KIT CULLEN

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First published in 2013

Copyright © Kit Cullen 2013

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Allen & Unwin
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Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: (61 2) 8425 0100

Email: info@allenandunwin.com
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Cataloguing-in-Publication details are available
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ISBN 978 1 74331 770 9

eISBN 978 1 74343 490 1

Maps and sketch drawn by Darian Causby
Design by Stephen Smedley, Tonto Design
Set in 10.5/14 pt Granjon by Post Pre-press Group, Australia

Contents

List of maps and illustrations

Author’s note

Introduction

Part 1 Journey

1 The voyage

2 Egypt

3 ‘Gollipoli Peninsular’, 25 April 1915

Part 2 Destination

4 Death Trap Valley

5 The Battle of Death Trap Valley, 1 May 1915

6 The Battle of Death Trap Valley, 2 to 5 May 1915

Part 3 Aftermath

7 Jack’s fate

8 Casualties

9 Recognition

10 Combatants

11 A question or two of history

Appendix 1: Casualties in 4th Battalion, 1 and 2 May 1915

Appendix 2: Heane’s probable Death Trap Valley party

Appendix 3: Likely party from No. 3 Platoon

Notes

Bibliography

Acknowledgments

List of maps and illustrations

Route of the First Contingent Convoy

Australasian training camps in Egypt

4th Battalion, 25 April 1915

The 4th Battalion’s ill-fated Lone Pine advance, 26 April 1915

Turkish view of Death Trap Valley

Death Trap Valley, 1 May 1915

Death Trap Valley, 2 May 1915

The route of Jack’s medical evacuation

Author’s note

You will see fearsome sights that will shake you to the roots of your being; you will see war not as a beautiful, orderly and gleaming formation, with music and beaten drums, streaming banners and generals on prancing horses, but war in its authentic expression—as blood, suffering and death.

LEO TOLSTOY, ‘SEVASTOPOL IN DECEMBER’, 1854¹

This is the story of an unheralded and virtually unknown ANZAC action that occurred in Death Trap Valley on 1 and 2 May during the period of the Landing at Gallipoli. The protagonist, Jack Collyer, was an unassuming soldier who landed on 25 April as a member of No. 12 Section, No. 15 Platoon, D Company, 4th Battalion. Jack, christened John, was a country boy from Mudgee, New South Wales, and was aged 23 when he joined the battalion in Sydney on 21 September 1914. According to his nephew, Ray Warry, Jack wanted to serve King and Country, being very much a child of the British Empire.

Jack’s story and that of his mates in the 4th Battalion in Death Trap Valley over the first weekend in May has remained hidden, largely because of C.E.W. Bean’s unscrupulous treatment of it in his published works, notably in the revised second edition of Volume 1, The Story of Anzac, The Official History of Australia in the War of 1914–1918. Other historians, taking their cue from Bean’s encyclopaedic tomes, have remained ignorant of the 4th’s involvement, its significance at the time and its place in the annals of Australian military history. British accounts of the same action barely mention the Anzacs, let alone any decisive involvement by them. Consequently, there is a dearth of documentation about their feats in the valley. What the men of No. 15 Platoon and No. 3 Platoon, 4th Battalion, did nearly one hundred years ago deserves to be told and acknowledged.

My discovery of those events and Bean’s surprising but deliberate strategy began, unwittingly, about ten years ago. I asked my close friend David ‘Mac’ McClymont if I could do something with his Great-Uncle Jack’s three Gallipoli diaries for the centenary of the Landing at Anzac in 2015. At the time I was unsure just what I would do with the diaries, but Mac readily agreed, the only proviso being that at the end of that period the diaries would be donated to the Australian War Memorial.

My request was based on my memory of the diaries from an earlier time. Rewind to the late 1960s when, as an eleven-year-old, I was first shown these diaries by Mac. I was into all things military and leapt at the chance to read actual Gallipoli diaries, having just finished reading The Anzac Book. It was thrilling to handle and read the small faded volumes, with their copperplate writing, that had been at Gallipoli in 1915.

Fast-forward to 2005 and I read Jack’s diaries again. The thrill had not diminished, but I had no idea where they would lead me. Unfortunately, there are no surviving letters from Jack, apart from his Christmas letter from Mena in 1914 which was published in The Mudgee Guardian. I didn’t find it until a few years after I began my quest, so all I had to start with were his diaries and personnel dossier, including his service record.

The diaries traced Jack’s journey from boarding the transport, Euripides, in Sydney Harbour on 17 October 1914, as part of the Australian contingent sent overseas to serve the British Empire during World War I, to training in Egypt, then to landing at Anzac Cove; in effect invading Turkey. Unfortunately, the third tiny diary ended abruptly as Jack took charge of No. 12 Section, No. 15 Platoon, 4th Battalion, when they entered the firing line at dusk on 25 April on Bolton’s Hill. Thanks to the casualty form in his personnel dossier I knew Jack was wounded a week later on Saturday, 1 May 1915. However, where Jack was and what he was doing when he was hit was a mystery.

