"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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Saturday, 22 November 2008
Diaries of AIF Servicemen, Bert Schramm, 22 November 1918 Topic: Diary - Schramm
Diaries of AIF Servicemen
Bert Schramm
22 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:
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Charley, Major WT, transferred from C Squadron to Regimental Headquarters [supernumerary]. Brinkworth, Major TA, transferred from A Squadron to command C Squadron. Luxmoore, Captain EM, from 2nd in command C Squadron to 2nd in command A Squadron.
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 - A Turkish deserter appeared in front of our Fire Trench today at 1700. He was brought in by the sentries and handed over to the Officer in Command. He was given a hot meal and drink as he was nearly famished with the cold. He was then brought to Regimental Headquarters.
Statement of Eskender Sarkisian
Statement of Eskender Sarkisian [Armenian] from Deortyol near Alexandretta, a shoemaker by trade, aged 31. Rank: Sergeant, 3rd Company - Commander Ali Effendi, 1st Battalion - Commander Abdul Karim, 48th Regiment - Commander Ilham Bey, 16th Division - Commander Rushti Bey, 6th Army Corps.
In his company 160 men, four companies in a Battalion, three battalions in a Regiment, three Regiments in a Division, in this case 47th, 48th and 125th Regiments made up 16th Division.
Seven years ago he was called up and went to a Mounted Police School at Thersus near Adana for five months after which he performed police work for five years in Kozan, then returned to his trade. Three months later, on mobilisation he was called up and sent to Constantinople and did ten months training under German methods.
The 48th Regiment was formed in his home town. He marched to Gallipoli with the whole Division and proceeded to Maidos by transport and marched to Ari Burnu arriving there about 6 May 1915 and was wounded in the first night attack made by his Regiment. He was sent to Tekedar and returned about 1 August 1915 to the same place and was present when we attacked on the 6th August [Lone Pine] and was again wounded in the counter attack by the Turks. He was then sent to Constantinople and came back two months after to the same place.
After a few days the Regiment proceeded to Gaba Tepe and remained in vicinity for one month and one month ago came to the present position Battleship Hill. The 3rd Battalion is on Chunuk Bair while the 2nd is opposite Quinn's Post with 72nd in between.
Sniper's Nest is considered very important; held by 40 men with remainder of two Companies in dugouts on wither side of the communication trench with two Companies in support on the main ridge [from 72nd Regiment], a special divisional order to hold this position. From here can see hospital tents and beach but frightened to fire as they draw shell fire. No telephone. Nearest Brigade Headquarters half an hour away.
Battleship Hill - lower trench held by about 50 men with a Company on top - three machine gun positions [these pointed out]. Two machine guns in his battalion manned by Germans - five men and one Sergeant per gun with one Officer in charge of two guns. Fire very little and then only at night.
Our shells do a lot of damage and cause casualties daily. Also our machine guns, especially one gun they cannot locate which in daytime fires down into Snipers Nest from Table Top.
Each Battalion has 12 periscopes, five periscope rifles, Then don't use them much. He first saw them when he returned from hospital about 1 August 1915. They had been copied from one taken from us at Ari Burno or Quinn's Post. He had only seen two mortars. They are always changing their position.
He was shown an underground shelter of ours but did not know what it was for. They have none of such. Bombs are mostly cricket balls. Their patrols do not go down into the Sazli - Beit - Dere but they have a standing patrol [25 men] on the small plateau. Their Turk trenches are not like ours. All have head cover. His company has never had orders to snip their cartridges. The Germans promised to send big guns but none have arrived yet. Rumoured that 40 big guns coming and ammunition but they have been coming for three months and now don't believe it.
The Turks have sent men to help the Bulgars. 200,000. Three divisions have gone from this part, that is, 13th, 14th, and 15th Regiments from here, one Division from Amafarta and one from Sedd el Bahr. In his Regiment, all Battalions are in the front line.
He surrendered as he is weak, having been wounded twice and is an Armenian and is not well treated by the Turks. He knows all country between Ari Burnu and Gaba Tepe. Behind Gaba Tepe is flat country, then trees and in these trees, two big guns, He has seen them [when he first came to these parts] Sergeant Osman Cnavoush is in charge. They never move. They are in emplacement below level of ground. Our guns are always firing at but have never troubled them. Thinks he should be able to point them out from our right. Only at Sedd el Bahr are Germans in charge of big guns.
