. It has been a terrible day, the wind blowing a hurricane and the sand has been blowing along in clouds like a fog. I am absolutely full of sand; it seems to get through the pores of one s skin. I loafed the day away in my tent till 3.30 pm. It was too bad to go out and plenty bad enough in the tent. At 3.30 pm I went on at the hospital. We have one patient who came in at midday. He is a doctor and is the medical officer for the 16 th Battalion. His name is Captain MacGregor [Capt Stanley McGregor, 16 th Bn HQ MO] and he is suffering from a severe cold. The wind dropped this evening and we are having a lovely night. I wrote another letter after tea and finished my shift on the hospital at pm. Tuesday 9 th March, 1915 Slept in the hospital over night as we only had the one patient, Captain MacGregor, who has a touch of bronchitis. Was up at 6 am this morning and after breakfast I lay down and had a sleep till dinner time. Just before I went on at the hospital at 3.30 pm I had a good shower bath. It has been very hot today. Still only the one patient, so not much to do. I was writing nearly all this afternoon. Everything seems very quiet today, the only excitement being caused by the rumours as to when we are leaving here. We were paid this evening and I drew 156 piastres. Could not go out tonight again and didn t want to, so did a bit more writing and turned in at pm Wednesday 10 th March, 1915 Slept in hospital again overnight, expect to get some patients today. I received orders this morning about 9 am to go to Cairo with Sergeant Henderson to do some shopping for the dispensary and for Captain Dawson. We arrived in Cairo about 10 am, did our business and then had a good look round. We visited the Citadel and it was most interesting; the walls are of great thickness and altogether it is a remarkable building. We had a look through the armoury in the Citadel and saw some very ancient arms and armour, also all the rifles which were captured recently off the Turks on the Suez Canal, about rifles. We then visited the Sultan Hassan Mosque which is another remarkable building [right, today, traveladventures.org]. It was hit with 45 cannon balls when Napoleon conquered Egypt, some of the balls still being in the holes made and we saw them. Napoleon robbed the mosque of most of its valuables, but there is one door which cost We also saw the chair which used to be the coronation chair for the sultans and in which Saladin of Richard Coeur de Lion s time was crowned. Also we saw the Sultan Hassan s tomb. The building inside is remarkable. One floor being laid with fancy slabs of which no two are alike and the whole place practically is, or was, before Napoleon, and in some parts still is, inlaid with pearl and gold. We searched all the shops we could find for presents to send home and returned to camp at 10 pm and I had to go on at the hospital till 11.30pm. Thursday 11 th March, 1915 I was up at 6 am this morning and after breakfast we had orders to strike our tents and load them and our kit bags on the transport wagons and to clear our camp ready to move off. We had everything cleared and loaded before dinner time. We did not know if we really were going to move off or what we were going to do until after dinner, when we were told it was only for practice and we had to fix up again. We expect to move off any day now. I came on duty in the hospital at 3.30 and we had five patients including Captain MacGregor. It has been a very bad day, especially for striking camp. The wind has been blowing very hard DIGGER 28 Issue 51

29 and clouds of sand with a very close atmosphere. Things went on very satisfactory and I finished at the hospital at pm. Friday 12 th March, 1915 Reveille was at 5 am this morning as there was a divisional march and manoeuvres on. I did not go out as it was our section s day on at the hospital. Our fellows marched out at 7.30 am I had a walk about Heliopolis about 11 am and posted some letters I had wrote. I had a look round for some presents to send home but did not succeed in getting them yet. I arrived back at camp about 1.30 pm and went on duty at hospital at We have more to do now as the hospital routine has been altered today. We have our three sections and each section has to take three days on hospital and six days off. The six days we have to put in at the wagon drill. It means for three days we have three hospitals to look after, instead of having one continually. I am on A Section hospital today with seven patients. Turned in at pm. Saturday 13 th March, 1915 Up at 6 am this morning and our fellows struck the tents and packed up again, putting everything on the transports. About 9 am I had word from Captain Dawson to go into Cairo about am and went to a shop (H Blank & Co s) and ordered a steriliser according to my specifications; it is to cost 5. After finishing business I had dinner at a restaurant and then took a tram to Abbassia to see if I could find my cousin who is in the 5 th Manchesters, C Company. I found him in his tent and he was pleased to meet me. I stayed to tea with him and his pals, who made me very welcome and then after a clean up the two of us went into Heliopolis for an hour or so. I arrived at camp about 10 pm. Sunday 14 th March, 1915 As there were no patients in C Section s hospital I slept there overnight and did not get up till 8 am this morning. After breakfast I did a little writing and reading till dinner time. I should have gone on at the hospital at 3.30 pm but as my cousin J Rick [Pte 1416 James Rick, 5 th Manchesters] came over to see me, the other fellow who is on duty with me said he could manage alone. We have seven patients today. My cousin stayed and had tea with us and we had a good yarn, after which we went into Heliopolis and had a walk round together. I saw him on his car about 9 pm and was back at camp myself at 9.30 pm. Went into the hospital and stayed on till pm then turned in. Monday 15 th March, 1915 Did not get up for early morning parade, had breakfast and turned out on parade at 9.30 am. Am not on hospital today as it is B and C Sections turn for a few days. We struck tents and loaded them, also our blankets and kits, on the transport wagons. We unloaded them again and put our tents up just before dinner time. After dinner we had wagon drill, loading stretchers and unloading them. We were interrupted this afternoon in our drill by rain. This is the first rain since we have been here. It rained intermittently all night. We had a motor wagon added to our corps today. Went into Heliopolis after tea to post my letters and took my washing in. I am having it done by a Belgium woman who is a refugee. Went to bed 9.30 pm. Tuesday 16 th March, 1915 Reveille at 6 am this morning. Went outside the tent and saw a very cloudy and stormy looking sky. The sky has been cloudless and clear every morning before this. We had physical drill at 6.45 am till 7.45 am and breakfast at 8.15 am. It started to rain during breakfast time, also thunder and lightning. After breakfast we had stretcher drill and first aid till 12 noon, when we knocked off for dinner. Paraded again at 2.30 pm and went out with the wagons on a march. We marched about six miles and arrived back at camp for tea. After tea another of the boys and myself went to Heliopolis to buy presents to send home. I bought two cushion covers, two brooches and a Maltese lace doyley or table centre. Was back at camp at 8.30 pm. Wednesday 17 th March, 1915 Reveille at 6 am and parade at 6.45 am. I did not go for physical drill this morning as I was tent orderly. We paraded again at 9 am and were issued with another shirt, two pairs underpants, two pairs socks and pair laces. At 9.30 am we started on our morning drill, which consisted of first aid, stretcher drill and wagon drill and lasted till 12 noon. After dinner, ten of us and the Colonel went out in a wagon about three miles with picks and shovels to an old Egyptian burial ground and started digging for curios. We dug till 5 pm but found nothing but bones, so returned to camp for tea. After tea my cousin came to see me and we took a walk out for my washing, which is being done by a Belgium refugee. Back at camp at 8 pm and wrote some letters, then turned in. Thursday 18 th March, 1915 Reveille at 6 am and parade at 6.45 am. Physical drill till 7.45 am and breakfast at 8 am. Parade again at 9.30 am with stretcher drill, wagon drill and semaphore signalling till 12 noon. There was a route march this afternoon but I did not go as I did not feel too well. I lay down in the tent and wrote a couple of letters and read the paper till tea time. After tea I received a visit from a chap who worked with me at Newport named DIGGER 29 Issue 51

30 MacPherson. After he had gone I parcelled some presents up, which I had bought to send home and took a walk to the post office and registered them, also posting my letters. Returned to camp about 9 pm and went to bed. Friday 19 th March, 1915 Reveille at 6 am and parade at 6.45 am There was no physical drill this morning as we were striking camp. We struck camp and loaded and the boys marched off. I was left behind to do picket round the camp. I was on from 11 am till 3 pm and will be on again from 11 pm to 3 am in the morning. I have not been allowed to leave camp today; none of the picket are during their 24 hour guard duty. Just have to sleep and loll about in the guard tent during the hours we are off duty. Can t undress ourselves as we have to be ready to turn out if needed at a moment s notice. The boys arrived back at camp about 5 pm and fixed up the tents again. It has been very warm today. Saturday 20 th March, 1915 Reveille at 6 am, parade at 6.45 am with physical drill till 7.45 am. At 9.15 am I was sent with three others to the New Zealand Headquarters at Zeitoun with one of our wagons for some medical supplies. Arrived back at camp at 12 noon. After dinner, I had a pass to go to Cairo, so I set out for Mena to look up Daisy s brother and some other friends. Arrived at Mena about 4 pm and found W Hill [Spr 159 William Arthur Hill, then 3 rd FCE] out on leave. I then looked up S Cohen [Pte 957 Stanley Valentine Cohen, 5 th Bn] who I found in his tent. We went to the YMCA and sat talking till 7 pm, when I left and set out back for camp which I reached at 10 pm. Had news today of the loss of three battleships by the Allies in the Dardanelles. Sunday 21 st March, 1915 Went on duty at 7.30 am at the hospital. We had fourteen patients today, none serious. I remained on duty till 3.30 pm when I went to my tent and had a read. My cousin out of the 5 th Manchester Regiment stationed at Abbassia came to visit me just before tea. After tea we remained talking till about 8 pm, when my cousin left to go back to his camp and I went to the tent used by the dentist as his workshop and did a couple of hours writing. I wrote till 10 pm then went to my tent and turned in just before lights out blew. To be continued in the next issue. Light Horse re-enactment Troop at Cooma Show Photo taken by Jeremy Marples, Latham. Above: Members of the Australian Light Horse Association at the Cooma Show, 2015, on their walers. DIGGER 30 Issue 51

31 Lieutenant Robert Harris, AN&MEF/2 nd Bn/1 st MG Bn Judith Green, Fitzroy, SA. Everyone remembers their first love and so it was for my mother, born Eva Dorothy Harvey on 2 September, 1895, at Parramatta. My mother attended Parramatta High School and won a scholarship to study for her Teacher s Certificate at Sydney Teachers College, then at Blackfriars on Broadway, Sydney. At Blackfriars she met a young man from the northern New South Wales town of Glen Innes, who was boarding in Parramatta. His name was Robert Harris and he was born on 11 June, 1895, the son of Glen Innes farmer, George Harris, and his wife, Annie Sophia nee Vincent. Left: Eva Harvey. My mother and Robert (whom she called Bob ) were among the many whose lives were changed by the war, for while my mother became a successful schoolteacher, married my father and had two daughters, she often told us of her long-lost love. Bob s four war diaries are in the NSW State Library. They commence on 17 August, 1914, after he enlisted in the 1 st Naval and Military Expeditionary Force [AN&MEF], and the final entry is on Christmas Day 1918, in France. These four diaries, profusely illustrated with maps and sketches, chronicle the years of war which changed Bob from a brash, callow, happy-go-lucky, romantic boy into a hardened combat soldier, compassionate and mindful of his comrades. Bob and my mother were both eighteen when they met at Teachers College, and each morning they caught the train together at Parramatta, alighted at Central Station and walked to Blackfriars. As soon as war was declared in August 1914, Bob told my mother he was enlisting. My mother begged him to stay and finish his year at Teachers College, to stay and sit for his exams, but Bob was insistent and enlisted as Private No. 845 in the 1 st Naval and Military Expeditionary Force. On 18 August, 1914, Bob embarked on the Berrima, which set sail for New Guinea to capture the German wireless stations. Bob s diaries recount his war experiences in New Guinea, Gallipoli and on the Western Front, and during that time he wrote and received letters from my mother. In his second entry he thinks of her: Tuesday 18 August 1914, Marched down to the McQuarie [sic] Wharf. Taken by ferry to Cockatoo Island where embarked on Berrima : Dinner very decent, sling hammocks for beds also extremely decent. Sweet girl gives our hero a handkerchief as a mascot to carry him through the campaign. On 20 August he wrote Eva a long and loving letter which he heaved overboard in a bottle. Time and tide were not kind to my mother, for she never received this letter in a bottle. The early entries when Bob arrived in New Guinea are full of humour and complaints about the food. They show all the excitement and wonderment of a boy from the bush seeing this new world. He described all his escapades diving for coral, pig-shooting expeditions, climbing coconut trees, bartering with the New Guineans, but also the heat, mosquitoes and the sheer slog of having to dig trenches in the rock-hard fossilised coral. The capture of the wireless stations involved hard fighting: Friday, 11 September Battle round the wireless still goes on. The navy men occupy the first line of trenches and our fleet are to shell the position tomorrow. We attack on the western flank. Saturday, 12 September During the night skirmishing went on. The naval corps attacking the wireless station have driven the enemy off. There were 12 casualties on our side (including 2 officers). The Germans lost several killed. About 20 white prisoners and 80 black prisoners. The remainder retreated to Rabaul and brushed with our right flank. We rose at 3.30 am and after lying all the morning in the dust, returned to the ship. Bob describes the capture of German radio stations at Herbertshohe and the surrender on 13 September: At 2.45 we went ashore to Rabaul with the left half and a company of marines. We marched to the Government House to the [HMAS] Australia Band and formed a square on the parade, for the first DIGGER 31 Issue 51

32 time in the history of the World Australia announced a colony Look up men, you own this damn place now. However, there was a dark side to the victory, and on 11 September, Bob had recorded that Doctor Pockley, who was wounded, had died today at On 14 September he recorded the sinking of the Australian submarine AE1 by a German gunboat (sic). On 5 November they were shaken by a severe earthquake. On 17 November he noted that one of our police boys was killed by the cannibals and eaten a few miles out in the bush. Bob had been promoted to lance corporal on 2 October, 1914, but began to suffer from malaria. His last entry on 3 January: the fever was bad and at times I was delirious, none of the medical staff did anything to relieve us. Arrived at Rabaul we were pitched on board... Above right: Bob Harris sketch of a New Guinea Belle: Fashionable Mode of Head-Dress, taken from his AN&MEF diary, Bob was sent back to Australia with malaria and discharged in January He was appointed as a teacher to Lidcombe School on 30 March, 1915, but kept trying to re-enlist. He eventually achieved a clear blood test and was accepted on 25 July, 1915, as Private 2725 in the machine-gun section of the 2 nd Battalion AIF. He was one of the many Rabaulers back to have a second go. Bob served at Gallipoli and on the Western Front and kept three more war diaries. His second diary records the tragedy of Gallipoli. On Tuesday, 2 November, we transhipped to the Osmanieh and at 1 o clock, set sail for Anzac. It was dark when we arrived off the coast, which was occasionally illuminated by the flashes of the big guns. As we neared the shore, the rifle shots became distinct and by the clear starlight we could see the steep cliffs, lit by a thousand twinkling lights from the dug-outs. As we landed a few bullets whizzed overhead, but everywhere seemed strangely quiet for one of the greatest battlefields of the world. A short tramp beneath sheltering slopes, past huge stores of ammunition and supplies, we entered the communication trenches leading up to the firing line. Arrived at the now famous Shrapnel Gully. Bob described his six weeks at Gallipoli, the casualties, the Turkish bombardments from Beachy Bill and Lonesome Liz, and the terrible conditions exacerbated by the cold weather: The last week of November brought winter fully upon us. Southerly winds brought up squalls of rain and heavy seas into the Gulf of Saros, preventing the landing of stores. Following this, the wind changed to the East and blew across the Dardanelles from Asia Minor ending on the 28 th with a snowstorm. The cold and mud made everything in the trenches exceedingly uncomfortable and to add to the many miseries the water pipes burst and food supplies were reduced by half. Men gathered dirty snow to quench the thirst raised by salt bacon and bully beef, and we had up to the end of November been in the trenches for fourteen days and nights with practically no sleep. However, Bob felt great sadness and regret when he left Gallipoli on 13 December, 1915: The fact that it was said to be a complete evacuation was forced upon us. Little was said by the men. Old hands who had toiled and bled in the gullies over which they had watched so long, who had seen comrades and brothers killed, felt the matter keenly and later reinforcements who had their mates shot down in cold blood at their posts, murmured for a chance to avenge them. It felt like running away, as one glanced down seaward and saw the little white crosses dotting the hillsides, a feeling of resentment for the move and sudden anger against those who had bungled the Gallipoli campaign right from the start spread over one. Officers kits were sent to the beach and on Tuesday 13 I received orders with two others to pack up for embarkation and proceed with Chaplain McAuliffe s effects to the beach. Sneaking down to the sap, dodging by graveyards, silent but accusing, we reached the beach. Piles of broken stores, ammunition and surplus supplies lay scattered everywhere. Men drowned their sorrows in the broken rum barrels; Indian AMC with their carts and mules laden with munitions etc. to be shipped hurried along the beach. All around confusion, while a mile away the Turks, as yet unsuspecting, were held by a scanty line of Australians. DIGGER 32 Issue 51

33 After much struggling and cursing we succeeded in gaining a place on the lighter, which took us out to the troopship. The cliffs of Anzac lit by the fires on the beach seemed to show out grotesquely in the night, as the Princess Tina set sail for Lemnos. The monster was as usual shelling the coast by Gaba Tepe, and Beachy was still showering his shrapnel on the beach and the last view I had of Gallipoli was when a shell bursting over Victoria Gully lit up vividly for a moment the battalion lines and the cemetery where Colonel Braund and so many gallant men lay sleeping. And then, to the occasional sullen roar of a gun, the snap of musketry, the Peninsula fell into the night. There was not much respite on Lemnos when the Diggers didn t return as conquering heroes, and conditions were terrible. It was the middle of winter, bleak and miserable. The 2 nd Battalion departed for Egypt on Christmas Eve: On December the 24 we left the island on the Derfflinger. Christmas Day passed very quietly and hungrily on board, and had it not been for the kindness of certain Australian citizens who had sent Christmas puddings, many of us would have gone without food. Nevertheless we made a meal of some sort out of weevilly biscuits, bully beef and plum pudding (and not too much of the latter). At night the officers held a feast (in camera) but there happened to be a peep-hole in one of the shutters through which a hungry private could make out chickens and hams disappearing and bottles emptying to the musical rags. After a few months in Egypt, Bob embarked for the Western Front on 21 March on the Ivernia and his third and fourth diaries tell of the war in France and Belgium and the terrible devastation, but he kept drawing his amusing sketches and described the beauties of the spring in the French countryside. He had the eye and pen of a poet, no wonder my mother was entranced: On Wednesday, 3 May, we handed the patrol over to our relief and went into reserve. On coming out of the wintry communication one was struck by the change in the landscape. What was on our entry, bare desolate and sodden countryside was now bright green with the coat of spring. Fruit trees, apple and pear appeared in masses of beautiful blossom. Hawthorne hedges of delicate green with white flowers lined the roads and grass dotted with yellow buttercups covered the fields. Only ruined houses and the crash of bursting shells or the roar of answering artillery could make one realise that war was so close at hand. Left: Notre Billet in Renescure, 9/4/16 (renovated 9/8/16). Sketch from Bob s 1916 diary. War was close at hand, for in July 1916 the Australian battalions charged at Pozieres, supported by the machine-gun sections. Bob described the aftermath: Pozieres is desolation in the extreme. Shells of every calibre continually bursting in the ruins add to the destruction caused by the British bombardments. Huge craters of great depth lie between heaps of pounded earth which look like mountains rising among the splintered remains of the wood. Dead, mangled and rotting, lie about among the broken rifles and equipment. The communication trench, battered out of recognition, is now on a ridge instead of in a hollow and along this one is chased by German whizz-bangs and coal boxes. The whole line is strewn with battered corpses, equipment, rifles, rations and water. How anyone ever reaches safety in the front lines is a mystery. Wounded men are forced to struggle miles to the safety of the dressing station and with any serious cases requiring the attendants of the SB s, it takes about 3 hours to reach Pozieres. On 30 July, 1917 Bob, arrived in Ypres and described the ruined city: Not a building is left intact. On each side of the wide cobbled streets the deserted ghostly structures stand as grim witnesses of the struggle which has been waged here for two years. Ypres, once the prosperous community of southern Belgium, treasuring in the Cloth Hall some of the most valuable works of art in the world, was thrown into desolation in a few days under the battering German artillery. Half the population is said to have been killed during the terrible period. Of the famous Cloth Hall all that remains are a few charred walls, perhaps the buttress of a tower and huge piles DIGGER 33 Issue 51