Collyer family legend held that Jack was wounded while helping another soldier. What I subsequently discovered was extraordinary. Jack and his mates were ordered to undertake what amounted to a suicide mission. While such missions were common enough for both sides at Anzac, nearly all of these are well known. In this case, their orders did not involve attacking a Turkish position; rather it was a rescue mission of a detachment of Royal Marines during the third Turkish counterattack on 1 May 1915. The other remarkable aspect of the 4th Battalion in this action was the corruption of the historical record in regard to their experiences and participation by Charles Bean, Australia’s Official War Historian.

As my research unfolded I realised I needed to examine the personnel dossiers of the original 4th Battalion and the first three reinforcements for the 4th from which the men who landed in the battalion on Sunday, 25 April 1915, at Anzac were drawn. Consequently, over a year I examined 1377 personnel dossiers, compiling a statistical picture of the men’s military experience, country of birth, height, misdemeanours, disease and injury in Egypt, casualty figures and bravery awards for Gallipoli from 25 April to 2 May 1915. At various points in the narrative I refer to these statistics and the scenarios they portray. Throughout the story I have used the word ANZAC to refer to situations involving the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. I have described the men fighting in that unit as Anzacs. The place where they fought at Gallipoli was known as Anzac.

While this is Jack’s journey, it is also the story of the men in the 4th Battalion. In many ways Jack was a universal figure. His story was both common and unique. Many of his experiences were shared by all Anzacs of the First Contingent who landed at Gallipoli or, as Jack wrote, ‘Gollipoli’. However, some of his journey was atypical and personal. I have let the men and women—nurses—who were there tell the story as much as possible; after all, they witnessed what happened. I make no apologies for long quotes. Paraphrasing the recollections of those who were there seemed self-defeating. Like Bean, I have tried to avoid second- and thirdhand accounts. Their diaries, letters and formal documents form the basis of the story. These are all quoted verbatim. I have deliberately left the wording, punctuation and spelling of the original documents intact. This means I have not used ‘[sic]’ in the text to indicate the veracity of what is written. It also means that the spelling of a particular word or even a name may differ within the same document. As well, some of the views expressed are archaic. However, language, like history, is not static, and terms that are offensive or obsolete today reflect the society of one hundred years ago.

What those sources reveal is a validation of Tolstoy’s poignant comments about war. It is, in its authentic expression, about ‘blood, suffering and death’. This is their story.

Introduction

Mr John Collyer, son of Mr. George Collyer, sen., has joined the Expeditionary Force. This young fellow is a fine stamp of a man, and will make a splendid type of soldier. We wish him luck at the front. Such fine representatives of Australia will do more to impress the old countries with the virility of the race in the southern seas than thousands of pounds spent in advertising.

THE MUDGEE GUARDIAN, 1 OCTOBER 1914

When war was declared on 4 August 1914, Australia dutifully and legally followed the mother country, Great Britain. It was eager to play a role in international affairs, even if it was in the constitutional and political petticoats of its parent. On the eve of war, on 3 August, the Australian government made the following generous offer to the British government by telegram:

In the event of war the Government [of Australia] is prepared to place the vessels of the Australian Navy under the control of the British Admiralty when desired. It is further prepared to despatch an expeditionary force of 20,000 men of any suggested composition to any destination desired by the Home Government, the force to be at the complete disposal of the Home Government. The cost of despatch and maintenance will be borne by this (i.e., the Australian) Government.¹

In 1914 Australia was a dominion of the British Empire, a self-governing colonial federation whose foreign policy was dominated legally and, for reasons of obsequiousness, loyalty or realpolitik, by the British monarchy and parliament.² In effect it was a vassal state, happily beholden to Great Britain and its powerful navy and army. When King George V declared war on 4 August 1914, the Empire followed, constitutionally tied to his whims. On 6 August, Australia’s largesse was readily accepted by the British government. Recruitment of the force began in earnest across Australia.

By the time Jack’s farewell notice appeared in the Local Brevities section of Mudgee’s paper on 1 October, he had already enlisted in the army in Sydney. His was a jubilant send-off, repeated in newspapers around the country as a steady stream of recruits fronted places of enlistment. Nationalism and imperialism were rampant in the press once war broke out. Australia was part of the Empire and would fully support the mother country in this time of crisis. Newspapers were the most popular social media of the day, publishing international, state, regional and local news, information and gossip. Every settlement, regardless of its size, boasted at least one paper. The announcement in the local newspaper of Jack’s departure to serve his country and the Empire was very adulatory. He was held in high esteem in his home town. Hopefully, he would live up to the hype.

Jack was born on 18 October 1890 to George and Jessie Collyer. He was their first child and was followed by nine siblings. He also had three older sisters and an older brother who were from his father’s first marriage, George’s first wife having died. The Collyer family lived in a beautiful Victorian house known as Redbank, set on their farm in South Mudgee, where Jack grew up. He was the product of a Christian upbringing, having been born into a family with very strong Salvation Army convictions and, being her first-born, was especially close to his deeply religious mother, Jessie. Not surprisingly, Jack saw himself as a faithful servant of the British Empire and felt it was his duty to volunteer for overseas service.

