We hold no record, boy, of your brave deed;
We know not how ’twas done, nor in what need
Your courage lept to life.
We only know you’ve won a name,
And that you bravely played the game,
And conquered in the strife.

We try to picture, boy, just how ’twas done;
We hear the shriek of shell, the boom of gun,
And sudden in our dream.
Was it at night you braved the foe,
Or while the evening’s sunset glow
Made golden hill and stream?

We do you honour, boy, howe’er it was
Our hearts are full for you, more so because
We know not who you are.
We know you are some mother’s son,
And that a splendid Cross you’ve won,
Which glistens like a star.

And though you record boy, is not on earth.
And though no book of fame sets forth your worth,
Your heart need not be sad.
A surer book is kept on High,
And your brave deed will never die.
Rejoice, then, and be glad.

You are a hero, boy, though yet unknown;
I would Australia’s arms were round you thrown
In proud and loving care.
We cannot do too much for you,
A nation’s homage is your due,
A nation’s grateful prayer.

When Dingo Dick of Company 3 Anzac Battalion I.C.C.
Got winged in the arm with shrapnel shell
He wrote some letters his folks to tell.

“Dear Mother,” he wrote, “the danger’s past,
I’ve got my holiday wound at last—
A beautiful wound you can hardly see,
But it means a bonzer spell for me. I’m in the A.G.H. 14
I sleep in a bed so nice and clean;
There’s tons of baccy and beer in Cairo
And the papers will call me a “blanky hero,”

So mother was happy and mighty proud
Tho’ her hair was grey and her back was bowed.
A similar lie Dick pitched to his gal;
But here are the facts he wrote to his pal:
“Say, Bill, we’ve just had a hell of a fight,
I lay in Nobody’s Land all night;
My arm was smashed to a lump of meat,
And what with the flies and thirst and heat,
And the wound that throbbed and burned so bad,
I felt I must go raving mad.
For sixteen hours I stewed out there; I wanted to pray; I could only swear.

“I was done when the stretcher-bearers came;
They looked at my disc to find my name,
“Poor Dick’s a goner,’ one of ’em said;
Says I, “You’re a liar, I’m far from dead.
So they carried me back to the ambulance,
‘Cos one of them thought I might have a chance,
They out off-my arm to save my life,
So I’m finished with Camels and War and Strife.”

“P.S.—Dear Bill, when Mollie you see,
Tell her I’m as happy as I can be,
But don’t let on, about all this rot—
Just say it’s a “holiday wound” I’ve got.

Tobacco is not so much a luxury as an actual necessity to our men at the front – Lieut-Colonel Henry Paul Treeby, Commandant of the East Surrey Depot, 1916

You ask me what we need to win this war. I answer tobacco, as much as bullets – General John Joseph “Black Jack” Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Force, 1917

Cigarettes and tobacco were an integral part of army life during the First World War. Just two months into the war the British trade journal Tobacco claimed:

it might almost be said that a man in the firing line first thinks of his cartridges and the very next thing he seems to worry about is ammunition for his pipe. The pipe itself is only less precious than the rifle.

Those soldiers who smoked were often described as “devotees at the shrine of Our Lady Nicotine”, or in the case of Orange railway clerk Jack Earls: “a solid worshipper at the shrine of My Lady Nicotine”.

Soldiers departing for overseas service were generally given a farewell gift which invariably included cigarettes. When 24 local lads left Orange for embarkation in Sydney in September 1915 they were each presented with a large packet of Three Castles cigarettes and a pocket testament.

Cigarettes and/or tobacco were often issued as part of a soldier’s rations. Charitable organisations such as the YMCA and Red Cross Society ensured that troops received a steady supply of cigarettes and tobacco. In January 1917 James Anderson Murdoch, a volunteer with the Australian branch of the British Red Cross Society affirmed that the Red Cross distributed 250,000 cigarettes a week to Australian troops, and the demand was visibly increasing. “Cigarettes”, he claimed, were “the most acceptable portion of the Red Cross distribution”, followed by Australian newspapers.

In December 1916 Velda Fletcher of Anson Street was the grateful recipient of a Christmas package from the NSW Comforts Fund. He wrote from France to say that he had spent a most pleasant Christmas:

We had roast beef and potatoes, plum pudding, also preserved fruits for our dinner… We had a packet each from the Comforts Fund of NSW, which contained pipe, cigarettes, lollies, matches, chewing gum, handkerchief, writing paper and matchbox holder.

