"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 as chroniclers of early Australian military developments from 1899 to 1920.
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Tuesday, 4 November 2008
Diaries of AIF Servicemen, Bert Schramm, 4 November 1918 Topic: Diary - Schramm
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'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.
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:
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 - Formation of Regiment occurring at Morphettville Race Course Camp, Adelaide, while "C" Squadron is formed at Broadmeadows Camp, Victoria.
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.
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.
Colonel Hüsnü, Yildirim, 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.
Lesson 11 Aboriginal Light Horsemen, Lesson Plan Topic: AAB-Education Centre
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
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.)
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 MemorialEncyclopaedia:
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.
After reading the material from the AWM Encyclopaedia, elicit reflective statements about historical treatment.
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?
Students select or are allocated a name from the supplied list of the 11th Light Horse Regiment, 20th Reinforcement.
Students examine the service file and construct a brief biography of the soldier. These information items should be initially sought:
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.)
Record information on a white board or similar medium to allow every student the ability to visually observe the results.
Discuss the common information and elicit observations.
Debrief
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?
Did experiences vary? How? Why? What was it like to be an Aboriginal Light Horseman?
Light Horse context
What was the 11th Light Horse Regiment doing when these reinforcements arrived?
How did the Aboriginal soldiers fit in with the 11th Light Horse Regiment?
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
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.
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.
Ask students to research the service life of 2430 Pte John Johnston and produce a report.
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:
An indigenous person who was born in a particular place;
A dark-skinned member of a race of people living in Australia when Europeans arrived; and,
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
A local geographic or global human population distinguished as a more or less distinct group by genetically transmitted physical characteristics.
A group of people united or classified together on the basis of common history, nationality, or geographic distribution: the German race.
A genealogical line; a lineage.
Humans considered as a group.
Learning outcome principles covered by module for Late Adolescent students:
21 LA.2. How government policies have affected Indigenous peoples and their pursuit of citizenship rights
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
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
21. L A.8. Analyse sources, perspectives, theories and gaps in narrative accounts of Australia and Australians
21 LA.9. Sequence historical events and relevant contextual information to explain and create narrative accounts of Australia and Australians.
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 119.
Colonel Hüsnü, Yildirim, Page 119.
[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.
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