The Battle of Zand River

South Africa, 10 May 1900

Sydney Morning Herald Account 

The transcription:

ACTION ON THE ZAND RIVER.

GALLANT ACTION OF THE N.S.W. TROOPS.

LONDON, May 10.

During Major-General Hutton’s reconnaissance on tho Zand River the New Zealand troops were posted on a kopje overlooking the river, whilst the New South Wales and Canadian troops were held in reserve on a kopje in the rear.

Some 10,000 Boers, who with six guns were on the northern side of the river preparing to leave with a convoy and a loaded train, returned, and shelled the British and Colonial troops.

Many of tho Boers crossed tho dry bed of the river southward, circled to the right, enfiladed the Western Australian troops with shellfire, and threatened the retreat of the New Zealand troops.

The New South Wales troops moved forward gallantly and held the enemy in check in the face of a galling fire. They covered the retreat of the New Zealanders.

The enemy retired at night, and destroyed the railway bridges and culverts.

The London "Daily Chronicle's'' war correspondent states that Lieutenant General French and Major-General Hutton crossed the Zand River, and are pursuing the enemy cautiously, owing to the damage done to the railway.

Further Reading:

The Battle of Zand River, South Africa, 10 May 1900

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EAST

Updated: Sunday, 11 April 2010 10:24 PM EADT

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The Battle of Anzac Cove

Gallipoli, 25 April 1915

7th Infantry Battalion War Diary 

The following is a transcription of the War Diary of the 7th Infantry Battalion, AIF, of their role in the landings at Anzac on 25 April 1915.

25 April 1915

HMT Galeka

4.45 am - Arrived at anchorage at 4.45 am in accordance with Divisional Orders. As, however, no tows arrived as provided, Lieutenant Commander Hummerville ordered me to disembark the Battalion in the ship's boats. This greatly disarranged my previous orders as men had been told off to tows in accordance with their capacity of the boats provided which differed from the ships boats and room had to be left for men to row. Moreover, the Officers in charge of the boats were unaware of the landing place. All that I or Lieutenant Commander Hummerville could tell them was that they were to land to the left of the 3rd Infantry Brigade.

Major Glassford was in charge of leading boat vide no men attached.

At 5 am, about 120 men of "B" Company 7th Infantry Battalion which was already drawn up on the SS Galeka were embarked in four of the ships boats and proceeded to row ashore. The naval officer on board gave instructions that we were to land on the left of the 3rd Infantry Brigade and we accordingly made for the vicinity of Fisherman's hut (Square 237 L). We could see the 3rd Infantry Brigade Field Ambulance flag flying about Square 237 W7. When about 200 yards from shore the enemy, who were entrenched on knoll behind Fisherman's Hut and knoll about 500 yards south east opened fire on the boats with machine guns and rifles. We landed and took up a position behind sand heaps at edge of beach the fire being to heavy to advance over the flat leading to the huts. We poured in rapid fire and in about a quarter of an hour threatened to assault when the enemy immediately retired. We occupied their trenches in rear of Fisherman's Hut with the remains of the platoons, numbering about 40 men and held the positions to allow the Field Ambulance; who had sent up bearers, to remove the wounded, which was done as far as possible. Assistance was also received from a trawler which towed away two boats loaded with wounded. Messengers were sent to find Battalion Headquarters with messages stating where we were, what had happened, and our intentions which were to hold hill until wounded were removed and then join battalion unless otherwise ordered. At about 2 pm the enemy advanced on our left: we held on as long as possible and then retired along the beach to point in Square 224 G5, arriving there about 7 pm. The party then reported to Major Glassford who directed them to 3rd Infantry Brigade Headquarters.

Gallipoli Peninsular 4pm - Left HMT Galeka by the 5th boat and landed under shrapnel fire. Could not find the landing officer Major Glassford or Major Villiers Stewart who were to meet us according to Divisional Orders. I therefore reported to Colonel McLagen, Brigadier of the 3rd Infantry Brigade and asked for orders. He instructed me to assemble the Battalion behind the right hand point of the Cove in which we had landed and he would arrange for us to go into action on his right. Major Glassford then arrived and confirmed this. With difficulty owing to shrapnel fire, I assembled about half of "C" Company, the whole of "D" Company, one platoon of "B" Company and the whole of "A" company who landed from HMT Clan McGillivray at our place of assembly under instruction from Major Glassford.

About 9.30 pm was wounded below that  ankle joint: remained on field a short time, gave directions for the supplying of ammunition and sent message to Brigadier and to Major Mason of my wound and returned to beach.

The Battalion was then moved over the first ridge and assembled at the foot of a small hillock. From here, under Major Glassford's instructions, two platoons now moved forward to support the 9th Infantry Battalion who were in a ???? ridge in front. At about 2 am Colonel McCay arrived and took over command. He at once ordered the Battalion to advance and on arrival at the spot where the second and third ridge merge into the Plateau 400, he visually ordered me to put the Battalion into the firing line along the front edge of that ridge stating that the 6th Battalion would support me and the 5th Battalion, thus 8 companies. These orders were carried out "D" Company went into action first followed by "A" company as it came up and finally by "C" company and the one platoon of "B" Company available. Major Blizard severely wounded while moving up ridge under front line.