Before enlisting, Jack worked as a labourer for his father, who was a prominent and prosperous local builder. The Collyers had two building contracting firms in Mudgee: Collyer & Carmichael Builders and Contractors, and Collyer Bros, Bricklayers. When war broke out Jack was living in town at ‘the Zoo’, a local boarding house. As a result of his bush upbringing, Jack could shoot, ride and live off the land. He had previously served in the militia in the Mudgee district, ‘F’ Company, 41st Australian Infantry Regiment. Jack was almost 24, single, teetotal, 5 foot 8 inches (1.72 metres), of fair complexion, with strawberry blond hair and blue eyes, and weighed 11 stone 5 pounds (72 kilograms) when he enlisted—prime cannon fodder.³ He smoked, but so did virtually everyone else in the AIF.

While Jack was single he did have the following name and address in the back of his first diary: ‘Miss M. Wilson, “Newlyn”, Cnr. Church + Patrick Sts, Hobart, Tas.’ Who was Miss M. Wilson? How did they meet? Did they write to one another while he was on active service? Were Jack and Miss Wilson an item? Jack wrote many letters to his family during his military service but only one has survived. Due to this disappointing paucity of Jack’s correspondence, except for his Christmas missive—as well as the lack of relevant oral family history about any possible liaison—Miss Wilson remains a mystery.

Above all else, Jack was a British subject, answering ‘Yes’ to Question 3 on his Enlistment Form, which asked if he was a natural-born British subject or a naturalised British subject. There was no mention of Australia in any of 14 questions on the form. Questions 10, 11 and 13 were concerned with the applicant’s previous military service in His Majesty’s Forces. This was a different time with different thinking. Having been founded, colonised and developed almost exclusively by English-speaking migrants from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, Australia naturally regarded Great Britain as the mother country. To serve that entity was one of the great aspirations of ordinary citizens.

Today, Australia has a similar military relationship with a different world power, the United States of America. Australia is, in military terms, a sheriff in an outpost of the global western interests of the United States. We are strategically positioned in regard to Asia, near enough to be a base, far enough away to be beyond simple reach. Occasionally we act on our own, but generally we support the American line, politically and by the deployment of military assets.

In mid-September Jack farewelled his parents, George and Jessie, and nine younger siblings, at Mudgee Railway Station and headed east over the Great Dividing Range to the big smoke, Sydney, to join up. He joined the 4th Battalion on 21 September 1914 at Kensington in Sydney. His actual enlistment date was 29 September 1914, when he swore an oath attesting fealty to the king. The oath was as follows:

I, John Collyer, swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force from today until the end of the War, and a further period of four months thereafter unless sooner lawfully discharged, dismissed, or removed therefrom; and that I will resist His Majesty’s enemies and cause His Majesty’s peace to be kept and maintained; and that I will in all matters appertaining to my service, faithfully discharge my duty according to law.
SO HELP ME, GOD.

Jack was given the regimental number 1241 and became a member of H Company.⁴ Like all new recruits, he had signed on for the duration of the war plus four months. At this stage, the general community didn’t contemplate the idea of the war lasting more than four years.

The 4th Battalion was one of four New South Wales battalions that constituted the 1st Brigade, itself part of the three brigade strong 1st Australian Division. At this point each of the Australian battalions, totalling just under 1000 men, consisted of eight companies. In Egypt, from 1 January 1915, this structure was abolished and a new four (double) company battalion organisation instituted. The 4th Battalion was formed by Major Astley John Onslow Thompson from 15 August 1914 at the behest of Colonel Henry Norman MacLaurin, who was the commanding officer of the 1st Brigade.⁵ Onslow Thompson was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 17 September, a rank befitting the commanding officer of a battalion. He was a Welshman, born in Glamorgan on 3 January 1865 and educated at one of the Old Dart’s most famous public schools, Rugby. Onslow Thompson had served in the NSW Mounted Rifles and the Australian Light Horse for 22 years. Prior to enlisting he was a grazier, managing one of the new dominion’s most famous properties, Camden Park.⁶ Even though he was 49, Onslow Thompson, according to Charles Bean, ‘conspicuously possessed the energy and dash which would make him fit for hard fighting, and the fine principles which would make him a sure leader of men’.⁷ In turn, Onslow Thompson selected Major Charles Melville Macnaghten, a 38-year-old Englishman, as his second in command. Macnaghten was described by Bean as ‘distinguished by a vigorous impetuosity’.⁸ This trait was to have significant repercussions at Gallipoli the day after the battalion landed.

The 4th Battalion, like its sister battalions of the newly minted Australian Imperial Force (AIF), was a fascinating microcosm of adult, almost exclusively white, male Australia. The men who sailed in the first contingent from this battalion came from all over Australia and the British Empire. Every state was represented. Within NSW the recruits were drawn from city and country. Jack wasn’t the only Mudgee boy in the 4th. Other Mudgee recruits included Mordyke Barton and George Plows.

The country of birth of the men in the battalion indicates Australia’s demographic at the time. The following information was derived from a sample of 959 personnel dossiers of enlisted men in the 4th Battalion who embarked as part of the First Contingent. Five hundred and thirty of the men were born in Australia, 408 were born in Great Britain and only 21 were born in other places, most of them being parts of the British Empire. An amazing 266 men listed their place of birth as England. This meant that over a quarter of the original battalion was English and nearly half of its members were born in Great Britain. Interestingly, there was a German-born recruit, Private James Gough; and a member of the battalion who gave his place of birth as Egypt, Private Elton Patrick, was to return to his birthplace sooner than he imagined.⁹

The military experience of the battalion was typical of the 1st Division. Apart from a sprinkling of 39 Boer War veterans, including four officers, very few of the men had been under fire. However, 59 per cent of enlisted men had served or were still serving in pre-war military units. This was virtually the same as the percentage for the 1st Division overall at 58.5 per cent.¹⁰ An impressive 69 per cent of overseas recruits had previously served, some of them in prestigious units from the British Army and Navy such as the Gordon Highlanders, the Royal Irish Rifles, the Royal Marines and the Scots Guards.

