"At a mile distant their thousand hooves were stuttering thunder, coming at a rate that frightened a man - they were an awe inspiring sight, galloping through the red haze - knee to knee and horse to horse - the dying sun glinting on bayonet points..." Trooper Ion Idriess
The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre aims to present an accurate history as chroniclers of early Australian military developments from 1899 to 1920.
The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre site holds over 12,000 entries and is growing daily.
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Another entry from the book written by Lieutenant Colonel Hüseyin Hüsnü Emir, called Yildirim. Every day, one page of the book will be posted. This is Page 129.
Colonel Hüsnü, Yildirim, Page 129.
[Click on page for a larger print version.]
This chapter deals with Hüsnü observations of the Turkish response to Beersheba on other parts of the battlefield.
Aboriginal Light Horsemen, Part 11, Students outline Topic: AAB-Education Centre
Education Centre
The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre in conjunction with the various Education authorities in Australia, has embarked upon producing a program of instruction targeted initially towards the Later Adolescence band of scholars, characteristically those who are studying in Year 9 and 10 within Australia. Each lesson will be a self contained module. Some will be more difficult than others and graded accordingly.
Indigenous Australians have always been part of the Australian Story from the inception of European colonisation. This was recognised until Federation in 1901 when Aboriginals were virtually stripped of their citizenship by the Constitution, a situation that remained till 1967. Despite that, Aboriginals played a minor but significant role in the subsequent life of the nation. During the Great War, despite prejudice, many Aboriginal men enlisted in the AIF. They faced the same dangers as everyone else, won medals for bravery and some paid the ultimate price with their lives. In this lesson students explore the history of Aboriginal participation in the Australian Light Horse during the Great War; identify issues of specific Aboriginal concerns; research and produce a military biography; develop conclusions based upon the available information; and deliver findings of the study.
Sensitivity
When dealing with the subject of Aboriginal servicemen from the Great War, it is important to be aware that in some Aboriginal communities, hearing or seeing names or seeing images of deceased persons might cause sadness or distress, particularly to the relatives of these people. Some Aboriginal cultures may also have prohibitions on who may see certain records based on the age, or sacred or sensitive status of information in them, as it relates to individuals of any particular Aboriginal group. If you feel that your inherited culture falls within the categories mentioned in this section and you feel that it would be inappropriate for you to participate in this learning session, your teacher already understands this and will allow you to undertake an alternative activity.
Focus questions
What do we mean by the term “race”?
What is an Aboriginal?
Why is the understanding of Aboriginal history in Australia important?
Introduction
In considering the idea of “race” let us take a few minutes to think about the idea of a nation and the community.
What sort of groups form in the community?
In the past, when the Great War broke out, why were Aboriginals excluded from Australian society?
The Light Horse
Let us look at the way Aboriginal Light Horsemen were treated during the Great War
Read the Attestation Paper, page 3. What do you think the phrase “Not of substantially European descent” really means? Would you like that to happen to you?
Access the file of 2919 Pte Alfred John Henry Lovett.
Was Alfred John Henry Lovett treated more fairly than Pte Tom Cooper? Why do you think this is so?
One thing to notice that once accepted as a soldier in the AIF, there was no discrimination in relation to treatment and pay.
From the Australian War MemorialEncyclopaedia:
Indigenous Australian servicemen
Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders have fought for Australia, from the Boer War onwards.
Change in attitudes
Generally, Aborigines have served in ordinary units with the same conditions of service as other members. Many experienced equal treatment for the first time in their lives in the army or other services. However, upon return to civilian life, many also found they were treated with the same prejudice and discrimination as before.
First World War
Over 400 Indigenous Australians fought in the First World War. They came from a section of society with few rights, low wages, and poor living conditions. Most Aborigines could not vote and none were counted in the census. But once in the AIF, they were treated as equals. They were paid the same as other soldiers and generally accepted without prejudice.
Enlistment and Service First World War
When war broke out in 1914, many Aborigines who tried to enlist were rejected on the grounds of race; others slipped through the net. By October 1917, when recruits were harder to find and one conscription referendum had already been lost, restrictions were cautiously eased. A new Military Order stated: "Half-castes may be enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force provided that the examining Medical Officers are satisfied that one of the parents is of European origin."
This was as far as Australia – officially – would go.
Why did they fight?
Loyalty and patriotism may have encouraged Aborigines to enlist. Some saw it as a chance to prove themselves the equal of Europeans or to push for better treatment after the war.
For many Australians in 1914 the offer of 6 shillings a day for a trip overseas was simply too good to miss.