34 of blackened and fallen masonry. Little one thinks that when a few years ago I read of the glories of this building I would live to see it in this state, its treasures lost or scattered and its towers and arches mangled by the side of the streets in heaps of broken stone. Bob Harris had a distinguished war record. He was attached to the machine-gun sections of the 2 nd, 9 th, 11 th and 12 th Battalions after his transfer to the 1 st MG Battalion in July He was mentioned in Sir Douglas Haig s despatch of 7 November, 1917, for distinguished and gallant service and devotion to duty during the months of February and September, 1917, and was awarded the oak leaf. He was posted to the Officer Training School at Oxford in October, 1917, and on 20 April, 1918, he was commissioned as lieutenant. Wounded for the second time in September, 1918, Bob was recuperating in England at the time of the Armistice but returned to France in December, 1918, to assist with operations in the aftermath of the war. My mother had corresponded with him during his years of war service and his first diary has frequent mentions of her. He called her E, for her name was Eva. The romance had faded by the time he returned to Australia in September, 1919, on the Katoomba, for my mother had become engaged to my father, Walter Vandenbergh, No. 2828, 3 rd Battalion. My mother told me that Bob wrote to her wishing her well, but I don t think she ever met up with him again. She heard that he married [Isabell Beissel of Hay Ed], taught at Tumut, NSW, and later became a headmaster and lived in the Sydney suburb of Denistone. Endnotes by the Editor: (1) Diary extracts and illustrations courtesy of the State Library of NSW. (2) Bob was wounded at Hermes (9 April, 1917) and at Rosieres (18 September, 1918). (3) Bob Harris was described as a splendid soldier and an inspiring leader. Thought of others before himself. [Unit Diary, quoted in TA White s NSW Department of Education Record of Service in Two World Wars ]. (4) Bob became Principal of Moama Public School, Ainslie Primary School in the ACT, and Ryde Public School. (Fittingly, Ainslie is a suburb quite close to the AWM in Canberra; Mount Ainslie is the high hill behind the Memorial.) (5) In 1988, Bob Harris was in a group of WWI veterans flown to France to receive the Legion of Honour. According to an article in the SMH, , Bob forged his mother s signature so that he could enlist at the age of 18 [on his second enlistment in July 1915 he stated he was 20]. Bob describes the fighting at Villers-Bretonneux: It was a very desperate fight. It was mainly hand-to-hand combat. Most of my friends were killed. I was lucky. (6) Additional information on Robert Harris (supplied by his son, John) from member Eve Chappell at History House, Glen Innes. Sourced by member Patric Millar. Left: Another of Bob Harris sketches. This one is entitled When the Tadpole Drops: The Effect we Hope for. Left: Bob Harris, circa SMH, Left: Bob Harris when Principal of Ainslie Public School, Photo courtesy Ainslie School. Sketches courtesy of Judith Green. Note: Bob Harris may be in the photo of 2 nd Battalion officers on page 63. DIGGER 34 Issue 51

35 1096/2 nd Lieut Reginald James Thomas Forsyth, 1 st LHR/AFC Contributed by David Forsyth AM, Castle Cove, and Margaret Snodgrass, Willoughby. R eginald ( Reg ) Forsyth was born on 2 February, 1893, at Lile Cottage, 41 Hayberry Street, Crows Nest (Sydney), next door to Lewis Cottage (No. 39), where he grew up. Reg s parents, John Lile Lewis Forsyth and Elizabeth Christina Crowley, had been given both terraces upon their marriage by John s grandfather, James Forsyth, the pioneer tanner of Willoughby. Reg grew up a popular and talented young man, driven to do the best he could at whatever he turned his hand to. He represented the YMCA at gymnastics, being especially proficient on the horizontal and parallel bars. Reg left school aged 14 and become a wagon boy for the local wine and spirit merchant. Five years later he was in charge of one of the departments of the business. He moved on to be a travelling salesman for the large city firm of Lasseters, a job which came with a motor bike provided, which added adventure to his work. Then in 1914, the Great War commenced. Reg s younger brother Dick signed up immediately into the Infantry, and was enmeshed in the killing fields of Gallipoli and the Somme. Reg had the idea that if he could ride a motor bike, then he could ride a horse, and so decided he would join the Australian Light Horse. Never mind he had only ridden a horse once or twice; he borrowed a quiet horse from his neighbour and taught himself to ride and jump a horse in the playground of Crows Nest school, with the aid of long school benches as hurdles. Although the Light Horse was mostly made up of country lads with years of horse riding experience, Reg made the grade and departed in August 1915 for the Middle East as a sergeant with the 7 th Reinforcements to the 1 st Australian Light Horse Regiment. Initially he was in training camp south of Cairo until around April 1916 when they commenced guard duties over key transport links near Suez, such as bridges, protecting them from bands of pro-turkish Arabs. During this time, Reg s diary described the extreme heat, with temperatures over 50º Celsius inside their tents, masses of flies and occasionally hornets. Food supplies in the desert were sometimes short, and he received his fair share of maladies, including a septic sore on his hand. Reg had seen aircraft being used for reconnaissance and bombing and was even sent out into the desert to retrieve equipment from a crashed machine. Aeroplanes must have aroused his sense of adventure, as around this time he started to follow up enquiries for people to volunteer to join the Flying Corps. From May 1916, the 1 st LHR joined with other forces to defend the Suez Canal, to turn back Turkish advances east of the canal. The Battle of Romani was fought between 3 and 5 August 1916, and finally put a stop to the Turkish threat to the Suez Canal and marked the beginning of the British forces drive out of Egypt and into Palestine. The British defences were sited amidst a series of towering sand dunes, 35 kilometres east of the canal, which the Turks tried to outflank to the south early on 4 August. Initially, only the 1 st Light Horse Brigade was in position to meet the Turkish attack. Heavily outnumbered it was forced to fall back, but as the day progressed both mounted and infantry reinforcements steadily arrived, allowing the position to be stabilised. The position was held throughout the night and before dawn the next morning the 1 st and 2 nd Light Horse Brigades advanced on foot with the bayonet. Turkish resistance collapsed at this point, and large numbers of prisoners were taken 1. Reg saw action in July and August. His diary notes his admiration for the Turkish soldiers, as fine shots. At the Battle of Romani, he fought nonstop for 30 hours. On 4 August he was wounded in the chest and arm, 1 AWM web site DIGGER 35 Issue 51

36 but managed to ride to the nearest Field Ambulance. From there he was moved to the hospital at Ismailia, on the Suez Canal. Unfortunately, his arm turned septic, which was not unusual back then as penicillin was not yet discovered. His wound was cut seven times and tubes inserted in an attempt to stem the sepsis and associated fever. By 12 August his condition had improved and he was sent to the military hospital in Cairo. However, while in hospital, he had his money, his camera and his hat stolen. In October 1916, while recuperating at a military hospital, Reg formally submitted his application in response to the call for volunteers to join the new Australian Flying Corps. He had a series of tests, including a flight which he thoroughly enjoyed. He was hooked. Reg wrote home saying he saw this is where my future lies and he saw that aviation in Australia after the war is going to be a big thing. Reg was always thinking ahead. He was now in the 68 th Australian Squadron, Royal Flying Corps. His November letter said, It is a splendid Corps and the work is just into my boots and then again one great advantage is I am learning something all the time and there are plenty of chances for bettering myself far past anything I could have achieved in the Regiment. The Australian Flying Corps trained and operated as part of the British Royal Flying Corps until the RAF was formed in April (The AFC would be disbanded along with the AIF in The RAAF was not formed until 1921.) Reg commenced as an aviation mechanic and remained in Egypt until January 1917, when he was transferred to England, travelling by boat via Alexandria, Malta, Marseilles, and Le Havre to Southampton. He was stationed near Grantham in Lincolnshire, 25 miles east of Nottingham. There was plenty of work fixing aircraft and their engines, as these early planes were very unreliable and frequently crashed. Bear in mind that the Wright brothers first powered flight had only occurred in 1903, and practical use of aircraft only became possible around 1907, so aircraft had barely been in use for 10 years. Flying was a huge, but risky adventure. When granted leave, Reg often travelled to London and stayed with distant relatives of his grandmother, Anne Lile Lewis (Forsyth). Such trips and taking girls out cost money, which he rarely had much of, and so had to write home or borrow funds. Like many, he applied to be a pilot and finally in June 1917 he was sent for a medical exam. About this time Reg had started having occasional bouts of illness of unknown cause, perhaps a carryover from his wounding in action. He had lost over one stone (7kg) since arriving in England. The doctor advised him he had a weak heart through overwork. Nonetheless, he passed the medical and entered pilot training in July Pilot Officer Training School was in Oxford. He passed his exams, was promoted to 2 nd lieutenant, and in early August was sent to Wyton near Huntingdon, about 12 miles north west of Cambridge. His first flying lessons soon followed and by mid August, Reg was flying solo. First he flew Farman aircraft from France, then later English Avro and Royal Aircraft Factory FE2B airplanes. Left: A Farman. 2 Reg s log book and diary record each day of his flying training. The overriding factor in whether he flew or not revolved around the English weather. In winter especially, the wind and rain prevented any activity. Usually they flew early morning when the weather was less intense. His diary also records the many crashes, often fatal, which occurred in the training corps. More pilots were killed in aircraft training accidents in WWI than were shot down by enemy fire. Reg met up with brother Dick while on leave in London and tried to convince him to join the flying corps, but Dick would not leave the infantry. In early September, Reg was posted to Retford, about 17 miles west of Lincoln. Here he experienced a couple of forced landings due to engine failures or bad weather, with fortunately no lasting damage to either pilot or aircraft. He started to do longer flights, sometimes flying off for a day or two away from Base aircraft photos DIGGER 36 Issue 51

37 Reg started night flying, but all was not well, as his mystery illness had returned. Quite a number of his fellow training pilots had crashes, a number of which were fatal. At one point seven were killed in three days. In addition, the renowned English winter was closing in, limiting flying opportunities and casting a pall over the countryside. In November he experienced another engine failure, but again walked away from the machine, having been able to guide it in the dark to the airfield. In late November he was posted to the airfield at Ternhill near Market Drayton, north of Shrewsbury. Some of the aircraft used castor oil and the fumes made him ill. He started taking a tonic but still remained off colour. Just before Christmas 1917 he travelled to London on compassionate leave, as the father of the family he stayed with there had died. The girl he knew there was also not well. In many ways, it was a miserable Christmas for him. By the time he returned to base, more of his fellow pilots had been killed in training accidents, and he asked one of the local people he knew to be his second next of kin. By early January 1918, Reg had accumulated 69 hours total flying time, 61 of which were solo. In January 1918 he commenced advanced flying training, and started flying Sopwith Pup aircraft, which were used for training in combat techniques. Right: A Sopwith Pup. 3 His log book notes that on one Sopwith Pup, B6089, the engine used to cut out on turns and climbs. He was flying B6089 on 20 January 1918 for some formation flying, but he somehow ended up ahead of the other machines, and in accordance with procedures, made a vertical bank to fall back into formation. His aircraft then went into a vertical spin and crashed. Reg received serious head injuries and a broken ankle. He was admitted to the local hospital, but died of his injuries on 16 February Second Lieutenant Reginald James Thomas Forsyth s grave is in a church graveyard at Tilstock, not far from Ternhill airfield. Always striving to improve himself, like many of those airmen at the time, he perished doing what he loved, in the great adventure of flying. In one of war s ironies, his brother Dick, having survived the killing fields of Gallipoli, then went to the mud and blood of the Somme trenches. Not tempted to join his brother in aviation, Dick survived the Great War, returned to his family in Sydney, married and lived into his 80s. Far left: Tilstock Cemetery. Left: Reg Forsyth s headstone. Endnotes by the Editor: (1) Reginald Forsyth stood 5 2 tall and weighed only 126 lb when he enlisted. (2) Evidence at the inquest into Reg s death indicated that Reg had become nauseous and vomited in the air, and that no blame could be apportioned to the air mechanics or Reg s instructor. (3) One entry on his file states that Reg died following an operation. His health had deteriorated in the days before his death aircraft photos DIGGER 37 Issue 51

38 Dedication of the Neville Howse VC Rest Area Emeritus Professor John Ramsland, Hamilton South. The dedication of the Neville Howse VC Rest Area at Ellenborough Falls is the first stage in the development of the proposed Wingham-Wauchope Remembrance Drive or Trail being currently carried forward by the War Veterans Remembrance Drive Association (WVRDA), made up of Manning Valley residents and headed by its president, Darcy Elbourne, of Taree. On a bright winter s day an attentive audience of about 200 people the elderly and the young including local public and private school student representatives, assembled. They witnessed and took part in the outdoor ceremony which was opened by John Clark OAM, the well-regarded and known Biripai Elder from Taree. Right: Studio portrait of General Sir Neville R Howse VC. AWM A01189A. Several short addresses referring to aspects of Neville Howse s achievements were delivered by Darcy Elbourne, Dr David Gillespie (Federal Member for Lyons, bearing a message from the Prime Minister), Stephen Bromhead, Member for Myall Lakes, Councillor Paul Hogan, the Mayor of the Greater Taree City Council and Councillor Peter Besseling Mayor of Port Macquarie-Hastings Council. Emeritus Professor John Ramsland OAM of the University of Newcastle gave the dedication oration and Lieutenant Commander Dr Charles Howse, Royal Australian Navy Reserve, who is Neville Howse s grandson, spoke feelingly in reply. Neville Howse s VC citation was read. The dedication plaque was unveiled on the Remembrance Boulder (donated by Warrant Officer Peter Simeon and family) by Mayor Paul Hogan and Mayor Peter Besseling [right]. The Rest Area was dedicated by the Reverend Daryl McKeough, Uniting Church, Wingham. Wreaths were laid by a series of local school captains and by Darcy Elbourne on behalf of the WVRDA. Mrs Mary Nelson, Director of the Comboyne Ex- Servicemen s & Citizens Club, recited the Ode; the Last Post was played by Graeme Clarke and the National Anthem was sung. Lieutenant Colonel (Ret d) Eric Richardson OAM, Patron of the WVRDA, made some heart-felt concluding remarks. Refreshments were provided by the ladies of the Ellenborough Falls Kiosk down the road. Maurie Garland of the Manning Valley Historical Society prepared the occasional booklet provided to all who came. The text of John Ramsland s dedication oration follows: Dedication Ceremony Ellenborough Falls Reserve, Elands 12 noon, 24 July 2014 Distinguished guests, men and women of the Manning, girls and boys of the district s schools. It is an honour to present the Neville Howse Victoria Cross story to you at this dedication ceremony of his Memorial Rest Area at Ellenborough Falls Reserve. Firstly, I wish to acknowledge the Biripai People, the Custodians of this soil and their past and present Elders and community leaders. * * * Sir Neville Reginald Howse was of strong character, great courage and bold, but worthy ambition. He lived out his life in the centre of Australian military and political affairs, whether in peace or in war. While it would not be possible to encapsulate even in a nutshell his contributions to Australian society during his lifetime, four central interacting themes and events stand out: His outstanding work as a country town surgeon in rural New South Wales at Taree on the Manning River and then at Orange in the Central West is significant in nature. DIGGER 38 Issue 51

39 His courageous action in saving a soldier s life in the very heart of battle in the South African War in 1900 was an iconic event which resulted in a well-deserved Victoria Cross for gallantry. It made him a celebrity in Australia, a famous person for the rest of his life, particularly as the first person in the Australian Forces to be awarded such a military distinction. It placed him into the centre of public affairs, so much so that he would be unable to get away from it for the whole of his lifetime. And yet he was able to live up to such fame. He never wavered; he handled his celebrity with great aplomb, modesty and consistency. His military career in the Great War was an outstandingly brilliant achievement in itself. In Egypt and in England, France and Belgium and elsewhere, under his care and administrative authority as Major General, the Australian Medical Service was second to none in what was a brutal destructive industrial war of stalemate with staggeringly enormous casualty rates on both sides. After the war in the early 1920s, Neville Howse became the first and most able Federal Minister in charge of Repatriation as part of the Defence and Health portfolio. It was a troubled and grieving decade in the nation s history. In certain ways, we were broken nations yet to recover from a disastrous war. Howse worked hard to see that thousands of returned soldiers received justice. He made disabled men and public health his special missions. Neville Howse achieved three great firsts: he was the first Victoria Cross winner; the first Commander-in-Chief and the highest ranking officer of the Australian Army Medical Corps of the First Australian Imperial Force, and the first Federal Minister responsible for Repatriation after World War I. Neville Howse was born in the small rural village of Stogursey in Somerset, England, on 26 October, 1863, the second son of Alfred Howse, a rural medical practitioner who had also been an army surgeon. Thus Neville s father was a significant role model for him and his three brothers who all became medical practitioners in professional life. Stogursey, like Taree, the place where Howse later found himself, together with his brother Oswald, was in a river valley close to the coast with steep hills as a backdrop. The landscape of the Manning Valley may have attracted and reminded Neville Howse of his birthplace and childhood his homeland and may have been part of his reason for going there. After his secondary education at Fullard s School in the county market town of Taunton, he completed his medical qualifications soon after his 21 st birthday at Guy s Hospital in London s East End on the Mile End Road. He was on a scholarship in surgery and medicine and he began his studies at the tender age of 17 (MRCS & LRCP 1886). Howse became a demonstrator in anatomy at the University of Durham. Declining health (an unspecified respiratory problem), caused him to migrate on advice to sunnier and more temperate New South Wales where he registered as a doctor on 11 December At first he established a practice in Newcastle. Not liking it there, the 26 year old Howse made his first appearance on the Manning Valley as locum for the residential medical officer of the Manning River District Hospital which was opened on 2 February, Howse was soon to take over as the second residential medical officer of the hospital as well as government doctor for Aborigines he went to them rather than them going to him. In a busy, sometimes stressful position, Dr Howse gave praiseworthy attention to every patient of every background, in stitching gashes, setting broken legs and arms from outdoor farming accidents, treating burns, presiding at births and addressing as decisively even more serious medical emergencies and conditions. Taree and district were isolated from the metropolises. A good daring horseman, Howse rode like the wind along dangerous bush tracks to patients seriously injured. There was no ambulance service in the place at the time. He had learnt much about being a country doctor having observed, as an impressionable young fellow, his father at work. With every passing month, Howse s reputation grew as the word spread in the gossip of the riverside townships. And word travelled fast. He soon became well-known as an approachable surgeon of outstanding skill who was up-to-date in his methodologies. As well, he showed enthusiasm for social town and community activity which helped to find for him, as a newcomer, a ready acceptance. He was frequently sighted swimming vigorously in the Manning River; he played a strong game of soccer and rugby in local fixtures with his brother Oswald, who had set up a practice in Wingham. Neville Howse was almost immediately called upon to play leadership roles in local affairs. He participated on committees in local institutions, such as the Agricultural Society, the Jockey Club and the School of Arts; the first two of which he put his knowledge of horse flesh and horsemanship to good use. His reputation as an effective committee chairman developed rapidly. The word charismatic is frequently overused. Nevertheless, he was that in a tightly-knit community. DIGGER 39 Issue 51

40 One local historian noted: No man has ever won such popularity nor was so widely or intimately known as Dr Howse. To find such acceptance in a town that was difficult for the newcomer was no mean feat or easy matter. But he was indeed a dashing, personable young doctor. One wild stormy night, a breathless messenger called out at the hospital residence: There s a woman dying at the Wallamba, but if you go out you won t be paid. His response followed a typical pattern. He immediately saddled up and rode through the teeming rain and blustering wind over dangerous dark and muddy bush tracks for many trying miles. The woman s life was saved and his reputation in town soared yet again. After nearly six eventful years he returned to England on leave in There he completed postgraduate work in surgery and became a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, which he accomplished by When he had left the Manning district at 6.30 am aboard the coastal steamship Electra, bound for Sydney to meet the mail steamer for London, almost the entire local population were there. The band struck up the popular tune You ll wander back again. Howse had certainly earned his spurs in the Manning. He had received a purse of sovereigns in appreciation at an evening farewell gathering a few days before. He did return to Taree briefly to set up a private practice, but at the end of 1898, he was to seek his fortune at the prosperous country township of Orange in the Central West, rather like the county Somerset town of Taunton. There he soon gained a similar reputation for his dedication. He was charming to man, woman and child, whatever rank in society and he became universally loved and respected. Significantly, he knew his way around local politics, being an astute observer and he made few serious political enemies. Neville s younger brother Oswald soon joined him in his practice at Orange. On 17 January, 1900, Howse was quickly commissioned as lieutenant in the New South Wales Army Medical Corps at the age of 37 and sailed with the 2 nd Contingent for South Africa, arriving on 22 February, Later, during the action at Vredefort pursuing General Christian De Wet s elusive commando column in the Orange Free State, Howse was attached to an Australian mounted infantry brigade. At the height of the fighting, as a line of Australian horsemen charged the Boer defensive position, he noticed a young trumpeter in the foremost line about 200 metres away fall in agony, wounded. Despite heavy enemy rifle fire, Howse immediately mounted his silvery-grey stallion held ready by Private Alfred Polson, his batman and horse carer from Taree. Howse galloped onto the exposed battlefield to rescue Sidney Berkley, the young man. Halfway to him, the stallion was shot from under his rider, but Howse continued running as fast as he could. Reaching the stricken man and still under severe crossfire, he coolly dressed his wounds, particularly one caused by a bullet through the bladder. Howse then lifted the young bugler and carried him in short rushes with bullets flying about them back to safety out of the line of fire. Howse carried Berkley into a farmhouse where he closely examined the man s wounds on the kitchen table. He operated, mending the perforated bladder. The patient survived and was invalided back to Australia arriving on 30 July, Howse s action immediately attracted a recommendation for the Victoria Cross from his commanding officer. The London Gazette citation of 4 June, 1901, read more succinctly that Howse went out under heavy fire and picked up a wounded man and carried him to a place of shelter. Berkley made a full recovery thanks to Howse s surgical skills. Right: The incident for which Captain Neville Howse was awarded the VC, Vredefort, July William Dargie. AWM ART Of the 100 VCs awarded to date to men in the Australian military forces, Howse s Victoria Cross has been the sole one awarded to a qualified medical officer and also the first occasion on which the VC was awarded to a member of the Australian (then the NSW) Military Forces in action. With several wounded remaining after the battle at Vredefort, including Boer commandos, they were all without exception cared for by the NSW Medical Corps under the direction of Howse in an DIGGER 40 Issue 51