In his company none of the men have blankets, only the officers. Blankets are not allowed. There is no preparation for the winter. They have six aeroplanes now. At first there were only two. He heard one had been brought down about two months ago. An intelligent man who answers without hesitation.
1916
Wednesday, November 22, 1916
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - Bir Etmaler
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Parsons, Major HM; Chanter, Captain JC; and, Ragless, Captain BB; and, Wilkinson, Lieutenant R, returned from Cavalry School, Zeitoun. Siekmann, Major TA; and, Williams, Lieutenant H, returned from leave and Grison, Captain, Australian Army Medical Corps, from Hospital. Brigade ordered to move by stages to Bir el Malha Sq J7 Sabkhet el Bardawil
1917
Thursday, November 22, 1917
9th Light Horse Regiment Location - El Mejdel.
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - In bivouac at El Mejdel some two miles north east of ancient Askalan. Camp site pleasantly situated among the orange groves on the sand hills.
9th Light Horse Regiment War Diary - Charley, Major WT, transferred from C Squadron to Regimental Headquarters [supernumerary]. Brinkworth, Major TA, transferred from A Squadron to command C Squadron. Luxmoore, Captain EM, from 2nd in command C Squadron to 2nd in command A Squadron.
1919
Saturday, November 22, 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 138.
Colonel Hüsnü, Yildirim, Page 138.
[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.
Keep the Home Fires Burning, Part 9 Student Outline 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 9 Keep the Home Fires Burning
Student Outline
A silk embroidered postcard sent from a serving man to his sister
Overview
Letters were an important part of maintaining soldier morale. In an age of almost universal Australian literacy letter writing was the main means of economical personal contact. The letters written by the light horsemen form part of Australian history as it affected the family. By use of many unpublished and published letters, the fears and loves of the men at the front comes through. In the end, it gives a positive link to the past as the letter authors become humanised rather than a statistic.
Focus questions
Many of us talk about our family and kin. At the bottom of this page are the definitions of family and kin. When you have read these definitions, think about these questions in relation to your family.
What do we mean by the term “kin”?
Who is a kin member of your family?
Why is the home an important part of understanding our history as Australians?
Introduction
Families
The different types of families occur in a wide variety of settings, and their specific functions and meanings depend largely on their relationship to other social institutions.
The term "nuclear family" is commonly used to refer to a family of adult partners and their children (by birth or adoption) where the family relationship is principally focused inwardly and ties to extended kin are voluntary and based on emotional bonds, rather than strict duties and obligations. This considers the spouses and their children as of prime importance and which has a fringe of comparatively lesser important relatives.
The term "extended family" is also common and it refers to kindred (a network of relatives that extends beyond the domestic group) who do not belong to the nuclear family.
What is a family within our community? (Shared goals and ties by cohabitating people usually are defined as families within the community.)
2. When you look at the Family Relationshp Chart, where do fit in with your family? Here the students should be able to describe their immediate family structure and populate it with the names of the various members.
Main activity
When the Light Horsemen enlisted in 1914, they did not realise that they would be away from Australia for so long. During the Boer War, the most time a person spent in South Africa with a particular unit was about a year and then they returned back to Australia. In the Great War, the men who rushed to join thought they might go overseas, fight one or two battles and be home by the end of 1915. The terms of their enlistment, duration plus four months, meant that when the war bogged down, there was no release until it ended. Some Light Horsemen enlisted in August 1914 and were discharged in September 1919, some five years later. There were at least 35 Light Horsemen in this situation although many more came close to serving similar periods.
See: Light Horsemen who enlisted in 1914 and served over 5 years
Contact with families and friends were most important activities for the soldiers to maintain their moral. While many men were often homesick, a letter was capable of alleviating some of those feelings of loss.
Why do you think families were so important for the continued strength of the Light Horse when the Great War broke out and continued during the war.
Access the 23 individual letters. Select one letter. Your teacher might like you to read it out to the class.
