In this update we cover several important developments that will have an impact on both the Foundation and the wider community of interest.
President’s Report
It is always a pleasure, when the time comes around again, to write the Report for the Foundation’s Newsletter. None of this would be possible without the effort from Tony Stevens and the other volunteer Committee members.
Through Honor Auchinleck and James Maberly, both descendants of Sir Harry, I was introduced to George Petrou. George is a successful graphic designer and acclaimed portrait artist. He is the author of The Art of Sacrifice, the stories and portraits of ordinary Australians from all walks of life who have served our nation with gallantry and sacrifice — ordinary people who displayed mateship, resilience and devotion to duty. The Art of Sacrifice captures the spirit of service in a fitting tribute to all Anzacs of every generation.
George is working on a sequel, The Art of Humanity. When complete it will present portraits and stories of Australians who have made a significant contribution to humanity and the care and well-being of their fellow men and women. George has identified Sir Harry as an Australian who made a significant humanitarian contribution to the life of the nation. It was a privilege to be asked to write the story of Sir Harry, included in this edition of our Newsletter.
Yours aye,
Rob
Marking the Battle of Romani
As August approaches, John Boyce has provided us with an article to remind us of the significance of this milestone in the Middle Eastern campaign, led by Sir Harry.
The Battle of Romani
August 1916
August marks not only the shocking losses of the Charge at the Nek on Gallipoli in 1915, but also a great victory at Romani in the Sinai desert a year later. To put this battle in context, it was the first major Allied victory of the war, in any theatre.
It had a strategic impact. The Australian War Memorial website describes the battle in these terms: ‘The battle of Romani, fought between 3 and 5 August 1916, finally put a stop to the Turkish threat to the Suez Canal and marked the beginning of the British and Allied forces’ drive out of Egypt and into Palestine.’
Major General Harry Chauvel commanded the forward troops (Anzac Mounted Division) at Romani where he had selected and prepared his battleground against the advancing Turkish force, while his senior British commanders were further to the rear.
The battle was fought in desert heat across high sand dunes, with access to water as a critical factor. As planned, the defending Light Horse troops gradually withdrew and let the heat and terrain drain the advancing Turkish force, while the British infantry (52nd Lowland Division) held one sector to the north. During a night and a morning of fierce fighting the light horsemen fought a gradual withdrawal, before Chauvel eventually launched his other Light Horse brigades in a counterattack from the flanks. Further brutal fighting followed before a final attack next morning drove the Turks away (having lost half their entire force as casualties). The Turks fought a series of strong rearguard actions as they retreated.
At the time of the victory, from his Cairo HQ General Murray cabled lavish praise to the Governors General of Australia and New Zealand: “Every day they show what an indispensable part of my forces they are … I cannot speak too highly of the gallantry, steadfastness and untiring energy shown by this fine division throughout the operations … These Anzac troops are the keystone of the defence of Egypt”.
Unfortunately, by the time of the British New Year’s Honours in January 1917 there was a puzzling absence of official recognition for the Anzacs and their commander.
After reading the official despatch (which was also publicly released in the Paris Match) Harry Chauvel commented in a letter to his wife (dated 3 Dec 1916): “I am afraid my men will be very angry when they see it. I cannot understand why the old man cannot do justice to those to whom he owed so much and the whole thing is so absolutely inconsistent with what he had already cabled.”
Footnote: Major General Chauvel himself was offered only a relatively minor award, which he declined. Despite his battlefield successes thus far, he was not to be knighted until some months later, after his further victory in the Battle for Rafa completed the Ottoman retreat from the Canal Zone back across the Sinai.
ANZAC Day 2024
Border and High-Country Anzac Day
The theme of the Anzac Service in St Matthew’s Church in Albury was ‘Remembering the Forgotten’. The short film ‘The First to Fall: The Malcolm Chisholm Story’ was shown in place of a sermon.
The theme ‘Remembering the Forgotten’ is relevant to many diggers who didn’t return home from one or other World War and other conflicts. In Commonwealth War Graves Cemeteries, poppies on the graves often denote the graves of the dead whose families visited recently. Yet there are always many graves with no poppies. The graves with the epitaphs ‘A soldier of the Great War’ and ‘Known to God’ represent the most forgotten. They are our unknown soldiers who never had a chance to return home.
Remembering the forgotten applies of course to the Light Horsemen who did not return from the First World War’s Gallipoli and Palestine Campaigns. In the Gaza Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery there are 3,217 Commonwealth burials from World War One including three members of the 7th Light Horse Regiment. These three Light Horsemen must be among the forgotten: undoubtedly there were others. The recent conflict will have dealt bitter blows to the memory of the lives lost in earlier conflicts.