41 improvised hospital he had personally devised. Because of the effective medical treatment, no man was lost. Howse was promoted to captain in October Later, during a similar encounter near Rustenburg, having successfully operated under heavy fire on a kopje [rocky hill] on a badly wounded Queensland officer, Howse volunteered to remain with his patient as the division had had to retreat. He was taken as a prisoner-of-war and detained for some time. He fell ill with typhoid (a second time) and was invalided to England. He later went back to the South African War. On returning to Orange by railway on 22 February 1901, Neville Howse received a tremendous local welcome considered the largest ever assembly in the town. The mayor of the city of Orange expressed the opinion to the wildly enthusiastic crowd: though he has not been a resident long, yet has become one of the most popular men in the city. On 5 December that year at the Victoria Barracks in Paddington, Howse received his Victoria Cross from Sir Frederick Darley, the Lieutenant-Governor of NSW, before a large assembly of naval and military officers. There was also a great crowd of the public on the rise above the barracks. The applause was prolonged. And his name was on everybody s lips. Neville Howse was one of six Australians to be awarded the VC in the South African War. Major Neville Howse, as an Empire man, aged about 52, was not reluctant to enlist again, this time in the Great War. In fact, he was the first man in Orange to do so and had been appointed to the [AN&MEF] expedition to German New Guinea. Returning in Sydney just in time, he had been appointed to the AIF as an extra-numerary medical officer and travelled by the leading troopship with the AIF to Egypt. Right: John Ramsland and Charles Howse. As the Anzacs landed on the beach at Gallipoli under heavy fire, the wounded began to accumulate on the sand, in a chaotic unplanned situation. Their removal to a safer place soon became an urgent imperative. In the absence of a corps or army representative to handle the casualty situation, Colonel Howse immediately took up the initiative on his own bat, with bullets flying around him. He established a casualty clearing station and a better organisation. To this complex task, he devoted his utmost energy, risking his life on numerous occasions. He realised that the beach was the weak link a death trap in the chain of invading procedure on the Peninsula. He selected an area at the southern end of the cove which was partly protected by a ridge. By am, the equipment and men for the casualty station was landed and set up and, by noon, they were hard at work attending the many wounded. Neville Howse was the most energetic, focussed and risk-taking of them all. He had erupted into action in a characteristic manner. He soon concentrated his efforts on ensuring the efficient embarkation to ships of every wounded man. Howse s administrative and organisational leadership qualities did not end there. He quickly rose through the ranks of the Australian Medical Corps to become Surgeon-General, its supremo. At the AIF headquarters at Horseferry Road, London, Neville Howse came to control all Australian medical services in England, Egypt, Palestine, France, Belgium and elsewhere, making frequent visits to the battle fronts. He was innovative and independent of the other Allied medical systems in first introducing surgical teams in the field. He reorganised the field ambulance to increase its efficiency. His splendid life as a surgeon, statesman and hero teaches us many things: the importance of an effective dedication to a calling the need to care for human life as a primary issue loyalty to those that strive effectively with us being confident and decisive in our actions keeping pace with innovations and current research the need for bravery, strength of persistent personality and decisiveness in critical moments and yet maintaining a sense of humour, boosting morale and so on... DIGGER 41 Issue 51

42 The famous Sir Harry Chauvel, of Australian Light Horse fame, wrote at the time of Neville Howse s death in 1930 in a London Hospital of pancreatic cancer at the age of 67: Sir Neville s personality and organising ability helped, of course, by the personnel with which he had to deal, made the Australian Army Medical Corps second to none in the forces of the Empire. The efficiency of the Australian hospitals was a constant source of admiration to the high commanders of the British and Allied forces in the war. Australia owes a great debt of gratitude to Sir Neville Howse. Another wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald: It is hard to realise Sir Neville Howse is dead. He was keen and full of life, every inch a soldier, a man of iron will, vision and quick decision... At ANZAC he went everywhere and set the highest example by his contempt for danger. General Sir Brudenall White wrote: His was a name to conjure with on Gallipoli... When the beach looked like a holocaust, Howse became a giant... for the greatest on the day, the palm would go to Neville Howse. As a soldier, General Howse was the embodiment of the spirit of service. He never spared himself any exertion to carry out his duty. While his great ability marked him from the first as an outstanding candidate for higher office, his first thought was always the health of the troops. He believed that they should be housed as well as circumstances would permit and cared for in sanitation, food and clothing at the highest possible standard. These matters were always foremost in his mind. As a man, Neville Howse was always kindly, approachable, full of sympathy and encouragement for others. While he appeared outwardly cynical, brilliant, scathing in conversation, he was a past master of diplomacy in the rigid military chain of command. But he loved the Empire and this country and his life was one of tireless devotion to both. Possessing assurance, he could talk to his most eminent superiors with independence he once dressed down Lord Kitchener for the lack of medical planning on Gallipoli, and Sir John Monash who attempted, unsuccessfully, to take over control of the Australian Medical Corps in Howse made sure it remained independent as a corps. Neville Howse was a master of men, because he was master of himself and never admitted to any weakness. At the same time, he had the greatest sympathy and understanding for the frailties of others, who always felt safe, happy and comfortable when he was nearby and in control. His slogan was duty and hard work. Australia had lost a great citizen at his death. Left: Wreaths laid at the Remembrance Boulder. DIGGER Quiz No. 51: Campbell s challenge : AIF commanders Answers on page Who were the General Officers Commanding the five Australian infantry divisions at the end of the war? 2. What rank was Sir WT Bridges holding when he was killed at Gallipoli? 3. Who was the Major General mortally wounded on the Western Front while showing William Holman, the NSW Premier, around the Messines battlefield? 4. What was unique in the war about the knighting of General John Monash? 5. Who were the two influential men who opposed Monash s promotion to the commander of the Australian Corps? 6. What was General Glasgow s reaction to the order by General Heneker to begin the counter-attack at Villers-Bretonneux on 24 April, 1918, at 8.00 pm? 7. What command positions did General Birdwood hold during the war? Wanted! Member David Wright is looking for a copy of a VHS video of a documentary called Where they flew and where they fell. Probably never released on DVD. If you have a copy David can borrow, please contact David at travelprospects@internode.on.net or via the Editor [see bottom of page 2]. DIGGER 42 Issue 51

43 The ANZAC Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney: a reflection Sean McManus, Panania. Ihave always had a sense of awe when I enter, first, the precincts of The ANZAC Memorial, then, as I customarily do, walk around its entirety, looking at the trees and gardens, soaking in the reverent calm that imbues the grounds. Whilst I am doing this, I am also admiring and studying the architecture and adornments, in their colossal grandeur, to remember their significance and the purpose of the Memorial. Finally, I reach the Pool of Reflection, and reflect, not only on the entire edifice, but also on a very poignant memory. I don t know how old I was, maybe between four and seven, when my father first took me to the Memorial [right, flickr.com]. I recall being drawn straight to the big pool and, seeing ducks and gulls, asking my dad for something to feed the birds. His reply was something along the lines of: No son, this is a holy place. I think I then asked him if I could have some money to throw in the pool, as I recall coppers on the bottom. I don t recall if he gave me a penny or one cent piece to throw in. Somehow, I remember being oblivious to the main building of the Memorial until my father took me by the hand and we started to ascend these huge steps. During what seemed a two-feet-on-each-step upward climb I remember asking: Dad, is this a church? His response was Sort of, a very special one. Immediately I passed through the portal I felt like I had entered a place that was more than special. A calm filled me, a coolness descended and all the noise of the outside world evaporated. I did feel like I was in a church, no, a cathedral! After peering through the baluster, as I was not tall enough to look over the balustrade, down on the Hall of Silence and seeing a dead man with no clothes on, my dad (I think he picked me up at this stage for a better view), explained the significance of the bronze in his laconic way. [Left: Sacrifice ; peterlachnewinsky.wordpress.com.] He again took me by the hand and pointed out the names of places around the wall that I found hard to pronounce and he would occasionally stop and say: Your grandfather was there. Before descending to view Sacrifice from the lower level, dad said to me Look up. I was stunned. It was like looking at the night sky in daylight all those suns glowing gold! I thought my father told me at the time that every star represented a soldier who was killed in the Great War. I couldn t count that high let alone so many dead, but it was a long time ago and my memory may misinterpret. I have since understood that the stars represent all the men and women from New South Wales who contributed their service in World War I. My father was born in 1932 (he passed away over a dozen years ago) and I often wonder if his father*, a twice-wounded survivor of the 2 nd Battalion, walked my dad up those same steps back when the Memorial was newly built and also said, Look up? To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep (John McCrae, extract from In Flanders Fields.) Hopefully, like my memory, one young child of Anzac will one day ascend the big steps and be awed. Then a quiet voice will whisper. Look up. As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness, To the end, to the end they remain. (Laurence Binyon, extract from For the Fallen.) Lest We Forget. Endnote: * Sean s grandfather was Private 3892 J McManus, 12 th Reinforcements/2 nd Battalion AIF. DIGGER 43 Issue 51

44 Private 6990 Frank Ellis, 3 rd Battalion Geoff Lewis, Raglan. Private 6990 Frank Ellis was the third of Mary Ellis boys to enlist in the AIF. He signed up at Dubbo on 27 October 1916, a little over five months after his brother, Tom [see DIGGER 49]. For the 26 year old law clerk, it was not the first time that he had tried to enlist, being earlier rejected on medical grounds. Frank suffered from a painful condition known as varicocele [enlarged veins of the testicle]. Physically, he was a large man, standing at six feet three inches in height and weighing 173 pounds. He continued the family tradition in having the trait of a dark complexion and hair and blue eyes. Within a fortnight, he was in training at the AIF s Liverpool Camp on the outskirts of Sydney. Here, he was allocated to the 23 rd Reinforcements to the 3 rd Battalion [1 st Brigade, 1 st Division AIF], where he trained as an infantryman. Upon arrival in the UK, Frank was sent to hospital in Dunnington, North Yorkshire, suffering from mumps, a disease that infected thousands of Diggers en route to Britain or the Middle East. It must have been especially painful for Frank, given his medical condition, as he remained in hospital for just on a month. This meant that he was not taken on the strength of the 3 rd Battalion until 21 June, 1917, at Reims. Above: Four sons of Mrs M Ellis. From left to right: George Ellis, Frank Ellis, Mrs M Ellis (mother), Alf Ellis, Thomas Ellis. Cowra Free Press, 16 January, The voyage to the UK Frank set sail from Sydney on 9 November, 1916, bound for Britain. He was aboard the ton HMAT 24 Benalla, average speed of 14 knots. The ship was owned by the P&O SN Company of London. From the letters Frank sent to his mother we see that his voyage was not dissimilar from the others the men of the AIF experienced. He believed that it was a rotten ship because conditions aboard led to respiratory ailments, mumps and meningitis. He was to suffer from the first two during the voyage. Interestingly, he was very critical of the doctors whom he believed didn t care to bother much unless it [an illness] was very bad [meaning meningitis]. Poignantly, he vividly recalled three burials at sea: I don t think I shall ever quite forget those burials at sea, of course, everything is done respectfully, but there seems to be no-one who really cares and it seems such a lonely ending. This compassion for other soldiers became a recurring characteristic not only of his time at the Front but also in his life afterwards. He reflected that life aboard ship was monotonous. He and his mates even looked forward to their 12 hour shift of guard duty every ten days. Volunteering as a mess orderly also gave him a break. There was a good deal of free time when sport such as boxing was offered. Being Australian, playing cards and gambling to while away the hours was, of course, very popular among the men. Such activities did not attract Frank, who looked forward to going to church parades and communion. There were two other weekly two-hour parades which would have covered military matters and lectures from officers or the medicos about the dangers that lurked when they were given leave. Very little in the way of practical training to ready them for the front was given as there was not enough room. Several times he describes the daily routine on the transport. Here he is concerned with the minutiae of life. Like all soldiers, he thinks about food. It was, on the whole, plentiful, except towards the end of the voyage when shortages began to appear as: meat, fish and rabbit don t improve with keeping! The diet was unchanging, adding to the monotony: DIGGER 44 Issue 51

45 6:00 am: Reveille, roll hammocks. 7:00 am: breakfast of porridge and stew am: Parade. Noon: dinner of soup, meat, pudding/duff/stewed fruit and tea and always rice. 2:00-4:00 pm: Parade. 5:00 pm: tea comprising really good bread, lovely butter, jam and tea. 8:00 pm: draw hammocks. 9:00 pm: lights out. Shore leave was also a welcome respite from the daily hum-drum. The convoy s first port-of-call was Durban. His letters somewhat reflect him as the innocent abroad, given that this is the first time he had ever been in a foreign country. He found the city awfully pretty with beautiful buildings and beaches. He was impressed with the many beautiful churches. At the YMCA a splendid place for soldier he found that he could buy almost anything for a trifling cost. The double-deck trams were free, Frank enthused. Reflecting attitudes of the time, he noted that: You can t move for blacks here. On the other hand, he was appalled by the soldiers throwing coins from the ship to the natives below and making them dive or fight amongst themselves for them. Although the ship called in at Cape Town, a throat infection the first of several kept him on board. As the convoy travelled north, the oppressive tropical heat and humidity began to play on the men. The reinforcements of the 3 rd Battalion came from NSW and were simply not used to the equatorial climate. They tried to sleep on deck, but found this too hard and uncomfortable. In any case, the nights were cold and damp, so they had to squeeze into their closely packed hammocks below decks. The men were not allowed any further shore leave, even though the convoy pulled into Sierra Leone for provisioning for a few days. However, as the ships entered European waters, the temperatures began to drop, just as the men began to long for Christmas at home. We get the impression from Frank s letters that morale was beginning to sag: I m real homesick and the tears are in my eyes and I think of you all. [Christmas Eve, 1916.] He was probably reflecting the thoughts of all those in the convoy. Despite the cold and increasingly foggy weather, Frank s spirits seem to rise by New Year: Fancy A new year a new life and a new land ahead. I trust this year may before its termination bring peace and happiness to everybody. He was expressing the hopes of these men as they were about to begin the biggest adventure of their lives. Sadly for many, they would not see the year out. Once ashore, Frank left fog-bound Portsmouth for Amesbury by train. The journey would take seven hours. He wrote to his sister that they stopped at a town called Exeter where a bag of buns was presented to each man by the Mayoress [sic] of Exeter. Disembarking from the train, they then had a three mile march to the main AIF Training Camp at Larkhill. They went to bed at 1:30 am. Five hours later Reveille was sounded and their first day in this vast 25 square mile camp began in freezing weather. Frank wrote a wry comment about the Salisbury Plain weather that: It s fearfully cold here- Blayney is nothing to it! [Those of us from the Central West will appreciate this comment Geoff.] Still, he did not mind being made to work as he felt that they did not receive enough training on the voyage to Britain. The latrine telegraph immediately sprang into operation and he wrote to his sister that They tell us something is going on in the west in the spring one officer said that it is going to be real hell. The general opinion is that it s going to finish the war if the Germans don t cave in before. Off to the front Frank had already noted in a letter to his sister, Nell, that he thought that the battalion reinforcements were under-prepared to go to the Front to fight. This insight was accurate as the 3 rd Battalion men were held back at Larkhill for further training. Frank, himself, spent another month in hospital with mumps and was not taken on the strength of the battalion until 21 June 1917, at Reims. His brother, Tom who was in the same convoy but aboard a different transport had already seen action at Second Bullecourt. Frank did not have long to wait to join Tom in Flanders, for on 19 September the men of the 3 rd Battalion were told that they were to move up as reserve/support/carriers for the 1 st Division s attack the next day: the Battle of Menin Road. The two brothers were to see action one as a signaller and the other as an infantryman in the Third Battle of Ypres commonly known as Passchendaele. Officially, the battle began on 31 July, but it can be argued that the campaign was launched earlier at the successful Battle of Messines in June. [The story of the 3 rd Battalion at Menin Road and Broodseinde Ridge has been told in Tom s story in DIGGER 49.] DIGGER 45 Issue 51

46 The two brothers survived the mud and horrors of Passchendaele and were sent to the River Lys Sector in Belgian Flanders for rest and recuperation. There they remained through the New Year until April when Ludendorff launched his attack across the Somme and around Arras. The story of the hurried departure and fighting of the 1 st Division from Amiens to save Hazebrouck is also told in Tom s story, but there are differences in their experiences. We now take up the story of the Ellis boys on 18 April 1918, the day after Signaller Tom Ellis was wounded in action at Strazeele. For a few weeks, open warfare continued across the flat country of southern Belgium. Trenches almost disappeared as the new tactics dictated movement, using any available cover. This meant that manpower could be spread thinner and wider. It was in these conditions that the 1 st Division perfected a new tactic that was to become a major change to how the war was fought. In the meantime, the Germans continued to press their attack. On 19 May, the Strazeele sector was heavily shelled. Nibbling the line The origins of peaceful penetration or nibbling are obscure, but its embryonic form was seen at Gallipoli and used in the Sinai and Palestine by the Light Horse. Basically, it was a cross between patrolling and trench raiding. Originally, it involved raiding enemy trenches at night and taking prisoners for their information, conducting reconnaissance, and then returning to the safety of their own trenches. The activity was enthusiastically taken up by the Australians, who relished the challenge and the opportunity to use the flair and initiative for which they had become famous, instead of stalemated trench warfare. As fighting became more fluid on the Western Front in early 1918, the Diggers added an additional objective: to dominate No-man s land. Simply, small groups of soldiers, sometimes randomly, slipped into the German front lines which had now become a series of posts. The groups of three to six men attacked from the rear, making little or no noise and captured the posts. Minimal force or bloody, silent hand-to-hand fighting was used. Instead of retreating to their own lines, the Diggers consolidated the captured territory by occupying the posts. These were then linked through quiet patrolling to maintain communications and single strands of barbed wire with empty jam tins attached to alert them to any enemy intrusion. Peaceful penetration in Flanders was first reported in the 58 th Battalion War Diary on 5 April, Within a couple of weeks it was being used by all Australian divisions. Physically, they were gradually increasing Allied ground. On 11 May, men of the 1 st and 4 th Battalions captured 900 metres of enemy territory on a single night by this means. Some units employed the tactic more than others. For example, the 3 rd Division sent out nibbling patrols three nights in every five during April. Some battalions held informal competitions within their brigades to see who could capture the most ground, take the most prisoners and posts, all without taking casualties of their own. On 11 July, two patrols, each of four men, captured 68 Germans and seven machine guns in one night. The two officers each won the MC and some of the others the DCM. On 27 May, a lieutenant in Frank s battalion, JS Nixon [Johnston Stockfield Nixon], reported that a patrol he led from Strazeele to Mont de Merris in which [they] killed 2, captured 3 and gained valuable intelligence which revealed that the tactic was having psychological effects on [the] enemy who were not expecting such a hard time of it. Here lies the difference between peaceful penetration and the traditional forms of patrolling and trench raiding. The enemy, especially the increasing number of young, inexperienced or poorly trained soldiers who were now appearing in Flanders, were being affected by the seemingly random attacks. Obviously, the patrols were well-planned and organised, but the Germans would never know when their posts would be attacked. Some were hit on several consecutive nights, while others were hit every so often in an apparent random fashion. By June, the Australians were launching attacks just before dawn or in some cases, in broad daylight, using long grass, trees and yet to be harvested crops as cover. As noted in the 3 rd Battalion diary: The patrols continued to operate during the morning and succeeded in capturing practically the whole outpost garrison of the enemy. This is an example of the stepping-up of daylight raids where good cover helped maintain the element of surprise. On 13 July, the Chief-of-Staff of the German 2 nd Army complained in a report that: During the last few days the Australians have succeeded in penetrating, or taking prisoner, single posts or piquets. They have gradually even in daylight succeeded in getting possession of a majority of the forward zone of a whole division. Troops must fight. They must not give way at every opportunity and seek to avoid fighting The best way to make the enemy more careful in his attempt to drive us bit by bit out of the outpost line and forward zone is to do active reconnaissance If the enemy can succeed in scoring a success without any special support by artillery or assistance from special troops, we must be in a position to do same. Due to DIGGER 46 Issue 51

