From Colonel John Molnar
Our Australian Army Light Horse contingent has been in Israel for three days now. With the compressed rehearsal program for the 100 year commemoration of the Battle of Beersheba, it is perhaps the first chance I have had to reflect on the stories of the Australian Light Horse that once rode and fought through the deserts and towns that stretch from Egypt through to Gaza and on to Damascus. Our contingent for the commemoration comprises of the Guidons and Guards of the 4th/19th Princes of Wales’s Light Horse and 12th/16th Hunter River Lancers, representatives from 2nd/14th Queensland Mounted Infantry, the 2nd Cavalry Regiment, my Regimental Sergeant Major Warrant Officer, Class 1 Jamie Adams and myself.
We are 30 kilometres South of the city of Beersheba where the Australian Light Horse Association Troop move closer to the original 1917 form up point to commence their re-enactment of the Charge that occurred one hundred years ago to the day on October 31st. We stand amongst the horses lathered in sweat. They are surprisingly restless given the heat of the midday sun and the fact they are already three days into their journey. The ride so far has taken the mounted troop through the Negev Desert near Urim, Israel along the ANZAC trail towards Beersheba with over a hundred Australian riders taking part.
Lieutenant Ryan Abil from the 2nd/14th Queensland Mounted Infantry and Corporal Robert Conway from 4th/19th Prince of Wales’s Light Horse are wearing the 1917 pattern uniforms of their Light Horse ancestors. They are sitting on their mounts and convincingly send us back in time as they approach with a backdrop of arid rocky ground and a spattering of Acacia Trees under a piercing cloudless blue sky. The ground is not unlike much of the interior of Australia 10,000 miles away, something noted by the Australians who fought through this ground during their part in the Sinai Campaign. Out here in the desert, little appears to have changed for thousands of years and only the occasional Bedouin ruin reminds me that life in some form had once inhabited this land.
We dismount our transport beside a dusty track, change into our Service Dress and ritually uncase the Guidons of the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments. These Units charged together. The Guidon parties armed with lances form a surreal image standing at attention on a road in the desert that once formed the approach to Beersheba for General Sir Harry Chauvel’s Desert Mounted Corps of 32,000 strong Light Horse, New Zealand Mounted Infantry, Imperial Camel Corps and British Yeomanry, Infantry and Horse Artillery. One hundred years later a much smaller column approach and the Guidon parties present arms. The Light Horse riders give a rousing eyes left salute and continue on their journey. The original 1926 Guidons have only been replaced once, the 4th in 1963 and 12th in 1987. They carry many more battle honours than the originals including those from the Second World War and Vietnam. It is a proud moment for all involved. The horses now out of sight and we are left standing alone in the desert to re case the Guidons and head back to Tel Aviv.
The day before departing for Israel I was given the 1915 Victory Medal of No. 1051 Corporal Clifford Knapsey Wheelens, from Geelong. The medal was not part of a set and belonged to a collector who had recently passed away. Not much is known about Corporal Wheelens apart from his lengthy service record as a member of the 4th Light Horse. He reinforced in Gallipoli and had remained with the 4th Light Horse throughout their campaign. His father was deceased and mother’s whereabouts unknown. There may have been a brother and a sister, according to his personnel file but this is not confirmed. He noted next of kin as his foster mother, Mrs Jennie Wilks. According to his file, he was slightly built at 60 kilos and stood only five foot five tall with blue eyes and fair hair. During the charge, Corporal Wheelens suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen, back and elbow. He survived the charge and made it to a hospital train. He died on the train four days later on route to Egypt. He was 25 years old and now rests in Kantara Cemetery in Egypt. His foster mother’s entitlement for a war pension was rejected as she was deemed to not be dependent on the deceased soldier’s earnings. His personal possessions were returned to her in 1918 and amounted to little more than a pocket book, 11 badges, a lighter, two pairs of socks and a balaclava.
Standing at Chauvel’s Lookout, I place his medal on some rocks which oversee the entire field of battle. He was never presented this medal having died before its issue. In some way I hope this honours Corporal Wheelen’s efforts and ultimate sacrifice.
Chauvel had stood here one hundred years prior to the day, and it was noted by the RSM that this was possibly the last full scale battle in history where the Commander could see it unfold first hand from start to finish. To this day, the manoeuvre of each fighting element including the route of the charge is clearly visible. The guiding glint from the Minaret which aligned the direction of the charge is still clearly seen from this vantage point against the fading light as it was on the day. This is what confronted the Australian Light Horseman in the late afternoon of October 31st, 1917. You can see the modern town of Beersheba in the distance some 6 kilometres from where the charge commenced.
The Chief of Army Lieutenant General Angus Campbell AO, DSC speaking at the Park of the Australian Soldier in Be’er sheva quoted a trooper from ‘”A” Squadron, 4th Light Horse Regiment’s vivid recollection of the charge.