26 April 1915

7th Battalion Headquarters established western slope of Happy Valley. Trying to collect men of the Seventh. Mustered approximately 70. Remainder mixed with other Battalions.

5.15 pm - An advance was ordered in direction of Baby 700. Units became mixed. A line advanced and took up a position which enabled a firing line to be established and then the covering party returned under cover of darkness were subjected to heavy shrapnel and machine gun fire.

The approximate casualties for 25 April 1915 was 400 killed, wounded and missing.

 

Further Reading:

The Battle of Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915

The Battle of Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915, 7th Infantry Battalion, Roll of Honour  

The Battle of Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915, 2nd Infantry Brigade, Roll of Honour 

The Battle of Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915, AIF, Roll of Honour 

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EAST

Updated: Tuesday, 6 April 2010 9:19 PM EADT

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The Battle of Central Station, New South Wales, 14 February 1916

Outline

The Liverpool Riot of 1916 also known as the Battle of Central Station was an event in Sydney, Australia where a large group of Australian soldiers rioted through the streets of Sydney and surrounding areas.

Following Australia's entry into World War I, many Australian men volunteered to fight in Europe and were stationed in camps around Australia to receive military training before being shipped to the front. At 9.00am on 14 February 1916, at Casula Camp in Liverpool in Sydney's southwest, it was announced that the current training session would be extended into the evening, meaning a 27 hour stretch for some of the recruits. 5,000 recruits refused to accept extra duty and went on strike to protest the poor conditions at the camp. The soldiers left the camp and marched towards the centre of Liverpool, where they were joined by other recruits from around Liverpool and the numbers of protesters now reached as many as 15,000. They invaded a number of local hotels, drinking the bars dry, refusing to pay and began vandalising buildings.

The soldiers then gained control of Liverpool train station, overpowered the engineers and commandeered trains heading towards Sydney, where they began rampaging drunkenly through Sydney streets, smashing windows and targeting anyone with a foreign sounding name, including Italian restaurants, even though Italy was an ally. Shops and hotels were looted and people were forced to take refuge in churches to avoid the soldiers. Police reinforcements were called in and began battling the soldiers in the streets of Sydney.

At Sydney's Central Railway Station, armed military guards found a group of over 100 drunken soldiers destroying a toilet block and demanded they surrender. A shot was fired by a rioting soldier over the guards' heads and in response the guards returned fire, killing one soldier and seriously injuring eight others. This incident had a sobering effect on the soldiers and many began surrendering to police and military guards, although small bands of soldiers continued to cause damage throughout the night.

Following the riot, described as the "most disgraceful episode in our military history", about 1000 soldiers were courtmartialled and either gaoled or discharged from the army. However, Australia was desperate for recruits to fight the war and so many soldiers escaped punishment and were sent overseas while the government, anxious to keep the image of the Australian digger as positive as possible, discouraged the media from covering the event.

As a result of the riots, New South Wales, Victoria and Tasmania introduced 6.00pm closing of hotels to guard against a repeat occurrence, matching South Australia's introduction the previous year. It was not until 1955 that New South Wales closing was extended to 10pm.

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_riot_of_1916

Further Reading:

The Battle of Central Station, New South Wales, 14 February 1916

Australian Battles

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EAST

Updated: Friday, 6 May 2011 7:29 AM EADT

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The Battle of Anzac Cove

Gallipoli, 25 April 1915

Roll of Honour

7th Infantry Battalion, AIF

Poppies on the Roll of Honour, Australian War Memorial, Canberra

The Roll of Honour contains the names of all the men from the 7th Infantry Battalion known to have served and lost their lives during the Battle of Anzac, 25 April 1915.

Roll of Honour

 

Norman Edward ABERDEEN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

John Knox ADAMS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William Thomas ADAMS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

James ANDERSON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

John Edward ANDERSON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Robert ANDERSON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

John Sinclair ANGUS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Edwin Joseph AULT, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

David BAIRD, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Alfred BALDWIN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Charles BALE, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Hubert Godfrey BEACHLEY, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Walter Herbert BECKENSALL, 7th Infantry Battalion.

John Charles BELL, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Jack BLACKBURN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Lance Sisca BLANNIN-FERGUSON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Reginald Rupert BOND, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Roy BONHAM, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William Joseph BOUCHER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Robert Cleveland BRADLEY, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Vernon Thomas BROOKES, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Richard BUTT, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Reginald John Murray BYRNE, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

William Richard CANTWELL, 7th Infantry Battalion.