Members of the 4th Australian Field Ambulance display their Christmas billies, 1916. The billies contained foodstuffs and a pipe. Some of the men are wearing the billy lid on their head. Image courtesy Australian War Memorial.

Countless fundraisers were held on the home front to supply comforts for those fighting overseas. Cigarettes and tobacco were a fundamental component of care packages. In September 1915 the Leader claimed that fifty percent of soldiers’ letters from the front complained about the shortage of cigarettes and tobacco. The newspaper suggested that the young ladies of Orange host a pipe and tobacco evening “where all who felt so inclined would bring along their quota of the narcotic need in any manufactured form”

Later that month a Pipe and Tobacco Dance was held at the Oddfellow’s Hall; attendees were advised to supply at least four packets of cigarettes. Despite being “not as largely attended as was anticipated”, the event raised 2,010 cigarettes, 12 medium tins of tobacco, one large tin of Vice Regal tobacco, and one pound of tobacco.

The following month Mrs Elder of Anson Street hosted a fundraiser and collected 58 tins of tobacco, eight packets of cigarettes and 46 cakes of soap for the district’s soldiers.

Children were also encouraged to help supply cigarettes for soldiers. In June 1917 schoolchildren from Lewis Ponds sent a comfort package containing predominantly cigarettes and tobacco.

Wartime advertising campaigns linked smoking with patriotism. In 1917 the Southern Cross Tobacco Fund advised:

It is the duty of every man and woman at home to see to it that there is a plentiful supply [of cigarettes for soldiers]. For just one shilling the Fund (authorised by the State War Council) will keep a soldier in tobacco for one week.

Soldiers smoked for many reasons. Smoking helped to relieve boredom and pass the time during the long stretches of relative quiet and waiting at the front. The smell of smoke undoubtedly masked the stench of death and the squalor of the trenches. Smoking provided a chance to momentarily escape, to take time out from the daily horrors of the battlefront. It created a sense of camaraderie, boosted morale and helped to relieve stress. During the Christmas truce of 1914 German and British soldiers left their trenches to fraternise and share a smoke with the enemy.

British and German soldiers fraternising at Ploegsteert, Belgium, on Christmas Day 1914. Image courtesy Imperial War Museum © IWM (Q 11745).

Tobacco was a distinct necessity for wounded and recovering soldiers. Lieutenant William Britt, injured in the first day’s fighting at Gallipoli wrote from hospital in Alexandria:

Luckily I have got some tobacco and the orderly got me a pipe… A little present of Havelock tobacco would be very acceptabel. [sic]

In June 1915 George Tidex wrote from hospital in Heliopolis:

Had two lady visitors last Sunday, giving out cigarettes and chocolate

And in April 1917 Edward Irwin of Hill Street observed from hospital in England:

The nurses are very good to you. They fetch cigarettes and matches to you.

Indeed, cigarettes were even credited with saving a soldier’s life. In August 1915 Norman Douglas Sherwin of Cargo described how a packet of cigarettes saved him from serious injury or death:

I had a very narrow escape, it was a packet of cigarettes that saved me, if not from being killed at least from serious injury. I was opening a packet of cigarettes at the time (holding my hands in front of my body as I did so) when the bullet went through my hand, through the cigarettes, through five thicknesses of my tunic, made a hole in my shirt and hit me in the stomach, taking some skin off and making a large bruise, and also winded me.

Norman sent the cigarette packet home as a souvenir for his mother. He later asked:

Did you get the cigarette packet I sent you, with the shrapnel wound in it? There is a bit of my blood on it, which I want again when I return.

According to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) study more people died during WWI as a result of smoking than were killed in action or died of wounds.

Smoke Wreaths in Egypt by Sir Peter McBride

I’ve wandered afar from Old England,
With pleasures of London I’m done;
I’m at drill where the sand around Cairo
Gleams white to the kiss of the sun.
The canteen’s quite close and I’m thirsty,
But I am financially broke,
So I light up the pipe that you gave me,
And my troubles soon vanish in smoke.

The Major has given us ”Smoke oh!”
I rest with my pack by my side;
And in fancy I see in the smoke rings—
“Best wishes from Catherine McBride.”
My mates by my side are forgotten,
All fear of the Major has fled,
For I seem to be roaming in Egypt
Ere the Queen of all Egypt was dead

I go for a stroll by the river,
Cleopatra salutes with a smile;
The Harem all spring to attention,
Then form a platoon by the Nile.
But Anthony sees me and curses.
And fondles his gun rather queer,
So I beat a retreat for the Wazza,
And promptly I call for a beer.

