"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
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Sunday, 7 December 2008
Bert Schramm's Diary, 8 December 1918 Topic: Diary - Schramm
During part of the course of his military service with the AIF, 2823 Private Herbert Leslie Schramm, a farmer from White's River, near Tumby Bay on the Eyre Peninsular, 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 1918 breakout 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.
Bert Schramm's Diary, 8 December 1918
Bert Schramm's Handwritten Diary, 8 - 14 December 1918
[Click on page for a larger print version.]
Diaries
Bert Schramm
Sunday, December 8, 1918
Bert Schramm's Location - Mejdelaya, Tripoli
Bert Schramm's Diary - Still wet and cold, heavy fall of snow in the hills and the mud is so bad here it is almost impossible to get about.
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 - 1000 Lewis Gun teams turned out and inspected by CO. 1400 Brigade alarm sounded. Regiment turned out mounted and took up positions about one mile south west of camp protecting left flank and recalled at 1630.
1917
Friday, December 7, 1917
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - El Burj.
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Heavy rain all day. No bivouac shelters and very little firewood.
The First 14th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF, History Topic: AIF - 5B - 14 LHR
Outline of the First 14th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF
14th Light Horse Regiment takes part in the first Brisbane Anzac Day Parade, 25 April 1916
[From: Sydney Mail, 10 May 1916, p. 26.]
Formation
The 14th Light Horse Regiment was formed as part of the early 1916 Cavalry policy of attaching a Light Horse Regiment to an Australian Division. Consequently, the 14th Light Horse Regiment was raised specifically to provide a regiment to the 3rd Infantry Division, AIF. Recruits went to the Enoggera Training Camp to the west of Brisbane, Queensland, in March 1916. The recruits were drawn from the four main Militia Regimental catchment areas within the 1st Military District which incorporated all of Queensland, Darwin and Northern New South Wales.
Training
Training for the 14th Light Horse Regiment commenced at the Enoggera Training Camp to the west of Brisbane, Queensland, from March 1916.
Embarkation
To facilitate the embarkation of the 14th Light Horse Regiment, it was entrained to Sydney by rail. The 14th Light Horse Regiment embarked on the HMAT A72 Beltana at Sydney, New South Wales.
The 14th Light Horse Regiment "A" Squadron and 1st Reinforcements embarked on the HMAT A72 Beltana at Sydney, New South Wales, 13 May 1916.
The 14th Light Horse Regiment sailed to Davenport, England and disembarked in 10 July 1916.
Colour Patch
Initially, the only colour separation of the various Australian mounted troops was by use of the pennant. The marker pennants were carried on poles to mark lines troop lines in camps in Egypt. They were not lance pennants as the Australian lancers had red over white pennants on their lances.
Pennant of the 14th Light Horse Regiment
While this pennant was useful in distinguishing horse and troop lines, it failed to identify the individual with a unit. The AIF 1st Australian Division Standing Orders issued in December 1914 ordered the Australian Light Horse Regiments to wear a 4 inch wide [10.2cm] blue armband with the regiment name marked on the band in black lettering.
The earlier systems proved to be ineffective so to assist with identification of the men in the various units within the AIF, Divisional Order No 81 (A) Administration was issued at Mena on 8 March 1915 detailing the Colour Patches for the various units in the AIF. The colour patch was made of cloth 1¼ inches wide and 2¾ inches long and worn on the sleeve one inch below the shoulder seam. In contrast, a special amendment to the order created the 14th Light Horse Regiment patch which was a oval in shape granted under the original order.
14th Light Horse Regiment Colour Patch
When the 14th Light Horse Regiment was appointed as the 3rd Divisional Cavalry, the Regiment retained the colour patch originally issued. The colour patch carried the red Divisional colour on the bottom part of the colour patch, while the white unit colour was on the top. This is illustrated with the above presentation.
Britain
It accompanied the 3rd Division to England. After some months of traininig, Divisional Cavalry were removed to become Corps Cavalry in September 1916. The 14th Light Horse Regiment was disbanded and the men dispersed over the various AIF formations.
The following list details all the embarkations in support of the 14th Light Horse Regiment, AIF, during the Great War. The list has been constructed from information and links kindly provided by The AIF Project. Each entry details to formation and the ships on which the units embarked with the date and place of embarkation. The detail of the formation is linked to a list of men who embarked upon that ship on the specific date. Each man is then linked to a brief military biography.
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 153.
Colonel Hüsnü, Yildirim, Page 153.
[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.
Bert Schramm's Diary, 7 December 1918 Topic: Diary - Schramm
During part of the course of his military service with the AIF, 2823 Private Herbert Leslie Schramm, a farmer from White's River, near Tumby Bay on the Eyre Peninsular, 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 1918 breakout 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.
Bert Schramm's Diary, 7 December 1918
Bert Schramm's Handwritten Diary, 1 - 7 December 1918
[Click on page for a larger print version.]
Diaries
Bert Schramm
Saturday, December 7, 1918
Bert Schramm's Location - Mejdelaya, Tripoli
Bert Schramm's Diary - Rained heavily all day and things are most uncomfortable. Everything we have is wet through and no chance of getting them dry.
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Sunday, December 8, 1918