Thanks to compulsory military training, which began after Federation in 1909, 51 per cent of native-born Australians who enlisted, including Jack, had some form of military service.¹¹ However, none of these figures included cadets. Question 11 on the first page of the enlistment form concerned the applicant’s prior military service and, even though cadets did not appear in the wording, it was recorded regularly. One 4th Battalion recruit, Private Ralph Arnold, an Englishman, wrote ‘Eton College Cadet Corps’ for his response to Question 11.¹² Occasionally a rifle club was recorded as constituting previous military experience, rifle clubs having an affiliation with the militia. Almost to a man the officers of the battalion—29 out of 32—had undergone previous military training. Although most of the 4th Battalion lacked actual combat experience, it did have large numbers of men in every platoon who had undergone military training prior to enlistment. Some of the recruits from Great Britain had considerable military service under their belts.¹³

The average height of this first intake, taken from 949 personnel dossiers (not 959—10 dossiers did not record the applicant’s height) of enlisted men in the 4th Battalion, was 5 foot 7.8 inches.¹⁴ Jack came in at 5 foot 8 inches—the average height. The tallest man was 6 foot 5 inches, while the shortest was 5 foot. Well may you choke slightly at the last figure. According to Charles Bean, the minimum height for the First Contingent of the AIF was 5 foot 6 inches,¹⁵ yet in the 4th Battalion there were a surprising 181 recruits who were under five-six. In fact, the records indicate 234 men were 5 foot 6 inches or less.¹⁶ When introducing the AIF in his first volume of the Official History, Bean had an agenda. This force was the cream of Australia’s manhood and he saw them as a unique, virile expression of life Down Under. The height of the recruits was a key component of Bean’s vision of the AIF. Australians, especially men from the bush, were big and bold in Bean’s Anzac legend. Drawing on the 4th’s statistics as a sample, there were possibly thousands of men under the minimum height requirement across the 12 infantry battalions of the 1st Division. This did not suit the image Bean wanted to project, so he omitted any reference to this obvious anomaly. Rather than qualify or comment on it, Bean simply ignored it. Every day during the voyage to the Middle East, training in Egypt, and the Landing and occupation of Gallipoli, Charles Bean, in his capacity as Official War Correspondent, dealt with enlisted men and officers who were below the minimum height. Bean was described as tall and gangly. He would have towered over some of them. By not acknowledging the men below the minimum height, Bean gave the distinct impression that the entire First Contingent was 5 foot 6 inches or more, in keeping with the image he wanted to convey about the original Anzacs. Therein lies a cautionary tale, certainly in regard to Jack’s story. This was a quirk of Bean’s writing style. What Bean left out of his narrative was significant; at times, very significant.

The minimum height requirement was only lowered in June 1915. The Tamworth Daily Observer reported on Monday, 7 June 1915, that ‘the height standard for recruits for the Australian Imperial Expeditionary Forces has been reduced to 5 feet 3 inches’. Regardless, this stipulation was flouted from the first influx of recruits. The initial intake of officers in the 4th Battalion was almost exemplary in regard to their height. Their average height was 5 foot 10 inches, with the tallest being 6 foot 4 inches, but the shortest came in at 5 foot 5 inches.

Another aspect was the marital status of the force. According to Bean, ‘Nearly 90 per cent were single men, although of the officers a quarter were married.’¹⁷

The average age of the other ranks in the 4th Battalion was 26.01 years,¹⁸ which was quite close to Jack’s age on enlistment. He was 23 years and 11 months old. The majority of the battalion was aged between 20 and 30 years. At just 19 years of age on enlistment, Ern Robson, who was a mate of Jack’s, was one of the younger members of the battalion. The officers were slightly older than their charges, their average age being 29.03 years. Fittingly, the sergeants and warrant officers were the group with the oldest average age, coming in at 32.2 years.¹⁹ On the outbreak of war NCOs in the AIF battalions were generally appointed on the basis of their considerable previous military experience, hence their older age on enlistment.

Jack spent nearly a month training with the battalion before its embarkation. When he joined in September, the battalion was housed in tents in Kensington in Sydney. Prior to this the battalion moved regularly between camps.²⁰ Jack, in a passing comment, referred to the Kensington ration as being inferior to the tucker aboard the transport, Euripides. Considering comments made about the food aboard ship by some of Jack’s travelling companions, the Kensington ration must have been a culinary catastrophe.