47 the lack of experience and training of the reinforcements being sent to the Front, they were not able to do this. A German POW explained their situation more succinctly: You bloody Australians, when you are in the line you keep us on pins and needles: we never know when you are coming over. The greatest praise for the 1 st Division came from General Hubert Plumer, GOC of the British 2 nd Army a man not known for handing out compliments, when he said to some AIF staff officers after a conference: I would like to tell that there is no other division, certainly in my army, perhaps in the whole British army, which has done more to destroy the morale of the enemy than the 1 st Australian Division. Major General Tom Glasgow, CO of the 1 st Division, made sure that his men received Plumer s praise. Even though peaceful penetration continued and was adopted by the New Zealanders, Scots and Canadians, open warfare was continuing in Flanders and elsewhere. For most of the time, Frank and the 3 rd Battalion were in and around their old haunts of Strazeele, Meteren and Merris. A great deal of their time was spent patrolling and protecting the vital railway line at Strazeele. Early in June, intelligence gathered from nibbling alluded to the possibility of a German attack on June. The 1 st Division was kept at the Front. The attack did not eventuate, but an outbreak of influenza broke out among the men of both sides. It is believed that this was the reason for the attack not proceeding. The division suffered several strong and accurate artillery and machine-gun attacks during this period. It seems that peaceful penetration also caused regular postponements of these attacks as [The Germans] did not know exactly where the Australians had gone to on their marauding raids. [CEW Bean] Gains were also made by using regular tactics. From 29 May to 1 June, Frank was involved in a rather complex, three-pronged, attack to retake Meteren. Following an initial setback, the strategic town was eventually captured late in the afternoon, using their rifles, Lewis guns and rifle-launched grenades. On 29 July, the 1 st Division were part of an assault that took Merris. The fighting in the Lys gradually declined as men from both sides became exhausted. The Germans retreated back to their Hindenburg defences, while the Allies were too worn out to actively pursue them. The 1 st Division was finally relieved after four months of almost continuous activity in the area. The GOC of XV Corps, Lieutenant General Beauvoir de Lisle, wrote to Tom Glasgow warmly congratulating the Australians for all that they had achieved: Before your magnificent Division leaves my Corps, I wish to thank you and all ranks under your command for the exceptional service rendered during the past four months. Joining the Corps on 12 th April, during the Battle of the LYS the Division selected and prepared a position to defend the HAZEBROUCK Front, and a few days later repulsed two heavy attacks with severe losses to the enemy. This action brought the enemy s advance to a standstill. Since then, the Division has held the most important sector of this front continuously, and by skilful raiding and minor operations have advanced the line over a mile on a front of yards, capturing just short of prisoners, and causing such damage to the troops of the enemy that nine Divisions have been replaced. The complete success of all minor operations; the skill displayed by the patrols by day as well as by night; the gallantry and determination of the troops; and their high state of training and discipline have excited the admiration and emulation of all, and I desire that you convey to all ranks my high appreciation of their fine work and my regret that the Division is leaving my Command. [4 August, 1918.] Back to the Somme Following two months rest, Frank and the 1 st Division returned to 1 st Australian Corps on 8 August now on the Somme the first day of the Battle of Amiens. They relieved the 5 th Division on the 9 th in an area to the east of the city, near Villers-Bretonneux. Previously, between 27 May and 18 July, Ludendorff had launched five simultaneous attacks against the Allies between the Rivers Aisne and Marne: the Battle of the Aisne. After initial successes against the French, the German impetus began to fade. The Allies were now ready to go on the offensive. On 8 August, in a surprise attack, 456 tanks replaced the usual artillery barrage on the German lines from Albert in the north and Montdidier in the south. The main attack was along the axis of the old Roman Road that ran from Amiens to Peronne, with the Australian Corps (less the 1 st Division) in the lead. Their front was fourteen miles wide. Fortunately, very heavy fog concealed the Australian s initial moves in the open, flat country. Such was the speed, surprise and planning of the attack, the Australians and the Canadians on their right, easily swept aside the German front positions, composed of shallow trenches and posts, such as they had encountered while nibbling. By the end of the first day, eight miles had been captured, with only DIGGER 47 Issue 51

48 the extreme flanks meeting any kind of resistance. The 3 rd Division reached Harbonnieres at 7:30 in the evening. German soldiers surrendered in scores without firing a shot. It was the day that Ludendorff famously described as: The black day of the German Army in the history of this war Our war machine is no longer efficient. In other words, he knew that the end was not far away. In fact, the Armistice was just a few days over three months away. There was still much work to be done. The advance had now reached the old 1916 battlefields: a flat wasteland of derelict trenches and rusty barbed wire entanglements [Bean]. Beyond, towards Peronne, the Germans were rapidly reinforcing in anticipation of the continuation of the Allies eastward advance. On the 9 th, the 1 st Division, which had been held in reserve, relieved the 5 th, moving southeast towards Lihons, which they took on 12 August. This was despite administrative muddling which caused the 1 st Division to be late in relieving the 5 th. The advance was beginning to become a grind. Forward movement was slowed down as the guns and tanks could not keep pace with the infantry. After three days the 1 st Division was relieved and moved north of the Roman Road for a break. By 15 August a halt was called so that the attackers could regroup. Back in action, the 1 st Division captured Chuignes on 23 August and moved forward to take Herleville and Proyart despite solid enemy resistance. They then swept north towards Cappy. Their progress was not without difficulties. In the north, the British met the first significant check in the Allies progress. Lack of tanks and reserves caught the Tommies in the broken country along the River Somme and, initially, they could not take the strategically important Chipilly Ridge, which enabled German machine guns to fire down on the 3 rd and 4 th Brigades left flank. Significant casualties were taken, but with the assistance of the Tank Corps, the Ridge and village of Morcourt were taken after two days fighting. For a time, the attack had lost its momentum. Likewise, the Canadians were held up in the gully country south of Lihons. Consequently, a sixteen mile wide salient developed in the Allied line, which was not straightened until 23 August. This provided a stable line from which to launch attacks on Mont St Quentin and Peronne, a mere six miles away. Leaving the Front Frank s time at the front was coming to an end. On 27 August, Frank s division was relieved and marched back to Morcourt. On 7 September, he received orders to go to Rouen on duty. Frank s service record does not indicate specifically why he was sent to this city. He was not wounded, but an examination of his earlier health and obituaries written at the time of his death provide evidence to support a theory. Rouen was synonymous to every Digger in the war as the 1 st Australian General Hospital. As the name suggests, it was a large base military hospital that dealt with a wide range of casualties, diseases and illnesses. It was established 150 km south of Amiens, on 4 June, 1916, on the town s racecourse, and was closed on 7 December, 1918, and its staff moved to Sutton Very. Interestingly, 1 st AGH shared the racecourse with an American hospital and the 10 th British General Hospital for wounded enemy prisoners and BEF prisoners suffering self-inflicted wounds. In its three years of existence, patients passed through its wards, but only 11% were Australians. Treatment was available to all, irrespective of which side of No-man s land they fought. (Two other AGHs were at Cairo and Boulogne. All were supported by a network of auxiliary hospitals.) In all probability, Frank Ellis, law clerk, was still suffering from varicocele, the complaint noted in his service record. His clerical skills were no doubt noted by the Army, and although he was no longer in action, he would have served the remainder of the war in an administrative position at 1 st AGH. With his promotions to corporal and then sergeant he would have worked in the impressive administration buildings. Indeed, he may even have received some treatment for his condition while there. Turning to the two extant obituaries, we discover that Frank was very well-known in the ex-service community. Upon discharge, he worked in the War Service Homes Commission in Adelaide and then in Melbourne until 1939, when he was promoted to Deputy Commissioner of the Commission, now based in Brisbane. He had been an officer of the Commission for twenty-one years, suggesting that he had been signalled out for the position before he returned to Australia on 6 July, 1919, aboard HMAT Boorara. Again, his record suggests that he was working in an administrative capacity. [ Courier Mail, 6 October, 1941.] The second obituary appeared in Reveille, stating that Frank Ellis passed away on 23 September, 1941, and that he had suffered a long and painful illness. Frank joined the public service in 1920 as a conveyancer and later, in 1934, as Chief Clerk before his senior appointment. His enthusiasm, dedication to ex-servicemen and skills were first used at Rouen, and continued for the rest of his life. DIGGER 48 Issue 51

49 On Active Service: Sergeant 220 John Harold Falconer 18 th Battalion, Part 3 Contributed by Neil Falconer, Turramurra. Transcribed by Megan Falconer. Edited by Graeme Hosken. We take up John s story as he is evacuated following his wounding at Hill 60, Gallipoli. Chapter VI: To England aboard the SS Canada My wait at Anzac Cove lasted for two hours, when we were taken off on lighters to a hospital ship about a mile out from shore. I had dinner on her and was then taken on to a steam pinnace to Imbros Harbour, where we transhipped on to another boat. This boat took us as far as Lemnos, when we were transhipped to the SS Canada. Early next morning [24 August] we sailed in the direction of Malta. Two days out, my arm getting gradually worse, I was operated on under chloroform to get my arm drained. This necessitated a third wound. The next day we arrived at Malta, where we laid in the stream for three days. Life on board this ship was anything but pleasant. It was an ordinary troopship converted hurriedly into an auxiliary hospital ship. It was over crowded with Tommies, the food tainted and very scarce, the washing utensils scarcer still, and as far as clothes there were none. The nurses were kind, also the doctors, and treated us very well. We left Malta, and three days later reached Gibraltar, where we stayed another three days expecting to go into hospital there. Imagine our delight when on our third day we were informed that our destination was England. From Gibraltar to Devonport took three days and we were escorted by a destroyer all the way. It was real pretty to see the destroyer cutting zig-zag across our bow and we felt perfectly safe. We had fine weather all the way and I was feeling fairly well, when we landed at Devonport on the morning of 9 September From Devonport to London took us eight hours, and we travelled through some beautiful country. The reception we got at the stations our train stopped was very enthusiastic and made us feel very proud of ourselves. We arrived at Paddington Station, London, at midnight. The station was in darkness and the people to whom we spoke told us that there had been a Zepp[elin] raid the night before, and that they expected another one that night. We were duly impressed but at the same time didn t care much if all the Zepps Germany had came across, so long as we got to bed. We were taken in cars to the various hospitals and I, together with one of my pals, Claude Bell [Pte 355 Claude Coleman Bell, 18 th Bn, RTA 24/6/16] found ourselves in St George s Hospital, Hyde Park Corner, situated right in the centre of London and about 500 yards from Buckingham Palace. Left: St George s Hospital, London. Will I ever forget the sights we saw on entering into our ward? Just imagine: a long corridor with beds, pure white along each side; a long dark polished table down the centre. Just inside the door sitting at a small table, with a large vase of flowers upon it, sat a pretty young nurse, while overhead, hung the one solitary light, softly shaded with a red lamp shade. As we entered she rose, smiling at us the while, and welcomed us into the hospital. Then followed my first bath for three weeks. After a bath, we had supper and then into bed, after having our wounds dressed. My stay in hospital was one delight. I was visited by Dad s cousin, Mrs Moore, also the mother of one of my fellow sergeants in the 18 th, Mrs Everson [possibly mother of Pte 1168 Robert John Everson, 18 th Bn, RTA 13/12/15]. The kindness of the people touched us greatly, also that of the nursing staff and the doctors. Everywhere we went we were welcomed warmly and they could not do enough for us. Every DIGGER 49 Issue 51

50 afternoon we had some outing, either a theatre or a home party, to which professional artists used to come and amuse us, or else a motor drive round the suburbs of London and even through London itself. While in hospital, the lists of casualties of the 18 th Battalion were published in the English papers and as Les s name did not appear I was somewhat relieved, as I had been worrying a good deal about him. In consequence of our trips around London, I saw a good deal and I decided to spend my furlough when discharged at some of the other places. After a very pleasant stay in hospital, I was discharged [in late September] after nearly three weeks spell. Chapter VII: Furlough and camp again One bright Friday morning [in September] at 9.00 am, three other patients and myself were discharged from hospital and went from St George s Hospital to Millbank Military Hospital, Westminster, where we were fitted out with a second-hand suit of Tommy s uniform. From here I went by taxi to the Australian Imperial Forces Headquarters in Victoria Street. Here, after being examined by the doctor, we were granted 14 days furlough. I received a train warrant to Edinburgh as well as all the pay due to me on my pay book. After that was all done, I was free to spend my fourteen days alone in London. All my business took some considerable time and it was late in the afternoon when I eventually found myself free. It then being too late to go out to Mrs Moore s, I decided to book a room and then go to a theatre to pass away the evening. Darkness overtook me before I had reached Waterloo, and I found myself wandering around in the dreary drizzling rain that had commenced to fall. I was indeed alone in London. At Waterloo I was fortunate enough to obtain a room in the YMCA, and this done, retraced my steps to a restaurant I had passed on my way. After tea I went to the Lyceum Theatre and after a very pleasant evening I went to bed. Next morning early, I caught a motor bus at Hyde Park Corner and 1½ hours later arrived at Mrs Moore s, Upton Park. I spent the day there, and at pm that night found myself leaving Kings Cross Station bound for Edinburgh, where I arrived at 7.30 am next morning. I spent five days here looking at all the sights of interest. The chief places I visited were the Castle, Holyrood Palace [right], Forth Bridge, and the seaside places of Portobello and Musselberra. Staying at the Regent Hotel, Regent Street, just off the main street, I was very much surprised to see the old cable system of trams, and also highly amused to see them still in use. Edinburgh is a beautiful city. The first sight that catches the eye as you walk down Princes Street is the Castle. Between the road and the Castle, the ground dips down and forms a gully, which is laid out in the form of a garden. On the other side of the garden, the ground rises high above the road level and is rough and rocky. High on top the Castle is built and, if a misty morning, is exceptionally beautiful. Holyrood Palace is another beautiful sight; only to enjoy the full visit one has to know history pretty well. The trip out to Forth Bridge is full of interest and well worth a visit. From Edinburgh I took a seat in a big motor charabanc, the fare being a 1/- each, return. The journey lasts just on an hour, and then pulls you up at a quiet little fishing village. In ordinary times a ferry runs out under the bridge, but owing to the war, it is not running now, so we had to be content with looking from a distance. It is a magnificent structure and spans the width of Forth. We were delighted to see some of our own Australian warships, and we found out that this is their base. My five days came to a close and I caught the pm train for London, where I arrived [the next morning]. After breakfast I returned to Upton Park where I stayed and caught the train at Waterloo for Aldershot, and the home of my friend s mother, Mrs Everson. I spent a very enjoyable though quiet holiday here, during which time I was made very welcome. I returned to Upton Park [in] October and stayed with Mrs Moore until [the] day my furlough came to an end. I reported at Victoria Street and was then taken by train to Weymouth, the depot for the Australian and New Zealand troops. Our camp was named Monte Video and is situated some two miles out in the country. I arrived here about pm and was allotted to my hut. Life here was very pleasant; a very mild routine of military work was carried out. The food was real good and plentiful, and the washing and sanitary arrangements perfect. DIGGER 50 Issue 51

51 Leave was granted almost every night and weekends, into the town of Weymouth, which is a town built right on the seaside, and in the season, one of the leading seaside resorts of England. It boasted of a rather fine promenade built along the shore and at one end a decent theatre. There are two theatres in Weymouth and various picture shows which we frequented. I met some of my comrades who had been wounded in the same charge as myself, and we had some decent evenings together, talking of old times, and mostly of comrades we had lost. One morning volunteers were called for, to form a draft to go back to Gallipoli and most of us volunteered and went into hard training to get fit. Eventually on the morning of the 30 th November, we left our camp to the tune of Keep the home fires burning and Keep your eyes on Germany played by the depot band. The train took us to Liverpool when at pm that night we embarked on the Olympic. Next morning at dawn we sailed away from Blighty and after an uneventful voyage arrived at Lemnos on the 3 rd December. We disembarked and went into camp for a week. Nothing happened to relate during that week and on the morning of the 7 th [December] we embarked on the Princess Ena bound once more for Gallipoli. Chapter VIII: The Evacuation My thoughts, as in darkness and silence we pushed through the night on our way to the Peninsula, were varied and many. I thought of the light-hearted and happy comrades whom it was my honour to be amongst on the last occasion I travelled these same waters. I thought of home and loved ones, and how they were faring. I thought of Les, what he was doing and where he might be, and last of all what I was to do. I prayed for confidence and strength to meet whatever was my lot, bravely and confidently. I had had no word of Les or George, but in one of the London papers I had seen Harold had been reported killed. The landing was carried out, in very much the same way as on the last occasion. It took place at midnight and at dawn on the 8 th [December] I reported back to my company who were then at Courtney s Post. Imagine my surprise and delight to see my old pal, Harold, looking at me, as large as life and in better condition than I had ever seen him before. After breakfast I went round the trench to see George. My word he was glad to see me. We were talking of our experiences, when I looked up and saw poor old Les coming along the trench to see me. I was overwhelmed with joy when I shook hands with him and saw how well he was looking. I was glad to know that he was a corporal on ordnance, and as I knew that his work kept him out of the firing line, I was real pleased. Above right: Men outside dugouts at the 18 th Battalion headquarters, which was about 10 yards from the front line at Courtney s Post. December AWM A The tales that both he and my pals told me of what had happened after I had left the Peninsula wounded, made me realise how fortunate I had been in missing the second charge [on Hill 60] on the Friday following the one I was in, and also the heart-breaking and deadly work they had done even after that. My company was sadly in want of reinforcements; in fact, there were only 22 men all told that still remained in the old battalion. In the charge of the 22 nd August the battalion suffered somewhat like 70 casualties and after the second charge the total strength was a little over 200 strong out of the who landed there. Our old officers had suffered too and I found myself a total stranger to our new ones, also to more than half of the men. Corporal Shapira [see profile in DIGGER 49] had been promoted to sergeant and from then on Frank and I became very close pals. I quickly became acquainted with my duties and settled down to trench life fairly well. Les came up fairly often to see me, and I often saw a good deal of George and Harold. We were only about 50 yards off the Turks and at one post called the Crater it was only 10 yards. I was often on guard at this post. I was very much interested in the network of underground tunnels and also in the mining operations that were in progress. We were shelled every afternoon by the Turks between 2 pm and 5 pm and this necessitated a permanent staff of parapet builders. Bombing and machine-gun duels were held nightly, but in the day time things were very quiet. The food was very scarce and I lived solely on biscuits and bacon DIGGER 51 Issue 51