The girls at the Wazza are dancing,
I halt them and make them form fours;
Then I call out a sergeant to drill them,
And sentries I place at the doors.
The landlord posts arms for inspection—
His missus is serving the beer,
We fall in two deep at the counter,
When somebody shouts in my ear.

“We are moving, you fool, get a move on!”
I awake and struggle to rise.
The girls on the Wazza have vanished,
I’m wiping the dream from my eyes;
The Major’s ferociously cursing,
And swears by the Prophets that he
Has a hot time in store for a loafer,
And the loafer, alas! it is me.

Now my harness is on and I’m ready,
“Right turn,” and we’re marching away;
I’d mortgage my chances in Heaven
To be in Australia to-day;
And the Major can go to the devil,
I think as behind him we stride,
For the pipe that I have in my pocket
Carries wishes from Catherine McBride.

Further reading:
Cigarettes or war: which is the biggest killer?

A military elephant in World War I pulls ammunition in Sheffield. Image courtesy Illustrated War News.

Over the years a range of animals have made an invaluable contribution to Australia’s military history. Useful companions and dependable comrades, animals served, suffered, and died alongside the nation’s soldiers.

In the First World War horses, donkeys, camels, mules and even elephants were used to transport soldiers, weapons, ammunition and food. Homing pigeons were employed to convey messages, and dogs to track the enemy and locate injured soldiers. Even the humble European glow worm made a contribution to the war effort; soldiers in trenches would keep a jar of glow worms to read with by night.

Australian soldiers adopted a variety of animals and birds as mascots and pets. They served as morale boosters and provided a familiar and welcome source of comfort and consolation. They included wallabies, kangaroos, rabbits, possums, parrots, cockatoos and kookaburras.

Animals generally endured worse conditions than the soldiers, often exposed to the elements with inadequate shelter. Like their carers, animals were subjected to artillery fire and gas attacks. Special nose plugs for horses were developed to enable them to breathe during a gas attack; gas masks were later developed for both dogs and horses.

It has been estimated that eight million horses and one million dogs died during the First World War.

In November 2004 the Animals in War Memorial was unveiled in London’s Hyde Park to pay tribute to all the animals that served, suffered and died in war. It bears the inscription:

“This monument is dedicated to all the animals that served and died alongside British and allied forces in wars and campaigns throughout time. They had no choice.”

The Australian War Memorial in Canberra also has a monument acknowledging the contribution of animals in war.

Red poppies are an enduring symbol of remembrance to commemorate our war dead. The purple poppy commemorates the contribution and sacrifice of animals in war.

Animals in WWI – a tribute
Companions in the Trenches
War Animals

Walter Farrell of the 2nd Divisional Signals Company with unit mascot Jack, France, 1917. Jack was a better guard than a dog; he attacked any stranger who entered the unit lines. Image courtesy Australian War Memorial.

Horses

More than 136,000 Australian horses served in the First World War. Originally from New South Wales, these sturdy, hardy horses became known as ‘Walers’.

In September 1914 Australian Defence Force buyers began to scour the country in search of horses suitable for war service. In October 1914 the Leader published an article outlining the requirements for military horses, and in December the government buyer purchased at least 12 horses from Orange for military purposes. Troops of the Light Horse that departed from Orange in August 1914 provided their own mount.

Horses were issued a service number which was branded on the fore hoof; the unit number was branded on the hind hoof. Each horse was branded on the shoulder with the Government broad arrow (used to identify Defence owned property) and the initials of the purchasing officer.

Horses were primarily used to transport ammunition and supplies to the front, for reconnaissance and for carrying messengers, pulling artillery, ambulances, and supply wagons. They were also used to make cavalry charges.

When peace was declared many Australian light horsemen were shocked to learn that their mount would not be accompanying them home. Lack of shipping, transportation costs and quarantine concerns resulted in 13,000 surplus horses being sold off, transferred to other armies or humanely destroyed. More than 3,000 horses were destroyed.

Major General Sir William Bridges’ horse – “Sandy” – was the only horse who returned to Australia. Following the General’s death at Gallipoli in May 1915 Sandy was sent to Captain Leslie Whitfield, an Australian Army Veterinary Corps officer in Alexandria. Sandy remained in Egypt until he and Whitfield were transferred to France in March 1916.

