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Heroic Airman Dies at Sea, 1917

January 10, 2015, 11:19 pm
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Airman's funeral, Sleepyhillock, Montrose.  Courtesy of Ian Edwards, 2015.

Arthur Ernest Percival Mott of Salisbury St Essendon was training as a pilot when his aeroplane was lost at sea near Montrose, Scotland.  It was some time before his body was found on the beach.  A military funeral was arranged, which may even have been the one pictured above.  Arthur, though still very young,  had made an impression on the military authorities already, and you can read why here.


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C Company, 3rd Pioneer Battalion

January 22, 2015, 3:18 am
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In the back row, far left, is No 840 Private Fred Gunson Marsden who joined the 3rd Pioneers in Queensland in 1916.  He was identified in a photograph of the 3rd Pioneer Battalion by his granddaughter, Ellie Tyssen.
Some years ago I put some sections of a very long photo of the 3rd Pioneer Battalion on my website in the hope of identifying which particular embarkation it represented.  After some very useful comments by Edwin back in 2013 I focussed more on the officers in the photo, and thought I had identified one of them.

Then I heard from Ellie Tyssen who was the first to recognise someone in the lineup, her grandfather Fred Marsden.  Ellie provided the photo above, and hopes that someone may be able to identify her grandfather's comrades.  The man standing on the far left was his mate Harry "Plug" Southerland from the same Company.  C Company were overwhelmingly from Queensland, though with a small number of Victorians included.

You can see C Company, 3rd Pioneer Battalion here.


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New Zealand Online Cenotaph

January 23, 2015, 10:28 pm
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Welcome to the enhanced Online Cenotaph website - our digital social space where enthusiasts, families, and researchers can share their interconnecting experiences of New Zealand servicemen and women.

To coincide with the First World War Centenary commemorations, Online Cenotaph has been redeveloped in collaboration with the Ministry for Culture and Heritage, with new content contributed by Auckland Libraries.

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Two Moonee Ponds West State School lads at Archangel

January 30, 2015, 6:55 pm
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The North Russia Intervention in 1915 saw the allies invade land at Archangel and drive the Bolsheviks back. Source: Daily Mail. 
In 1915 Winston Churchill wished to support the White Army against the Bolsheviks, and sent some naval vessels to Archangel in Russia. Leading Seaman Walter Rupert Lawson, RAN, of Ascot Vale was  serving on a British destroyer at the time, and went ashore at Archangel.

The Argus related a story that did the rounds at a 1938 "Back To"Moonee Ponds West State School:

In 1915 Mr Lawson was serving on a British destroyer and found himself in Archangel. While on shore leave he went to a cafe, and saw a tall, bearded "Cossack," whose face seemed familiar. Lawson spoke to the "Cossack," and to his surprise the "Cossack" answered in English. The "Cossack" was Mr. "Dick" Thompson, who had attended the Moonee Ponds West State school, and who had gone to Russia and settled there.
  http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article12454498 

Are there descendants of Dick Thompson still living in Archangel, we wonder?
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Army Remount Depot, Maribyrnong

February 1, 2015, 4:00 pm
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A 26 minute silent film of the work at the Remount Depot, Maribyrnong shows horse types, branding, shoeing, veterinary treatment and loading on the transport ship SS Gracchus.  Well worth viewing!


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February 12, 2015, 2:16 pm
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Chenhall family members at 27 Byron Street, Moonee Ponds, early 1916.   Back row from left: Gordon McRae (Elsie’s fiancé), Elsie, Ida Chenhall nee Morell, Sergeant Cecil Chenhall, Ethel, Ruby Chenhall, Charles Clayton. Front row, seated: Leura, Mrs Morrell, Mary with Bob on her knee, Ruby, Howard Trathan, Clarence Clayton Chenhall (son of Ethel and Charles).  Ruby married Howard Trathan.  Photo courtesy of the Chenhall family collection.

Cecil Chenhall, a 21 year old salesman, had trained with the 58 Infantry (Essendon Rifles).  In January 1916 he enlisted in the AIF and embarked as a Sergeant with the 39 Infantry Battalion.  This interesting photo shows the family gathered, possibly to farewell the soldier.  Cecil embarked on 27 May 1916, and on the same day, Gordon McRae, picture above at the far right, enlisted.  Howard Trathan, sitting cross-legged on the right, enlisted later in October 1916.  One of the three did not return.
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Out of the Firing Line ......

