Lesson 11 Aboriginal Light Horsemen

Resource - Light Horseman Service Record - Essential Pages

2425 Pte Jack Costello,  11th Light Horse Regiment, 20th Reinforcement

[Click on document for larger version.]

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.

[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:

• Age,
• 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.

The next form that is most common in the Service File is the B103, the  Casualty Form - Active Service. Every movement of the soldier is recorded. The reasons for this are fourfold.

1. The location of the soldier at any one time was essential to establish where his rations were to be drawn.

2.  The form established the entitlements to drawing pay at a particular level. A soldier in the field was allowed to draw pay but when in hospital was not allowed to draw their pay as it was considered that everything to assist the soldier's recovery was provided.

3.  By tracking the movements of the soldier, it allowed early detection of desertion if that were to occur.

4. At the end of the war, the chronology of this form was used as the basis for post war entitlements such as medals, pensions, repatriation assistance, access to hospitals and any other service available for an ex-serviceman for the rest of his life.

The B103 may be as simple as one sheet or multiple sheets. It depended upon the individual serviceman.

To assist in understanding this particular form in relation to the men from the 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource, a list of terms and names are available at the Index to Common B103 Terms. The link is below.

[Click on document for larger version.]

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.

As can be seen, the form is a chronology of the man's service in the AIF. All B103 forms in every service file is similar. 

In this case the man has two pages to the form. To finish his story, the page will be turned over. 

[Click on document for larger version.]

The back of the B103, the  Casualty Form - Active Service provides the reader with the following information:

• Chronology,
• Fate,
• Date.

Once the B103, the  Casualty Form - Active Service was completed due to the expiration of service, any transactions during subsequent to service were recorded on a flimsey called Transferred to Australian Imperial Force D and it was here that all post service information was maintained.

[Click on document for larger version.]

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.

Information on this form depends upon the individual. This particular form can at times run into many pages.

2425 Pte Jack Costello, a brief military biography from The AIF Project:

Jack COSTELLO

Additional Research:

To understand the terms employed in the B103, the  Casualty Form - Active Service, an index is available here:

Index to Common B103 Terms

For those interested in further study on this man, the following internet resources are available:

ADFA Summary - This is a cameo summary of his service record.

http://www.aif.adfa.edu.au:8080/showPerson?pid=63536

National Archives - This is the complete service file of 2425 Pte Jack Costello

http://naa12.naa.gov.au/scripts/imagine.asp?B=3426414&I=1&SE=1

Australian War Memorial

The Australian War Memorial carries two biographical data bases - the Embarkation Roll and the Nominal Roll which was closed in August 1919.

Embarkation details:

http://www.awm.gov.au/nominalrolls/ww1/embarkation/person.asp?p=42543

Nominal Roll:

http://www.awm.gov.au/cms_images/awm133/11/11-058.pdf

Further Reading:

Other Aboriginal Servicemen

Pte Tom Cooper

2919 Pte Alfred John Henry Lovett

2430 Pte John Johnston, 11th LHR

Listing of Aboriginal Servicemen Biographies on this site

Other related items 

Reveille Articles on Aboriginals in the AIF

11th Light Horse War Diary Index for 1918 - 1919, Lesson 11 Resource

11th LHR, AIF account about the 2nd Es Salt Raid - March to May 1918, Chapter XVI

11th LHR, AIF account about the Jordan Valley – May to August 1918, Chapter XVII

Posted by Project Leader at 12:37 PM EAST

Updated: Saturday, 8 November 2008 11:50 AM EAST

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Diaries of AIF Servicemen

Bert Schramm

4  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 Diary

Finding more about a service person. See:

Navigating the National Archives Service File 

Bert Schramm's Handwritten Diary, 1 - 4 November 1918

[Click on page for a larger print version.]

Bert Schramm

Monday, November 4, 1918

Bert Schramm's Location - Homs, Syria

Bert Schramm's Diary -  No news today. We hear we are to move near the coast in the course of a few days. I am feeling pretty confident we will have peace by Xmas.

9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary

9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Homs, Syria

9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Led horses left at Damascus for reinforcements regained Regiment at 1730. Two reinforcements received for 9th Light Horse Regiment. The 9th led horses were used by reinforcements of other reinforcements of the division. These horses on arrival showed lack of attention and 33% had sore backs.

9th LHR AIF War Diary, 4 November

Darley, TH, With the Ninth Light Horse in the Great War, Adelaide, Hassell Press, 1924.

No Entry

Previous:  Bert Schramm's Diary, 3 November 1918

Next:  Bert Schramm's Diary, 5 November 1918

Sources Used:

Bert Schramm's Diary

National Archives Service File.

Embarkation Roll, AWM8.

Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour

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:

Australian Light Horse Studies Centre, War Diaries and Letters, Site Transcription Policy 

Further Reading:

Bert Schramm Diary

Bert Schramm Diary, Album

Bert Schramm's Photo Album

9th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF

9th Australian Light Horse Regiment, War Diary, Day by Day Account

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Citation: Diaries of AIF Servicemen, Bert Schramm, 4 November 1918

Posted by Project Leader at 8:18 AM EAST

Updated: Saturday, 11 June 2011 12:18 PM EADT

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9th LHR, AIF

Pro Gloria et Honore - For Glory and Honour

Regimental March -  Marching Through Georgia

The Diary

1914

Wednesday, November 4, 1914

9th Light Horse Regiment Location -  Morphettville Race Course Camp and Broadmeadows Camp, Victoria. 

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. 

See: Broadmeadows 1909

1915

Thursday, November 4, 1915

9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Rhododendron Spur

9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Instructions received that this Regiment will occupy the bivouac area now occupied by the 8th Light Horse Regiment on Canterbury Slopes.

1916

Saturday, November 4, 1916

9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Bir Etmaler

9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - No entry

1917

Sunday, November 4, 1917

9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Beersheba.

9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Each squadron supplied parties of two Officers and 70 Other Ranks for water development in Beersheba. At 1400 owing to shortage of water the Division moved to Karm. The Regiment arrived at the water troughs on railway station at Karm at 2000. Watered and moved to bivouac area 11/2 miles north of troughs.

3rd Light Horse Brigade War Diary -

There were probably 30,000 horses in the Beersheba area and the water question became acute. There was not enough water for all there.

At 1400 the Division moved back to Karm, a distance of 15 miles. The track was in a very bad state. This route had been taken by all traffic to Beersheba from El Shellal and Tel el Jemmi, throughout the four days 'previous. The march was most trying. The rising dust was so great that it was impossible to see the ears of one's own horse. Several casualties occurred during this march, through horses and vehicles getting into uncovered wells and cisterns. At 2230 on 4th November after watering horses at Karm, the Brigade bivouacked 3/4 of a mile north west of Karm Railway Station.

1918

Monday, November 4, 1918

9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Homs

9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Led horses left at Damascus for reinforcements regained Regiment at 1730. Two reinforcements received for 9th Light Horse Regiment. The 9th led horses were used by reinforcements of other reinforcements of the division. These horses on arrival showed lack of attention and 33% had sore backs.

1919

Tuesday, November 4, 1919

9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Adelaide

9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Regiment disbanded.

Previous: 9th LHR AIF War Diary, 3 November

Next: 9th LHR AIF War Diary, 5 November

Sources:

See: 9th Australian Light Horse Regiment, Contents

Australian Light Horse Studies Centre, AIF War Diaries of the Great War, Site Transcription Policy

Further Reading:

9th Light Horse Regiment AIF

Bert Schramm Diary

9th Australian Light Horse Regiment, Roll of Honour 

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Posted by Project Leader at 7:24 AM EAST

Updated: Friday, 17 September 2010 12:31 PM EADT

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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 120.

[Click on page for a larger print version.]

This chapter deals with Hüsnü observations and critiques on the Ottoman conduct of the capture of Beersheba, 31 October 1917.

List of all other Battle of Beersheba accounts  on the blog

Full listing of all material about Beersheba on the blog

Posted by Project Leader at 6:36 AM EAST

Updated: Tuesday, 4 November 2008 6:46 AM EAST

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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.

Lesson 11 Aboriginal Light Horsemen

Level: Later adolescence – Year 9 and 10

Sensitivity – When dealing with this subject, 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. Students need awareness of these sensitivities and care in dealing with the information gained should be emphasised. Indigenous student should be given the option to participate in this learning session or undertake an alternative activity.

Overview

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.

Outcomes

Students:

• Understand “race” and “Aboriginal”;
• Consider the role played by Aboriginal people in Australian history;
• Understand the varied treatment of Aboriginal soldiers during the Great War;
• Undertake a specific case study of one Aboriginal Light Horseman accessing the service file; and,
• Define specific Aboriginal Light Horse terms.

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

1. Initiate discussions by asking students: What sort of groups form in the community? (Common ethnic or racial features may lead to the formation of groups within the community.)
2. Discuss the reasons why Aboriginals may have been excluded from participating in Australian society when the Great War broke out and continued during the war.

Main activity

From the Australian War Memorial Encyclopaedia:

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.

See:

Indigenous Australian servicemen

1. After reading the material from the AWM Encyclopaedia, elicit reflective statements about historical treatment. 
   
2. Access the story of Pte Tom Cooper and 2919 Pte Alfred John Henry Lovett. Students read the entries. Ask students: What do you think of the treatment received by Tom Cooper? Would you like that to happen to you? Was Alfred John Henry Lovett treated more fairly? Why do you think this is so? Why do you think some states (WA in particular) had so few Aboriginal recruits while other states welcomed their enlistments?
   