After being accepted into the ranks, Jack received his uniform and equipment. The recruits’ uniforms consisted of:

khaki woollen Norfolk jackets, with four large pockets and brass buttons oxidised black, brown boots, leather belt and ammunition pouches, and webbing packs. In addition, each had received a slouch hat bearing the rising sun emblem of the newly created Australian Imperial Force.²¹

The other all-important piece of equipment was the rifle. The men of the 1st AIF were issued with bolt-action magazine-fed Lee-Enfield .303 calibre rifles,²² commonly known by the acronym ‘smellie’ from the initials of its informal designation—Short Magazine Lee-Enfield. In fact, the Mark III version used by the Anzacs, which came into service during 1907, did not have a short magazine, rather the rifle’s overall length had been shortened from previous 19th-century models. Its magazine held ten rounds and it had an effective range of 500 to 1000 metres, although it was capable of indirect fire to more than 3 kilometres. Well-trained infantrymen could fire at least 15 to 30 aimed shots per minute, and, when fired collectively in volleys, gave the impression of the volume of fire from a machine gun.²³ In World War I it proved to be an effective killing device, much prized by the men wielding it.

Training pre-embarkation consisted of parades, drill, route marches, guard duty and live firing on rifle ranges. The recruits received training from experienced drill instructors, some of whom were recently retired from the ranks of famous British regiments. Men such as Colour Sergeant Coxhead worked them hard and unsparingly, impressing the boys with their regular army demeanour. Jack later fondly remembered Coxhead and his blunt but effective bearing while a gaggle of junior officers and NCOs blundered about attempting to establish camp at Mena soon after the battalion’s arrival in Egypt. Their ineptitude was exasperating and Jack bemoaned the absence of Coxhead, who he believed would have sorted out the mess in no time.²⁴

By the middle of October 1914, the 4th Battalion, as part of the 1st Brigade, was ready to start the great adventure. The 1st Brigade was one of the units in the First Contingent of 20,000 Australian troops to leave for overseas service in, it was assumed, the war in Europe. The ultimate destination of the force was at the discretion of the British government. Many of the untried troops privately hoped to disembark in England, which was home for many, but at this stage they were in the dark as to their final port of call. Australian-born Lance Corporal Harry Smith of the 3rd Battalion began his diary aboard the Euripides on 20 October by optimistically declaring, ‘Weighed anchor and set sail for England.’²⁵ Jack was another who anticipated reaching England. He wrote the names and addresses of a couple of English relatives, Chas Collyer and Joseph Collyer, at the back of his first diary. He was going to look them up when the convoy reached England.

The contingent was known as the Australian Imperial Force. Its name was selected by Major-General William Bridges, the commanding officer of the 1st Australian Division. This came to be known simply as the AIF. The name was chosen ostensibly to differentiate between it and a smaller contingent of Australian troops who sailed into action and history on 19 August 1914 to take possession of German colonies and interests in the Pacific, notably German New Guinea. It was known as the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force and its troops were among the first Australians to go into battle in World War I. However, the larger contingent was also initially described as an expeditionary force. Some of its members and some government institutions referred to it as the Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force or AIEF. Jack was one who adhered to this name, as did the Public Trust Office in its dealings with the families of veterans. The New Zealand contingent was known as the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The invasion force being assembled in the Middle East in early 1915, bound for the Hellespont in Turkey, was the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force or the MEF. The British and their French allies provided the units for it, including troops from their respective empires. The word ANZAC was not yet part of the Australasians’ identity and history.

PART 1
Journey

1 The voyage

The scenery is getting more beautiful daily, or perhaps we are learning to appreciate the beauty of the scene to the full. A most glorious sunset, the grand positions of the fleet, steaming majestically, in perfect order, over a smooth sea. The effect of the setting sun on the water is truly magnificent. A battleship is plainly visible on the skyline ahead, another on either flank, + one following up in the rear. The whole scene is perfect, + it is impossible to draw the slightest imagination of its grandeur.

JACK’S DIARY, TUESDAY, 10 NOVEMBER 1914

Before the four battalions of the 1st Brigade embarked for overseas service, they paraded through the streets of Sydney on 6 October to huge public acclamation. Crowds in the thousands, up to twenty deep, lined the footpaths, cheering, singing, waving Union Jacks and shedding tears as the men strode past. The Sydney Morning Herald captured the moment, its correspondent impressed by the emotion of the crowd and the formidable demeanour of the troops:

The people, judging by the way they lined the thoroughfares at such short notice, had evidently expected a great deal, and, if it had not been a really splendid spectacle, they would have been disappointed. But they had their enthusiasm raised to such a degree that many of them appeared to vie with each other, in their frequent outbursts of patriotic emotion. They were not satisfied with cheering and waving miniature Union Jacks and handkerchiefs, but they joined with the music of the bands in singing the popular airs, such as ‘Sons of the Seas,’ ‘Soldiers of the King,’ and ‘Advance Australia Fair’ . . .