Meanwhile at the Anzac Service in Corryong, Michael Greenham spoke about his great-uncle local Upper Murray Dr David Greenham. Dr Greenham served during the Great War in Egypt, on the Western Front and at No 1 Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield outside London before returning to the Upper Murray to resume his medical practice in Corryong. Dr Greenham was a General Practitioner fondly remembered for his fundraising to build the Corryong Hospital, his devotion to his patients, his talent and skill on the sporting fields and his community involvements. He is also remembered for the kind understanding with which he treated returned soldiers and the words of advice he gave to those whose medicals he carried out prior to their enlistment to serve in the Second World War. Like many other descendants of local Second World War service personnel, my father was one of Dr Greenham’s patients.
My husband Mark and I returned home from our travels to find that Michael had signed a copy of his book for us. The title of Michael’s book is Devotion to Humanity: Dr David Greenham 1889 – 1945. Few could have remembered the near forgotten doctor and returned serviceman better than Dr David’s great-nephew Michael Greenham. Michael’s book is available through The Man from Snowy River Museum in Corryong and the Corryong Newsagent. Michael has printed 80 books and he is willing to print more if the demand is there. I sincerely hope that he will as it is well worth reading. Michael can be contacted by email at dartmoordistrictmuseum@bigpond.com
Meanwhile across Towong Shire, libraries exhibited collections of local war heroes assembled by Year Six students. Dedicated teachers in our schools are doing an excellent job in bringing the service and stories of our local heroes alive for their students and indeed for their families and communities.
We all have stories about Anzac Day in different times and in different places. On Anzac Day 2024, friend Maree Myhill emailed saying ‘My cousin Noel Bridle from Tumut and two others rode in their Light Horse uniforms for three events at Tumut, a service at the Nursing Home on Wednesday, the March on Anzac Day, and in the Festival of the Falling Leaf parade today.’
‘Noel mentioned that at the Tumut Dawn Service, school children read out all the names of those who did not return from war. He also mentioned a local man who attends the Tumut Cemetery every day at 4.30pm to play his bugle at the grave of one of the 385 diggers and he leaves a stone on the grave.’
It is a pity that it would not now be safe enough for a bugler to play his bugle beside a Light Horseman’s grave in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in Gaza. Yet these men deserve their place in Remembrance.
Stories like Maree’s must surely be among the stories that find their place in the spirit of Anzac.
Anzac Day in Melbourne 2024
This year, once again the modern successors to the Australian Light Horse honoured the memories of those who have served before them.
There are six successor units in the modern Australian Army, either Regular Army or Army Reserve.
Typically busy was the 4th/19th Prince of Wales’s Light Horse Regiment in Victoria, which had a large contingent marching in the Melbourne parade.
They escorted their guidon with the battle honours earned in the Boer War, in WW1 (at Gallipoli, the Sinai and Palestine, and on the Western Front), in WW2 (in New Guinea and Bougainville), and in Vietnam with the US streamer for 1Troop A Squadron.
That day, serving members of the Regiment and/or its Association members also attended local ceremonies in Traralgon, Beechworth, Benalla, Cobram, Corowa, Greta, Howlong, Rutherglen, Wangaratta and Wodonga.
The Chauvel Border Light Horse Trail: Recent Highlights and Developments
We now have a working brochure-style map that can be used by travellers to locate the commemorative artwork along the Chauvel Border Light Horse Trail. We are currently working with Dr Anne Flood to explore options to extend additional trails in the direction of the Riverina in Southern NSW.
The current Light Horse Border Trail. A ‘live’ version of this can be accessed on Google Maps and a downloadable version can be accessed here. It has images and further notes on each point of interest/feature.
The Chauvel Border Light Horse Trail: Corryong and Beyond
The following is an edited transcript of a presentation made to the Corryong Rotary Club by Honor Auchinleck
Introduction
Thank you for your kind invitation to speak to you this evening about the Chauvel Foundation’s Border Light Horse Trail. Firstly I’ll explain who General Sir Harry Chauvel was and about his legacy. Secondly, I’ll talk about the Chauvel Border Light Horse Trail and in conclusion I’ll set the Border Light Horse Trail in the context of other existing trails and potential future trails. It is significant that these trails combine to attract visitors to the district and offer a cross section of attractions for visitors and local people alike to explore, local stories to learn and artwork to enjoy and remember. You will see Corryong’s commemorative mural, ‘The Men and their Mounts’ on the Border Light Horse Trail. In Tallangatta you will find General Bridges’ Charger ‘Sandy’ created by renowned regional sculptor Brett Garling who also sculpted Corryong’s ‘The Man from Snowy River’ in Attree Park beside the Visitor Information Centre.