52 fat. We had a little bacon each morning, practically no fresh bread or meat and very little jam or cheese. Water was still scarce and other than the half pint of tea at each meal we had none. Consequently, we became very lazy. Our casualties were light; the majority being from snipers and sickness. About the 15 th December a rumour came round that the evacuation of Gallipoli was to take place. Some heated discussion took place on this subject, but no-one realised that for once rumour would come true. A couple of days later, however, a circular came round from General Birdwood, [saying] that we were going to evacuate and telling us that those responsible for the operations relied on our secrecy and discipline. This was received with a mixture of gladness and sorrow: glad because we would get away from what seemed even to us, a hopeless task; and sorrow on account of the fine lives that had been lost there. To whoever the honour of the evacuation belongs, he must congratulate himself upon the strategical and well-formed plans he made that led up to so complete a success as the evacuation proved to be. We were highly amused on the first night the strategical moves were practised. It was as follows: an order came down the trench to the effect that a complete silence was to be maintained between the hours of twelve midnight and 3 am. On an ordinary night, sniping, bombing, and machine-gun fire was kept up until dawn, and consequently, when Johnny Turk missed these regular sounds from our trenches, he was completely bamboozled and straight away started a terrific fire at us. We kept a strict silence nightly, only at different hours, and sometimes longer and sometimes shorter. The Turks took a tumble at last, after three or four nights, and answered our silence in the same manner. It was about this time a week prior to the last of the operations that Les and I had another narrow escape. Les came up from Shrapnel Gully to bid me good luck and goodbye, as he was leaving that night with DADOS. I was in charge then of the post on Courtney s Post and after chatting to Les for about ¼ hour I went out on to the platform in rear of the trenches. We had just shaken hands and I was turning to go back to my post, while Les was just descending the steep hills, which led down to Shrapnel Gully, when a broomstick bomb, lobbed among six fellows who were standing about 10 yards from us. Two were killed and three wounded. I was knocked down with the falling body of one of the poor chaps, but I escaped covered in blood, and with a sprained ankle. Les was unhurt. Above right: A Turkish broomstick bomb, held by scouts of the 19 th Battalion (wearing light horse bandoliers). AWM P The result of the silences maintained by us during the night led to, in my opinion, our complete success during the three last critical nights of the evacuation. I will only dwell on the last night in which I took part. George and Les safely away, I felt comparatively happy. In the first and second nights small parties had left but this night, the 20 th December, 1915, was to be the deciding night. The afternoon was occupied in various preparations, like burying ammunition, bombs, etc, packing up our belongings and equipment, and also blackening old shiny metal parts, so as not to show in the moonlight. We had already sent our covering party, who took up their position on Plugge s Plateau ; their duty being to fight a rearguard action in case of necessity. At 5 pm practically all our troops left the trenches and formed up on the platform in rear, leaving sufficient only to man each post with two men and one NCO in charge of four posts, with one officer per Company. I was in charge of [posts] 5, 6, 7 and 8. From 5 pm our task was very tedious. On us remaining in the trench depended the safe evacuation of the majority of troops now on their way to Anzac Cove in case Turkey attacked. Everybody was filled with excitement and sniping was carried out until pm. I wandered from post to post chatting to the men and now and again went along to have a chat to Harold Williamson [Pte, later Sgt, 336 Harold Barbour Williamson MM, 18 th Bn/Army Pay Corps, RTA 23/7/19] who was one of the machine-gun crew, and who was one of the very last to leave the trenches. At pm all rifle fire ceased, and at pm we filed out silently on to the platform, where we all congregated, leaving only the machine gunners and officers in the trenches. These men were to leave at 2.00 am. DIGGER 52 Issue 51

53 At midnight we started down the steep, rocky hillside on our way to the beach. Our feet being muffled, also our rifles and bayonet handles, we made no row, and all that was to be heard was the deep slow breathing of the men. On our way we passed several cemeteries and our eyes grew dim at the thought of leaving our brave comrades remains in the hands of the enemy. Our small party soon swelled in numbers as we were joined in the gully by our men filing down from various other parts of the line. We eventually arrived at the beach and as we marched along the wharf, we were counted by two officers, and without a moments delay we embarked on the lighters and quickly steamed away to the troopships lying about yards out from the shore. Now that we were safely away from the shore, we waited to see what would have been a most spectacular sight. I refer to the lighting of the mines. The last fortnight on the Peninsula was taken up by sinking huge mines all along the Anzac front. This work kept going day and night, was very hard and tedious, as all the earth excavated had to be put in bags and carried out behind the trenches. A few days before the operations started these mines were completed and connected up by electric wires to the beach. As we heard, when on the way to Lemnos, that on the last night an order was given to the effect that the mines were not to be let-off unless Turkey attacked. As they did not attack we were cheated out of a very fine sight. Once safely aboard our troopship we waited anxiously for the machine gunners and also the rear guard, of which the majority of men were from the 18 th Battalion, to come aboard. About an hour later, everybody being safely off the Peninsula, we set sail for Lemnos, where we arrived about 9.00 am on the morning of the 21 st December We disembarked at 2.00 pm and after a very solid march arrived at our camp at West Mudros about 7.00 pm. Chapter IX: On Lemnos Island Nothing in the shape of food was forthcoming that night, so after allotting our men to their tents we turned in to bed and slept soundly until morning. Lemnos is a bare and barren island at this time of the year, situated in the Mediterranean Sea and belonging to Greece. It is poorly inhabited and the buildings are crude and dirty. Studded here and there around the island are small villages built of mud and stone. The people are quaint and so are their ways. The chief industry seems to be grapevine growing, also a little wheat and corn. Their farm implements are of a type hundreds of years old, their ploughs being the same as described in the Bible and pulled by oxen. Our first day on Lemnos was taken up by sorting and delivering mail and comforts, of which there was quite a quantity. The weather was just nice until the day before Xmas, when on Xmas Day it turned very windy and cold. Xmas Day being a holiday, Frank Shapira, Les and myself, hired donkeys and rode out to a little village about five miles from our camp. This village is the only one on Lemnos that offered any attraction at all to us. Here we were fortunate to obtain a hot spring bath. It was in a square room built many years ago, and built of marble with the hot spring water oozing out of the four corners. This bath was the first bath most of the chaps had had for four months and so you can imagine how welcomed it was. Two days after Xmas a modified system of training commenced until New Year s Day. That turned out to be very wet and cold, and consequently we spent a very miserable day. All our spare time Frank Shapira and I spent in visiting the villages round about and purchasing various eatables for the Mess. We averaged six dozen eggs a day while we were on the island. We struck camp on Tuesday 4 th [January] at 9.00 am, and after the worst route march I have ever been in, arrived at the landing stage and embarked on the SS Simla. The weather delayed our departure for eight hours but at 3 pm on the 5 th January sailed out of Lemnos Harbour bound for Alexandria, where we arrived at 2 pm on the 8 th January, No leave was granted at Alexandria and after spending the night on board disembarked at 9 am on the 9 th January, I need hardly say how glad we were to be back once more in the land of the Gyppos to a well-earned rest. Continued in the next issue of DIGGER. Hell! I was scared; almost every second man was dead, and hope was lost! I prayed as I had been taught as a kid. If somebody had said run for the beach I would have been an easy winner. Ken Millar (later Captain, MC), 2 nd Bn, describes his thoughts on 25 April, Courtesy Patric Millar. DIGGER 53 Issue 51

54 Went away a boy, came home a married man: Private 2447 Arthur George Lines MM, 48 th Battalion Christian Wright (aged 13 years) with David Wright, Walkerville. A rthur George Lines was born in Tea Tree Gully, South Australia, in March, He grew up with his parents, Rachel Emmaline Maud Lines and Percy Lines, in Fife Street, Klemzig, SA. After leaving school Arthur obtained work as a gardener in his home town (which may have assisted with his transfer in 1919 to the war graves detachment) and had been an army cadet (senior cadets) from the age of 14. He enlisted for the Australian Imperial Force on 27 July, 1916, at 18 years and 6 months of age. Arthur [right] was given the rank of private, regimental number 2447, and was allocated to the 5 th Reinforcements to the 48 th Infantry Battalion (the Joan of Arc Battalion ) and was sent to fight on the Western Front. Arthur departed for overseas service from Outer Harbour on 28 August, 1916, on the HMAT A68 Anchises. He arrived in Plymouth, England, on 11 October, 1916, and then spent seven months training in Codford before being deployed to France on 29 May, During his time on the Western Front, from 1917 to September 1918, he was involved in a range of misdemeanours, ranging from not wearing correct military attire to being AWOL on up to four occasions, and was docked 18 days pay. This seems to be the typical Australian larrikin behaviour that our soldiers became famous for. Yet, when it came to battle, the Australian soldiers were some of the most fearless and brave there were. Arthur was also admitted to hospital several times with follicular tonsillitis, which he struggled with for a few months before being sent back to the field. During Arthur s time fighting with his unit in France, Germany started its final push towards the west in March 1918, with several offensives being launched to separate the French and British forces. His battalion was involved in the defence of Villers-Bretonneux and, later in 1918, the Allied Somme Valley offensive, pushing towards Peronne-Mont St Quentin. In fighting near the hamlet of Le Verguier, Arthur was awarded the Military Medal for his bravery in the field on 18 September, 1918, when his company were held up in front of their objective by enemy machine-gun fire. Arthur and his Lewis machine-gun section were ordered to move up to lay covering fire, which he did on multiple occasions until eventually he was close enough to enfilade the German trench and smother their fire, allowing his company to continue the advance. He then continued onto a sunken road and opened fire again on the enemy and forced them to retreat from their position. He caused many casualties and enabled the Australians to secure their line. It was at this point where Arthur showed his Anzac spirit as he showed courage and initiative above and beyond what he was asked to do. His recommendation highlighted Arthur s utter disregard for personal safety, and his leadership. It is this courage and fearlessness that earned Australian soldiers their reputation and defined the Anzac spirit. Right: Men of the 48 th Battalion who had assisted in the capture of the first objective in the fighting near Le Verguier, watching the advance of the 45 th Battalion towards Ascension Farm, which was the final objective to be won from the enemy during the attack. AWM E After that battle, Arthur s unit moved back to the rear for rest and recuperation. Arthur spent from 15 to 26 October in hospital with Pyrexia (a high temperature), and then returned to his unit. On 30 October, in a battalion parade, he was officially presented DIGGER 54 Issue 51

55 with his MM. (After the war he received the two general service medals: the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.) Arthur remained with his unit in France until the fighting ended on 11 November, In April 1919 he was transferred to the Graves Registration Detachment in Villers-Bretonneux. In August 1919, Arthur was attached to Australian Graves Services. This enabled him to stay in France longer, as during his time in France he met and eventually married Emilienne Langlois. They were married in Villers-Bretonneux on 7 April, 1920, and then they both returned to Australia on the HMAT Kigoma, leaving the UK on 21 April, Left: Chateau Delacourt on the outskirts of Villers-Bretonneux. The Graves Detachment was billeted in the chateau and its grounds in The building no longer exists. Photo courtesy of Lorraine at Musée Franco-Australien, V-B. In Adelaide, they had two children: George (b.1921, d.1965) and Yvonne, my great grandmother (b.1922, d.2009). Sadly, Emilienne died of tuberculosis in 1926 and Arthur eventually remarried. George and Yvonne were brought up by their grandparents (Arthur s mother and father) so Arthur could start a new life with his second wife. Arthur spent the rest of his life in Adelaide, working as a warden in the Adelaide Gaol and living in Brooklyn Park until he died in He is buried in the Centennial Park Cemetery. Over time, only sporadic contact occurred between the children of Arthur and Emilienne and the new siblings, up to now where there is no contact at all. But over all this time we [the Wrights, Christian is Arthur s great great grandson and great grandson of Yvonne] have kept in contact with our French relatives and our family has on numerous occasions visited them in Villers-Bretonneux. We now enjoy showing our French relatives around Adelaide when they visit, as they have started to do. I (Christian) will be attending the Anzac Day ceremony in Villers-Bretonneux on 25 April, 2015, with my father and my grandmother, and our French relatives will be attending as well, to show our respects to the fallen and renew our family ties in this sacred part of France. Endnote by the Editor: Christian compiled this biography of his great great grandfather for a school assignment. His father and FFFAIF member, David, has kindly contributed it to DIGGER. Experience of the day of the Landing: 1174 Vernon Smythe, 3 rd Bn Story related by Clyde Smythe, Vern s nephew. Taken from Courtesy of Margaret McIntosh Clarke and Jacqueline Kennedy. Vern was a signaller at the landing and was ordered with his mate to run a field telephone line inland from the beach head across the gullies and through the bush to the proposed future possible front line (or until they ran out of phone cable). They pushed through the bush unwinding the reel of cable, nervously looking out for Turks. When the cable ran out it was daylight. They had expected the infantry to follow close behind them but there was no sign or sound of them after waiting an hour or more. They were already feeling isolated and vulnerable when they heard rifle and machine-gun fire in the bush behind them and realised with shock that they were behind the Turkish positions and in danger of death or capture. They cautiously retreated through the bush back to the beach head without seeing a Turk, but exhausted by the stress of their actions. Never again did they advance as far inland as they did in the dawn light on the morning of the landing. Vern said the first day in Gallipoli was the most stressful and tiring. They started the day at 2 am on the troopship and kept going until 10 pm when he settled into a funk hole he had scraped in the lee of the overhanging ridge up from the beach. Every time he dozed off he would have a nightmare of a Turk creeping through the bush and bayoneting him as he slept. Endnote: Vernon Erle Smythe (later Captain, MC & Bar, MID) served with the 3 rd and 4 th Bns on Gallipoli and then transferred to the 56 th Bn. He was a 20 year old clerk when he enlisted in August DIGGER 55 Issue 51

56 The School Paper, Empire and Education in Victoria prior to WWI and its influence on volunteering to join up and fight during the Great War Captain Rupert Dalley RFD, Kyneton, provides an insight into pre-war attitudes and values. This essay will explore The School Paper (henceforth SP) and how it reflected the attitude of the Ministry of Public Instruction/Education Department at the time and in turn, the publication as a reflection of public attitudes and trends in the period from 1900 to Broadly, in the pre-1914 period there is an intense patriotic and imperialistic theme in the SP. The period is characterised by a perpetuation of colonial dependency and a hesitancy about developing a national consciousness which one would not expect in a newly created nation. Australia with its exposed geographical position, a fear of the yellow peril to the north, the need to protect White Australia and the growing trepidation that Germany and Russia were a threat, lent itself to a sentimental response to Britain and her Empire. Australia was closely tied to the British Isles, for 96% of the population were of English, Irish or Scottish descent. Following English traditions, education in Victoria was made compulsory, secular and free in the Education Act of Successive Acts were passed to ensure wider scope for Education. The Act of 1905 provided that parents of children not less than six or more than fourteen years shall cause such children to attend State School for not less than four times in any one week in which the school is open six times. 1 The first SP was published in 1896 by Sir Alexander Peacock, Minister of Public Instruction in Victoria. Its initial aim was as an aid to reading through its thought content, for the broadening of the mind and for enjoyment. It came to reflect the New Education movement of the late 19 th Century, its theme being to train for intelligence and observation. As Mr Frank Tate (first Director of Education in Victoria) recognised, true education did not depend solely on the 3R s to give a child greater power to get more out of life. 2 He spoke of the need for fitness, physical, mental and moral as a major concern of modern man. 3 The end product for Frank Tate was his concepts of education as a power and means of efficiency. 4 As Cliff Turney says, the new spirit was a conscious reaction to the beginning in the late 19 th Century against the prevailing narrow, formal, subject pedagogy. 5 It was a philosophy not only to assist the performance of the scientific age by scientific methods of instruction, it was also an attempt to develop within the child the knowledge which would give him power over his present environment and to achieve greater purpose in life, the realisation of one s self. The new course introduced by Tate reflected the New Education philosophy. The basics of reading, writing, grammar, arithmetic, drill, geography and needle work had now added to them new subjects such as nature study, manual training, science and drawing while new emphasis was given to subjects such as history. Of the SP s content, the Ministerial Report stated that it was the practice to suit the subject matter to the season of the year and, at opportune times, to seek to bring pupils and teachers into touch with matters that are exciting public interest. 6 Not that these were the only aims of the SP. It also gave the pupils examples of proper ideas of conduct and proper attitudes to important issues. The Victorian Regulations and Instructions of 1905 stated that teachers were to impress upon pupils that the greatness and stability of Empire depend on the production of a fine type of citizen, fit of body, fit of mind and fit of soul. They should be directed and encouraged as to fit them for the part they had to play. 7 The SP did serve its initial and main aim, that of a supplementary reader when few libraries were available. In the Education Gazette and Teachers Aid (henceforth EGATA) of 1905, teachers of class three were informed that the children should be able to read with reasonable fluency and expression, and with understanding of the subject matter, the School Paper To spell the words of selected lessons in the School Paper in easy dictation exercises. 8 These aims were realised if the Minister of Public Instructions Report of is correct, for he said that the SP apparently serves its purpose well. It is welcomed by the pupils, is favourably spoken of by the teachers, and its use is said by the inspectors, to be one of the principal causes of the improvement they have noted in later years in the reading of middle and upper classes. 9 Yet if one assimilated the message that the SP propounded in the pre-world War One period, one would come to the conclusion that it was a world of certainty about the British Empire, British military might, pride of race, honour, duty, self-sacrifice, the Victoria Cross, God, General Gordon, hard work, the flag, wattle, poor savages, Shakespeare, noble deeds, adventure, exploration, heroes and in the end, World DIGGER 56 Issue 51

57 War One. 10 Although this quote specifically relates to the Commonwealth School Paper, it is equally true of the Victorian School Paper as we shall see. If we look at some of these topics in relation to the Victorian School Paper in the period , we can certainly see a very strong emphasis on some of the topics above, particularly articles relating to the patriotic theme. Empire Day fell on the 24 May each year and the May SP was always devoted to promoting loyalty and patriotism to the Empire. Teachers were directed that the object of this celebration is to bring prominently before the pupils such a view of the British Empire as will help develop a feeling of pride in the achievement of the British people. 11 Articles revolved around the duty to Empire, the importance of the flag and the greatness of Empire. The ideas were portrayed in stories, in songs and in poems. For Class III in 1909, there was a poem titled Children of the Empire, part of which states: Children of the Empire, you are brothers all, Children of the Empire, answer to the call, Let your voices mingle, lift your heads and sing, God save the British Empire, O God, preserve our King. 12 Each SP, on its last page, had a song and music, many of which portrayed the importance of Empire. Classes V and VI in 1911 had songs such as God Save the King, God Bless the Prince of Wales, Rule Britannia, Heart of Oak, The British Grenadiers, Unfurl the Flag and the Soldiers Chorus. These were all hearty songs which were sure to inspire patriotism and loyalty in their singing. Articles were even more pointed in the requirements of loyalty and the responsibility of individuals to the Empire, and the duty of young Australian boys and girls although the emphasis was on boys. How the students reacted to the following poem would be difficult to ascertain, but it certainly described what a loyal citizen should do when the Empire needed them. The Colours of the Flag We ll stand by the dear old flag boys, Whatever be said or done, Though shots come fast as we take the blast, And the foe be ten to one, Though the only reward be the thrust of a sword, And a bullet in heart or brain, What matters one gone if the flag floats on, And Britain be lord of the Main. 13 The flag was particularly important, though it is difficult at any stage to find any reference to the Australian flag as we know it today. The Union Jack and the Australian flag were one and the same. Thus we see in the SP such poems as the one following. The British Flag Tis thy flag and my flag, The best flag on earth, Oh cherish it my children, For tis yours by right of birth, Your fathers fought, your fathers died, To rear it to the sky, And we like them will never yield, But keep it flying high. 14 In the same 1906 issue of the SP was also an article titled Our National Flag in which the students are told: It is right and useful that men should honour and love the flag and be prepared to lose their lives defending it. 15 Other articles described the parts of the flag, the crosses of St George, St Patrick and St Andrew, and what the colours stood for, the blue for the sea, the white for honour and the red for the blood of heroes. The Right Hon., The Earl of Meath (President of the League of Empire), in an address to teachers in Melbourne and suburbs assembled at Government House on the evening of 7 March, 1910, said, when he used the term British, he did not mean only those who live in the British Isles, but those who lived within DIGGER 57 Issue 51