Follow each letter as it is read. At the bottom of each letter are a few things to reflect upon about the particular letter. You might like to begin to reflect over the letter and its contents.
When the letters have been read, examine the letter youu have chosen and answer the reflection questions. Try to put yourself in the place of the person who wrote the letter and also the person who received the letter.
When you have understood the letter, try to write a response to the letter. Perhaps the response should be about 100-200 words in length. Think about the things the author might like to hear about from their family or friends. If you want to get further inspiration, go to Light Horsemen who enlisted in 1914 and served over 5 years and select a Light Horseman and open the file. Most files contain much material about the things they experienced while in the Light Horse.
After finishing the letter, you might be asked to present it to the class.
What do you think about the information contained in the responding letters? If you were receiving that letter, how would you feel? What motivated these people to write the letters? By writing the letter, did you learn something about yourself as well as the letter writer?
Was your experience different to the students? How? Why?
But how was the mail delivered?
How was it possible for Light Horsemen to mail their letters in the desert?
How did the military Post Office find the right location of each individual Light Horseman while they were constantly moving cross country? See: The Army Post Office delivering the mail
Why was it common for Light Horsemen, when on active service, to note the letters received? [This allowed the men and their families to keep track of the mail sent between each other. If an item went missing, it could be tracked by the Military Post Office.]
Extension
Perhaps you might like to research the full National Archives Service File of a Light Horseman who served over five years. It is now in his fifth year of service. Write a letter as either a relative or the Light Horseman describing experiences and feelings to the recipient.
Why not find out about the current family communication systems available for Australian troops deployed overseas. Compare and contrast that with the systems available to the Light Horsemen in the Great War. One interesting fact is that the International Postal Agreement was only a decade old for Australia and so cheap international letters were still a novelty.
Word bank
AIF
Attestation Papers
B103
Blow
Enteric
Great War
Mena
Mizpah
Taken on Strength
Definitions
Nuclear family
A type of family made up only of parents and their children.
Kin
1. One's relatives collectively: family, kindred, kinfolk. 2. A person connected to another person by blood or marriage: kinsman, kinswoman, relation, and relative.
Lesson 9 Keep the Home Fires Burning, 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 9 Keep the Home Fires Burning
Lesson Plan
Level: Later adolescence – Year 9 and 10
Overview
Letters were an important part of maintaining soldier morale. In an age of almost universal Australian literacy letter writing was the main means of economical personal contact. The letters written by the light horsemen form part of Australian history as it affected the family. By use of many unpublished and published letters, the fears and loves of the men at the front comes through. In the end, it gives a positive link to the past as the letter authors become humanised rather than a statistic.
Outcomes
Students:
Understand “kin” and “relation”;
Consider the role played by Light Horsemen’s families in Australian history;
Understand the importance of the home front during the Great War;
Undertake a specific case study of one letter; and,
Define specific Light Horse terms.
Focus questions
What do we mean by the term “kin”?
Who is a kin member?
Why is the home an important part of understanding social history in Australia important?
Introduction
Families
The different types of families occur in a wide variety of settings, and their specific functions and meanings depend largely on their relationship to other social institutions.
The term "nuclear family" is commonly used to refer to a family of adult partners and their children (by birth or adoption) where the family relationship is principally focused inwardly and ties to extended kin are voluntary and based on emotional bonds, rather than strict duties and obligations. This considers the spouses and their children as of prime importance and which has a fringe of comparatively lesser important relatives.
The term "extended family" is also common and it refers to kindred (a network of relatives that extends beyond the domestic group) who do not belong to the nuclear family.
Initiate discussions by asking students: What is a family within our community? (Shared goals and ties by cohabitating people usually are defined as families within the community.)
2. Where do the students fit in with their families? Here the students should be able to describe their immediate family structure and populate it with the names of the various members.
Main activity
When the Light Horsemen enlisted in 1914, they did not realise that they would be away from Australia for so long. During the Boer War, the most time a person spent in South Africa with a particular unit was about a year and then they returned back to Australia. In the Great War, the men who rushed to join thought they might go overseas, fight one or two battles and be home by the end of 1915. The terms of their enlistment, duration plus four months, meant that when the war bogged down, there was no release until it ended. Some Light Horsemen enlisted in August 1914 and were discharged in September 1919, some five years later. There were at least 35 Light Horsemen in this situation although many more came close to serving similar periods.