Now turning to General Sir Harry Chauvel, who along with General Sir John Monash, was Australia’s first full General. While Sir John Monash was a reservist Sir Harry was Australia’s regular Army’s first full General. Both officers served with distinction in World War One with Monash on the Western Front and Chauvel commanding the Desert Mounted Corps in the Palestine Campaign. It is not my business here to compare and contrast two great leaders: both Generals had their own qualities and individual stories. Having enlisted in 1885 in the Upper Clarence Light Horse, Chauvel served in the Boer War, First World War and commanded the Defence Volunteer Corps during World War Two until his death in 1945. Unsurprisingly Sir Harry remains one of Australia’s longest serving officers. Next year in 2025, it is 160 years since Sir Harry was born and 140 years since he enlisted. On 4 March 2025 it will be 80 years since he died. Sir Harry’s legacy of service guided by his humanitarian values remains relevant today and into the future.
A major theme of Chauvel’s service is that he always argued that he received honours and awards on behalf of the men who served with him. They were the men who fought the battles. And Sir Harry wasn’t short on praise for women – the nurses and great women like Mrs Chisholm, Miss Macphillamy who ran the canteens for those serving in Palestine and even the nurse Edith Cavell whom he never met but whose story he knew. In 1926, he was proud to be asked to unveil the memorial to Edith Cavell in Melbourne’s Domain, opposite the Shrine of Remembrance. Sir Harry was supported by his wife, the gentle, wise and very able Lady Sibyl Chauvel.
Chauvel’s Legacy
On his return from World War One and particularly after he retired in 1930, Chauvel devoted his time and energies to the welfare of ex-servicemen – the men who had served the nation so well in times of conflict. Some of these men had fallen on hard times and used to call at the Chauvel family home in South Yarra. None left the house hungry or without some help and words of encouragement.
Chauvel was a member of Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance Trustees and Chairman of the Australian and Victorian War Memorials. He joined the RSL and was a senior Patron of Legacy and actively involved in the Welfare Association for the Blind Servicemen, the Australian Red Cross and the YMCA. He also became a churchwarden at Christ Church South Yarra and lay canon at Christ Church South Yarra. By 1935 he was regarded as the ex-servicemen’s peacetime leader and by the time of his death in 1945, Chauvel was known by many as the Light Horseman’s Angel. He was a trailblazer for veterans’ and community welfare.
Sir Harry’s connection to the Upper Murray and to Towong Hill came through his daughter Elyne Mitchell at Towong Hill. General Sir Harry helped to defend the Towong Hill homestead during the 1939 bushfires, only six years before his death in 1945.
It seems fitting that the legacy the General Sir Harry Chauvel Memorial Foundation seeks to recognise is Chauvel’s wish to commemorate those who served with him and their legacy. The Chauvel Foundation aims to remember the forgotten and to create the trails that tell stories and which are taken back into their communities that at one time nurtured them as sons. It is fitting that these servicemen are remembered in the hearts of their descendants’ families.
Now moving along to the Chauvel Border Trail. The Chauvel Border Light Horse Trail is the first of what the Foundation hopes will be many trails. At present it runs from Shepparton northwards to Albury where it follows the Murray from Tallangatta to Corryong. Crossing into New South Wales, it runs from Tumbarumba, Batlow, Adelong and northwards via Gundagai and Harden to Wagga Wagga.
The Chauvel Border Light Horse Trail is a community educational initiative for young and old and it aims to link like-minded people in the community. It hopes to link to other trails, thus providing a rich variety of experiences for visitors to regional Australia.
Objective of the Light Horse Trails
The Foundation sees the Light Horse Trails as carrying the spirit of Anzac with its legacy of service, courage, bravery, mateship and loyalty into regional Australia. The aspiration is for those who follow the Trails to travel through the countryside and towns from which the Light Horsemen came. The trails aim to highlight and contribute to aspects of the communities’ history. Through helping to create a sense of pride the Trails also hope to engender a sense of wellbeing. The Trails will also enable people to witness the role of commemorative artists and sculptors bringing local history alive in a way where traditional education often fails. Similarly, the extension of the Light Horse Trails into our capital cities will enable city dwellers to step into stories which will lead them to exploring regional Australia. At present Dr Anne Flood in Wagga Wagga is creating two Riverina Light Horse Trails. Rural and regional people will be able to follow the Light Horse stories right into the heart of our cities. There are possibilities for a trail beginning from the Shrine of Remembrance and for the Seymour district including Puckapunyal and Euroa. A Light Horse Trail is developing in Canberra.