In October 1917 Minister for Defence, Senator George Pearce, called for Sandy to be returned to Australia. Sandy arrived in Melbourne in November 1918 and was turned out to pasture at the Central Remount Depot at Maribyrnong. In May 1923 Sandy’s increasing blindness and debility prompted the decision to have him put down, “as a humane action”. Sandy’s head and neck were mounted and became part of the Australian War Memorial’s collection.

A memorial to the Australian Light Horse was unveiled in Tamworth in October 2005.

The Horses left Behind

Major General Sir William Throsby Bridges and his mount, Sandy, at Mena, Egypt, in 1915. Sandy was the only Australian horse to return from WWI. Image courtesy Australian War Memorial.

Dogs

Roff, a German message dog captured by the 13th Battalion near Villers-Bretonneux in May 1918. Roff’s name was changed to Digger; his stuffed and mounted skin is now in the Australian War Memorial’s collection. Image courtesy Australian War Memorial.

As the network of trenches spread throughout the Western Front during WWI, so did the number of dogs. Both the German and Allied sides employed dogs on the battlefield.

Many different breeds of dog were utilised but the most popular were medium-sized, intelligent and trainable breeds such as Doberman Pinschers and German Shepherds. Smaller breeds such as terriers, were trained to hunt and kill rats in the trenches.

Military dogs fulfilled a variety of roles, depending on their size, intelligence and training.

Sentry dogs were patrolled using a short leash and a firm hand. Sentries were trained to bark or growl when they perceived an unknown or suspect presence in a secure area such as a camp or military base.

Scout dogs were highly trained and possessed a quiet and disciplined nature. They were used on foot patrol, and utilised their keen sense of smell to detect the enemy, often up to a kilometre away. Unlike sentry dogs, scout dogs were trained to be silent; to stiffen their bodies, raise their hackles and point their tail if the enemy was in the vicinity.

Casualty dogs – also called mercy dogs – were trained to locate the wounded on battlefields. Equipped with medical supplies for those soldiers able to tend their own injuries, mercy dogs would remain with severely wounded soldiers, accompanying them as they died.

Messenger dogs proved to be highly reliable in the dangerous job of conveying messages. Running more quickly than a person, particularly over rough terrain, dogs were less visible and less of a target for enemy snipers.

Dogs were also adopted as pets and mascots. “Sergeant Stubby” was adopted as a mascot by the 102nd Infantry, 26th Division of the US Army. Stubby participated in four offensives and 17 battles on the Western Front. He warned of gas attacks, of approaching artillery shells and located wounded soldiers in the field. Stubby became the most decorated dog in military history, and the only one to be promoted to sergeant.

Gas mask for a German Army messenger dog. Image courtesy Australian War Memorial.

Birds

Homing pigeons have been used as a method of communications in war since the classical era. Pigeons are silent, difficult to intercept, not significantly affected by gas or noise and can be trained to home to mobile lofts.

Around 100,000 pigeons served Britain in the First World War, carrying vital messages across dangerous territory. Despite advances in technology, such as radar, wireless and telephone, message-carrying pigeons continued to play a vital role after WWI.

Secret Service birds were dropped at pre-arranged locations in enemy territory by airmen at night; carried to the ground in special cages with parachute attachments, enabling agents in enemy territory to communicate with headquarters.

On several occasions pigeons successfully brought in messages in from gas affected areas as they were able to fly above the gas.

Homing pigeons had a 95% success rate, prompting the German Army to bring hawks to the front lines to hunt the pigeons down.

Canaries are about fifteen times more sensitive to poisonous gas than people, so were used to detect the presence of poisonous carbon monoxide gas following mine explosions.

Canaries and white mice were used to check the air purity in tunnels; their increased heart-beat would indicate a danger point.

Australian carrier pigeon. Image courtesy Australian War Memorial.

Cats

Cats were a common sight both in the trenches and aboard ships, where they hunted mice and rats. An estimated 500,000 cats were dispatched to the trenches, where they killed vermin and were used to detect gas. Beyond their “official” duties, they were also embraced as mascots and pets by the soldiers and sailors with whom they served.

The feline mascot of the light cruiser HMAS Encounter, peering from the muzzle of a 6 inch gun. Image courtesy Australian War Memorial.

