They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old. Age shall not weary them or the years condemn At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. On every Anzac Day it is customary for these solemn lines, known as “The Ode of Remembrance”, to be recited. Quite often a speaker will then inform the assembly of Australia’s contribution to what was known as The Great War; of how a country of less than five million could put 416,809 men in uniform, over 60,000 of whom were not to return. Official…
Browsing: ANZAC 2016
OF the 120 listed on the honour roll in Mornington’s Memorial Park, a number were decorated for bravery under fire. One of those was Robert Bates of the Australian Army Medical Corps who returned home with a Military Medal (won at Lone Pine) and Bar (won at Pozieres.) What makes his record different to the other 119 is that he was a pacifist and never fired a shot during his years of service. ROBERT Bates was born at Kew in 1887, the only son of Alfred and Isabella (nee Bartlett). The war was only a few weeks old when Robert…
BEFORE moving to Mornington the Bates family lived in Frankston and Robert played for that team. The Mornington Standard of 7 September, 1912 carried a lengthy report of proceedings before the Frankston Court of Petty Sessions where “Leonard Incigneri, captain of the Hastings team, and captain of the Richmond team in the League competitions last year, was charged with unlawful assault during the progress of the Frankston and Hastings match at Somerville on 24 August.” The player subject to assault was Robert Bates. Dr Charles Maxwell, the first witness, gave the following evidence: “… Saw the incident that Bates and…
THE father of Robert Bates, Alfred Edward Bates was the son of Robert Jackson Bates, a leading English cotton manufacturer. Born in Manchester in 1850, Alfred Bates came to Australia in 1875 and worked as a commercial traveller for wholesale drug houses for a number of years before buying a farm at Moorooduc. The family eventually settled in Mornington where Alfred became a shire councillor and was treasurer of both Mornington Progress Association and the fire brigade. With the outbreak of war the whole family, which included three daughters, became heavily involved in the Red Cross as a support to…
IN a quiet corner of the Tyabb cemetery in Hastings can be found the grave of Leading Signalman Albert Norman Charles Thomson. For decades the grave had no means of identification but about eight years ago a headstone was erected. So much time had elapsed since Thomson’s death in 1922 that an error has occurred and he is identified as “Norman Albert” instead of “Albert Norman.” However the line below the name reflects the role that this sailor played in our history: he was a submariner on the AE2 and, subsequently, a prisoner of war in Turkey. What was the…
HMAS Goorangai was the first Royal Australian Navy ship lost in World War II, the first RAN surface ship lost in wartime, and the first RAN surface ship lost with all hands. What makes this tragedy of special interest is that it occurred inside Port Phillip. Origin THE Goorangai was built in Newcastle in 1919 for the New South Wales government, then sold in 1926 to Cam and Sons where it was refitted as a fishing trawler. At the outbreak of war the Goorangai was one of 35 privately-owned vessels requisitioned by the RAN as auxiliary minesweepers. Eight of these…
IN his book “Those We Forget”, published in 2014, David Noonan comments on the “casualties” which occurred after the cessation of hostilities in 1918 amongst the AIF men who were wounded or gassed: “… it is estimated that they now number 62,300 (plus or minus 400), about 550 by their own hand, mainly in 1919 and 1920, and a further 8000 men would die a premature death due to war-related causes in the post-war years.” In 1918 an entire government department – subsequently the Department of Veterans’ Affairs – came into being in Australia to try to look after…
THIS recent publication, Great courage and initiative – The heroic life of George Ingram VC, MM, by A J McAleer, records the life of George Mawby Ingram who was awarded the VC for his actions at Montbrehain in October, 1918. He was the last Australian to win this award in World War I. George’s family had orchards at Bagshot, near Bendigo, and later at Seville. On leaving school he joined the militia (Australian Garrison Artillery), became a carpenter and volunteered for overseas service when war broke out. He was sent to Rabaul where he contracted malaria and was invalided back…