Conclusion: Making the Chauvel Border Light Horse Trail Work
Trails are becoming very popular with the many community groups building them. Examples include the Balranald Military Heritage Trail, the Silo Art Trail, the Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, rail trails, pub trails, bike trails and walking trails. In the Upper Murray we are trying to develop a Strzelecki Trail and even a Paterson Trail with Corryong at its heart. The Chauvel Border Light Horse Trail belongs in the heart of our heritage tourism.
The Chauvel Foundation is looking for financial support to help pay for the printing and folding of sufficient brochures to supply visitor information centres and local historical societies in the towns along and in the vicinity of the Border Trail. We want to ensure that everyone who wants a brochure can acquire one and have the link to the Chauvel Foundation website as a source of information about Light Horse History and the Trail. To date, Sara Jenkins at Corryong’s Community Neighbourhood Centre has provided competitively priced printing for $1.20 per brochure. The Corryong Rotary Club has generously donated $1,000 to assist with the printing cost of the brochure.
The Man from Snowy River Bush Festival 2024
‘There was movement at the station, for the word had passed around
That the colt from old Regret had got away,
And joined the wild bush horses – he was worth a thousand pounds,
So all the cracks had gathered to the fray.’
A B Paterson, The Man from Snowy River
There was movement at every station and in the towns in the Upper Murray for the 29th Man From Snowy River Bush Festival which took place 11-14 April 2024. So ‘all the cracks had gathered to the fray’ for the Challenge. Many more visitors had come from across Australia and even as far as Kununurra and Perth in Western Australia.
They came for the Re-enactment of ‘The man from Snowy River’ and to see Riley’s Riders coming from the bush-covered hills. Over three days, the Riley’s riders rode from Tom Groggin to Surveyors Creek and into Corryong, faithfully following the route taken by Jack Riley, ‘The Man From Snowy River’. Jack Riley is buried in Corryong’s Pioneer Cemetery.
Visitors come for the excitement of the Re-enactment, The Man from Snowy River Challenge, a weekend of equestrian events, dog trials and country entertainment including the Street Parade led by the Australian Light Horse Association. Bush poetry, the Art and Photography Exhibition and the Elyne Mitchell Photo Story Awards attract some of the best regional artists, photographers and writers.
Historian Dr Jonathan King OAM was the catalyst behind the launch of the modern Man from Snowy River Bush Festival in 1995 commemorating the centenary of the publication in 1895 of A B Paterson’s The Man from Snowy River and Other Verse. Dr King was guest speaker at the opening of the Art and Photography exhibition and attended the Festival’s grand opening where he remarked about how the Festival had developed over the last 30 years.
The theme of the 2024 Bush Festival was ‘The Call of the High Country’ and for the 30th anniversary of the modern Bush Festival in 2025, the theme will be ‘The Man or the Myth’.
Poet and Light Horseman A B Paterson from the Remount Depot in Egypt supplied the horses for the Palestine Campaign. Too often we forget that he ensured the Light Horsemen had well trained racehorses for racing and suitable mounts for rodeos and other equestrian pursuits during their rest and recreation. The traditions live on today at The Man from Snowy River Bush Festival.
In this edition, Rob Shoebridge, as a part of George Petrou’s book described in the President’s Report, provides us with a retrospective on Sir Harry.
GENERAL SIR HARRY CHAUVEL GCMG, KCB
(16th April 1865–14th March 1945)
Few, if any, Australians have grown up in rural New South Wales, left home for boarding school and then served with distinction in the Boer War, World War I and World War II. And in addition, became Australia’s first General and made a major contribution to his church, family and the welfare of veterans.
General Sir Harry Chauvel is one such man. The diversity of his life and his significant contribution to military campaigns and preparedness for war, the welfare of veterans, the life of his church and the love of his family, make him a truly Renaissance Man.
Born on the family property at Tabulam, in the Northern Rivers District of NSW, one can imagine that Harry had a life familiar to many country children of any generation. Caring parents, horses to ride, clear air and blue skies and the social life, even for a child, that revolves around close-knit rural communities. And, also familiar to many country children then and now, time away from family at boarding school, in Harry’s case Sydney Grammar School and Toowoomba Grammar.
After school and returning to the property, Chauvel was commissioned in the Upper Clarence Light Horse, a unit raised by his grazier father, and then transferred to the Queensland Mounted Infantry in 1890.