February 19, 2015, 11:21 pm
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Albert 'Berty' Olley, a butcher from Ascot Vale, was one of thousands who answered the call in July 1915.  Rod Martin recounts Berty's part in the conflict - out of the Firing Line and into the Fire.
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The Lost Grave of Robert Thomson Barbour

March 6, 2015, 9:29 pm
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Thiepval Anglo-French Cemetery, Authuille.  Source:  Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

In view of the fact that 100 years after the Great War that bodies of soldiers are still being identified and buried with a stone bearing their names, it should not be surprising that it might take fifteen years for the body of Private Robert Thomson Barbour to be located on the battlefields of France.   And while in present times it is a relief to members of families  of lost soldiers to be located and reburied, for families at the time it was an agony not to know the last resting place of their husbands and sons, as evidenced by the persistent inquiries made by members of Robert Barbour's family during those fifteen years.

Rod Martin tells the story of Robert Barbour's short months on the battlefield, and how he was buried, lost, and found again.

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Lieutenant Arthur Le Patourel of the 13th Hussars

March 8, 2015, 5:05 am
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13th Hussars in Mesopotamia, 1917. Source:  British Empire.


Arthur MacGregor Le Patourel was a grazier with substantial land and stock holdings when war was declared.  It took nearly 12 months after that declaration to sell his land and stock so that he could enlist.

Why he chose to travel under his own steam from Australia to enlist with the 13th Hussars in the British Army remains a mystery at this stage.   He had served as a private in the 3rd Victorian Bushmen Contingent during the South African War.  As a man of substance and prior campaign experience, and aged 36, he would have received a commission in the AIF as readily as the British Army, though a British Army commission had more prestige.  He may have responded to an invitation from a friend or relative.

After the war Arthur returned to Essendon,  in time moving from Essendon to Sunbury.

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Gus Stelling - a short life

March 9, 2015, 2:16 pm
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Gus as a member of the Essendon Rifles, 1915.
Gus Stelling was a young man of great promise.  He was a lively boy who enjoyed life - he joined the Boy Scouts, did Universal Training with the Senior Cadets and the Essendon Rifles, and was a skilled artist. He was employed prior to enlistement as a process engraver with a company in Melbourne.  Gus literally gave his life for others at Gallipoli.  Thanks to the kindness of the Dusek family we are able to catch a glimpse of  the life of a young man who paid the great sacrifice.  He died aged 20.  See Gus's story here.
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Farewell to Dave Hunter, citizen and soldier of Australia

March 23, 2015, 2:04 pm
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Well-wishers, some holding paper streamers connecting them to men on the ship, on the wharf prior to the departure of HMAT Anchises.
For some, the streamers connecting the troops on the Anchises with their friends and family on the dock at Port Melbourne would be their last link with home.  Gus Stelling, en route to Gallipoli two months later, told his parents that they had not yet received any letters from Australia.  Gus died within days of arriving at Gallipoli in October 1915.  His friend Dave Hunter, who left by the same ship, survived two months on the peninsula, returned to Egypt for further training, and then travelled on to France with 22 Infantry Battalion.  Rod Martin tells the story of David Hunter, a woolclasser from Kensington, in his usual compelling fashion.
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"Emden beached and done for!" 1914

March 27, 2015, 7:24 pm
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We've already established that I had an early interest in military history.   In further exploring my Grade 6 exercise book, it is interesting to note that in the 1960s school children were still being propagandised about the British Empire as part of daily lessons.  It is also further evidence that my drawing skills were non-existent, and not surprising that in secondary school I managed to fail Art.
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From Here to Gallipoli

March 30, 2015, 2:12 pm
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Sam Merrifield Library, Mt Alexander Rd, 
Moonee Ponds.  Tuesday 21 April, 7 pm.  
Bookings preferred 8325 1950
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Hunters in the field

April 2, 2015, 2:23 pm
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Captured German 77 cm. field gun (Dunedin District, New Zealand)  (Rod Martin)
Having recently told the story of Sergeant David Hunter who died at Bullecourt in 1917, Rod Martin now looks at his brother, 2nd Lieutenant Robert Hunter of the 37th Infantry Battalion. Having both enlisted in 1915, the Army recognised both as having leadership skills, and promoted them accordingly.
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Battle to Farm: WW1 Soldier Settlement Records in Victoria

April 7, 2015, 11:54 pm
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Public Records Office Victoria has released a new series of document online from the post-war Soldier Settlement Scheme.