Dickin Medal

The Dickin Medal was instituted in 1943 by Maria Dickin CBE, the founder of the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), a British veterinary charity. The medal acknowledges outstanding acts of bravery or devotion to duty displayed by animals serving with the Armed Forces or Civil Defence units in any theatre of war throughout the world. The medal is regarded as the “animals’ Victoria Cross”.

The bronze medallion bears the words “For Gallantry” and “We Also Serve” encircled by a laurel wreath. The green, brown and sky blue stripes symbolise the naval, land and air forces.

The Medal has been awarded 66 times; the recipients comprise 32 pigeons, 29 dogs, three horses and one cat.

An Honorary Dickin Medal was awarded retrospectively to the WWI horse “Warrior” to acknowledge the gallantry and devotion of the millions of animals that served during the First World War.

The PDSA Dickin Medal

The Dickin Medal was instituted UK in 1943 to honour the work of animals in war. Image in public domain.

The Lone Pine before the charge, August 1915.
Image courtesy Australian War Memorial.

Lone Pine Ridge (or Plateau 400) on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey was the scene of a major diversionary offensive lead by the 1st Australian Infantry Division on 6 August 1915. The ridge had been dominated by the Pinus halepensis tree, commonly known as the Aleppo Pine. The Turks had cut down all but one of these pines and used them to cover their trenches.

The Battle of Lone Pine was centred in a small area in the vicinity of the last remaining pine. Australia lost more than 2,000 men in the Battle; the Turks, 7,000 men.

Seven Victoria Crosses were awarded during the Battle of Lone Pine. Orange born John Patrick Hamilton was awarded his VC for conspicuous bravery at Lone Pine on 9 August 1915.

At least two Australian soldiers souvenired pine cones from Lone Pine Ridge and brought them home after World War I.

The first pine cone was collected by Lance Corporal Benjamin Smith of the 3rd Battalion, whose brother was killed during the Battle of Lone Pine. Smith sent the cone home to his mother, Mrs McMullen of Cardiff in NSW. Mrs McMullen kept the cone for 13 years before planting seeds from the cone in 1928. Three seedlings flourished (possibly representing her three sons that fought at Gallipoli). Mrs McMullen presented one seedling to the City of Inverell, who planted the pine in the Victoria Park. The second seedling was given to the Department of the Interior in Canberra. This tree was planted at the Australian War Memorial in October 1934 by the visiting Duke of Gloucester. Today it stands over 20 metres in height. Unfortunately the third seedling (like her son) did not survive.

Sgt Keith McDowell of 24th Battalion also souvenired a cone from the Lone Pine, carrying it in his haversack until the end of the war. On his arrival home he gave it to his aunt, Mrs Emma Gray, from Grassmere near Warrnambool in Victoria. A decade later Mrs Gray planted the seeds and four seedlings grew. One was planted in Wattle Park in Melbourne in May 1933, and another at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. The third was planted at the Soldiers Memorial Hall at The Sisters, and the fourth in Warrnambool Gardens.

Many trees have been propagated from the pine at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. There are a number of ‘Lone Pines’ in Orange, all in one way or another close relatives of the original tree from the Lone Pine Ridge at Gallipoli. The first ‘Lone Pine’ in Lone Pine Avenue in Orange was probably descended from the Australian War Memorial tree. A number of trees have since been propagated from the pine in Lone Pine Avenue. There is a pine in front of the RSL Memorial Hall, one at Duntryleague Golf Club and another at the Orange Agricultural Research Station.

*  Cr Reg Kidd, 5 February 2014

Post script
The tree in the main park in Inverell was later removed, due to its age and excessive weather damage. I was present at the time and was given two cross sections of the trunk. One was presented to the RSL in Orange, and the other will form part of an upcoming WWI display at Orange City Library. I also have a cone from the Inverell tree.

Whilst visiting Gallipoli in 2010 I was fortunate enough to receive a cone from the pine from the Lone Pine War Memorial. This tree was one of two trees given to the Turkish Government to commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Lone Pine in 1990. This tree was propagated from the second pine that Mrs McMullen grew at Cardiff in 1928.

Lone Pine tree at the Australian War Memorial

Australia Day 1915 fund raising ribbon. Image courtesy Australian War Memorial.

In 1818 Governor Lachlan Macquarie acknowledged the thirtieth anniversary of the British occupation of Australia by proclaiming 26 January a public holiday in New South Wales. The day was known as ‘Foundation Day’, and each colony commemorated their founding independently. It was not until 1935 that all states and territories agreed to observe the same national day – Australia Day – on 26 January each year.