58 the British Empire. 16 For those of us who are concerned with the seeming disregard for the interests of Australians, it must be pointed out that there was no conflict, they were one and the same. The SP emphasised two loyalties, one to Australia, the other to the Empire, each complemented the other, as mother to son. The motto of the Empire Day movement was One King, One Flag, One Fleet, One Empire, and its catchwords, Responsibility, Duty, Sympathy and Sacrifice allowed no conflicting loyalties. 17 The students read in an article titled How the Boys and Girls of Australia can help the Empire, that All dreams of a great future for Australia may come to nothing if we cannot hold Australia and New Zealand for the British race. 18 We read too, how a young lad got up in the front of the class and spoke on The Best Part of Empire in which he states, I am a product, and proud product of Australia, the finest land on earth Her people have one language from sea to sea, one flag, one hope, one destiny. They are one in their loyalty to Empire. 19 As a consequence of this stirring talk, the class gave the lad three rousing cheers and much acclamation. Pride in Australia, pride in Empire, however, were not the only ingredients of the SP. The Earl of Meath on the tour throughout Australia was feted up and down the country and gave numerous addresses including many to school children. He emphasised the point that of an Empire of some four hundred millions, the white population numbered less than sixty millions. When talking to children, he thought it important to emphasise the point that there were six coloured men in the Empire to one white. He went on and illustrated this by putting, seven in a row in front of me and saying, You are the British Empire. I choose one and say You are white, You are negro, You are yellow and so on down the line. I say to the white boy, You are the only one that has got the power or vote; the others have none at all. He looks at the other six boys and says to them, Look at his fine forehead, look at his biceps; as for brain, you would not for a moment compete with that boy. Then I say You are a white boy; you have to govern these six. You have got to do it righteously my boy, and if you do not, they will jump on you, and they are six to one. 20 Thus it was that pride in one s native land went hand in hand with pride in race; that in turn meant pride in being British. The Earl of Meath emphasised to teachers that the Empire is democratic and oligarchic, in fact more oligarchic than democratic. Who were the oligarchs? The whites were the oligarchs they ruled themselves in a democratic fashion, but the rest of the world in an oligarchic fashion. The whites were the aristocrats who had a duty to think of noblesse oblige, and if they did not, the Empire would surely die. Above right: The cover of the Grades VII and VIII School Paper from March, 1916, featured the photo of a recruiting depot. 1krgvti.jpg The Director of Education in Victoria, Mr Frank Tate, fully supported these sentiments. He said, We should keep forever before us the watchword Lord Meath has given us noblesse oblige. We must determine that in working out our ideals we shall be governed by those ideals that have served to make us the ruling people of the world today. 21 Furthermore he felt sure that in our SP, in the special Empire Day number that has been published each year, you will see that is the ideal we have accepted. 22 The Minister of Education concurred with these sentiments of this spirit of loyalty and noblesse oblige saying that he knew of no place where it can be done to greater advantage than in the schools of the Empire. Certainly the SP reflected these sentiments, for the SP of May 1906 stated to students that If you keep this thought before you, and when you find it hard to do the right and generous thing, say noblesse oblige, then you will be laying deep and strong foundations for our part of the British Empire. 23 Thus we read articles in the SP which state amongst other things, that on character, more than navies and armies, our future depends. In the past, the successes of Briton among Asiatic people has been due to character; the Briton s belief in himself and his superiority to the men of the Eastern world. The man of British blood, placed in the midst of swarming Asiatics, has often worked miracles by his charm alone. Our superiority to the peoples of the East lies not in cleverness but in character. 24 There was a very benevolent attitude towards what they saw as inferior races, be it any one of the numerous native peoples of the Empire. The students read articles, for example, on the various tribes in Africa, the South Sea Islanders and the Indians of North America. In an article titled Some Amusing Tales of the Maoris, the students were informed thus: Can you imagine what a boy would be like who had never been outside one yard? He would be very surprised when he first mixed with other children and saw their DIGGER 58 Issue 51

59 lessons and games. The Maoris who lived in New Zealand when they first met white men were just like such a boy. 25 Not that this benevolence was isolated to the administrators and teachers of the Education Department. No government body can for long operate at variance with community ideals and beliefs. The supremacy of the white man and the inferiority and childlike qualities of other races was a widely held community belief, if the newspapers of the day were anything to go by. In the Fitzroy City Press we read When the Japanese have no other worlds to conquer, they will probably turn their attention to others, though the idea of their ever attempting to conquer England or its colonies is remote. 26 Japan was attacking Russia at the time. The very idea of the little yellow men taking such action was almost beyond comprehension, so smug were they. An uncivilised race would not be successful. They had to be watched, however, and since the Japanese method of success was infinite patience, whose quiet perseverance and study of problems, languages and other events was an ideal for students if they were not to be ousted. The other theme that I want to examine in the pre-1914 period is the moral and physical stature of the individual as developed by the SP. It was the responsibility of the individual in the pre-1914 period to maintain the supremacy of the white man. We read that the Empire looks to you for health. Every inch that you can add to your chest helps, every increase in your deftness of hands, quickness of eye and alertness of mind helps; every increase in your thoroughness of work helps, every addition to you knowledge of the wonderful world in which you live helps. 27 In an article such as What God Gives A Boy, the student was told that he was given a body to live in and keep clean and healthy as a dwelling of his mind and a temple for his soul. 28 Thus it was that the SP roundly condemned the use of alcohol and tobacco in publications to all classes of the SP and in all the years from 1905 to In articles titled Alcohol, Its Influence on your Health, and Is Alcohol a Food?, the students read that alcohol is the most destructive agent that we are aware of in this country It leads to the degeneration of tissue; it spoils the health and it spoils the intellect. 29 Similarly, tobacco was condemned, although not as consistently as the attacks on alcohol. The student was informed that tobacco stole a boy s health, his good looks, his strength, his memory, his liking for play. 30 Not that such sentiments were restricted to the SP. Readers of The Age in 1905 were able to read that Mr Blanch, Headmaster of Melbourne Grammar School, had said that the general belief was that smoking had a bad effect on the growth and development of the nervous system He noticed (also) that boys who became confirmed smokers were generally intellectual failures. 31 These two vices, then, were in complete conflict with the glory of the nation and the duty of youth, who should be improving themselves. The glory of a nation is its strength, and a symbol of nationhood is the hardiness and virility of its citizens. 32 Not that the physical body was the only important aspect of youth. Character as we have discovered, was one of the reasons why the British had been so successful. Thus we read prior to World War One that everything that makes for self-reliance and self-respect and high character is of importance. This is a large area that the SP covers and the wealth of material too vast to cover. Yet there are one or two important themes in the topic. Noteworthy is the topic of what a gentleman should be. In an article, What is a Gentleman? we read that it did not matter if he be ever so poor the man who constantly shows himself for the sake of others 33 was a gentleman. It is further claimed in another article, that there is not a worthier object of ambition than that of being a gentleman one who should be gentle in everything, at least in everything that depends on himself in carriage, temper, aims, desires and who therefore is mild, calm, quiet, even temperate. 34 The character of an educated gentleman was that he had eyes on all his company; he is tender towards the bashful, gentle towards the distant and merciful towards the absurd. 35 If the boy was one and all these things, then he became a gentlemanly boy. For this there were many rewards. We read in a poem that: The gentle boy, the manly boy, Upright and honest too, Will always find a host of friends, Among the good and true. He reaps rewards in doing good, Finds joy in giving joy, And earns the right to bear the name, A gentlemanly boy. 36 DIGGER 59 Issue 51

60 There were, of course, other qualities that a child should have to be successful. The teacher had ideals of how a boy should be. Give me a boy of common understanding and good principles, who is teachable, patient, industrious and persevering and I will match him in the long run against the cleverest boy you can find deficient in these qualities. 37 This was further expanded in poems such as the The Boy for Me. And the teacher depends, On his little friend, At school in his place by nine, With his lessons learned, And his good marks earned, All ready to toe the line. 38 Throughout the SP in the early period, in stories, in poems, in articles, in homilies, the message was preached on what characteristics children should maintain, how they should behave, what to do and when. On morals, articles such as A Kind and Thoughtful Act, Speak Kindly, Be Polite, Help One Another, On Duty, Never Say Fail, True Charity A Legend, Self Reliance, Some Thoughts on Courtesy, Manners Makyth Man, True Politeness, Respect for the Aged and Kindly Consideration were written extolling true virtues. Articles were also included on History, which was seen as important. History is a record of action, of strong and vigorous endeavour. The nation that has no history has done nothing, suffered nothing, has not earned the right to exist. 39 Prior to 1914, there were articles on The Rose, the Thistle and the Shamrock, on The Royal Standard, Sir Walter Raleigh and Queen Elizabeth, The British Navy and Nelson. Over the period more articles began to feature Australian history and pride in what Australia had achieved. We begin to read about some of the heroes of Australian history, her explorers such as Burke and Wills, and Leichhardt, and the pioneers. Poems such as The Heroes of Australia also appeared: Come ye sons of fair Australia, Let us learn the lessons shown, By these heroes of our homeland, By these heroes of our own. 40 Thus the SP had a number of aims prior to It was to assist the teacher by giving him or her additional sources to the School Reader and other texts (and in absence of many libraries or other sources of information these were important). It was also to assist the child to read by giving the student other sources of interesting reading and words to be learnt. It was to provide the teacher and the student with the stimulus of observing nature and science. It was also to give the students a model by which they could shape their lives and give them a code by which to live. It was quite openly stated that If we make our children familiar with the story of our bravest and best, we will unconsciously but none the less surely, mould their lives on those heroes we have given them. 41 The SP did have an important role to play throughout the period under discussion. The school was a forum of information. The teacher was held in high regard by the community at large as being a person of learning and wisdom. Similarly, since there was no television, limited newspaper circulation other than in the city in terms of world events, the school was very important in moulding the role and attitudes of children. The government of the day through its publications and through its directions to the teacher, was able to influence the younger generation markedly. The SP brought to the attention of pupils and teachers, subject matter that was exciting public interest. It gave children proper ideas of conduct and proper attitudes to important issues of the day. It gave generations of Victorian children a sense of belonging, the idea of responsibility and duty. It played an important role in the crystallisation of a homogenous society essentially at one with itself and its role in the wider world. In the pre-world War One period, foreign policy had never been one of the main preoccupations of the Australian Government. The prestige of British institutions and Australian remoteness from Europe which had until then been the centre of gravity of world politics and combined to allow Britain to exercise initiative in framing foreign policy for the whole British Commonwealth. 42 Similarly, in the fifty years or so before 1914, the economic universe pivoting on Britain was an expanding one in which trade rose strongly with production; in which regional specialisation flourished as labour and capital moved from the centre to exploit the comparative land advantage of the periphery. 43 DIGGER 60 Issue 51

61 The flow of goods into and out of Australia followed a pattern. From Australia (to England mainly), raw materials, essentially primary products, were exchanged for finished and semi-finished manufactured goods. Thus, given the political, economic and social ties of Australia to Britain, it is only natural that her education should be orientated Britain s way. It is easy then to understand, given the emphasis of the education system to glorifying the Empire, of duty to Empire, of the superiority of the Empire and intense loyalty to it, patriotism and of what made a whole person, that when war was declared on 4 August 1914, that young Australian men in their thousands volunteered to fight in the defence of the Empire. Australia was a new nation and this was the first occasion that Australians could prove their manliness, their duty and their contribution to the Empire. It was also about supporting Britain in her time of need, for the fear of the yellow peril, the threat of Germany and Russia to our shores could mean that in the future we might need Britain to be there for us. Most young men had never travelled too far from where they were born and where they lived and this was a chance to visit some of the places they had read about in the SP. There was also the belief that it would be a big adventure, they could volunteer with their mates, get paid for it and the war would probably be over by Christmas, so to tarry in volunteering could possibly mean that they might miss out. In conclusion then, it is easy to understand, given the content of the School Paper and the School Reader, why so many young Victorian men (and women to a lesser extent) volunteered so enthusiastically to fight in the defence of the British Empire in Endnotes: 1. Victorian Acts of Parliament, An Act to Amend Education Act 1901, No. 2005, 12 December 1905, p Blake, L J., (Ed). Vision and Realisation. A Centenary History of State Education in Victoria. Vol 1, Education Department of Victoria, Melbourne, 1973, p Ibid., p Ibid., p Turney, C., Continuity and Change in the Public Primary Schools , in Australian Education in the 20 th Century, edited by Cleverley, J., & Lawry J., Longman, 1971, p Report of the Minister of Public Instruction, 1905, p Education Gazette and Teachers Aid, Article 571, Regulation and Instruction, 16 November 1914, p Ibid., 20 June 1906, Classes V5. 9. Report of the Minister of Public Instruction, 1907, p Firth, S G., Social Values in the New South Wales Primary School , in Melbourne Studies in Education, 1970, Melbourne University Press, p Educational Gazette and Teachers Aid, 20 April, 1906, p School Paper, May 1909, Class III, No 147, p Ibid., May 1906, Class IV, No 99, p Ibid., May 1906, Class III, No 114, p Op Cit., p Education Gazette and Teachers Aid, 20 April 1910, p School Paper, May 1909, Class IV, No 132, p Ibid., May 1906,Classes V & VI, No 85, p Ibid., May 1911, Class III, No 169, p Educational Gazette and Teachers Aid, 20 April, 1910, p Op Cit., p Op Cit., p School Paper, May 1906, Classes V and VI, No 85, p Op Cit., p Ibid., May 1906, Class IV, No 114, p Fitzroy City Press, Friday 22 June, 1905, p School Paper, May 1906, Classes V and VI, No 85, p Ibid., July 1906, Class VI, No 101, p Ibid., July 1911, Classes V and VI, No 112, p Ibid., August 1911, Classes V and VI, No 113, p The Age, Tuesday 20 June, 1905, p Fitzroy City Press, Friday, 27 June School Paper, April 1906, Class IV, No 98, p Ibid., April 1906, Classes V and VI, No 84, p Ibid., April 1909, Classes V and VI, No 117, p Ibid., April 1906, Class VI, No 98, p Ibid., August 1906, Classes V and VI, No 88, p Ibid., April 1906, Class III, No 113, p Educational Gazette and Teachers Aid, 11 June 1906, p School Paper, September 1909, Class IV, No 136, p Educational Gazette and Teachers Aid, 22 July 1913, p Greenwood. G., Editor, Australia, A Social and Political History, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, sixth edition 1965, p Cain, N., Trade and Economic Structure at the Periphery, The Australian Balance of Payments. DIGGER 61 Issue 51

62 Private 1524 George Henry Bryant, 33 rd /34 th Battalions/9 th MGC Rod Carpenter, Callala Bay. George Henry Bryant was born on 13 August, 1886, at Ashford, NSW. He died on 11 March 1928 at Yetta Yetta, Yetman, NSW. George was the son of William Albert Mold Bryant and Annie Nugent from Ashford, NSW. George married Mabel May Wright during 1921 at Bukkulla, NSW. The couple had five children: Stella; George; Edward; Stanley and Patricia. George completed his AIF enlistment application on 17 January, 1916, at Inverell, NSW, at the age of 29 years and five months. He was a member of the second group of the Kurrajongs which left Inverell on 1 February, 1916, for the camp at Narrabri, arriving the same day. At the time of George s enlistment his address was given as Ashford via Inverell, NSW, and his occupation was recorded as labourer. His physical description on the enlistment papers was: Height: 6 feet, 0 inches. Weight: 154 lbs. Chest: inches. Complexion: Dark. Eyes: Brown. Hair: Black. Religion Denomination: Church of England. Right: The Bryant brothers, left to right: Harry and Albert are standing, with Ted and George seated. After initial training at the Armidale depot, George moved with the battalion to the Rutherford camp near Maitland in March 1916, where he was assigned to the 1 st Reinforcements, 33 rd Battalion on the 17 th. On 3 May, 1916, the 33 rd Battalion, including the 1 st Reinforcements, caught a train to Sydney for embarkation on the transport ship Marathon for the journey to Egypt via Colombo. Their destination was changed to England en-route and since the transport did not have enough coal to reach Durban they returned to Fremantle, WA, to reload with coal. On the 23 May, 1916, the Marathon left Fremantle and sailed for England via Durban and Cape Town, South Africa. For most of the journey from Durban to England the Marathon (with the 9 th Brigade Headquarters and 33 rd Battalion on board) travelled in convoy with the Argyleshire (with the 34 th Battalion and 9 th Field Artillery aboard), the Benalla (with the 35 th Battalion aboard) and the Beltana (with the 36 th Battalion on board). After an epic 65 day voyage the Marathon arrived at Plymouth and the battalion disembarked at Devonport, then boarded trains for the Lark Hill Camp, Salisbury Plain, Wiltshire. The battalion arrived at Lark Hill on 10 July, At Lark Hill, on 9 September, 1916, George was transferred from the 33 rd Battalion to the 34 th Battalion (both battalions were part of the 9 th Brigade, 3 rd Australian Division). After extensive training the 34 th Battalion, with other units of the 9 th Brigade, proceeded to France, via Southampton, on 21 November His unit arrived at Outtersteene, France on the 24 th. The 34 th Battalion moved into the trenches at L Epinette on the 27 th to get their first experience of trench warfare. On 13 February, 1917, George was transferred to 9 th Machine Gun Company from the 34 th Battalion. George reported sick on 28 February, 1917, and was treated by the 10 th Australian Field Ambulance for pleurisy and transferred to the 2 nd Australian Casualty Clearing Station on 1 st March. He was evacuated to England, from Boulogne, aboard the Hospital Ship St Andrew on 11 April and admitted to the Essex County Hospital at Colchester with pneumonia and empyema on the 12 th. George was transferred to the 1 st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield on 26 June and discharged to the No. 2 Command Depot at Weymouth on 2 July. On 15 August he transferred to the No. 3 DIGGER 62 Issue 51

63 Command Depot at Hurdcott where, on 22 August, he was classified medically as B1a3 Fit for overseas training camp in two to three weeks. George was then reclassified, on 29 August, as B1a4 Fit for overseas training camp when passed dentally. He was again reclassified, on 28 September, as A3 Fit for overseas training camp, to which transferred for hardening, prior to rejoining unit overseas. Private Bryant marched out, on 3 October, to the Overseas Training Depot at Perham Downs and proceeded overseas, via Folkestone, to the 3 rd Australian Division Base Depot at Havre, arriving there 11 November. George rejoined the 34 th Battalion on 21 November, 1917, in the Berquin-Aire sector, France. He reported sick on 6 January, 1918, and was treated by the 10 th Field Ambulance for scabies and moved to the No. 2 Casualty Clearing Station, then admitted to the 54 th General Hospital at Boulogne with pleurisy on 12 January. George was transferred to the 3 rd Rest Camp at Boulogne on 23 January, then to the Australian Infantry Base Depot at Rouelles on the 28 th. He marched out to the 3 rd Division Headquarters on 12 February where he was detached for duty with the Australian Employment Company. On 26 March, 1918, George was charged with Conduct to the prejudice of good order & military discipline in unlawfully interfering with Military stores. He was awarded 10 days field punishment No. 2. On 5 December, 1918, he marched out to the Australian General Base Depot at Rouelles and embarked on the 6 th for Southampton, England for his return to Australia. George embarked on 2 January, 1919, aboard the HT Berrima. He disembarked in Port Melbourne on 17 February, 1919, before proceeding to Sydney by another ship. George was discharged from the AIF on 25 April, 1919, in Sydney. Endnotes: (1) Information on George and photo supplied by Garry Bryant. (2) Pte 1527 Henry Ernest Bryant served with the 34 th Bn and DOW 19 May, (3) Pte 1523A Albert Mowles Bryant served with the 33 rd Bn and RTA, (4) Pte 1528 Edward Bryant, 34 th Bn, was KIA, 16 July, Officers of the 2 nd Battalion, 1917 Contributed by Patric Millar, Glen Innes. Lieutenant Bob Harris [see pages 31-34] may be the officer second from the right in the middle row Ed. DIGGER 63 Issue 51

64 The camp bed of the Australian : Ernest Mallivel, 2 nd AMTC When the Great War is written with family memories Contributed by Claire Dujardin, Charleroi, Belgium. Preamble Once upon a time, in 1953, a little girl of three years heard her grandmother talking, for the first time, about a camp bed of the Australian. These words never left her memory. Why? She could not explain. In 1979, her younger sister married and her French family came for the ceremony. Then, a French cousin slept two nights on the camp bed of the Australian. When her grandmother died in 1998, she wanted to know where the camp bed of the Australian was stored and she found it in the attic of the family house, as well as two postcards of 1919 with a signature. She took the camp bed [right] and the two postcards and stored them carefully. In October 2008, 90 years after the Armistice and after considerable research done in Australia (at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages in Sydney), at the Australian Embassy in Belgium and several notices in Australian newspapers, she received an from Amber Woolf (nee Bell) living in Queensland and the great granddaughter of the man who sent the postcards to the grandmother in Then, the little girl, now a woman, had many tears in her eyes. Thereby, began the biography of Ernest Louis Mallivel, 2 nd Australian Mechanical Transport Company, mechanical transport driver, volunteer in the Australian Imperial Force. A French origin Ernest Louis Mallivel was born on October 10 th, 1880, in Jugon-les-Lacs in the Department of Côtes du Nord in France. He was the son of Louis Mallivel, a cartwright, and Rosalie Jan. He worked, as an apprentice for five years for the car manufacturer, Alexandre Darracq, who set up in Quai de Suresnes in Paris. This career pathway was common to many French Britons who made their way to the capital city to get a job. Why and for what reasons he left France is not known, but Ernest was in Cape Town Colony during the Boer War which opposed (from 1899 to 1902) the British to the Boers, graziers and farmers of Dutch origin. At this time, Ernest was in the Cape Colony Cyclist Corps that performed tasks such as scouting, shooting and intelligence gathering. He was naturalised in Cape Town S. Africa in 1900 and served in Johannesburg M. Rifles. His presence in Australia ( ) Mallivel, after serving in South Africa, arrived in Australia from London on 26 (or 24) December, 1902, per the SS Commonwealth and disembarked at the port of Sydney. In 1910, in an application for naturalisation, he stated he had resided since his arrival in Australia about three years in Melbourne, three years in New Zealand and 15 months in Sydney. He could not be naturalised because he had not resided in Australia continuously for a period of two years immediately preceding the date of [his] application. He was working as a licensed motor driver in Sydney. In September 1912, at Woollahra (Sydney), he married Olive Rose, an Australian woman, the daughter of a miner. His daughter, Josephine, was born 26 January, 1912, at Summer Hill in Sydney. On 4 August, 1914, the war broke out in Europe. The Australian Prime Minister, Joseph Cook, declared, If the Old Country is at war, so are we. The young federation put at the disposal of Great Britain its fleet as well as an armed force, the Australian Imperial Force, composed of volunteers. Australian and New Zealand troops were gathered in Egypt into the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps or ANZAC. In 1915, Ernest L Mallivel, who had remained a French-born citizen, either out of patriotism or because he wanted to go back to his motherland, joined the AIF on 8 March at Liverpool (NSW), and was placed in the Army Service Corps. At that time, he was already 34 years old and signed for the duration of the war and four extra months. On 14 June he was posted to Randwick in the Divisional Ammunition Park and, two days later, on June 16 th, he embarked at Sydney on the troopship HMAT Karoola as a motor driver, for active service overseas. DIGGER 64 Issue 51

