Grobelaar Recht

South Africa,  15 May 1901

Grobelaar Recht, near Carolina in the eastern Transvaal, was the scene of a severe engagement on 15 May 1901 involving Boers and a British column commanded by Lieut.-General Sir Bindon Blood which included the Fifth and Sixth West Australian Mounted Infantry contingents. During this action the WAMI lost five men killed (one account says seven) and eight wounded, one of whom later died.

The fighting continued next day near Brakpan, at one stage during which the British right flank was forced to retire. Withdrawing under heavy fire, Lieut. Frederick Bell of the Sixth WAMI contingent noticed a wounded man without a horse and returned to take him up behind him. The horse collapsed under their combined weight, whereupon Bell sent the man back on the horse alone and covered his escape by rifle-fire until he was out of danger. For this action Bell was awarded the Victoria Cross.

385 Private Francis Thomas Adam, 6th West Australian Mounted Infantry, Killed in Action, 15 May 1901

111 Sergeant Frederick Francis Edwards, 5th West Australian Mounted Infantry, Killed in Action, 15 May 1901

335 Private Benjamin Fisher, 6th West Australian Mounted Infantry, Killed in Action, 15 May 1901

Lieutenant Anthony Alexander Forrest, 5th West Australian Mounted Infantry, Killed in Action, 15 May 1901               

201 Corporal Richard Joseph Furlong, 5th West Australian Mounted Infantry, Killed in Action, 15 May 1901

341 Private Frank Page, 6th West Australian Mounted Infantry, Killed in Action, 15 May 1901

403 Private John Semple, 6th West Australian Mounted Infantry, Killed in Action, 15 May 1901

Lest we forget

Extracted from the book produced by Chris Coulthard-Clark, Where Australians Fought - The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1998, pp. 90-92.

Additional References cited by Chris Coulthard-Clark:

Further Reading:

The action at Brakpan - Max Chamberlain 

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EADT

Updated: Monday, 4 May 2009 12:50 PM EADT

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North Russian Campaign

Emptsa, North Russia, August 29, 1919

 

The Oxford Companion to Australian Military History, North Russian Intervention

Emptsa, North Russia, Brief details of Emptsa, The Times, 3 September 1919

Emptsa, North Russia, Outline of situation in Russia, The Times, 5 September 1919

Emptsa, North Russia, Colonel Ward speaks on the withdrawal, The Times, 10 September 1919 

Emptsa, North Russia, Report on Fighting up and to 8 September, The Times, 11 September 1919

Emptsa, North Russia, Withdrawal Policy Statement, The Times, 12 September 1919

Emptsa, North Russia, The withdrawal of British Troops from Archangel, The Times, 29 September 1919

Emptsa, North Russia, Sullivan VC, The Times, 1 October 1919

Emptsa, North Russia, Awards for Gallantry in Russia, The Times, 6 October 1919

Emptsa, North Russia, Pearse VC, The Times, 24 October 1919 

Personnel

North Russian Campaign, 3153 Private Ernest Gaffey

North Russian Campaign, 61464 Private Wilfred John Robinson

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EADT

Updated: Wednesday, 12 August 2009 1:13 AM EADT

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Victoria Militia - Infantry

1910

Towns throughout Victoria with a Militia Unit, 1910

Below is an alphabetical list of all towns in Victoria where a Militia Unit was located. These are all the units excluding the Australian Light Horse Regiments and Rifle Clubs which have their own particular lists. 

Ararat - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "D" Company (part)
Ballarat - 2nd Australian Infantry Brigade  Staff
Ballarat - 7th Australian Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion and Machine Gun Section
Ballarat - Australian Army Medical Corps No 3 Light Horse Field Ambulance
Beaufort - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "D" Company (part)
Bendigo - 8th Australian Infantry Regiment 2nd Battalion 2 Companies
Buangor - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "D" Company (part)
Castlemaine - 8th Australian Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion Headquarters and 3 Companies
Cheltenham - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "G" Company (part)
Donald - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "B" Company (part)
Dunolly - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "F" Company (part)
Echuca - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "E" Company (part)
Geelong - Australian Garrison Artillery No 1 and No 2 Victorian Company
Horsham - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "C" Company (part)
Inglewood - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "F" Company (part)
Jung Jung - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "C" Company (part)
Kerang - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "H" Company (part)
Keyneton - 8th Australian Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion "B" Company
Koondrook - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "H" Company (part)
Maryborough - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "F" Company (part)
Melbourne - 5th Australian Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion and Machine Gun Section
Melbourne - 6th Australian Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion and Machine Gun Section
Melbourne - Australian Army Medical Corps No 2 Field Ambulance
Melbourne - Australian Army Medical Corps No 4 Light Horse Field Ambulance
Melbourne - Australian Army Medical Corps Victorian Garrison Ambulance
Melbourne - Australian Army Supply Corps No 2 Infantry Transport and Supply Column
Melbourne - Australian Army Supply Corps Victorian Garrison Company
Melbourne - Australian Corps of Signallers No 3 Company and No 4 Company
Melbourne - Australian Field Artillery Staff, No 1, No 2, and No 5 Victorian Batteries
Melbourne - Australian Garrison Artillery Staff, No 3, No 4, No 6 and No 7 Victorian Companies
Melbourne - Australian Intelligence Corps Victorian District
Melbourne - District Headquarters Staff
Melbourne - Ordnance Department
Melbourne - Pay Branch
Melbourne - Royal Australian Artillery "C" Instructional Cadre and One Company
Melbourne - Royal Australian Engineers Commonwealth of Australia Staff
Melbourne - Royal Australian Engineers Commonwealth of Australia Staff
Melbourne - Royal Australian Engineers No 2 Electric Company
Melbourne - Royal Australian Engineers No 2 Field Company
Melbourne - Royal Australian Engineers No 2 Fortress Company
Melbourne - Royal Australian Engineers No 2 Submarine Mining Company (part)
Melbourne - Royal Australian Engineers No 3 Field Troop
Melbourne - Victorian Rangers, 1st Battalion Headquarters
Melbourne - Victorian Rifles
Melbourne - Victorian Scottish Regiment, 1st Battalion
Murton - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "C" Company (part)
North Brighton - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "G" Company (part)
Port Phillip Heads - Royal Australian Artillery Staff and 3 Companies
Port Phillip Heads - Royal Australian Engineers No 2 Submarine Mining Company (part)
Queenscliff - Royal Australian Engineers No 2 Submarine Mining Company (part)
Somerville - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "G" Company (part)
St Arnaud - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "B" Company (part)
Stawell - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "A" Company (part)
Swan Hill - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "H" Company (part)
Warracknabeal - Victorian Rangers 1st Battalion "C" Company (part)
Warrnambool - Australian Field Artillery No 4 Victorian Battery
Williamstown - Australian Garrison Artillery No 5 Victorian Company