Too dark
Aborigines in the First World War served on equal terms but after the war, in areas such as education, employment, and civil liberties, Aboriginal ex-servicemen and women found that discrimination remained or, indeed, had worsened during the war period.
Choose a name from this list or perhaps your teacher will allocate a name per person. This section works best if everyone has a different Aboriginal light horseman’s service file. There are 26 names in this list.
Each file will have 5 pages. Underneath every page is a list of information to extract from the file.
The front cover of the Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad provides the reader with the following information:
Service Number,
Surname,
Given Names,
Age,
Employment,
Married or Single,
Next of Kin Relationship,
Next of Kin Name and Address,
Enlistment Date.
The third page of the Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad provides the reader with the following information:
Height,
Weight,
Chest Measurement
Complexion,
Eyes,
Hair,
Religion
Try to convert the height and chest measurement into metres. Remember: 1 foot = 0.305 metres; and, 1 inch = 0.0245 metres.
Try to convert weight into kilograms. Remember: 1 stone = 14 pounds or 6.35 kilograms; and, 1 pound = 0.454 kilograms.
The next two pages are from the B103, the Casualty Form - Active Service which is a summary of the service performed by the serviceman in the Australian Imperial Force, AIF. To help you understand some of the abbreviations used on this form, there is a list of common terms
To understand the terms employed in the B103, the Casualty Form - Active Service, an index is available here:
The front of the B103, the Casualty Form - Active Service provides the reader with the following information:
Regiment
Rank on Enlistment,
Terms of Enlistment,
Embarkation Date,
Embarkation Port,
Embarkation Ship,
Date Taken on Strength with the 11th LHR.
The back of the B103, the Casualty Form - Active Service you may find a further chronology of the serviceman. However, you will only need to find the following information:
Did the serviceman Return to Australia; and,
The date this occurred.
The term “Returned to Australia” is the date the serviceman departed from the overseas placement, and specifically in the case of the Aboriginal light horsemen, it means the date they left Egypt. The arrival in Australia is a different date usually about a month later.
Page 1 of the Transferred to Australian Imperial Force D provides the reader with the following information:
The last rank held in the AIF,
The date of Discharge,
The place where Discharged,
The eligible medals awarded to the serviceman.
At the end of the war men who enlisted and served prior to the end of 1915 were awarded the Medal Trio of the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and the Victory Medal. They were commonly known at the time as Pip, Squeak and Wilfred. Here is some information about these medals:
The men in this example only were awarded generally the British War Medal and the Victory Medal because they enlisted after the end of 1915. In one case, the Victory Medal was not awarded because this medal required the soldier to have been taken on strength in an active service unit. Since this man was sick and spent his time in Egypt going from one hospital to another until repatriated back to Australia, he was ineligible for the Victory Medal.
When you have extracted all the information, your teacher will ask you to present it to the class. As all the information is collected and collated, you will see some very interesting things happen. You will note items like the most common occupation at the time of enlistment or when most men were discharged from the AIF. Your teacher will help you to understand this information.
Here are some questions you might like to think about.
What motivated these men to enlist?
Were the men treated the same as the non-indigenous Light Horse?
What did they feel towards the man they were researching in terms of his experience?
Did experiences vary? How? Why?
What was it like to be an Aboriginal Light Horseman?
Aboriginal members of the 11th LHR were regularly employed as trackers. Here is one story about two men employed as trackers during the Egyptian Rebellion of 1919. This comes from Hammond, EW, History of the 11th Light Horse Regiment, Fourth Light Horse Brigade, Australian Imperial Forces, Singapore, 1984, p. 142:
A soldier of the 3rd Gurka Regiment. was murdered by natives while on patrol, and the miscreants were tracked by Corporal Allen and Driver Smith to a village near Abu Hammad on the Cairo-Port Said railway. The Omda (head man of the village) renounced all responsibility in the matter. and, in fact, became defiant and even truculent towards our men. This action, at such a time, was, to say the least of it, foolhardy, and retribution descended swiftly upon him and his people. The soldiers surrounded the village and organised parties escorted the women and children to safety. The troops then entered the village, and after thrashing every man in it with their fists the soldiers burnt the houses to the ground. It is a pleasure to relate that after the "clean up" the guilty natives (three in number) confessed the crime and were later court-martialled and sentenced to death.
Driver Smith was one of men from the 11th LHR 20th Reinforcements studied in the learning assignment. Here are his details.