65 En route to the Western Front and warfare ( ) Ernest arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, at the end of August where training continued at Mena Camp. On 5 October he was transferred to the Australian Mechanical Transport Service, on the grounds of his previous experience, until May 1916, when he was taken on strength of the 4 th Divisional Artillery Headquarters. He joined the British Expeditionary Force and he left Alexandria on 2 June, 1916, for Marseilles, where he disembarked on 10 June. The crossing was particularly dangerous as numerous enemy submarines were patrolling the Mediterranean Sea. Although they were escorted by Royal Navy destroyers, most ships were armed with cannons at their prow and from the upper deck the soldiers had to search the horizon to report any suspect periscope. Once in Marseilles Harbour, the Australian soldiers entrained as quickly as possible as the distance to the French Western Front was long. The train went through Orange, Lyon, Macon, Les Laumes, Montereau, Melun, Juvisy, Versailles and Rouen. This last city was, along with Le Havre and Abbeville, an important supply station of the British Army. Ernest Mallivel was present on the Front from June 1916 to 11 November, In September 1916, he was posted to the 4 th Australian Divisional Ammunition Column. From 1 October, 1916, till 8 January, 1917, he was detached to a Trench Mortar School at Berthen in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais and was taken on strength of the 4 th Divisional Trench Mortar Battery on February 2 nd. He was transferred to the Australian Ammunition Sub Park on 24 February. At the end of October 1917, at Rouen, he was transferred to the 4 th Australian Divisional Supply Column. One month later, Ernest fell ill and was sent to the 3 rd General Hospital at Le Tréport and to the Stationary Hospital at Rouen till the beginning of January In March, Mallivel joined the 2 nd Australian Divisional Mechanical Transport Company. From 8 October to the 23 rd, Ernest was on leave in Paris. Did he visit his eldest sister, Anastasie, who was married to Joseph Le Goff since 1901 and was mother of two children, born in 1902 and 1905? They lived in Rambouillet, not far from Paris. In the beginning of December 1918, his unit left Le Cateau in France for the Charleroi area in Belgium. The Company Headquarters moved to Marchienne-au-Pont and the Unit had Xmas dinner at Company Headquarters. In Charleroi, the shops [were] all festooned. In December, the work for the lorry drivers was very strenuous because runs were long, roads and weather conditions very bad, trains came in at any hour, very often having to be loaded at night, and several times two trains per day had to be handled. Considering the conditions the drivers did splendid work. The billeting at Marchienne-au-Pont (December March 1919) Following the Armistice, the occupied Belgian territory had to be evacuated by the German Army. Besides the 2 nd Australian Mechanical Transport Company, the 26 th Australian Infantry Battalion came (on December 20 th ), for a stay in Marchienne-au-Pont, close to Charleroi. The Australian soldiers were welcomed after four years of German occupation. At Christmas, soon after their arrival, the band of the 26 th Battalion played music for the civilians in different places of Marchienne-au-Pont. Marchienne-au-Pont was a suitable place for the Mechanical Transport Company because a S.A. Auto-Métallurgique workshop was reserved for the automotive industry in Châtelet Street. Together with another Australian soldier, Mallivel was billeted at Mr and Mrs Gheur s Café de la Gare, in Châtelet Street 1. The couple had three daughters, Suzanne, Claire 2 and Louise, born in Trignac (also in French Briton). Soon, Ernest became a good friend of the family Gheur. Left: Café de la Gare in Célina Gheur (born 1875, left) sold shoes and her husband, Achille Gheur (born 1864), ran the Café. Their three daughters (l to r) Louise, Claire (middle, born 1901) and Suzanne were minded by a young teenager. DIGGER 65 Issue 51

66 Left: From left to right, Jules Bauthier, fiancé of Claire Gheur; Louise Gheur; Suzanne Gheur; her fiancé George Lhomme, owner of a mustard factory in Marchienne-au-Pont. Taken mid What a joy for the soldiers to find hospitality in a home, to sleep in a real bed and to spend evenings talking with their hosts or playing cards! A large number of the men were living with various families and not in official billet and the Australian soldiers were treated more as guests than soldiers billeted with them. During their meals with the families, the Aussies tasted the traditional waffle, sweet cake something like a crumpet and appreciated the Belgian beers! The Mechanical Transport was fully employed as long as the Australian Troops [were] on the continent. In fact, the bus service [was] required to take men on leave to various towns, lorries [were] required for Educational and Demobilisation purposes, for concerts, sports etc. Waiting for their return to Australia, the men could choose Industrial tours of Charleroi factories... comprising visits to coal sorting and briquette making works, glass bottle works, central power station, sheet glass works, steel works and flour mills as well as mines,... foundries, cable works, motor factories etc. The task of the drivers was not at all easy when, at the end of January and in February, the roads were frozen and were covered with a thick layer of snow. Sometimes, the roads were impassable. However, the Division s supplies came up to Marchienne-au-Pont by Light Railway and continued to do so. On 15 February, 1919, Ernest Mallivel began his repatriation. Just before his departure, he lent his hat and his greatcoat to pose for a photograph with two of his hosts daughters, Claire and Louise [see photo next page]. He entrained at Charleroi Station for Le Havre, from where on 17 March he sailed to Weymouth and from there, joined the Codford transit camp in England. He was promoted temporary sergeant for educational purposes at the AIF Depot at Tidworth. Right: A postcard Ernest sent to Claire from Codford on 12 April, Below: Postcard sent from Codford to Mr Gheur, 10 April, On the reverse, Ernest wrote (in French): As you see I am still in Europe, I was on leave for 25 days in Paris and 15 days in London. I enjoyed myself very much now I have only one desire and that is to leave. I hope to be aboard a boat the 1 st week of May... On 12 May, 1919, Ernest embarked on the HMAT Zealandia. On his way back to Australia, he called at Cape Town in June, where he sent a postcard to Claire Gheur. On 29 June, he disembarked at Sydney and he was discharged from active service on 30 August, In acknowledgement for his enlistment in the armed forces, he was awarded three service medals: the Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. Return to civilian life ( ) When he came back to Australia, he and his wife, Olive, lived in a small cottage in Josephine Street, Peakhurst (Sydney). In 1925, the couple divorced and, in 1927, Ernest Mallivel became interested in Australian citizenship again and in 1926, he submitted another application for naturalisation. At that time, his occupation was motor mechanic and he was employed by the Sydney City Council at the council garage. DIGGER 66 Issue 51

67 After the divorce, Josephine was sent to St Joseph s Boarding School at Hunters Hill where she remained until she was about 17 years old... This was a tough time for Josephine as she sometimes did not see her parents from one year to the next. She was allowed to leave the Boarding School at her father s request to take up a position he had found for her as a student seamstress with a very well known dressmaker in South Dowling Street, Darlinghurst. Josephine lodged at a home owned by Edmund Bell s mother Josephine 3 and Edmund were soon married. Ernest Mallivel was a travelling salesman selling soap and perfume door to door and was also a part time French teacher. Right: Ernest and his daughter, Josephine. Courtesy the Bell family. Ernest Mallivel moved from New South Wales to Queensland. In his sixties, he augmented his retirement income doing various jobs, such as cleaning for the American Army or making handmade objects for sale. He dwelt amongst others in Brisbane and in Toowoomba. When he fell ill, he felt the need to come and live near his daughter who was living with her husband in Sydney. Ernest lived with his grandson, GV Bell and his wife for a short period of time at Cooloongatta Road, Beverly Hills, New South Wales. He died at Sydney Hospital on 6 May, Ernest is buried in the Botany Cemetery in Sydney. To conclude Time passes, but The Belgians are showing that they realise the bond now existing between their land and ours, a bond cemented by blood. 4 Left: Marchienne-au-Pont, 9 March, Claire (left), my grandmother, and her youngest sister Louise wearing the slouch hats belonging to the Australian soldiers billeted at her parents. Endnotes by the Editor: Images: The Australia For Ever postcard is from the Collection of Gérard Migeot. Apart from the Bell family photo of Ernest and Josephine all other images are from Claire s collection. Note: Due to space limitations, Claire s extensive footnotes and source references have been removed from this article. Readers wishing to see the original article with full footnoting can request an ed a copy from the Editor [see page 2 for address]. Selected endnotes have been re-inserted by the Editor and appear below. 1. The name of the café in English is Café of the Station. 2. The author Claire s grandmother, who was 18 years old at the time. 3. Josephine passed away on 12 November, 1994, and was buried in the Botany Cemetery. 4. EPF Lynch, Somme Mud, edited by Will Davies, Bantam Books, 2008, p402. Answers to DIGGER Quiz No st Division: Major General Sir Thomas William Glasgow; 2 nd Division: Major General Sir Charles Rosenthal; 3 rd Division: Major General Sir John Gellibrand; 4 th Division: Major General Ewen George Sinclair-Maclagan; 5 th Division: Major General Sir Joseph J Talbot Hobbs. 2. Major General (commander of 1 st Division). 3. Major General William Holmes, killed 2 July, Monash was knighted in the field by the King. 5. Charles Bean and Keith Murdoch. 6. Glasgow stated: If it was God Almighty who gave the order, we couldn t do it in daylight. 7. Birdwood was commander of the Australian and NZ forces [ANZAC] ( ); commander of I ANZAC Corps ( ); commander of Australian Corps (Nov 1917-May 1918) and commander of the 5 th Army on the Western Front (after May 1918). DIGGER 67 Issue 51

68 Three officers in a photo Patric Millar, Glen Innes. W hilst going through my collection of photos and articles looking for a photo for the Editor [of Bob Harris, 2 nd Bn] I came across a favourite photo of my grandfather, Captain CK ( Ken ) Millar MC. It is a studio portrait of him along with Paddy Ryan DCM and Walter Tiny Host MM, all of D Company of the 2 nd Battalion at the time. It was taken in 1916 after the Evacuation from Gallipoli but before the Battle of Pozieres. The story accompanying the photo comes from research for an upcoming DIGGER article on EA ( Ted ) Roberts MM. Ted Roberts was the first Australian to receive the Military Medal at Gallipoli and was a prolific writer for Reveille and strident veterans advocate between the wars. In the 1 December 1931 edition, Ted Roberts wrote an article entitled Gave it Style: D Coy s OC. The article was about Major Verner Stanley Rowlands of the 2 nd Battalion, who was known amongst his troops simply as Dad. Major Rowlands was an estate agent from Manly when the war was declared. He sailed on the Suffolk as a lieutenant and was field promoted to captain following the Battle of Lone Pine. He remained with the 2 nd when the 54 th was raised in the sands of Alexandria in January, Rowlands was talented leader, a fierce fighter and a compassionate man. He always led from the front and whilst leading D Company at Ypres died as a result of shell fire on September 30, It was said that the shell that took his life was the only one that came over that day. Left: Major Verner Rowlands [ Reveille, December 1931]. In his Reveille article, Ted Roberts made the following observations about Rowlands: It was in France, however, that his reputation was made. He ran his company with the style and aplomb of a general with a crack division. To most of the chaps he was known as Dad this despite his comparative youth for he looked after the welfare of his company as a devoted father would his family. Right: Three of D Company s finest: Paddy Ryan DCM standing right; CK (Ken) Millar MC standing left; Walter Tiny Host MM seated. [Millar collection]. Following his very moving account of Major Rowlands, Ted Roberts gave a quick account of each of the other officers in D Company at the time of Rowland s death: For D Coy. was the pride of Rowland s heart, and the apple of his eye. So attached was he to it that he turned down a staff position with the 4 th Division. He was proud of the fact that all his officers had enlisted as privates, and had advanced to lieutenants under his tutorship. TINY HOST MM his nickname was just a laugh at the bigness of himself was one of the best subalterns that a company could wish for, and when quite a lad was killed at Pozieres on July 24, 1916, by a prisoner one of a batch he had collected. Rowlands had given orders that [Host] he was to stop going out in daylight looking for prisoners. He was a staunch friend and a wonderful leader of men. At Lone Pine, when Host jumped in an enemy trench, he forthwith bought the butt of his rifle down on the heads of numerous Turks, and Bob Howman, an Imperial soldier and bayonet fighting instructor by the way, he came back to Sydney in 1916 never missed the opportunity thereafter of holding up Host s method as something that should not be done possibly out of consideration for the life of a rifle. Host received his MM out of the Pine. DIGGER 68 Issue 51

69 PADDY RYAN DCM was commissioned at Tel-el-Kebir, rose to the rank of captain, was invalided to Australia, discharged, re-enlisted as a private, and was a subaltern when killed at Jeancourt in September 1918, in his battalion s last fight in the war. Ryan resembled Freame of 1 st Bn., for daredevil courage. Like Freame, too, he accustomed to carrying a couple of revolvers a habit that was engendered through many years spent in America and often Rowlands raised a laugh among his officers by having Ryan searched for concealed weapons. Ryan, a native of Victoria, enlisted in the 6 th LH, and was in charge of the first Japanese trench mortars used on Gallipoli. He became Capt. of the 1 st Brigade Trench Mortars (Stokes), and was a well-known character. One could always buy a fight with Paddy by accusing him of drawing the crabs firing one shot and running away. KEN MILLAR MC, was a subaltern in D Coy., and one of its notable fighters. He enlisted as a private, was wounded at the Landing, but was back with his battalion just after the Pine, and was one of the last two of C Coy. engaged in the final phase of the Evacuation. Another wound at Pozieres put Ken in hospital, but three months later he rejoined his battalion. He rose to the rank of captain, A Coy., and its only surviving member of the above group, excepting Trott, who left the battalion. Capt. Millar after a number of years in the bush, out Bourke way, has moved his family home to Sydney, temporarily, to receive long deferred treatment for old war wounds. The other officer referred to by Ted Roberts was Captain William Trott MC, or Billy Trott as he was better known. Trott was a distinguished soldier, arriving with the 2 nd at the Landing on Gallipoli where he was wounded. He returned to the battalion shortly before Lone Pine where he was commissioned. At Pozieres he was a scout and bombing officer and received his MC at Ypres. His citation reads: For conspicuous gallantry in action. He showed marked courage and initiative in reorganising and leading forward a raiding party. Later, after the withdrawal, he returned to the enemy's trench to ascertain that none of his men had been left behind. Billy Trott left the Australian Army in January 1918 to join the Indian Army and was posted to the 9 th Jat Regiment, serving with it in Mesopotamia until the end of the war. He graduated from Quetta Staff College in 1933 and held the rank of brigadier general by September, Trott became AA&QMG in September 1940, serving with the 9 th Indian Division in the Malayan campaign, and assumed command of the 8 th Indian Brigade in the final stages of the fighting. He was captured by the Japanese and served as a prisoner of war until the end of hostilities. He served as Deputy-Director of Repatriation and Rehabilitation for the Indian Army, March After his retirement in 1947 he lived in Adelaide, SA, and was a tireless worker for Legacy. Trott passed away on 2 February, Endnotes by the Editor: (1) Warrant Officer 248 Robert Howman, 2 nd Battalion, enlisted 24 August, 1914, and RTA 11 March, (2) Sergeant Wykerham Henry Freame, 1 st Battalion, enlisted 28 August, 1914 and RTA 24 June, Anzac Day in Waukesha, USA Ray Black, Dural. A good US friend of ours, Nick Stanich, in Waukesha, Wisconsin, is somewhat of an Aussiephile. He is a captain in the USAAF Reserve, flying in rescue and recovery. There are a couple of Aussies in the district so it didn t take much to organise an Anzac Day event at Waukesha airfield. G day mate! Boy, did we ever have a terrific Anzac Day event! More military displays, more great Aussie tucker, better speeches, a fly-by, friendly fellow countrymen and women! It all took place in Steve Betzler s hangar, which housed a Tiger Moth biplane, which is in the final stages of completion. I played the pipes as the aircraft flew overhead. A young lady read a three-page story she wrote about the trip she took to Gallipoli, to see where her grandfather fought. All of his medals were pinned to her blouse. Very poignant moment and well received by the crowd. I played twice, as the aircraft flew over the hangar, and just for effect, at the tail end of Highland Cathedral included the last notes of Waltzing Matilda! Many Aussies came up afterwards and we had some great conversations about the things our two countries share. Nick. [Above right: Part of the crowd attending the Anzac Day event in Waukesha, Wisconsin.] DIGGER 69 Issue 51

70 The Platt and Abbott boys in a Flanders Field Written by Harold RJ O Keeffe, Strathfield, and contributed by Johan Van Duyse, Belgium. Introduction The Abbott family is first recorded to have been in the Southern Highlands area of New South Wales (NSW) in the 1860s. Over a period of about thirty years they moved northwards, living briefly in the Hunter Valley area before settling on the North Coast of NSW in or near the town of Grafton on the Clarence River. By the late 1800s the Abbott family was connected to the Platt family following the marriage of Alfred James Platt to Sarah Elizabeth Abbott at Lismore in Members of the two families then continued to live in the NSW North Coast area at Ballina, Alstonville, Lismore and Casino (some to the present day). The three boys, the subject of this story, were two Platt brothers and their Abbott cousin. The three boys killed in the Great War were: George Alfred Platt KIA, 8 July 1917, age 23. William Josiah Platt KIA, 8 July 1917, age 24. Frederick William Abbott KIA, 24 June 1917, age 23. This is the story of three young Australian boys who volunteered in 1915 and 1916 for service in the First World War. They went willingly to fight for King and Country, not knowing the terrible conditions that lay ahead, and their families would never see them again. The three sons were all killed in Belgium, remarkably at the same location, while the two Platt boys were killed on the same day. All three were eventually put to rest in the same row of graves in the same cemetery in Belgium. An indication that the boys were not forgotten was when, almost a decade later, William George ( Bill ) Platt, who was born in Casino in 1926, was named after the two Platt boys who had been killed in the war. I was able to locate two direct descendant members of the Platt/Abbott family in the northern NSW town of Casino in April/May 2014 after having completed some research on the Platt and Abbott soldiers, their history, enlistment, service and eventual death and burial. The persons I found in Casino were John William Platt (b. 1949) and his father William George ( Bill ) Platt. I acknowledge that John and Bill contributed greatly in assisting and refining my knowledge of the family. George Alfred Platt George Alfred s birth was registered in 1894 at Ballina on the North Coast of NSW. His parents were Alfred James Platt and Sarah Elizabeth Platt (nee Abbott), who were married on 29 August, 1893, at St Andrew s Church of England in Lismore, NSW. George had served for three years, and was continuing to serve at the date of his AIF enlistment, in the 12 th Infantry Regiment (Militia) in Lismore. Prior to joining the AIF, George s occupation was cab driver, probably with a horse and carriage. He enlisted in the AIF on 15 January, 1916, at Lismore, and became private, number 500, in B Company, 41 st Battalion. The 41 st Battalion was raised at Bell s Paddock Camp (now Enoggera) in Brisbane and was made up of men from Brisbane, North Queensland and the Northern Rivers area of NSW. The battalion formed part of the 11 th Brigade of the 3 rd Australian Division. George was recorded as age 21 years and 6 months, 5 3½ tall, weighing only 8st 2lb, fair complexion, and Church of England religion. In 1916 his father, Alfred James Platt, was nominated as his next of kin; at that time Alfred was living in Convent Lane in Casino. While stationed at Frasers Hill Camp near Brisbane, and commencing on 7 February, 1916, George overstayed his leave by three days, was declared AWL, and was docked four days pay. George embarked for war in Sydney on 18 May, 1916, on the HMAT A64 Demosthenes and disembarked in Plymouth, UK, on 20 July, After four months of training, probably at Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, he left Southampton and arrived in France on 25 November, 1916, and entered the front-line trenches for the first time on Christmas Eve George s battalion spent the bleak winter of alternating between service in the front line, and training and labouring in the rear areas. During this time, from 28 March, 1917, for a period of one month, George attended a signalling school in the field. DIGGER 70 Issue 51

