What Did You Do In The Great War?

‘Punch’, Melbourne Australia - 24 January 1918

The Turks

Seamen on the snow covered deck of HMAS Melbourne during the severe winter of 1916-1917. HMAS Melbourne left Bermuda at the end of August 1916 for the North Sea. Joining the 2nd Light Cruiser Squadron, she undertook such work as hunting for enemy raiders and submarines, and 'dark night patrols' in search of enemy mine layers. From 1917 the light cruisers also escorted convoys of merchant ships.

An Australian motorcyclist cleaning the mud from his machine outside his billet in a Somme village, in France, during the winter of 1916-1917.

4315 Private Leslie Brooks, 20th Australian Infantry Battalion. A steward from Hobart, Tasmania. Pte Brooks enlisted on 29 September 1915 and died of wounds in France on 20 January 1917, aged 23.

Private Diary and Journal of a Light Horseman Sgt William Peterson
 2nd Australian Light Horse Regiment
 From previous references in the journal it will be observed that I have or had been having a deal of sickness. I tried to fight against it but the climax came on the 20th January when I was sent away from the Regiment what my complaint was at first I was at a loss to know but it transpired that I was suffering from Neurasthenia and Debility. The neurasthenia predominating I was sent back to the 3rd Field Ambulance one of our advanced hospitals and after being examined by the Medical Officer (Major Cave) I was sent back along the line to the 24th Australian Stationary Hospital at Mahamadya . After staying there 2 days I was sent to the 24th Casualty Clearing Station at Kantara and after 2 doctors there I was sent to the 14th Australian General Hospital at Abbassia near Cairo where I have been ever since. Homeward bound for the land of the Southern Cross! I don’t seem to realize it even yet. I shall wake up yet and find myself sleeping under a bush on the Sinai Peninsular on in some dug-out on Gallipoli or I shall wake up after one of those 10 minute spells at each hour on one of these never-to-be-forgotten soul-killing night marches again. [William Peterson, a telephone lineman of Warwick, Queensland had previously served with the Australians in the South African War in 1896, and the British 2nd Dragoon Guards 1900-1908. He enlisted with the A.I.F. on 23 Aug 1914 aged 33 and embarked from Brisbane, Queensland, on board A15 Star Of England, 24 Sept. 1914. He served with the 2nd Light Horse Brigade in Egypt and Gallipoli, 1915, and in the Romani Campaign in the Sinai Peninsular, 1916-1917. He was invalided back to Australia, arriving in Brisbane 3 May 1917.]

An unidentified Australian soldier attempting to obtain a drink under a frozen water tank at Longueval, France The winter of 1916-1917 was the first winter the Australians experienced in France and its severity served to harden the troops for the equally bitter campaigns that followed it.

Private Diary and Journal of a Light Horseman Sgt William Peterson
 2nd Australian Light Horse Regiment
 El-Arish 16th JANUARY 1917 Have been out on patrol all day with "C" Squadron in the direction of Sheikh Zowond. We went out about 10 miles and another patrol of the same Squadron went further inland. Some Turks have been giving themselves up lately on account of our incessent aeroplane attacks and its beginning to get on their nerves. So we went out a good way in case we saw any stragglers but had no luck. Fritz came over the camp this morning and dropped 4 bombs which exploded near the Camel Corps lines about 2 miles away from us. But he did not wait long. About an hour after he had gone about 10 of our machines flew over heads when we were going out on patrol making for the Turkish position at either Rafa, Beersheeba or Gaza. They were heavily laden with "Iron rations" for Jacko. Later on I saw 8 of them return out of 10 which went out, probably 2 had gone around further but the odds are that they have been brought down by Jacko’s anti aircraft guns. These flying men are too daring. The Turks or whoever they are who fly over our positions seldom get brought down because at most only 3 of them come out at a time and they never take any risks scarcely coming down lower than 6 or 7000 feet whereas I have seen those machines of ours come down as low as only a few hundred feet to successfully get their objective. These men of ours take greater risks and very often have to suffer being brought down through being too daring. Anyhow I only saw 8 machines come back out of 10 If the Turks have succeeded in bringing down 2 of our machines he has done a good days work because these machines cost somewhere close to £ 1000 each, the engine alone costing at least £ 800. To say nothing of the gallant men who are in them whether they are killed or are forced to come down through accident it means that they are lost to us in any case and good flying men cannot be found every day. When will this infernal bomb-dropping ever cease? It gets positively on our nerves. First we send over a flying squadron to drop bombs on the Turks then they return the compliment which sends us to the four winds of heaven. Over goes our machines again to pay that back and back comes Fritz again. We scare hell out of Jacko and by the same token he scares hell out of us. And so the rotton game goes on. Its good fun for the airmen of both sides but what about us poor worms down below. I often fancy an ant must have the same feeling when he sees the huge sole of a boot descending upon him. These everlasting bomb scares play the duce with the nerves, and that is perhaps with one or two aviatiks, what must Jacko feel like when he sees 10 and sometimes as much as 16 machines coming? He calls lustily to Allah I'll bet.

6763 Private Percy Edwin Jorgensen, 5th Battalion Australian Imperial Force, of Bairnsdale, Victoria. A farmer prior to enlistment. He died of sickness on 16 January 1917, in England, aged 25 years. (His brother 3823 Pte Horace Hans Jorgensen, also served with the AIF, and was killed in action on 23 August 1918 in France.)

2800 Private Morriss Anderson Cations, of Geelong, Victoria, Australia. He died of wounds on 15 January 1917 near Geudecourt on the Somme, France, while serving with the 46th Battalion.

Private Diary and Journal of a Light Horseman Sgt William Peterson
 2nd Australian Light Horse Regiment
 El-Arish 15th JANUARY 1917 Heavy fog all morning. Two of our aeroplanes went out scouting about 4 oclock this morning and just after 6 they came back. There was two of them and they each had an electric light at the tip of each wing which looked rather pretty. They reminded one of some swinging Chinese lanterns. I am feeling real good now after the attack of influenza.

In June 2010 Sapper Darren Smith and his collie-cross Herbie were killed in an IED explosion in Afghanistan. Their names are etched onto the sculpture.