Did the participation of the Aboriginal men as servicemen during the Great War influence any change in the Australian treatment of the Aboriginal people in general?
Extension
When you recorded the location in Australia described as the address of the Next of Kin of the person you examined perhaps you could research some details about this location.
Perhaps you could research the full National Archives file of the person you studied. Extract more details that might be found on the Service Files.
You might research the service life of 2430 Pte John Johnston and produce a report.
Word bank
Indigenous
Aboriginal
Light Horse
AIF
Great War
“Not of substantially European descent”
Attestation Papers
reinforcement
half caste
dark
race
B103
Taken on Strength
Definitions
Aborigine:
1. An indigenous person who was born in a particular place;
2. A dark-skinned member of a race of people living in Australia when Europeans arrived; and,
3. Is a person of Aboriginal descent who identifies as an Aboriginal and is accepted as such by the community in which he (she) lives.
race
1. A local geographic or global human population distinguished as a more or less distinct group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics.
2. A group of people united or classified together on the basis of common history, nationality, or geographic distribution: the German race.
The following entries are extracted and transcribed from the 9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary, the originals of which are held by the Australian War Memorial. There are 366 entries on this site. Each day has entries as they occurred from 1914 to 1919. In addition to the 9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary, when appropriate, entries from the 3rd Light Horse Brigade War Diary and other regiments with the Brigade will also appear. Entries from the unit history, Darley, TH, With the Ninth Light Horse in the Great War, Adelaide, Hassell Press, 1924 will also appear from time to time. The aim is to give the broadest context to the story and allow the reader to follow the day to day activities of the regiment. If a relative happened to have served in the regiment during the Great War, then this provides a general framework in which the individual story may be told.
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Formation of Regiment occurring at Morphettville Race Course Camp, Adelaide, while "C" Squadron is formed at Broadmeadows Camp, Victoria. Signalling instruction begins at Signalling School, Broadmeadows Camp.
At 1.30pm, Lord Kitchener arrived by destroyer at Anzac Cove from Imbros, for an inspection of the Anzac lines. He and a party of senior Anzac officers climbed the road up to Walker's Ridge, where he went up into the trenches on Walker's Ridge, and out to the firing line as far as Bully Beef Sap, observed the Turkish lines across the Nek. After nearly two hours of observing some of the Anzac positions and meeting with most of the senior officers, he returned to Anzac Beach and left Gallipoli on board the destroyer at about 3.15pm.
1916
Monday, November 13, 1916
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Bir Etmaler
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - No entry
1917
Tuesday, November 13, 1917
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Summeil.
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - 0500 Night outpost lines closed up and day lines taken up 600 yards in advance of Summeil.
0800 10th Light Horse Regiment moved up in support putting on squadron in the line on right flank of 9th Light Horse Regiment. Lane, Lieutenant BGB, patrolled to Zeita reporting all clear. Enemy in Burkusieh very quiet. At 0900 on squadron enemy cavalry located by Brigade scouts in wadi near Diverin. At 1200 10th Light Horse Regiment withdrawn. 1500 two troops 8th Light Horse Regiment joined up in support. Our infantry and cavalry attacking on the left. At 2030 relieved by 10th Light Horse Regiment. 9th Light Horse Regiment withdrew to Ijseir rationed and concentrated where Ijseir - Summeil road crosses railway. Moved off at 2230 for one mile south east Tel et Tumus arriving there 0130, 14 November 1917 and bivouacked for remainder of night.
3rd Light Horse Brigade War Diary -
At 0645 13th November 1917, enemy were observed to be holding Burkusie ridge in strength, and small enemy parties were dribbling forward on to the low hills north east of Summeil. The Brigade held the line Arak el Menshiyeh - Summeil with 8th Light Horse Regiment on right sector and 9th Light Horse Regiment on left sector, and 10th Light Horse Regiment concentrated in neighbourhood of Brigade Headquarters. Four sub-sections of the 3rd Machine Gun Squadron were placed in support of the troops in the line, and the remainder in the vicinity of Brigade Headquarters. Notts Battery opened fire on to Burkusieh ridge, shelling the enemy with good effect. The continuation of the strong attack of the previous day was expected and the Brigade was in readiness. At 1300 the enemy were observed to be once again in retreat, The 3rd Light Horse Brigade were ordered to extend the line north east to Es Suafir esh Sherqiye and watch for enemy movements from the direction of Beit Jibrin and Zeita. The line held now by the Brigade was the right flank of the mounted force in pursuit. 4th Light Horse Brigade and 7th Mounted Brigade took up the attack on the enemy on the left, but owing to the exhausted condition of the men and horses the attack was abandoned.