“At a slow trot for half a mile or so, and a squadron of what we find out later, is the 12th Regiment, joins up on our left; thus, there are now two squadrons in line extended to about 2-3 paces. The pace is getting hotter, and Jacko (The Turk) realises that there is something doing. We can hear his rifle and machine-gun fire, but it does not seem to be coming anywhere near us. I have a hazy recollection of a plane badly missing us with bombs.
Healy of ‘C ‘troop, ‘A’ squadron, is about 50 yards in front, acting as ground scout. Getting fairly close now, and we realise that this is going to be serious and think about barbed-wire. We can feel the concussion of the fire in our faces, but not a man or horse seems to have been hit. I got my head well down on old ‘Jerry’s’ neck, and was doing some mighty deep thinking. Next to me Johnson’s horse gets it through the head, and Johnson takes a tumble. We are among a succession of shallow pits full of Turks, and ‘Jerry’ and I barge through one of these before we can pull up. Wickham, with the Hotchkiss gun pack horse follows me, and Wickham is killed.
I have neither seen nor heard any order to dismount, but Lieutenant Ben Meredith, our troop leader, is off his horse, so I do likewise. He hands his reins over to me and turns with his revolver on one of these pits full of Turks. They throw up their hands at once, but as he turns away one of them picks up his rifle and shoots him in the back. Corporal Cliff Wheelens is down shot through the side. There seem to be Turks everywhere, but they seem bewildered, and few of them are putting up any sort of a fight. “Jerry” annoys roe considerably by looking for grass to eat. Bombs make a hell of a noise, but don’t seem to do much damage. We catch up to the rest of the troop before reaching the town near the railway station, which is very shortly in flames and a railway engine goes skywards. Turks seem completely demoralised and prisoners are roaming around as they please. Watkins and myself are sent up the minaret of the mosque to see if any snipers are up there. Thank God there are not!
Loughman and I decide to go back to see if we can do anything for Wheelens, who was hit where we dismounted. It is dark now, but we eventually find him. He is in a bad way, and died at Ei Arish on his way to hospital (4 November 2017). We cannot locate our squadron when we get back to the town, but join up with a couple of 3rd Brigade machine gunners, and decide to spend the night with them and find our own crowd in the morning.”
Above:
Photograph taken by Harold Purnell of A Squadron, promoted to 2LT the day before the charge with the description: “This group was taken when we were back at FARA. It represents all the originals that were then left in our squadron (“A” Sqd 4th L/H Regmt.) The ones marked with a cross were killed in the Beersheba charge.” Assumed that it was taken on the return to Egypt from Gallipoli and, obviously, before heading to Beersheba. (Photograph supplied by Alain Purnell, nephew of Harold)
Our final day of formalities was on the anniversary itself. It was the morning of the 31st October 2017 and we awake at 1:30 am and on the road shortly after to ensure the contingent can negotiate the tightened security around the Cemetery Service in Beersheba. The controls are stricter than boarding an international flight and despite the early start it still takes over an hour to get in to the Beersheba War Cemetery for the formal commemoration activity.
A reflective program commences with various readings and interviews streamed live through ABC Television. For the most part, it feels like a movie set with cameras and frenetic stage management being a bizarre distraction to those trying to deliver meaningful words to a not yet arrived audience. The chaos builds as various dignitaries including the Defence Chiefs of Australia and Israeli and foreign VIP’s fill the velvet roped off seating toward the front of the stage. This chaos culminates with the arrival of the Prime Ministers Malcom Turnbull and Benjamin Netanyahu and Governor General of New Zealand, Dame Patsy Reddy surrounded by a press gallery of hundreds. The New Zealand Defence contingent which included the Queenstown Mounted Rifles in conjunction with the Australian Army Band deliver several musical arrangements and readings covering the history of the time of the charge. This was followed by an address from each Head of State, focussing on the success of the Light Horse during the Palestine Campaign and friendship between nations now enjoyed.
Major General Dave Chalmers AO, CSC from the Department of Veteran Affairs commenced the service. Guidon parties with many hours of rehearsal under their belts perform faultlessly with the Centenary Guard and receive compliments from all attending. Once completed we change back into civilian clothes and go in search of firstly, a hasty exit point, and secondly some food after nearly nine hours without a coffee. With our uniforms hanging on a fence near a roundabout and trying to vector in our bus, a local bakery was a fine find. With lunch complete the contingent headed to the Beersheba Light Horse Park for the evening ceremony.
With more of an Australian focus for this event, the 2,000 strong crowd were addressed by Lieutenant General Angus Campbell AO, DSC, the Honorable Dan Tehan MP, actor Mr Bryan Brown AM, the Australian Army Chaplains Brigadier Glynn Murphy and Captain Dovid Gutnick with closing comments by Jeanne Pratt. Entertainment was provided by the Be’er sheva Girls Choir and the Australian Army Band.
The evening concluded with an excellent barbecue thanks to the Pratt Foundation and many Israeli’s insisting on getting a picture taken with a soldier wearing a slouch hat with plumes. Some things never change.
We departed Beersheba for the last time and headed back to Tel Aviv for the flight home. “Prest d’accomplir”.