In July 1915 ‘Australia Day’ was observed as a national fundraising venture to support wounded soldiers. The concept of such a day was initiated by the mother of four servicemen, Mrs Wharton-Kirke of Manly. In June 1915 she suggested to NSW Premier, Sir Charles Wade, that such a day would draw on the nation’s pride and contribute to a growing sense of national identity. July 30 was subsequently declared as ‘Australia Day’ with a variety fundraising events including auctions, stalls, performances and street collections. £839,500 was raised in New South Wales alone, close to $1.7 million in today’s currency. The success of Australia Day in 1915 saw a repeat of similar national fundraising events for the duration of the war. In recognition of her efforts, the NSW Premier presented Mrs Wharton-Kirke with a gold medalet. It is one of only four commemorative Gallipoli medalets that were struck in solid gold.

Australia Day in Orange in 1915 was celebrated over several days. Events in the week preceding 30 July included a concert and memorial service at the Australian Hall, a social evening and variety entertainment at East Orange Public School, a torchlight procession, a rugby football league benefit match and an Australian fair at the Oddfellows’ Hall. On the day school children joined military and friendly societies and numerous community groups in a huge street procession that terminated outside the Australian Hall. The Mayor then addressed the people of Orange and delivered an appeal. Throughout the day special Australia Day souvenirs and badges were on sale. Other events included a patriotic rifle match, continuous children’s concerts and a presentation of moving picture displays by the Empire Picture Company. Celebrations concluded with the presentation of the Orange Player’s Club drama, The Englishman’s Home.

Australia Day celebrations in Orange in 1915 raised in excess of £10,000 ($20,000). Australia Day Special Fund

For Australia’s Heroes – the other ‘Australia Day’, 30 July 1915

Poppy bed in the form of a Maltese Cross at Cook Park, Orange, c1920, in memory of fallen soldiers. The poppies were grown from seeds gathered from French battlefields and were supplied by the director of the Botanic Gardens in Sydney. Image courtesy Orange City Library.

This year 11 November marks the 96th anniversary of the Armistice which ended the First World War. On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month the nation stops and Australians unite to observe one minute’s silence in memory of those who have fallen in war.

Since the end of the First World War the Flanders poppy – Papaver rhoeas – has been associated with Remembrance Day. This vivid red flower has become synonymous with the great loss of life in war and is an internationally recognised symbol of remembrance. The poppy first emerged as a symbol of remembrance following the publication of John McCrae’s poem ‘In Flanders Fields’.

Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae went to France in WWI as a surgeon with the first Canadian contingent. After spending a harrowing seventeen days treating injured men in the Ypres Salient McCrae declared it to be:

Seventeen days of Hades! At the end of the first day if anyone had told us we had to spend seventeen days there, we would have folded our hands and said it could not have been done.

On 2 May 1915 a good friend of McCrae’s, Alexis Helmer from Ottawa, was killed by a shell burst in the Second Battle of Ypres. In the absence of a chaplain Lieutenant-Colonel McCrae presided over the funeral of his friend and former student. The following day McCrae was taking a rest break, seated on the back of an ambulance parked alongside the cemetery where Helmer was buried. The sight of wild poppies blowing gently in the breeze inspired McCrae to compose fifteen lines of verse. Dissatisfied with his poem, McCrae threw it away, but a fellow officer retrieved it and forwarded it to The Spectator in London, where it was rejected. The British Punch, however, published the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’ on 8 December 1915.

John McCrae (1872–1918). Image in public domain.

McCrae would later became a casualty of the war, falling ill with pneumonia, then meningitis. He died in January 1918 and was buried with full military honours at the Wimereaux Cemetery in France. His poem, however, has endured as a symbol of the sacrifice of those who fought during the First World War, becoming one of the most popular and most quoted poems from that period.

‘In Flanders Fields’ became famous in the United States; with several poets composing epilogues or replies. One such poet was the professor and humanitarian Moina Belle Michael who wrote ‘We Shall Keep the Faith’ in November 1918. In her poem Michael proposed that the red poppy be worn as a symbol of remembrance for those who had died during the war:

And now the Torch and Poppy Red, We wear in honor of our dead.