At 1730 night outpost lines from Point 248 to Es Suafir esh Sherqiye was taken up and at 1800 Brigade Headquarters was established one mile south of Tel et Turmus. The line was lightly held, rest for as many troops as possible being aimed at. The night 13/14th November was quiet throughout.
Diaries of AIF Servicemen, Bert Schramm, 13 November 1918 Topic: Diary - Schramm
Diaries of AIF Servicemen
Bert Schramm
13 November 1918
Bert Schramm
2823 Private Herbert Leslie SCHRAMM, a 22 year old Farmer from Whites River, South Australia. He enlisted on 17 February 1916; and at the conclusion of the war Returned to Australia, 10 July 1919.
During part of the course of his military service with the AIF, Bert Schramm kept a diary of his life. Bert was not a man of letters so this diary was produced with great effort on his behalf. Bert made a promise to his sweetheart, Lucy Solley, that he would do so after he received the blank pocket notebook wherein these entries are found. As a Brigade Scout since September 1918, he took a lead part in the September Offensive by the Allied forces in Palestine. Bert's diary entries are placed alongside those of the 9th Light Horse Regiment to which he belonged and to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade to which the 9th LHR was attached. On this basis we can follow Bert in the context of his formation.
The Diaries
The complete diary is now available on the Australian Light Horse Studies Centre Site at:
Bert Schramm's Handwritten Diary, 12 - 16 November 1918
[Click on page for a larger print version.]
Bert Schramm
Wednesday, November 13, 1918
Bert Schramm's Location - Mejdelaya, Tripoli
Bert Schramm's Diary - Still wet and cold and things are very miserable and the ground is very soggy and wet. No News through today. Wrote letters home today.
Nominal Roll, AWM133, Nominal Roll of Australian Imperial Force who left Australia for service abroad, 1914-1918 War.
War Diaries and Letters
All War Diaries and letters cited on this site should be read in conjunction with the Australian Light Horse Studies Centre, War Diaries and Letters, Site Transcription Policy which may be accessed at:
The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre in conjunction with the various Education authorities in Australia, has embarked upon producing a program of instruction targeted initially towards the Later Adolescence band of scholars, characteristically those who are studying in Year 9 and 10 within Australia. Each lesson will be a self contained module. Some will be more difficult than others and graded accordingly.
Lesson 11 Aboriginal Light Horsemen
Resource - Light Horseman Service Record - Essential Pages
The front cover of the Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad provides the reader with the following information:
Service Number,
Surname,
Given Names,
Age,
Employment,
Married or Single,
Next of Kin Relationship,
Next of Kin Name and Address,
Enlistment Date.
This information is vital as it identifies the specific soldier and in case of death or injury, allows the relatives to be informed. The next of kin was important for another reason. Each soldier was compelled to give an allotment of their daily wage to the person nominated as the next of kin. This was an essential financial consideration.
Once this information was gathered, the second page dealt with an oath to the King. The next page to give information was page 3.
2460 Pte John Hall, Attestation Paper, p. 3
[Click on document for larger version.]
The third page of the Attestation Paper of Persons Enlisted for Service Abroad provides the reader with the following information:
Height,
Weight,
Chest Measurement
Complexion,
Eyes,
Hair,
Religion.
The health of the potential soldier was important as the life was particularly strenuous. The ability to carry heavy weights for great distances was most important.
2460 Pte John Hall, Attestation Paper, p. 4
[Click on document for larger version.]
Since 2460 Pte John Hall deserted, Page 1 of the Transferred to Australian Imperial Force Dwas not utilised but instead page 4 of the Attestation Paper was used which provides the reader with the following information:
The last rank held in the AIF,
The date of Discharge,
The place where Discharged,
The eligible medals awarded to the serviceman.
Information on this form depends upon the individual. This particular form can at times run into many pages.
The police were employed in tracking down a deserter. Below is one such report.
2460 Pte John Hall, Police Report
[Click on document for larger version.]
This particular police report deals with the capture of 2460 Pte John Hall which led to his placement with the 11th Light Horse Regiment, 20th Reinforcements.
The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre is a not for profit and non profit group whose sole aim is to write the early history of the Australian Light Horse from 1900
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site for these items by various donors, the residual and actual copyright for these items, should there be any, resides exclusively with the donors. The information on
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attached at the bottom for referencing purposes.
Please Note: No express or implied permission is given for commercial use of the information contained within this site.
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