Further Reading:

Militia Unit Locations in Australia in 1910

Australian Militia activity location list 1910 

Militia Structure in Australia from 1903 to 1914

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EADT

Updated: Saturday, 30 May 2009 12:45 PM EADT

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Emptsa

North Russia, 29 August 1919

[From: The Times, 11 September 1919, p. 10.]

Emptsa, a town in northern Russia about 200 kilometres south of Archangel (now Arkhangel'sk) on the railway line to Vologda, which on 29 August 1919 was the scene of an action between Bolsheviks and British troops and their White Russian allies. The British were part of a two-brigade expedition, the North Russia Relief Force, which had arrived in mid 1919 to cover the withdrawal of a detachment of advisers sent the previous year to train White Russian forces. Among its members were 100-120 ex-AIF men recruited in England and enlisted mainly in the 45th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, and the 201st Machine Gun Battalion. While these volunteers were no longer the responsibility of the Australian government, within their units they still formed a distinctive national group.

The attack on Emptsa was undertaken to enable White forces to consolidate their positions before the final British withdrawal, and involved the Australians spearheading the assault with White Russian support. Although the Bolsheviks were taken by surprise, some put up a spirited fight before the defenders fell back across the river and demolished the steel railway bridge behind them. Over 1,000 Bolsheviks were taken prisoner during the day. A highlight of the engagement was the part played by Sergeant Samuel Pearce of the 45th Battalion, a Welsh-born Victorian, in assaulting the enemy batter position north of the town. After cutting his way through barbed-wire obstacles under heavy rifle and machine-gun fire, he saw that fire from a blockhouse was harassing the advance and causing casualties. He accordingly single-handedly charged the blockhouse and killed its occupants with hand grenades, moments before being himself cut down by another enemy machine-gun. For his bravery Pearce was subsequently awarded the Victoria Cross - one of only two such awards for service in northern Russia (and both of which were to ex-AIF soldiers).

Extracted from the book produced by Chris Coulthard-Clark, Where Australians Fought - The Encyclopaedia of Australia's Battles, Allen and Unwin, Sydney, 1998, p. 165.

Additional References cited by Chris Coulthard-Clark:

Lionel Wigmore (1963) They Dared Mightily, Canberra: Australian War Memorial.

Peter Burness, 'The Forgotten War in North Russia', Defence Force Journal, No. 22, May-June 1980.

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EADT

Updated: Saturday, 2 May 2009 10:11 PM EADT

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Diaries of AIF Servicemen

Bert 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, 1 May 1919

Bert Schramm's Handwritten Diary, 28 April - 2 May 1919

[Click on page for a larger print version.]

Diaries

Bert Schramm

Thursday, May 1, 1919

Bert Schramm's Location - Ismailia, Egypt.

Bert Schramm's Diary - Caught the 10 am train this morning and arrived home in time dinner. Nothing doing. Posted some photos to Lucy today.

9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary

9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Zagazig, Egypt.

9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Usual camp routine. Driscoll, Lieutenant LS, evacuated to hospital.

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

No Entry


Previous: Bert Schramm's Diary, 30 April 1919

Next: Bert Schramm's Diary, 2 May 1919

Further Reading:

9th Light Horse Regiment AIF War Diary - Complete day by day list

Bert Schramm Diary 

Bert Schramm Diary - Complete day by day list

Additional Reading:

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

Citation: Bert Schramm's Diary, 1 May 1919

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EADT

Updated: Saturday, 9 May 2009 6:48 PM EADT

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