When the United States entered the First World War Professor Michael took a leave of absence from her position at the University of Georgia to offer her services as a volunteer with the New York-based training headquarters for overseas YWCA workers. On 9 November 1918, just two days before the signing of the armistice, Michael was on duty at the YMCA headquarters in New York, where the 25th Conference of the Overseas YMCA War Secretaries was in progress. Three conference delegates presented her with $10 in appreciation of the effort she had made in decorating the venue with flowers at her own expense. Michael bought 25 red silk poppies and she and her secretaries became the first people to honour the war dead by wearing poppies. Moina Michael later became known as “The Poppy Lady”; in 1948, four years after her death, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp honouring her life’s achievement.

Moina Michael commemorative stamp. Image in public domain.

In 1920 Anna Guerin, Secretary to the French YMCA branch, took Moina Michael’s concept of the poppy as a symbol of remembrance further, suggesting that artificial poppies be manufactured and sold to raise money to assist French victims of the war, in particular orphaned children. In 1921 Guerin travelled to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Britain to promote the Memorial Poppy.

The Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (the forerunner to the RSL) resolved that from 11th November 1921 the red Memorial Poppy would to be worn on Armistice Day in Australia. In 1921 the League announced:

The Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia and other Returned Soldiers Organisations throughout the British Empire and Allied Countries have passed resolutions at their international conventions to recognise the Poppy of Flanders’ Fields as the international memorial flower to be worn on the anniversary of Armistice Day.

That year the American and French Childrens’ League sent a million silk poppies to Australia for the Armistice Day commemoration. The Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League sold poppies for one shilling each; five pennies were donated to a charity for French children; six pennies went to the League’s own welfare work, and one penny went to the League’s national coffers.

Since that time the red poppy has been worn on the anniversary of Armistice in Australia, an enduring symbol of remembrance to commemorate our war dead.

In Flanders Fields by John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amidst the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

We Shall Keep the Faith by Moina Belle Michael
Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet – to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We’ll teach the lesson that ye wrought.

The wreck of the German light cruiser SMS Emden after her action with HMAS Sydney, 1914. Image courtesy Australian War Memorial.

Since the beginning of the war SMS Emden, under the command of Captain Karl Friedrich Max von Muller, had been patrolling the Indian Ocean threatening British and Allied interests. Between August and October 1914, Emden captured or sank 25 civilian vessels, destroyed two Allied warships at Penang and shelled Madras. The vessel was clearly a threat to the convoy transporting the first contingent of Australian and New Zealand troops that had set sail from Albany on 1 November.

HMAS Sydney was one of four vessels escorting the convoy of ships, however, on the morning of 9 November, left the convoy to investigate a distress call from a British wireless and cable transmission station on Direction Island in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands. At 9.15am Sydney surprised Emden, which despite being over 9km distant, proceeded to open fire with long-range guns. Sydney advanced, and began firing shells at 8.7km. At 5km she started firing torpedoes, damaging Emden’s wireless and steering equipment and rangefinders. The ship’s funnels and foremast collapsed as fire took hold of the engine room. At about 11.20am Emden ran aground and Sydney ceased fire.

The battle resulted in 134 German sailors killed, 69 wounded and Captain von Muller and 156 other survivors taken prisoner. The Emden managed to strike Sydney, killing four Australian sailors and wounding sixteen.

Confirming the Australian victory, the captain of Sydney – Vice Admiral John Collings Taswell Glossop – cabled ‘Emden beached and done for’ to the Department of Defence. The Battle of Cocos was an emphatic first victory at sea for the recently-formed Royal Australian Navy; Australia had put an end to the Emden’s dominance in the Indian Ocean and ensured safe passage for the 1st Australian Imperial Force convoy.

Interview with Alan Zwek, descendant of Sidney Russell, who fought in the Battle of Cocos

Transcripts of accounts of the battle between HMAS Sydney and SMS Emden:
Franz Bordeaux, paymaster on SMS Emden
Leonard Darby, surgeon on HMAS Sydney
Vivian Agincourt Spence, chaplain on HMAS Sydney

For Australia, as for many nations, the First World War remains the most costly conflict in terms of deaths and casualties. From a population of fewer than five million, 416,809 men enlisted (8.5% of the population), of which over 60,000 were killed and 156,000 wounded, gassed, or taken prisoner.

In stark contrast to today’s almost instantaneous news services confirmation of Australia’s involvement dribbled through to an anxious public. On 5 August the Orange Leader reported:

War fever has attained an epidemic degree in our midst. Everybody thinks war and talks war, and are waiting, the latest details as it filters through the telegraph and telephone. All day long people have been watching the special notice board for the posting of press messages, with the latest particulars.

