My cousin, Elizabeth Landy, has been to the State Library of Victoria and had a look at the diaries of Walford's brother Bertie, which are there in safekeeping, but the property of George Manifold, who has kindly agreed to let them be included here. These two entries give some background to the brothers' arrival in Britain and subsequent training et cetera:
They are both extracted from a diary headed: Diary of War Experience Sept 1915. This is the first entry:
Enlisted Bell.A, S.McCaughey, Walford, Sanger & Self. Left Australia July 26
th by the P&O Malwa. Came overland from Marseilles landed in London at the beginning of Sept. Mildred met us at Victoria. Next morning were introduced to R.S.Gilliard who did all the dirty work connected with getting our Commissions. We were all Gazetted in the R.F.A. on Sept 23
rd & posted to the Baby Camp at Ipswich. (Our) quarters at the latter place were at the Horse Artillery Barracks. Then we did six weeks of training."
Some time later, the words, "Ordered to the front 15th September" are written in a sideline of the diary and this entry follows:
"At 1 pm on 15thNov, we were ordered to proceed to Southhampton by the 2 pm train from Waterloo the following day. There were ten of us from this camp who recd. marching orders. We applied for leave straight away. Bell was left out of this. This is quite a new thing for Officers to go straight to the front without first going on a course. We had only been in training for six weeks. Most of us packed up right away and went to London that evening. It was a tremendous risk but it did not take us long to get on the move."
Another diary! What a family of hoarders. And aren't we the better for same. One wonders how many of our troops in Afghanistan keep a similar diary - or even a blog.
ReplyDeleteI shake my head at going to war on a P&O ship. But moreso, on the comment 'overland from Marseilles'. Marseilles to London - past the very front itself!
This is all very much an adventure at this stage, methinks. After the shellacking at Gallipoli the previous April, troops were sorely needed, I gather. I know here in NSW this (June - August) was the time of the 'Cooee' March. I wonder if there was something similar throughout Victoria? Athough your chaps joined the British services as officers, unlike our Gilgandra mob.
ReplyDeleteI like how he has written those four names, the layout.
What interests me about my grandfather and his brother - plus just about everyone they knew - is the way they rushed straight over to join up with the British, while at the same time feeling utterly Australian. I think there is a lifetime's work for some young history academic in looking at the role played by Australians - or more generally people from the former colonies - serving in the British forces in various conflicts. Unless killed (and, therefore, put on the honour roll at the War Memorial), there is no mention, either here or at the Imperial War Museum, of the Australians who have done this, and yet, apparently it has gone on until quite recently (motivated in latter years by the desire to see more active service than is available in the Australian Army, so I'm told.)
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