"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 of early Australian military developments from 1899 to 1920.
WARNING: This site contains: names, information and images of deceased people; and, language which may be considered inappropriate today.
Latest News, Battle of Romani, 4-5 August 1916 Topic: A Latest Site News
Latest News
Battle of Romani, 4-5 August 1916
For those interested in the Battle of Romani and its companions, Katia and Bir el Abd fought over the period 4 -9 August 1916, then these pages might be of interest. At the moment, the Romani aspect of the battle has been completed. For those people keen to examine the primary source documents and compare them to the Official accounts, this is now available as this information is collected in one topic.
Included in the pages are some documents that came to light during unrelated searches of private papers. One particular find was a hand drawn map detailing the location of all burials from the 5th LHR. This gem was hidden amongst a sheave of unrelated material. Rather keep it hidden, it is now part of public property and available to all researchers.
There are other unique and previously unpublished documents and pix amongst these collections. We are in the process of analysing a few more pix from a collection recently made available which specifically details the actions at Romani and Bir el Abd. These will be made available soon.
The pages on Romani are collected in a Contents page and all may be found at this location:
Battle of Romani, Sinai, August 4 to 5, 1916, Contents
The Battle of Romani was the first major engagement after Gallipoli which involved the Light Horse working as a mounted formation.
Outline
Romani, Sinai, August 4 to 5, 1916
Pictures
Encampment near Romani, August 1916
Maps
1:125,000 map of Romani area
1:40,000 map of Mt Meredith area
1:40,000 map of Mt Royston area
1:40,000 map of Dueidar, Hassaia and Nuss area
1:40,000 map of Bir el Abd area
Official British War History map of Romani, 4 August 1916
1st ALHR AIF account map
1:250,000 German map of Romani area
Accounts
Official War History Accounts
Gullett Australian Official History account about Katia
Gullett Australian Official History account about Romani
Powles New Zealand Official History account about Romani
Official British War History
The British Occupation of Romani
The Turkish Advance
The Turkish Attack on The 4th August
The Pursuit on The 5th August
The end of the pursuit
The Results of the Battle
Turkish and German Forces Engaged
Distribution of E.E.F., 27 July 1916
The State of The Royal Flying Corps in Egypt at the time of the Battle of Romani
The Evacuation of the Wounded
Australian Unit Histories
1st ALHR AIF account about Romani
2nd ALHR AIF account about the Battle of Romani
3rd ALHR AIF account about the Battle of Romani
5th LHR, AIF account about the Battle of Romani
6th LHR, AIF account about the Battle of Romani
7th LHR, AIF account about the Battle of Romani
8th LHR, AIF account about the Battle of Romani
9th LHR, AIF account about the Battle of Romani
10th LHR, AIF account about the Battle of Romani
Australian Unit War Diary Accounts
1st ALHR, AIF, War Diary, account about the Battle of Romani
2nd ALHR, AIF, War Diary, account about the Battle of Romani
Account of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment's participation in the Battle of Romani, War Diary, Appendix 4.
3rd ALHR, AIF, War Diary, account about the Battle of Romani
5th ALHR, AIF, War Diary, account about the Battle of Romani
5th LHR, AIF account about the Battle of Romani, Killed in Action
6th ALHR, AIF, War Diary, account about the Battle of Romani
7th ALHR, AIF, War Diary, account about the Battle of Romani
8th ALHR, AIF, War Diary, account about the Battle of Romani
9th ALHR, AIF, War Diary, account about the Battle of Romani
10th ALHR, AIF, War Diary, account about the Battle of Romani
New Zealand Unit Histories
AMR, NZMRB account about Romani
CMR, NZMRB account about Romani
WMR, NZMRB account about Romani
Newspaper Accounts
New York Times account of Romani, 6 August 1916
London Times account of Romani, 10 August 1916
Individual Accounts
859 Corporal Francis Patrick Curran, 7th LHR
Possibly the most poignant account is that of 859 Corporal Francis Patrick Curran, 7th LHR. His story captured the attention of the international audience when it was published in the London Times.
Romani was the first action which involved the mounted forces from Australia working as mounted infantry. Their role would expand later to that of cavalry but this was a learning process for everyone.
Latest News, The Volunteer Movement in Western Australia Topic: A Latest Site News
Latest News
The Volunteer Movement in Western Australia
In order to understand the situation of the light horse movement in Western Australia during the first two decades in the twentieth century, it is important to see the origins of the indigenous volunteer movement. One of the most concise books written on this subject was written in 1962 by George F. Wieck called The Volunteer Movement in Western Australia 1861-1903.
Wieck began his military career as a permanent member of the new military force after the beginning of the new century. He was selected to go to Hythe in England in 1913, a great honour. On his return to Australia, Wieck became the adjutant to the AIF 9th Light Horse Regiment. His efficient administration ensured that the regiment entered the war on a sound basis which was bourn out its distinguished record. After the Great War, Wieck moved to Western Australia where he took an active part within the local militia movement. The highlight of his career in WA was founding the Northam Army Camp, vital to military training in Australia for many decades.
Roles within the Regiment Topic: A Latest Site News
Latest News
Roles within the Regiment
Most folks who begin the problematic study of soldiers records come into contact with a new world of technical terms and ideas. To assist those who are unsure of some of the broader functions of the various officers, nco's and specialists within a regiment, the entries from the The Bushman’s Military Guide, 1898 have been placed on the Australian Light Horse Studies Centre site as a quick reference.
Duties of Regimental Orderly Squadron Sergeant Major
Duties of Regimental Orderly Sergeant
Regimental Orderly Corporal
Regimental Orderly Trumpeter
Duties of Half-Squadron or Troop Orderly Sergeant
Duties of Troop (or Half-Squadron) Orderly Corporal
Duties of Tent Orderly
Cooking
Troop Cooks
Hints for Camp Cooking
Preserved Meat Tins
Aldershot Oven
Other Ovens
Kitchen
Wood
Recipes for Field Cooking - Preserved Meat
Folks who wish to experience the life of the light horseman - food wise that is - might like to try a couple of the recipes.
The detail is quite comprehensive and for those who have seen the various Routine Orders or designations of the various specialists within an regiment can now have a general idea as to functions. Obviously these are formulaic and the goal rather than the daily practice which varied according to training and personality. However, with that caveat in mind, the details allows one to follow a particular command trail to find documents. Best of all it allows the layman to understand how a regiment functions.
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
- 1920. It is privately funded and the information is provided by the individuals within the group and while permission for the use of the material has been given for this
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
this site is freely available for private research use only and if used as such, should be appropriately acknowledged. To assist in this process, each item has a citation
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.
A note to copyright holders
The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre has made every endeavour to contact copyright holders of material digitised for this blog and website and where
appropriate, permission is still being sought for these items. Where replies were not received, or where the copyright owner has not been able to be traced, or where
the permission is still being sought, the Australian Light Horse Studies Centre has decided, in good faith, to proceed with digitisation and publication. Australian Light
Horse Studies Centre would be happy to hear from copyright owners at any time to discuss usage of this item.