3. Students select or are allocated a name from the supplied list of the 11th Light Horse Regiment, 20th Reinforcement.
4. Students examine the service file and construct a brief biography of the soldier. These information items should be initially sought:
5. Service Number, Surname, Given Names, Age, Employment, Married or Single, Next of Kin Relationship, Next of Kin Name and Address, Enlistment Date, Height, Weight, Chest Measurement Complexion, Eyes, Hair, Religion. Regiment Rank on Enlistment, Terms of Enlistment, Embarkation Date, Embarkation Port, Embarkation Ship, Date Taken on Strength, Chronology, Fate, Date. The last rank held in the AIF, The date of Discharge, The place where Discharged, The eligible medals awarded to the serviceman. A brief summary of events from the supplied B103 card. (Each Service Record within the Lesson 11 outlines these items in logical sequence over 5 pages.)
   
6. Each student presents the produced biography to the class. The complete presentation of this information is contained in the Matrix of common service data to assist in generating discussion.
7. Record information on a white board or similar medium to allow every student the ability to visually observe the results.
8. Discuss the common information and elicit observations.

Debrief

1. Ask students to describe their experience of researching a soldier. Ask: 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?
2. Did experiences vary? How? Why? What was it like to be an Aboriginal Light Horseman?

Light Horse context

1. What was the 11th Light Horse Regiment doing when these reinforcements arrived?
2. How did the Aboriginal soldiers fit in with the 11th Light Horse Regiment?
3. Did their participation influence change in Australia? (Aboriginals also served in WW2 in the defence of Australia. 20 years later, in 1967, the Referendum gave Aboriginals full citizenship rights.)

Extension

1. Ask students to find the location in Australia described as the address of the Next of Kin of the person they examined. Research some details about this location.
   
2. Ask students to research the full National Archives file of the person they studied in the exercise. Extract more details that might be found on the Service Files.
3. Ask students to research the service life of 2430 Pte John Johnston and produce a report.
4. To contrast the service of Aboriginals, the chronology of 2460 Pte John Hall, a man who deserted, details the life of one man who enlisted but did not wish to serve, something that occurred in the broader community.   

Web support

The following items are available and recommended to be utilised as student and teacher resources.

Individualised service records prepared for the research activity:

2422 Pte William Bert Brown, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2424 Pte Edward Collins, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2423 Pte Frederick Arthur Burnett, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2459 Pte Fred Collins, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2425 Pte Jack Costello, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2426 Pte Harry Doyle, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2428 Pte Frank Fisher, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2427 Pte Joe Fitzroy, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2462 Pte Rupert Franklin Gore Gallaway, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2429 Pte John Geary, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2431 Pte Jack Kearns, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2432 Pte John McKenzie Laurie, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2433 Pte James Lingwoodock, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2434 Pte Leonard Lynch, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2438 Pte James McBride, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2437 Pte David Molloy, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2435 Pte Frank Morris, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2453 Pte Martin Mulrooney, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2436 Pte Harry Murray, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2439 Pte William Nicholld, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2440 Pte Jack Oliffe, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2443 Pte Charlie Parkes, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2441 Pte Jack Pollard, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2445 Pte Edward Smith, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2447 Pte Joe White, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2448 Pte Leslie Thomas Wogas, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

Teaching Aids

Matrix of common service data to assist in generating discussion.

Index to Common B103 Terms

Aboriginal Servicemen

Pte Tom Cooper

2919 Pte Alfred John Henry Lovett 

2430 Pte John Johnston, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource

2460 Pte John Hall, 11th LHR, Lesson 11 Resource 

Articles

Reveille Articles on Aboriginals in the AIF

11th LHR History

11th Light Horse War Diary Index for 1918 - 1919, Lesson 11 Resource

11th LHR, AIF account about the 2nd Es Salt Raid - March to May 1918, Chapter XVI

11th LHR, AIF account about the Jordan Valley – May to August 1918, Chapter XVII

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.
3. A genealogical line; a lineage.
4. Humans considered as a group.

Learning outcome principles covered by module for Late Adolescent students:

1. 21 LA.2. How government policies have affected Indigenous peoples and their pursuit of citizenship rights
2. 21 LA.4. The events, people and movements that shaped the development of Australia (e.g. colonisation and expansion, development of governments, participation in major wars) and the contexts in which events and actions occurred (e.g. social and economic context, motivation and beliefs of individuals) Contemporary society
3. 21 LA.7. Select and apply geographical tools and processes (e.g. maps, graphs, photographs, flow charts, fieldwork, action research) to gather, interpret and present geographical information on Australia
4. 21. L A.8.  Analyse sources, perspectives, theories and gaps in narrative accounts of Australia and Australians
5. 21 LA.9. Sequence historical events and relevant contextual information to explain and create narrative accounts of Australia and Australians.

Additional Reading:

Listing of Aboriginal Servicemen Biographies on this site

Education Centre Topic Outline

External Reference From Wikipedia:

Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals)

Posted by Project Leader at 2:09 PM EAST

Updated: Sunday, 16 November 2008 9:10 PM EAST

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