James Neville CARLESS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Strutten John CARTER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Francis Alexander CHARLTON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Alfred James COLLINS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Albert Edward COMTE, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Ernest Robert DALY, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Charles DAMEN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Edmond Butterworth DANAHER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

David Mancel DAVIES, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Harold DENSTON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William George DIXON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Stanley Oliver DUNSTAN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

James Adolphus EDGCUMBE, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William Albert EDWARDS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Thomas Elevious ELLEFSEN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Sidney Harold Richards ELLIOTT, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Abraham EVANS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Josephus FULLAGAR, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Joseph Roy GARDNER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Thomas Andrew GILLISON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Hugh Barclay GRAHAM, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Ernest Edward Robert GREENWOOD, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Rhys Emlyn GRIFFITHS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William Gordon GULLIVER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Vernon Charles HALL, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Albert John HANDCOCK, 7th Infantry Battalion.

John HARMER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

David HAWKINS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Gordon Gray Carruthers HAWKINS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Alan Melrose HAYES, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Colin Wilfrid HEAD, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William Walter James HEAD, 7th Infantry Battalion.

John George Douglas HELSHAM, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Arthur HETHERTON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William Corbett HILL, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Basil John HOOPER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Archibald James HUTCHISON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Charles Edward JONES, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Edward Wilfred JUNIER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Herbert M KEAM, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Thomas KEAN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Norman Vivian Gladstone KERBY, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Frank KIELY, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Herbert James KINGSTON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Edward Luke KNIGHT, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

George Hill LEVENS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Frederick Thomas LOCKER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Cuthbert Jones LONG, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Percival LOXTON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Alexander Murdo MACAULAY, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Charles Frederick MADDEN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

John Archibald MALCOLM, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Alexander James MCARTHUR, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Alfred MCCOLL, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Fenley John MCDONALD, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Lindsay Gordon MCDONALD, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William MCDONALD, 7th Infantry Battalion.

James Rivet MCGILLIVRAY, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Edward Albert MCKENNA, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Hamish MCNAB, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Alexander George MCPHERSON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

John Rossiter MELVILLE, 7th Infantry Battalion.

George Irvine MIDDLETON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Frederick John MILGATE, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Robert MORRISON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

James MUNRO, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Alfred Joseph NORTON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

William O'BRIEN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Michael John O'DWYER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Daniel James O'LEARY, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Thomas O'LEARY, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Allan Robert OLLEY, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Arthur Mueller PEARCE, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Frederick Francis PEARSON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Reginald Arthur PENROSE, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Trafford Cyril PETTIGREW, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Alfred James PETTIS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Thomas Wesley PINDER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Charles POWLEY, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Richard James Reginald READ, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Clair William REED, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Cyril Lindsay REID, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Roy Everard RICHARDSON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Bartimas ROBERTSHAW, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Colin Ernest ROBERTSON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Cecil Harry ROCKE, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Herbert James ROWLAND, 7th Infantry Battalion.

James RYAN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Frederick SANDERS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William John SAYERS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Charles SCHARNESS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

John Alfred SEEGER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

George Henry SHEPPARD, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Walter Henry SLOCOMBE, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Ernest Albert SMITH, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Walter Joseph STEETH, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Richard Harry STEVENS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Russell William STEWART, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Roy Frank STONE, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Raymond SULLIVAN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William John SUTHERLAND, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Fremont Leon TABBUT, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Oswald James TANKARD, 7th Infantry Battalion.

James Campbell TELFORD, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Charles TEVENDALE, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Stanley George THOMAS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

John THOMPSON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William TOMLINSON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Frederick Arthur Albert TOWNER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Frank TRICKEY, 7th Infantry Battalion.

James John TWINING, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Athelstan Neville USSHER, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Arthur Wilson VEITCH, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Donald VEITCH, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

George William WARREN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Frederick William WATSON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William WHITECROSS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Arthur WILDEN, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Albert Henry WILLIAMS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Charles Jonathan WILLMOTT, 7th Infantry Battalion.

William Henry WILLS, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Richard Noble WILSON, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Bertram WINSLET, 7th Infantry Battalion.

George William WOOD, 7th Infantry Battalion.

Charles WRIGHT, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

George Robert YUILL, 7th Infantry Battalion.

 

Further Reading:

The Battle of Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915

The Battle of Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915, 2nd Infantry Brigade, Roll of Honour 

The Battle of Anzac Cove, Gallipoli, 25 April 1915, AIF, Roll of Honour 

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EAST

Updated: Tuesday, 6 April 2010 8:59 AM EADT

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The Australian Light Horse

Medals and Badges awarded to the Light Horse

Contents

The Medal Trio

Pip, Squeak and Wilfred - the Trio Medals 

 

Chevrons for service overseas

Chevrons for service overseas, page 1

Chevrons for service overseas, page 2

Chevrons for service overseas, page 3

AIF Orders regarding the Anzac "A" Badge

AIF Orders regarding the Anzac "A" Badge

9th LHR Routine Order No 851, 22 January 1918

Further Reading:

Medals and Badges awarded to the Light Horse

The Australian Light Horse

Battles where Australians fought, 1899-1920

Citation: The Australian Light Horse, Medals and Badges awarded to the Light Horse, Contents

Posted by Project Leader at 12:01 AM EAST

Updated: Monday, 1 March 2010 8:11 AM EAST

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