Saturday 28 March 2015

...good old Ballarat...



“I am quite sure one does not appreciate the city so much until he gets away to another land...”


Oh yes, don't we Ballarat-ites know that to be true? We all leave sooner or later, and sooner or later we all come back!  Sadly, for many of the ANZACs, the coming back wasnt possible, but as the buildup to the centenary of ANZAC Day shows, they never will be forgotten.

This letter was written by one of the troops directly to the Ballarat Courier, so that the people of Ballarat might know how "the boys" are faring ...




Saturday 21 March 2015

Great Uncle Bert, 10th Field Ambulance



My father’s birthdate is 23rd March, 1917, and if he were still alive he would be 98 on Monday.  His given names were Peter Lorraine.  It always drove me nuts that he had a girls’ name for his middle name, and when I was at school I always arranged for my Mum to sign any required forms, because the other kids mocked my father’s name.  If only they’d all known.


I suppose I was in my 20s before I thought to question my father’s name.  Turns out the Peter was for his own Dad, and the Lorraine was for his mother’s brother, his uncle Herbert, who was away at the Great War at the time.  They couldn’t name Dad Herbert after his uncle as they’d already given that name to their eldest son. All they knew was that ‘Bert’, as he was known to the family, was “somewhere in France” and probably in Alsace-Lorraine.  Dad could have been named Alsace! At least that would have silenced the kids at school.


Herbert’s war service records at the National Archives of Australia show that he served with the 10th Field Ambulance, was wounded a few times (gunshot wounds to the head) and was also sick a few times (“trench fever”).  He enlisted in Bendigo on the 23rd July 1915, where he had been working as a clerk.  I have this photo of him; written on the back is “[with] two of my Bendigo mates, Jack Laffin and Wally Garry”.  I never met my Great Uncle Bert, as far as I know. He died in Heidelberg in 1966.


Jack Laffin, Herbert 'Bert' Burgess, Wally Garry




However, Great Uncle Bert did make another appearance in my life.  In 1990 I achieved a lifelong ambition; I was appointed to drive a Mobile Library - in the Goulburn Valley, based in Shepparton.  I decided that I would live in a farmhouse if I could, and found a wonderful place on an orchard next to the Goulburn River, about 30km from Shep.  I was thrilled and rang Mum and Dad to tell them the news.  Mum wanted to know all the details about the house and garden, but Dad was more interested to know where exactly I was to be. Oh don’t worry Dad, I said, it’s such a tiny place you won’t have heard of it – it’s Toolamba. My father was one of those people you can never put anything across.  He had heard of it.   He said Hmmm - that’s where your Great Uncle Bert was station master for many years between the Wars.   


Toolamba was the junction for the rail lines from Echuca and Shepparton to Melbourne.  It makes me happy to think of Great Uncle Bert living in such a lovely area, with a busy, responsible job, after the gruelling years of the War.


Saturday 14 March 2015

The Dardanelles - where?




Since about the beginning of March, the Ballarat papers – the Courier and the Star – have been reporting action in some place named “the Dardanelles”, where the combined French and British navies are attempting to force an entrance to Dardanelles Narrows.  I wonder how many Ballarat citizens even knew where this place was; they couldn’t have suspected the significance this name, or the name of the peninsula which lay there, was to have for Australians in the very near future,

Meanwhile in the desert in Egypt, the heat, soft sand and dust storms make conditions difficult for the troops on route marches and during training.  A letter home from one of the troops remarks

“…the heat is much felt out on the sand and one longs for the evening’s cool to come so as to enjoy a rest from it all. We are daily expecting orders to move from here and practically everything is ready whenever they come. I believe we are to go to the Dardanelles which if true should mean some good fighting for us…” *

Remember that many newspapers across Australia have been digitised for the Great War period of 1914-1918, including the Star and the Courier, but also many regional newspapers of the district. They can be found on the TROVE website, where you can browse by date, or search on specific names or events or places.  Next Friday, March 20, our History on the Hub session will be focussing on TROVE and the many treasures to be found there. You can book at the Library 5338 6850.

* Austin, Ron Cobbers in khaki: the history of the 8th Battalion 1914-1918 p. 35

Friday 6 March 2015

Purple poppies and Animals in War



We all recognise red poppies, symbolic for the blood spilled in war; they are symbols of loss.  Did you know that a white poppy is emblematic for Peace, and that purple poppies serve to remember animals that die during conflict?

Australian War Animal Memorials (AWAMO) is a not for profit organisation raising funds to erect memorials in Australia to commemorate the service and bravery of animals in the military. You can read more about animals that have served and continue to serve – horses, dogs, mules, camels, pigeons – on their website here.  You might see some purple AWAMO poppies on sale around town.

In London, there is a superb and very affecting memorial to Animals in War – you can see photographs and read more here.

In Canberra, the Animals in War Memorial is a joint project between the Australian War Memorial and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). This memorial has a very interesting story of its own which you can read here.

Our post of 3 October 2014 indicates that horses from the Ballarat district were requisitioned for service during the Great War – many thousands of horses went from Australia, but only one returned; Sandy, Major General Sir William Bridges' horse. You can read more about him here, but the fate of those many other horses is generally unknown.

Next week, a display will be set up in Ballarat library commemorating the service of animals in war, those who have served and continue to serve loyally beside we humans, in many roles – as messengers, protectors, as transportation into battle, for supplies, and for casualties, as mascots, friends and comforters, these war animals demonstrate true valour. They have suffered in our service, and their sacrifice is great – we honour the animals of war.


We’ve chosen this painting particularly because you might be familiar with the powerful image “Beaching the Lifeboat” in the Art Gallery, Ballarat.   That painting is also by H. Septimus Power. He was an official war artist attached to 1st Division AIF from 4 September 1917 to 31 March 1920. 
He was in France between September and December 1917 and again in August 1918. 
He was commissioned to produce work for the Australian War Memorial until 1938.