The fine physique of the men and their soldierly bearing deserved all praise, more especially when it is remembered that but a few weeks ago many of them were performing their ordinary duties as citizens, and never, perhaps, ever contemplated being soldiers. The movement was magnificent in its precise swing. Each man looked hard and wiry and capable of undergoing all the rough treatment that active service might demand.¹

Jack Collyer left Sydney on Tuesday, 20 October 1914, aboard His Majesty’s Australian Transport A14 Euripides and arrived in Alexandria, Egypt, on Thursday, 3 December 1914. His first diary describes the voyage and the first two weeks training in Egypt:

With the Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force. (Infantry)
1914.
H. Coy. 4th Battalion. A.I.E.F.
Officer Commanding Battn.
Colonel Onslow Thompson.
(Senior) Major McNaughton. 2nd.
Major Storey. 3rd.
Capt. Coltman. 4th.
Adjutant Lieut. Massey.
Regt Serg.-Major Pearce.
O.C.H.Coy Capt. Coltman.
Sub. 1st Lieut. Seldon.
2nd Lieut. Fanning.
Col. Serg. Nicholls Sen. “ Dooling No. 1 Section.
2nd “ “ Rice No. 3 ”
3rd “ “ Wright No. 4 ”
4th “ “ Pitt No. 2 ”

The Voyage
Saturday Oct. 14th (17th) 1914. [Date error by Jack]
We left Kensington camp at 5.45 A.M. on 17th, through heavy rain, the left half of H. Coy. 3 + 4 sections forming advance guard for the Battalion. Marched as far as R. Agricultural grounds, where we entrained to Circular Quay, then marched to Fort Macquarie, drenched to the skin. We then formed a guard + fatigue, to unload kit bags + stores, re-loaded them on launches, + escorted them to transport No. A. 14. S.S. Euripides. By 12.30 all was safely alongside + we went aboard, where a good meal awaited us. After lunch, we unloaded the launches, + stowed the baggage in the hold. Had tea at 5.30 P.M. drew hammocks at 6, retired 9 P.M.

Oct. 18th Sunday.
Reveille. 6 A.M. breakfast 7. Were not detailed for any duties for to-day, but each man was told off as a guide, to get the battalion comfortably settled down when they came aboard to-morrow. Our duties are to get each mess together as they arrive, + show them to their quarters. Each of us must get an officers or N.C.O.s signature to our list to signify that they have received eating utensils, hammocks etc. in good condition, before our duties are complete. Dinner 12 noon, tea 6 P.M. Retired 9 P.M. [Jack’s 24th birthday.]

Monday Oct. 19th 1914.
At 8 a.m. we could see the troops gathering on the wharf from our position a short distance out. At 11.30, a launch loaded with troops came alongside. They embarked with practically no confusion. After lunch, ferry steamers + motor launches hovered around us, loaded with crowds of cheering passengers. The garrison brass band, in a small boat, hung round in the vicinity, playing popular airs, “the girl I left behind me,” “it’s a long way to Tipparary” “Rule Britannia” “Advance Australia” etc. Towards evening we began to move, but only went a short distance towards the heads, where we moored for the night. The boys are all in excellent spirits.
Impressions when all are on board. Very crowded. Beside the 4th Batt., we have 3rd Batt. About 200 A.M. Corps [Army Medical Corps] + several horses, making the boat very crowded. Wash basins + baths not nearly sufficient. Very little room for exercise. Dry canteen arrangements very poor. One small store-room to supply the whole lot. It only remains open for five hours a day, + to-night I have spent more than an hour in trying to make a purchase. We have to go along a passage, + long before the time of opening, the passage is lined from either end with men waiting their turn to be served. The wet canteen is opened for one hour a day. 11 to 12. Beer only is served, + each man is allowed 1 pint. They have to fall in single file with their pannikins + 3d [3 pence], march past several policemen + officers, + as they pass a window, are handed a pint of Toohey’s or Tooths beer. Our exercise decks when off duty are:- fore + aft well decks, bridge + poop decks.

As Jack described, the Euripides was packed with all sorts of passengers, including the 1st Brigade Headquarters staff, both the 3rd and 4th battalions and the 1st Field Ambulance—in total nearly 2300 troops. Of these, about 78 were officers.² There was also a crew of 300 sailors on the 15,000-ton ship³ and 15 horses below decks. Another passenger was the celebrated writer, bushman and poet A.B. ‘Banjo’ Paterson, a frustrated aspirant for the Official War Correspondent position. Banjo described the ship’s passengers as:

A topsy-turvy force this, for the Brigadier, General MacLaurin, has never seen active service, while the ranks are full of English ex-service men, wearing as many ribbons as prize bulls. These English ex-service men, by the way, volunteered to a man when the war broke out, and the Australian ranks were full of Yorkshiremen, Cockneys, and Cousin Jacks. Every one of them had the fixed idea of getting a transfer or clearing out and rejoining his old regiment as soon as he got to England. Who can blame them? It is the English way. Any one of them would sooner be shot as a private in the Coldstream Guards than get a decoration in a nameless Australian force. By the end of the war, we ourselves had a tradition.⁴

Despite eventually missing out on the Australian job, Banjo was hoping to cover the hostilities in Europe as a war correspondent. He had successfully covered the Boer War, writing about people and places on both sides, as well as the ebb and flow of the military actions across the veldt. He failed to get the necessary accreditation to report from France, instead serving there as an ambulance driver. This was short-lived; Banjo returned to Australia and in October 1915 enlisted as an officer in a newly formed remount unit where he found his wartime home. Banjo spent the next few years in Egypt and Palestine with his beloved ‘Horsedung Hussars’, breaking in and training horses for Light Horse units campaigning in the Middle East.⁵

Private Arthur Belling of the 3rd Battalion was far from impressed by the conditions aboard the Euripides. He later recalled:

Conditions on board were appalling. We were packed in like sardines, head to tail in hammocks. No porthole open until everyone in his hammock, then lights out and portholes open. The bit of air that came in the portholes was used up by the ones lucky enough to get close. The stench and heat was awful and quite a number sickened. The cooking was atrocious.⁶

Equally outraged was another 3rd Battalion member, Private Geoff Leslie, who had this to say in a memoir:

Life on the ship could have been pleasant enough had we not been forced to sleep in hammocks slung from the ceiling of a deck well below water line and so close together that the hammocks touched each other and any movement of one man was felt by others on each side. Also the food was dreadful and outbreaks of Ptomaine poisoning were frequent and widespread. I had two attacks, one of which was fairly bad.⁷

This last comment by Private Leslie concerned a nasty ship-wide phenomenon on the eve of reaching terra firma in Egypt.