See: Light Horsemen who enlisted in 1914 and served over 5 years
Contact with families and friends were most important activities for the soldiers to maintain their moral. While many men were often homesick, a letter was capable of alleviating some of those feelings of loss.
Discuss the reasons why families were so important for the continued strength of the Light Horse when the Great War broke out and continued during the war.
Access the 23 individual letters. Select each individual student to read out a letter to the class. [Note: Since most of the letters are short, reading the letters out aloud by tasking one student per letter, would consume at maximum, about 10 minutes.] After each letter is read, a reflection question may be asked at the discretion of the teacher. Reflection questions are attached to the bottom of each letter. The focus of this activity is to ensure that the students can empathise with the author and recipient of the letter.
Students self select or are allocated a particular letter from the letters page.
Students examine the letter and answer the reflection questions.
Each student will then attempt to write a response to the letter. Perhaps the response should be about 100-200 words in length. Students are encouraged to think about the items the author might like to hear about their particular lives. The focus of this activity is a practical application of their empathy. It is of little consequence that they have no historical basis to respond as it is their response at a human level that is important in this exercise.
Each student presents the responding letter to the class.
Discuss the common information and elicit observations.
Debrief
Ask students to describe their experience of researching their family and then putting themselves in the shoes of the letter writers. Ask: What motivated these people to write the letters? By writing the letter, did they learn something about themselves as well as the letter writer?
Did experiences between each student vary? How? Why?
Light Horse context
How was it possible for Light Horsemen to mail their letters in the desert?
How did the military Post Office find the right location of each individual Light Horseman while they were constantly moving cross country? See: The Army Post Office delivering the mail
Why was it common for Light Horsemen, when on active service, to note the letters received? [On occasion, ships bearing the letters would be sunk or poorly addressed. This allowed the men and their families to keep track of the mail sent between each other. If an item went missing, it could be tracked by the Military Post Office.
Extension
Ask students to research the full National Archives Service File of a Light Horseman who served over five years. It is now in his fifth year of service. Write a letter as either a relative or the Light Horseman describing experiences and feelings to the recipient.
Ask students research and report on the family communication systems available now for Australian troops deployed overseas. Compare and contrast that with the systems available to the Light Horsemen in the Great War. [Bear in mind that the International Postal Agreement was only a decade old for Australia and so international letters were still a novelty.]
Web support
The following items are available and recommended to be utilised as student and teacher resources.
A type of family made up only of parents and their children.
Kin
1. One's relatives collectively: family, kindred, kinfolk. 2. A person connected to another person by blood or marriage: kinsman, kinswoman, relation, and relative.
Learning outcome principles covered by module for Late Adolescent students:
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).
21 LA.6. Ways in which Australia is presented, nationally and internationally (e.g. stereotypes of Australian people and places).
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. LA.8: Analyse sources, perspectives, theories and gaps in narrative accounts of Australia and Australians; and,
21. LA.9. Sequence historical events and relevant contextual information to explain and create narrative accounts of Australia and Australians.
The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre is a not for profit and non profit group whose sole aim is to write the early history of the Australian Light Horse from 1900
- 1920. It is privately funded and the information is provided by the individuals within the group and while permission for the use of the material has been given for this
site for these items by various donors, the residual and actual copyright for these items, should there be any, resides exclusively with the donors. The information on
this site is freely available for private research use only and if used as such, should be appropriately acknowledged. To assist in this process, each item has a citation
attached at the bottom for referencing purposes.
Please Note: No express or implied permission is given for commercial use of the information contained within this site.
A note to copyright holders
The Australian Light Horse Studies Centre has made every endeavour to contact copyright holders of material digitised for this blog and website and where
appropriate, permission is still being sought for these items. Where replies were not received, or where the copyright owner has not been able to be traced, or where
the permission is still being sought, the Australian Light Horse Studies Centre has decided, in good faith, to proceed with digitisation and publication. Australian Light
Horse Studies Centre would be happy to hear from copyright owners at any time to discuss usage of this item.
