by Peter Haydon
Part 3 – Off to War
When war broke out, along with this brother Barney, Guy enlisted on 15 February 1915 at Liverpool aged twenty-five. Although Barney was only nineteen at the time his parents relented since Guy promised to look after his younger brother. Cyril Regg their future brother-in-law enlisted with them and rode the Bloomfield horse Hughie. He was out of a Tester mare and by The Dane. Their neighbour and friend Frederick Max Wright aged thirty-two, from Bickham, also joined up with them.
On 1 March 1915, the 12th Australian Light Horse Regiment was issued with authority for active service abroad and they marched out of Liverpool camp to Holsworthy. The men were mostly from rural stations, being good horsemen and good shots. The regiment was divided into three Squadrons, each of six troops, with twenty-five officers and four hundred and ninety-seven men.
Their cousin Gordon Haydon enlisted in the AIF but mostly served in the 6th Light Horse and completed the entire war returning to Australia in 1919. His brother Stuart Haydon died in the Gallipoli Landing being one of the first locals to be killed in the war.
Their older brother Frederick was to stay home to run the properties. The brothers selected homebred horses to take with them to share the upcoming adventures. Usually it would be assumed that geldings would be chosen however with Guy’s attachment to Midnight they reluctantly agreed he could take the good mare. At nine years old she was in the prime of her life. Barney selected the brown gelding called Polo and Max Wright was given a bay gelding he named Fred after his good friend Frederick Haydon. All three were by Bloomfield’s top sire Tester.
Left: Tents at Holsworthy Army Camp
Above: Lined up at Liverpool Railway Station
Left: Cyril Begg with Hughie – He married Guy’s sister Madge
Above: 12th Light Horse Regiment colour patch
In a remarkable feat both Polo and Fred survived the entire Light Horse campaign in the Middle East. On his return from the war Max Wright presented Fred with a mounted switch off his horse’s tail to mark the achievement and the appreciation of the generous gift. The switch remains in the family’s archive today.
They assembled at Holsworthy Army camp on the outskirts of Sydney. Midnight, Polo and Fred had been transported to Sydney by train. They sat proudly on their horses while their official photographs were taken. Sam brown, hat, plums, leggings, spurs, .303 rifle, 43 centimetre bayonet, saddles and bridles all in immaculate polished condition and everything in its exact place.
Whilst in camp Guy married Jean Hindmarsh on 5 March 1915 at Strathfield. He received official notification that he had permission for leave to organise a property transfer and to get married. Everyone knew her as Bonnie and Guy called her Bon. She was a member of an old north coast pioneer family from near Lismore. The original Hindmarsh arrived from England in 1822 acquiring land initially at Gerringong. Bonnie was raised on a farm out of Lismore and her father was a member of the NSW Parliament. She was a friend of Guy’s sister Madge Haydon, often staying with her at Bloomfield, describing it as a wonderful, welcoming place where the young had many great times. She was attractive and outgoing and Guy soon became very keen on her.
Before departing they had to line up for their vaccinations. Apparently, it nearly killed them, making them very sick. Illness was ever present with some men even dying on the ship before they even reached the battlefields of the Middle East.
The group were ready to depart. Close to Guy were Barney and Max Wright. His cousin’s Gordon and Stuart Haydon had also enlisted. Tragically Stuart was shot in the shoulder at the Gallipoli landing and was buried in Egypt. He represented the first casualty of the war for the area. His brother in law Cyril Regg joined and the Ralph Purcell from their Scotts Creek property completed the group.
The calibre of the men that enlisted and their leaders proved to be exceptional. General Sir Harry Chauvel was given command over the entire British combined Desert Mounted Corps. Lt- Colonel Donald Cameron who became Commanding Officer of the 12th Light Horse was a local from Rouchel in the Upper Hunter Valley, proved a distinguished leader being awarded a DSO and Bar.
The 12th Light Horse had a spectacular parade in Sydney riding in a long column through the streets to the cheering crowds. The streets were packed with well-wishers and Guy felt very proud to be riding Midnight on such a grand occasion.
They departed Australia on the steamship Suevic on 12 June 1915.
Guy wrote from Port Adelaide 5 days later to say that they had been ordered to unload the horses and proceed on without them. He said how “rotten” it was to be leaving them behind but hoped they would be reunited with them later.
On the trip over Colonel Abbott, their Commanding Officer mentions in his diary that Guy Haydon and F Bell were tying off for first place in the shooting competition held on the boat. Both had scored 49 out of 50. They shot off another 4 times but were still even. He had to then announce them as joint titleholders.
Above left: Midnight and Hughie at the lines
Above right: Barney at the horse lines
Right: The 12th Light Horse, Sydney, June 1915
Above: The Suevic
Part 4 – Training in Cairo
They landed in Egypt arriving at Suez on 23 July 1915. They proceed to Heliopolis near Cairo by train and then spent weeks in training, starting with reveille at 4.30 am. Under the backdrop of the Pyramids they practised combat drills with their horses and their horse holders. They got to know the area and Cairo, which was so foreign to them. They played polo on both horses and donkeys and held races.
Part 5 – To Gallipoli
The brothers found they were to be again separated from their horses and sent to Gallipoli as reinforcements on 28 August 1915 attached to the 2nd LH Brigade. Their Brigade Commanding Officer Colonel Spencer-Browne addressed them before leaving saying:
“You are fit to meet the enemy after only four weeks training in Egypt. No other regiment has left this country with less than three months training. I am proud to have commanded such officers, non-commissioned officer and men. I believe Australia has never sent out a finer brigade.”
They went by train to Alexandria and sailed to Lemnos Island landing at Anzac Cove at midnight while occasional bullets hit the transport.
The Australians were gallantly hanging onto their precarious positions on the peninsula’s beach and cliffs against the entrenched Turks. Guy was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and put in charge of B Squadron. Earlier their cousin Stuart Haydon had been killed in the landing at Gallipoli being the first local casualty of the war.
They fought there until the troops were withdrawn. The conditions were very tough, with sleepless nights and they did not relish the idea of fighting on through a harsh winter. It was freezing at night and lice shared the dugouts with them. In Guy’s letter home titled “In the Trenches-Gallipoli” he writes…… “the trenches are 7 feet deep..it is impossible to get hit by a bullet if you keep your head down. I can assure you we do…..we dig little rests in the side of the trenches to sleep in and as long as it doesn’t rain we will be fairly comfortable…..dysentery is playing the devil with the men…..the smell is pretty awful as there are scores of bodies unburied lying out beyond the trenches….we can see bodies of dead Australian and Turks lying together…they had been there for about a month…it is getting cold here now and if we are here for winter we’ll have a pretty rough time of it as it rains heavily at that time.” As the weather changed to winter and storms raced across the Anzac positions men all over the peninsula suffered from exposure and frostbite. In November the snow fell.
They were very relieved to hear it was time to depart and continue the fight against the Turks on another front. They helped with the elaborate plans to deceive the Turks that they were leaving. The plan worked well. Tins full of water were tied to the triggers of their rifles which were pointed at the Turks. A small hole was punctured in the bottom so the water would drip out slowly and then release the trigger to fire a shot towards the Turks. The seemingly impossible had be accomplished without a single casualty. It was one of the great military and naval achievements ever accomplished. A German called it “a masterpiece” as they had no idea of the plans to evacuate.
Their efforts were effective and their departure was without any more loss of life. Although 19- 20 December 1915 withdrawal proved quite a remarkable military feat the Australians they had already suffered 28,150 casualties and had shown great resilience to hold on to their precarious positions on the cliffs.