Another passenger was Chaplain Bill McKenzie, a Salvation Army officer, who was appointed to the 1st Brigade as its ‘Other Protestant Denominations Chaplain’ on 25 September, although he largely served the 4th Battalion in that capacity.⁸ Bill, who would become well known to Jack, had no such reservations about his accommodation, which was unlike the troops’ overcrowding:

Never before have so many troops left Australia in one single ship. We lay all afternoon and night in the Harbour and set out at 6.30 a.m. The sea was fairly rough outside so many were sick within a short time. I was OK. I was given a cabin to myself a large roomy state-room, with a porthole, so I am very comfortably fixed up and have heaps of room and plenty of quiet.⁹

20.10.14 Tuesday.
At reveille, several transports passed us, + shortly afterwards, we began to move, but where we are bound for, none of us know. Cleared the heads at about 7, + the sea was fairly rough. Breakfast was out of the question with a good many of us. I was too busy feeding the fishes to give it a thought. I was present for dinner, + felt A1 afterwards. Parade at 2.30 P.M. for those well enough to attend. After parade, some heavy gambling was noticeable. A good many play a game called “house”, + the stakes in some cases reach 10/- [10 shillings] each player. After tea, a short service + prayers were conducted by 3rd Batt. chaplain, Colonel Talbot, Dean of Sydney.

21.10.14 Wednesday.
Weather beautifully calm. Parade for 2 hours, + after parade, the wet canteen was opened for 1 hour. It is interesting to watch the line, pushing + scrambling in their eagerness to get their “pot.” Many tried to come the “double”, but few succeeded, as there were military police posted at short intervals along the line, + a q.master [quartermaster] + several other officers watching closely. Dinner was served at 12 noon, + was very tasty, after the Kensington ration. Consisted of pork sausages, potatoes, peas, soup + bread, butter + jam was also issued. Parade for two hours after dinner, tea at 5, after which the 3rd Battn. brass band + 4th Battn. pipers gave an hours performance.

22.10.14 Thursday.
Grand smooth sea, + one would be apt to forget that our boat was moving but for the throb of her engines. Whales are very plentiful, + we spent our leisure hours sighting them. After tea, a service was conducted by Capt. McKenzie, 4th Batt. Chaplain, + a member of Salvation Army naval + military league.

This was the first reference in Jack’s diary to Chaplain Bill McKenzie. At this point of the war, McKenzie was relatively unknown, but he was to become a legendary character in not just the 4th Battalion, but also the AIF generally. His nickname, ‘Fighting Mac’, distinguished him as a revered figure who spent the war giving his heart and soul to the troops. Nothing was too hard, everything was possible. Stories about this larger-than-life clergyman abound, some of them apocryphal, but there’s no doubt Bill McKenzie was a most formidable character, physically and spiritually:

He was a big man [6 foot 2 inches and 17 stone, or 187 centimetres and 109 kilograms] with a big voice to match. Unlike many chaplains he joined in the men’s recreations, taking particular delight in the boxing contests. His long reach, jarring uppercuts and dangerous half-hooks left some of the AIF’s best fighters dazed.¹⁰

Bill was also an aficionado of concerts, leading the singing with his booming voice.

23.10.14 Friday.
Another beautiful day. Usual duties. A very enjoyable concert rendered by members of A.A.M.C. [Australian Army Medical Corps] at night.

24.10.14 Saturday.
Weather a trifle cold + hazy. Duties as usual, with an interesting lecture by Major McNaughton on fire tactics and control.

Sunday 25.10.14
Reveille 7 A.M. Weather a little rougher than usual. Compulsory church parade at 11 A.M. for all denominations. Both chaplains taking part. The ships orchestra, which consists of two violins, piano, cornet + cello, + all splendidly manipulated, played accompaniment to hymns. After dinner, we had a re-hearsal of the procedure to be adopted when we approach Albany, where we expect to reach to-morrow.

Monday 26.10.14.
Sea again rough, atmosphere heavy, + occasional showers. Morning parade of two hours. At 12 o’clock, mess orderlies had drawn dinner, + served it, when the bugle sounded attention, + all hands were ordered on deck, so there was nought left but to leave our dinner to spoil, + double on deck to carry out the general salute, while approaching Albany. We stood to attention while the bugles sounded the general salute, + the band played “Rule Brittannia,” + “God save the King.” The bugles then sounded the “stand at ease,”+ there we stood for half an hour or so. The attention again sounded, + we stood in that position while we passed the transports already moored outside the harbour. As we passed, a dozen or so hearty cheers went up from the troops of Victorian + other contingents, but, as much as we would have liked to return the compliment, not a murmur was heard, nor a body moved, which brought forth the inquiry from the other troops if we were all dead, + they also counted us out. When we had anchored, we were allowed to go to our mess deck to eat our spoilt meal, which was well punctuated with fluent growling. Our usual 2 hours parade was carried out in the afternoon. [Growling was a euphemism for whingeing characterised by liberal swearing. It was part and parcel of army life. See the map of the First Contingent’s voyage on page 15.]