On this site you can access the individual records of thousands of  World War One returned soldiers who leased farming land across Victoria between 1919 and 1935. Enter a settler’s name in the search box or search by geographic location through the digital map.

You may need to be patient in the initial phases while the site is swamped by searchers.  Good luck!

UPDATE:  Found one!  The answer seems to be to search by surname only.  Searches with a first name or initials seemed got no result.

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The Spirits of Gallipoli: a Centenary of Anzacs, by Kim Phillips

April 13, 2015, 2:21 am
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Anyone who has had a good browse through The Empire Called and I Answered website will know that Kim Phillips has been very generous in sharing her research into the young men who died at Gallipoli.  Kim has lately launched a book and CD: The Spirits of Gallipoli: a centenary of Anzacs, the details of which you can see at her website.

Kim has also arranged for Ancestry to make her research and images available as a collection.  There is a 14 day free trial (scroll to the bottom of the page).  I was pleased to see the first memorial stone image on the Ancestry blog was for J K Adams, an Essendon lad.

I commend both to your attention.
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Heritage Walk in Flemington and Kensington, Sunday 3 May 2015

April 18, 2015, 4:28 am
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If the demand is sufficient, another walk may be held on a later date so make sure you register your interest.
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Anzac Remembrance at Flemington Primary School, 2015

April 23, 2015, 6:17 am
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The poppy wreath created by the children of Flemington Primary School as the names from the School Roll of Honour were read out.

The school Roll of Honour.

A Gallipoli Oak tree was planted by The Hon Adam Bandt, MHR, The Hon Danny Pearson, MLA, and Dr Charlotte Smith, Director, National Trust.
The children at Flemington Primary School today participated in a solemn but heart-warming ceremony to remember past pupils of the school who had served in the Great War.  The children had researched names from the board or from their family, and also Attaturk Kemal. The research was displayed on posters in the school hall, or as a slide show during the ceremony in the hall.   The school choir, orchestra and string ensemble performed for the pupils and guests. 

Moonee Valley Mayor gave the Welcome to Country.  Captain Keith Wolahan  (retired) of the Australian Army Special Services, gave a simple but moving address about what Anzac Day meant to him.  Danny Pearson, MLA, made a presentation to the school which acknowledged the special relationship which now exists between Australia and Turkey.  A student leader read the poem In Flanders Fields.

Adam Bandt laid a wreath by the Roll of Honour, then as the school Principal, Mrs Leslie McCarthy, read each name from the roll, together with their occupations and the street in which they had lived, the childen and a handful of relatives of some of the servicemen, placed a poppy in the wreath.

Andrew Seymon of the Flemington-Kensington RSL read the Ode, followed by a minute's silence.  Two students played the Last Post.

After the school orchestra played the National Anthem, guests and students filed outside to see the planting of a commemorative Gallipoli Oak Tree.  

You can locate a record of each of the names on the Roll of Honour on the Empire Called and I Answered website.
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Heritage Walk in Flemington and Kensington, Sunday 24 May 2015

May 19, 2015, 3:06 pm
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Private Moss of Kensington who was the subject of a disagreement between two "Furious Females" which ended in court.


If you weren't able to attend the heritage walk held on 3 May, it will be repeated on Sunday 24 May at 2 pm.  Gold coin donation for the Inner West Branch of the National Trust.  Meet outside the Kensington Town Hall, Bellair St, Kensington.  When we return to the Town Hall, there will be an opportunity to inspect the Honour Boards inside the Hall.
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Pandora - Australia's Web Archive

May 19, 2015, 5:48 pm
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The Empire Called and I Answered website was selected for preservation in the National Library of Australia Pandora Web Archive by the Australian War Memorial. This title is scheduled to be re-archived regularly. The archived website can be seen here.

 The Pandora Archive is an interesting place to browse for Australian websites, both defunct and current, and is sorted into subject areas, such as History.
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