On the 7 August the Leader advised that from that day they would be issuing a, special war edition each day at 1pm which would be available from the ‘leading agents, runner boys, and at the office, at a cost one penny.’

The outbreak of war was greeted in Australia, as in many other places, with great public enthusiasm.  One of the first people in Orange to enlist was Dr Neville Howse then aged 50 and at that time Mayor of Orange. Howse had previously served in the Boer War where he had been awarded the Victoria Cross, and held the rank of honorary medical officer in the Army Medical Corp. His sudden departure took everyone by surprise including the other doctors in the practice who found a note propped on the mantelpiece that read ‘I have gone to the war, you can do what you  … well like with the practice N R H’.

In response to the overwhelming number of volunteers, the authorities set exacting physical standards for recruits.  Among those who volunteered from the district in August 1914 are many familiar ‘Orange’ names. Edmund Thomas Cornish, a labourer at the Dalton Brothers mill and resident of 90 March Street enlisted on 24 August aged 21. As a Sergeant with the 10 Field Artillery Brigade he would be killed in action almost four years later at Amiens in France. His younger brother Walter, who had enlisted in 1915, had died 11 months previously while another brother, Thomas, had been invalided home suffering from shell-shock.

The journalist writing of Edmund’s death in the Leader on 2 September 1918 reflects the effect of the war on families when he wrote ‘It can well be said of the Cornish family that they have done their bit for the Empire’.

It is estimated that up to 800 indigenous servicemen served in the First World War. The exact number will never be known since ethnicity was not recorded on enlistment papers.

When war broke out in 1914, many indigenous Australians who attempted to enlist were rejected on the grounds of race, their attestation papers marked ‘Unsuitable physique – Aboriginal’ or ‘Unsuitable physique – Colour’. This was in accordance with the Commonwealth Defence Act 1909 which prevented those who were not of ‘substantially European descent’ from enlisting in the armed forces.

Many indigenous men enlisted under false names and/or places of birth in an attempt to evade these conditions. Others claimed to be African American, Maori or only distantly related to Aboriginal people.

After Prime Minister Billy Hughes’ conscription referendum was defeated in October 1916 and enlistment numbers were falling, legislation was introduced allowing “half-castes” to enlist. A 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.”

Indigenous Australians were present in almost every Australian campaign of World War I. At least 34 Aboriginal men fought at Gallipoli, 12 of whom were killed. They also served in trenches on the Western Front and on horseback with the Light Horse in the Middle East.

Racial issues were forgotten on the battlefield as allied troops united against the common enemy. Many Aborigines in the AIF experienced equal treatment for the first time in their lives. They served on equal terms and were paid the same as other soldiers.

Readjustment was the greatest problem faced by most indigenous servicemen returning to civilian life in Australia. Many were spurned by white society and found it difficult to re-integrate into Aboriginal society. The same discrimination and prejudices remained in areas such as education, employment, and civil liberties. They were still denied the right to vote, the right to an equal wage, the custody of their children and the control of their finances.

Initiatives as the “Soldier Settlement Scheme”, which granted land to ex-servicemen was not extended to indigenous servicemen, despite the fact that much of the best farming land in Aboriginal reserves had been confiscated for soldier settlement blocks. Aboriginal servicemen were denied veterans’ benefits; they were restricted from marching on ANZAC Day and they were not permitted to enter The Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia (present-day RSL) or a public bar to share a drink with their comrades.

There has been very little recognition for the indigenous Australians who relinquished their traditional culture and lifestyle and disregarded the regulations in order to fight for a country that didn’t even recognise them as citizens. The indigenous war effort is acknowledged by a small bush memorial on the flanks of Mount Ainslie in Canberra, some 300 metres behind the Australian War Memorial. It was funded and erected in 1988 by Honor Thwaites, a prominent (white) woman from Canberra. The memorial consists of a granite boulder with a brass plaque bearing the inscription: “Remembering the Aboriginal people who served in the Australian forces”.

To date nine indigenous service men from Orange and the surrounding area have been identified:
CARR, William
COE, Walter
GAGE, Charles Alfred
GAGE, Christopher Henry
HARRIS, Joseph
HOMER, Edward
HOMER, William John
O’ROURKE, Edward
RINE, Thomas [RILEY, William]

*  Indigenous Australians at war
*  Indigenous defence service
*  Aboriginals in WWI