Tuesday 27.10.14
We are still anchored in the same place as yesterday. The transports lying around us present a grand picture. It is raining heavily. A warship is discernable in the distance. About dinner time, another troop ship steamed in, + anchored amongst those already here. They are now about 20 in number. We were informed that letters will be taken ashore this morning, + as there are no stamps on board, have to mark our letters On active service. No stamps available, so that the ordinary rate of postage only will be charged on delivery. General Bridges inspected the troops on board in the afternoon.

The fleet carrying the AIF First Contingent was assembled in King George Sound, Albany, on the coast of south-west Western Australia. Ships carrying troops and supplies as well as a protective escort gathered in its vast waters. Even though the Euripides spent a week at anchor the men weren’t allowed to disembark.

Wednesday 28.10.14.
The weather has cleared. Morning parade as usual. In the afternoon, we were told off into boat crews, + instructed in boat drill. 28 men were put into each boat, + we went for a row. We were informed that our letters in future must be left unsealed for censorship. We do not know what has become of the letters we posted yesterday, + posted 6.

Thursday 29.10.14.
Light rain is falling, + it is very cold. It was stated in Battalion orders that no more letters were to be written except on plain post cards, to be provided for us by O.C. [Officer Commanding]. These must contain only brief information regarding ourselves, + our probable movements not be mentioned. Letters were delivered on board, + I received two.

Friday 30.10.14.
A glorious morning. We were given an opportunity to purchase any article we required from Albany, an officer + a few men being despatched to get the goods. We had a lecture on transport organisation, delivered by a transport officer.

Saturday 31.10.14.
H Coy. is the duty coy., forming all guards, fatigues, sweepers, Regt. Orderly corporal + Serg. The guard tour of duty is for four hours, with eight hours off. The duties are to keep order, prevent spitting on decks, while the gang way is lowered to prevent anyone going off or coming aboard without a pass, give the alarm in case of fire or man over board etc.

Sunday Nov. 1st 1914.
At 7 A.M several transports left their moorings, + moved slowly out to sea, the fleet’s flagship “Orvieto” leading. At 8 o’clock, we were relieved from guard, + at the same time our ship put out. We formed up in three lines, Orvieto leading the centre line, Euripides leading the right hand line. We were followed by 6 or 7 other boats, the names of which I do not know, but hope to find out. The fleet presents a magnificent spectacle, the like of which has probably never been seen before on the Australian coast, unless the visit of the American fleet equalled it. (I think it impossible that it surpassed it.) A beautiful calm sea, the escort of 4 battleships just discernable on the horizon, the three lines of ships steaming majestically along the smooth surface, all go to make a beautiful picture. Church parade at 11 A.M. to 12.

The American fleet Jack referred to was the Great White Fleet, which visited Australia in 1908 during its circumnavigation of the globe. It had also lain at anchor in King George Sound and consisted of 16 battleships and five auxiliary vessels.¹¹

Bill McKenzie was also very impressed by the unique spectacle presented by the ships carrying the First Contingent:

We lay at anchor until Sunday morning November 1st when we set sail at 6.45 a.m. A good crowd of people lined the hills at the mouth of the harbour to see the awe-inspiring sight, as the convoy of cruisers with the transports left the harbour under sealed orders. The New Zealand Fleet had come in on Wednesday morning, 10 transport and 2 cruisers. The morning we left was ideal, the atmosphere clear, the sea calm and the sun fairly warm. What a magnificent sight.¹²

When the fleet weighed anchor at Albany it was made up of 36 transports and three escort warships—the Minotaur, the Sydney and the Melbourne. A couple of days later, two more transports and the Japanese warship, the Ibuki, joined the convoy on the open ocean.¹³ With the fleet complete, 30,000 troops, including about 10,000 of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force, were on board.

Monday 2.11.14.
Parades as usual. Concert at night by members of 4th Battn. Enjoying beautiful weather.

Tuesday 3.11.14.
Weather getting warm. Afternoon parade consisted of fire alarm. The bugles sounded a series of “Gs”, + those on the lower decks had to get a life-belt, fasten it on, + rush on the bridge deck, sit down, take off boots, + wait for orders. Perfect silence to be maintained. The boys did the movement in good time, + were complimented by Major McNaughton.

Wednesday 4.11.14
Sky overcast. Sea a trifle rough. From the upper decks, we feast our eyes on the grand sight the fleet presents. It is a sight that never gets less beautiful.

Thursday 5.11.14.
A nice warm day. Sea smooth. The day passed uneventfully, until about 7 P.M. when a large vessel hove in sight, + when she came close to us, we saw that she was the “Osterley.” She passed us on the starboard side, quite close, + as she passed, the passengers sang + cheered, + the boys returned the cheers vigorously. She was advised not to proceed further than the H.M.A.S. Sydney, but kept on her voyage.