71 After the Battle of Messines the battalion moved on and at the end of June 1917 the 11 th Brigade was ordered to establish a new front line west of Warneton, in full view of the Germans. Their work was carried out night and day under heavy shellfire. George was reported killed in action (KIA) near Warneton in Belgium on 8 July, 1917, and he was buried by the Reverend Alfred Avery Mills in Queensland Cemetery near Warneton [see endnote 1]. George s previous commanding officer of the 12 th Infantry Regiment at the Drill Hall in Lismore was not advised until 20 December, 1918, that George had been killed in action in the previous year. In August 1920, George was reinterred into the Messines Ridge British Cemetery, Plot 5, Row C, Grave No. 39 [right]. George s mother, Sarah E Platt, had passed away in Casino in Following George s death an army pension of 14 shillings per fortnight was to be paid to his father, Alfred Platt, from 19 September, Alfred, who had lived for the previous 65 years in Casino, died in 1920, also in Casino. George s sister, Sarah Grace Platt, advised the Base Records office in 1921 that her parents were both deceased. She further advised at that time that George had one half-brother (John) and one half-sister (Maud) living. As his parents were deceased George s war medals, memorial plaque and a photo of his grave were sent to his sister, Sarah, at Hare Street, South Casino, at various times between 1920 and George was awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. His sister was advised by the war office that there were no personal effects in his kit. William Josiah Platt (Abbott) At first I thought the two Platt soldiers, George and William, were brothers; however, I have confirmed they were certainly half-brothers as they had the same mother. They may or may not have had different fathers. William Josiah was born on 7 February, 1893, at Alstonville, a town between Ballina and Lismore, NSW. He was registered as William Josiah Abbott and his birth record shows his mother as Sarah Elizabeth Abbott, 25 years of age, but his father s name was not recorded. William enlisted twice for the First World War. On 2 February, 1915, at age 21 years and 11 months, he enlisted as William Joseph [sic] Platt at Bundaberg, Queensland, and joined the 25 th Battalion, 7 th Infantry Brigade, with the rank of private. He was allocated service number 205. William s previous occupation was noted as painter and he had been employed as an apprentice for five years by Bowers & Duffy in Casino. He was described as being 5 6 in height, weight 8st 7lb, fresh complexion and Church of England. On 18 June, 1915, at Greenhills (Brisbane) he was absent from roll call for three days, declared AWL and given four days detention with duty. William embarked at Brisbane on HMAT Aeneas on 29 June, 1915, sailing for Egypt. He was returned to Australia from Suez on the Wiltshire on 31 August, 1915, having been rejected as being under the required chest measurement for the Expeditionary Forces! Back in Australia he disembarked in Melbourne on 25 September and was discharged on 5 November, 1915, as medically unfit venereal. One year after his first attempt, William enlisted for the second time at Brisbane on 18 January, 1916, aged 22 years and 11 months, and this time used his proper middle name of Josiah. His service number was 498 and he was given the rank of private. He gave his next of kin as his mother, Sarah E Platt, then living at North Street in Casino. After his mother s death in 1916, William indicated his sister, Maud Platt [birth registered as Susan MB ( Maud ) Abbott] as his next of kin. William was appointed to B Company, 41 st Battalion, at Bell s Paddock on 4 March, William gave instructions to the army pay office that three shillings per fortnight of his army pay while he was away at the war was to be paid to his brother John ( Jack ) Abbott Platt, then living in Kyogle. With his brother George Alfred, William embarked in Sydney on 16 May, 1916, and sailed for England two days later. He arrived in Plymouth, UK, on 20 July, On 24 November, 1916, the boys sailed from Southampton for France. The second enlistment record of William Josiah is almost exactly the same as George s, including signalling school, dates and locations, as well as his death and burial details. William was killed in action on 8 July, 1917, the same day and at the same location as George Platt, and was buried with him in Queensland Cemetery near Warneton in Belgium by Reverend Mills. DIGGER 71 Issue 51

72 After the war, in 1920, William was reinterred in Messines Ridge British Cemetery, Plot 5, Row C, Grave No. 40, next to his brother, George Platt. Right: George s grave is on the left; William s on the right. William s sister Maud Platt, who had been noted as his NOK, seemed to have disappeared. A small quantity of personal effects were returned to William s eldest sister, Sarah Grace Platt, then living at Hare Street, South Casino, in September 1920 after she wrote to the Army claiming the effects and explaining that both parents were deceased and that she was the NOK. At various times between 1921 and 1923, Sarah Grace also received William s war Medals, the memorial plaque and a photograph of his grave. William was awarded the 1914/15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. After he was killed the army records noted that William s correct surname was Abbott. A pension of six shillings per fortnight was to be paid to his stepfather, Alfred James Platt, from 19 September, Frederick William ( Fred ) Abbott It was while I was researching the two Platt soldiers that I noted a Frederick William Abbott buried nearby to the Platt boys in Messines Ridge British Cemetery and my curiosity was aroused. Frederick William Abbott is buried in the same row of graves with the two Platt boys. While he came from Alstonville and travelled to the war separately, he ended up in the same 41 st Battalion, and was killed in action just before George and William in June Like them, he was temporarily buried in Queensland Cemetery and later transferred to Messines Ridge British Cemetery. I have ascertained that Frederick William Abbott s father, also named William (born 1865), and the Platt boy s mother, Sarah Elizabeth Abbott (born 1868), were brother and sister. Hence the two Platt boys and Fred Abbott were first cousins. I believe that they knew one another; they lived and fought together, were killed in action, and were buried together. Fred was born at Alstonville in 1893 and his birth was registered at Ballina. He was the first of twelve children born to his parents, William Abbott and Louisa F Abbott (nee Robb), who were married in Lismore in Fred enlisted at Lismore on Christmas Eve, 24 December, He was described as 5 4 tall, weighing 8st 8lb, with dark complexion and of the Church of England faith. He was aged 22 years and 5 months, was given the rank of private and service number His next of kin was noted as his father William Abbott, who lived in Alstonville. Prior to his enlistment, Fred s occupation was motor driver. In Sydney on 30 March, 1916, Fred embarked for war on the HMAT A16 Star of Victoria, and sailed for Egypt where the AIF was being reorganised following Gallipoli. He first arrived at Tel-el-Kebir, north east of Cairo, on the edge of the desert on 5 May, Fred, as a newly enlisted reinforcement, had been moved between various units as follows. On enlistment on 24 December, 1915, he had been allocated to D Company, 34 th Battalion. On 1 February, 1916, he was transferred to A Company, 36 th Battalion. On 16 February, 1916, he was transferred to A Company, 42 nd Battalion. On 18 May he was transferred from the 4 th Training Battalion to the Cyclists Corps, and spent nearly five months with the 3 rd Division Cyclist Corps. The bicycle idea was apparently a British one and although many bicycles were used in France and Belgium during the war, the idea was regarded by some in command as stupid. Early problems for the newly raised cyclist companies included both a lack of bicycles for training and also a lack of bicycling experience on the part of many of the volunteers, particularly among the Mulga Bills of the Australian Light Horse. For example, the unit War Diary of the 5 th Divisional Cyclist Company, which was raised at Ferry Park in Egypt on 16 April 1916, recorded on 28 April 1916 that the unit s complement of bicycles was only 40 machines and that many men had never been on a bike before and a great deal of time is wasted in teaching them. Still, training went on, concentrating on bicycle riding, marching, musketry, and simple tactical exercises. DIGGER 72 Issue 51

73 Training was based on the British Army s Cyclist Training Manual 1907 (as Revised 1911). Apparently Captain Hindhaugh s (officer in the Australian Light Horse) only preparation for command of a cyclist unit was being given a copy of this manual. The manual is replete with such items as how to salute while standing by, sitting on and riding the bicycle; drill movements such as Ground Cycles, Take Up Cycles and Stack and Unstack Cycles ; and helpful advice on care of bicycles such as Bicycle tires should be wiped with a damp cloth after a march, so that all grit, which if left might cause a puncture, may be removed. On 29 May, 1916, Fred embarked at Alexandria on the HMT Briton for Plymouth, England. On 7 August he was transferred to the 9 th Battalion, and on 24 September, 1916, he was taken on strength of the 41 st Battalion with service number At Larkhill, on Salisbury Plain in England, Fred went AWL from 3 November, 1916, for four days, was convicted of an offence and was penalised 15 days loss of pay. With his battalion, Fred was shipped from Southampton and arrived in France on 24 November, The first major action of the 3 rd Division was at the Battle of Messines in Belgium, launched on 7 June, 1917, when the 41 st Battalion was in reserve near Ploegsteert Wood. Fred was killed in action on 24 June, 1917, between Warneton and Messines, and was buried by Reverend AA Mills in Queensland Cemetery. In 1920, Fred, along with other soldiers, was exhumed from Queensland Cemetery and transferred to Messines Ridge. He is buried in Plot 5, Row C, Grave No. 31 at Messines Ridge British Cemetery. His cousins are in Grave No. 39 (George Platt) and in Grave No. 40 (William Platt). Right: Fred s grave is first on the left; George and William s graves are the second and third from the right in the same row (to the left of the gap). Fred s father, William Abbott, living in Alstonville, was advised of his son s death and at various times between about 1917 and 1930, his father received Fred s war medals (the British War Medal and the Victory Medal) as well as a photo of his grave in Messines, a memorial scroll and the memorial plaque, known by the troops as the Dead Man s Penny. His father may also have received payment of a modest pension. What compensation! Lest We Forget. Endnotes: (1) The Queensland Cemetery was near Warneton on the lower (or back) road from Messines to Warneton, where 30 Australian soldiers (of whom 23 belonged to the 41 st and 42 nd Battalions) and three from the United Kingdom were buried in June and July, Following cessation of hostilities there was some rationalisation of Commonwealth cemeteries and those with under about 40 burials were regarded as too small to maintain. Hence after the war in about 1920, the soldiers remains in Queensland Cemetery were exhumed and transferred to the Messines Ridge British Cemetery, just outside the village of Messines. The Queensland Cemetery no longer exists and the land is now given over to farmland for cropping. (2) The Reverend Alfred Avery Mills, a Methodist minister, was the chaplain of the 41 st Battalion/3 rd Division. In July 1917 he was recommended by his commanding officer and awarded the Military Cross for the constant carrying out of his duties in the field under very difficult circumstances. In a letter to his mother, written while he took cover in an old German dugout, having just returned from a midnight burial party, he talked of being very conscious of the grim tragedy of war. The rattle of machine guns, the illumination of the sky with all sorts of rockets, which the enemy is very fond of using, all go to make the surroundings most weird. In 1931 the Roll of Honour of the 41 st Battalion was unveiled in Adelaide Street, Anzac Square, in Brisbane, Queensland. Reverend AA Mills was on hand to dedicate the plaque. At the conclusion of the commemoration a special tribute was paid to the fallen of the battalion. (3) Photos taken by Johan. DIGGER 73 Issue 51

74 Life after the Great War: John Robert Cowan Kelly, 30 th Bn/Elope Force Patric Millar, Glen Innes. In DIGGER 50 I outlined the extraordinary service of John Robert Cowan Kelly. He left Glen Innes in 1915 and enlisted in the 30 th Battalion thinking he was off to fight the Germans, which he first did at Fromelles. However, in 1918 his life took an unexpected deviation when he found himself as part of the highly secretive Operation Elope fighting the Bolsheviks in Murmansk, Russia. [Below left: John Kelly is standing, in this photo with Sergeant Perry of Elope Force. AWM A05188.] John Kelly returned to Australia aboard the Ajana and was formally discharged on 9 December, 1919, and like a lot of men of that time took some time to find his feet. In an article in the Aeroplane Press, Burwood, dated 5 June, 1961, he said: I did nothing for a couple of years as it took me that time to settle down after five years away. During this time he may have commenced studies in local government administration. Prior to the war, John Kelly was employed by Glen Innes Municipal Council as a clerk and in 1922 he was back working in local government. He commenced work that year as the Assistant Town Clerk in Maitland in the NSW Hunter Valley. He moved to Burwood Municipal Council in 1924 to the position of Rates Clerk. With an obvious talent for local government administration he was promoted to Deputy Town Clerk in In 1937 John Kelly nearly resigned from Burwood Municipal Council to take up a position with Randwick Council. It was only good luck that the Burwood Aldermen heard about his potential move and offered him a pay raise to stay. Their investment paid off, when in 1956 John Kelly was appointed to the prestigious position of Town Clerk, Burwood Municipal Council. Today, the position of Town Clerk is equivalent to the role of General Manager. From reading newspaper articles about his time at Burwood Municipal Council, John Kelly presided over a large amount of change. He recalled that when he arrived in Burwood the horse and cart was more common than the motor car. He was instrumental in cementing Burwood as the key shopping district between Parramatta and Sydney. When John Kelly announced his retirement from Burwood Municipal Council, as reported in the 5 June, 1961, edition of Aeroplane Press, Burwood, he was quoted as saying, I cannot see why Burwood should not continue to progress at its steady rate. Shortly after his retirement he made an observation about house prices that is still true today. He was quoted in the Inner Western Times of July 7, 1961, as saying, Land values in Burwood have grown so high that only older people can afford to live here. John Kelly was a popular Town Clerk and his retirement dinner was attended by the serving Mayor, two former Mayors, past and serving Aldermen and no less than five Federal politicians. At this dinner he was presented with a wallet of letters and greetings from well-wishers, and a silver tray. John Kelly did not see active service during the Second World War, probably because he worked in a reserved occupation. However, he was still actively involved in the war effort. According to the Inner Western Times (June 8, 1961), he was involved as a committee member and treasurer of number of local patriotic committees and charitable organisations during WWII. John moved from Burwood to Kandos in 1969 to be closer to his family. Kandos is a town close to Mudgee in the NSW Central West region. John Kelly remained active in his adopted community by auditing books for a number of organisations, playing bowls and gardening. After a brief illness he passed away on 6 August, 1984, at Bodington Hospital in Wentworth Falls. He was survived by two daughters, Mary and Kath. As we all know, research leads to obscure places and is seldom done in isolation. I d like to extend my sincere thanks to Kasia Malicka, Multicultural Services and Local Studies Librarian, from Burwood Library and Community Hub for a number of articles regarding John Kelly s time at Burwood Council, particularly around his retirement. I d also like to thank Craig Callaghan, Technology Support Officer from Mid-Western Regional Council, for supplying me with John Kelly s obituary from the Mudgee Guardian. Endnote: Patrick has been invited to present a talk by Burwood Council in History Week. He will speak on John Kelly, with special reference to Kelly s WWI experiences. FFFAIF members are invited to attend (a good chance for Sydney members to get together). Venue: Burwood Library, 2 Conder St, Burwood (six minute walk from Burwood Station). Time: 1-2 pm, 5 September, Admission is free. Tea, coffee and biscuits provided. Note: If you are attending, wear your FFFAIF lapel pin so members can find each other. DIGGER 74 Issue 51

75 ETCHED IN STONE (Edited by Russell Curley with additional detail sourced from CWGC by Jim Corkery.) This is the fiftieth in a series of extracts, from John Laffin s We Will Remember Them - AIF Epitaphs of World War 1, which will appear in successive issues of DIGGER. Place names in bold type are cemetery names Captain Harold Norman Annear was gallantly leading his men in the Battle of Passchendaele when hit by machine-gun fire. He was carried to the rear but died of wounds soon after reaching a field hospital at Poperinghe. The Annears lived in St Phillip Street, Brunswick East, Victoria. (JL) Captain Annear of the 6 th Battalion died on 5 October 1917, aged 23, and is buried at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium. His epitaph reads: BELOVED SON OF JOHN AND FLORENCE ANNEAR THE DEARLY BELOVED SEVENTH SON OF THE LATE MR. & MRS. E. MOYLAN OF MANLY BELOVED ELDEST SON OF D. & C. A. E. CROCKETT OF MANSFIELD VICTORIA IN MEMORY OF DEAR BOB SON OF MR. & MRS. GOODWIN COOMA, NSW IN MEMORY OF THE DEARLY LOVED SON JACK OF MR. & MRS. J. W. KELSO DEARLY LOVED SON OF MR. & MRS. TUCKER OF CRYSTAL BROOK S.A. IN MEMORY OF THE DEARLY LOVED SON OF C. S. & J. G. CARR, TAREE, CANEFIELD WELGELEGEN ENGLISH HUGUENOT DESCENT BORN SOUTH AFRICA DIED WITH A.I.F. NEPHEW OF HON. B. O CONOR, BARRISTER GRANDSON OF REV. O CONOR NSW THE DEARLY LOVED BROTHER OF E. ROFFE AND A. SPERRING OF AUSTRALIA Pte S. Moylan, 1 st Pnr Bn, (24) Bernafay Wood British Cemetery, France Pte A. H. Crockett, 6 th Bn, Borre British Cemetery, France Sgt R. B. Goodwin, Field Arty, (26) Guards Cemetery, Lesboeufs, France Cpl J. A. Kelso, 17 th Bn, (23) Ypres Reservoir, Belgium Spr V. A. A. Tucker, Aust Engrs, (20) St Sever Cemetery Extension, Rouen, France Gnr R. T. Carr, Heavy Arty, (28) Ypres Reservoir, Belgium Pte A. Boyer, 3 rd Bn, (20) Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium Pte J. B. O Conor, 48 th Bn, (19) Passchendaele New British, Belgium Pte F. Sheridan, 20 th Bn, (34) Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, France Continued next issue. DIGGER 75 Issue 51

76 Dedicated to Digger Heritage The purpose of the FFFAIF is to commemorate the service, sacrifice, courage and suffering of the First Australian Imperial Force of the Great War and of their families and friends. DIGGER 51 Contents Articles Brian Lyall, 2 nd FAB, and Bill Lyall, 3 rd Army AFA, Ron Keith 3-8 For Valour: Anzac VCs awarded at Gallipoli, Part 2: Tubb, Dunstan, Burton, Geoff Lewis 9-11 Shoeing Smith John Harrison, 10 th LHR, Andrew Pittaway Queensland WWI casualty records, contrib. by Adrian Harrison, Dept of Justice & A-G, Qld Funeral for Pte Joseph Mitchell and Pte Albert Stewart, Trevor Munro Sgt Louis Brook, 1 st LHR, Margo Piggott The Howes family: Frederick, Albert, George, Henry, Albert Amies, Stephen Brooks FFFAIF members attend AWM Gallipoli 2015 conference, Ron Keith 21 Diaries of L/Cpl William Lycett, 4 th FA/15 th LROC, Part 2, contributed by Tim Lycett Photo: Light Horse re-enactors at Cooma Show, Jeremy Marples 30 Lieut Robert Harris, AN&MEF/2 nd Bn/1 st MG Bn, Judith Green /2 nd Lieut Reginald Forsyth, 1 st LHR/AFC, contributed by David Forsyth Speech at Dedication of the Neville Howse VC Rest Area, Emeritus Professor John Ramsland ANZAC Memorial, Hyde Park, Sydney: a reminiscence, Sean McManus 43 Pte Frank Ellis, 3 rd Bn, Geoff Lewis On active service: Sgt John Falconer, 18 th Bn, Part 3, courtesy Neil Falconer Pte Arthur Lines MM, 48 th Bn, contributed by Christian Wright Experiences at the Landing: Vernon Smythe, 3 rd Bn, courtesy Margaret Macintosh Clarke 55 The School Paper : Empire and Education in pre-war Victoria, Capt Rupert Dalley RFD Pte George Bryant, 33 rd /34 th Bns/9 th MG Coy, Rod Carpenter Photo: Officers of the 2 nd Bn, 1917, courtesy Patric Millar 63 The camp bed of the Australian : Ernest Mallivel, 2 nd AMTC, Claire Dujardin nd Bn officers: Millar, Ryan, Host, Trott, Rowlands, Patric Millar Anzac Day in Waukesha, USA, contributed by Ray Black 69 Ptes George Platt, William Platt and Frederick Abbott, 41 st Bn, contrib. by Harold O Keeffe Postscript: Post-war life of John Kelly, 30 th Bn/Elope Force, Patric Millar 74 Regular features Trench Talk and Contact/Membership details 2 DIGGER Quiz No. 51: AIF commanders, Maurice Campbell 42 Answers to DIGGER Quiz 67 Etched in Stone, Russell Curley and Jim Corkery 75 DIGGER is printed in Dubbo by the Colour Copy Shop For a top quality printing job at a great price, wherever you live, contact Aaron McMillan by print@colourcopy.co or phone: or visit the Colour Copy Shop website: FFFAIF website: Membership/subscription enquiries: Via website or ph DIGGER 76 Issue 51