Chauvel served with distinction in the South African War as a Major in the 1st Queensland Mounted Infantry, taking part in the relief of Kimberley, the advance to Pretoria and the Battle of Diamond Hill. At the crossing of the Vet River, he personally captured a troublesome machine-gun. For a time, he led a mixed force, known as Chauvel’s Mounted Infantry, in operations in Eastern Transvaal. Returning to Australia in 1901 he took command of the 7th Australian Commonwealth Horse as Lieutenant-Colonel, but the war ended before he reached Durban. For his services in South Africa, Chauvel was appointed a Companion of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) and mentioned in dispatches.
Between the Boer War and World War I, Chauvel filled several staff appointments in Australia, had a strong professional focus on the training of officers, and became Adjutant General and Second Member of the Military Board. On 16 June 1906, at All Saints Anglican Church, Brisbane, he had married Sibyl Campbell Keith Jopp; they had two sons and two daughters.
In 1914, he was posted to London as the Australian Representative on the Imperial General Staff. In December of that year, he was posted to Egypt, the only senior regular officer to be given a command in the infant Australian Imperial Force, in this case command of the 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade.
With the assault on Gallipoli on 25th April 1915, there was an expectation that Light Horse units and formations would provide individual soldiers as reinforcements to infantry units. Chauvel and his fellow Light Horse commanders resisted this potential break-up of men who had trained and lived together, insisting that they deploy as formed units. Chauvel and his colleagues won the day and Light Horse Regiments deployed as dismounted infantry, integral elements of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) in the battles of the Gallipoli Campaign. In November 1915, Chauvel took command of the 1st Australian Division, commanding during the evacuation from Gallipoli and its reconstitution in Egypt.
From March 1916, Chauvel commanded a succession of mounted formations in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign – the ANZAC Mounted Division, the Desert Column and the Desert Mounted Corps. Notable for his time in command of these formations from 1916 until the end of the War in 1918, and his promotion to Major General and then Lieutenant General, was his command of a succession of successful battles against the Turkish Army. Romani, Magdhaba (after which he was knighted), 1st Gaza, Beersheba (regarded by military historians and servicemen as the last great cavalry charge) and Sharon. He is also credited as the first senior commander to enter Damascus after its capture, an honour disputed at the time by TE Lawrence.
The battles that Chauvel commanded in the Sinai and Palestine hold an honoured place in the history of the Australian Army and, more particularly those remaining Light Horse Regiments and the Royal Australian Armoured Corps. His key role in command is well summed up by Henry Gullett, Official Australian War Historian:
“Chauvel was no hard-riding gambler against odds. Like Alva, he could on occasion ignore the ardent enthusiasm of his officers and bide his time. Always cool and looking far enough ahead to see the importance of any particular fight in its proper relation to the war as a whole, he was brave enough to break off an engagement if it promised victory only at what he considered an excessive cost to his men and horses. He fought to win, but not at any price. He sought victory on his own terms. He always retained, even in heated moments of battle, when leaders are often careless of life, a very rare concern for the lives of his men and his horses.”
General Chauvel’s appointment in the 1st AIF ended on 9th December 1919 and the next day he was appointed Inspector General of the Australian Army. He held this position until 1930 during the difficult years of a down-sized Army and the rigours of the Great Depression. His annual reports highlighted the parlous state of Australia’s defence, comments largely ignored until it was almost too late with the outbreak of World War II.
His substantive promotion to Lieutenant General was confirmed in February 1920. In 1923 Chauvel became Chief of the General Staff, retaining his role as Inspector General. In November 1929 he became the first Australian to be promoted to the rank of General, fitting recognition to a man who had served Australia in war and peace. He is credited by many as holding a small, diminishing Army together through his focus on the training of officers and his work and influence.
In April 1930, General Sir Harry Chauvel GCMG KCB retired from the Regular Army. But the only official recognition of his service was a Ministerial direction for the provision of an Army horse for his daily ride in the Melbourne Domain, a privilege he valued immensely. But service continued as an Anglican lay preacher, leader of numerous ANZAC Day Marches in Melbourne, a founder of the Returned Services League, a senior patron of Melbourne Legacy.
In June 1940, Chauvel returned to uniform as Chief of the Volunteer Defence Corps, a position he held until his death on 4th March 1945.
Those who knew Chauvel, as a father, grandfather, commander and peer, described him as a soldier who was always well forward in a battle, who lived simply; loyal; always concerned for the welfare of his soldiers; courage and calmness matched by humanity; a man of considerable tact and diplomacy.
A Renaissance Man and an outstanding leader.
Wearing the Crimson Ribbon. From Ruffy to Beersheba
Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Cecil Maygar VC, DSO, VD.
By David Finlayson
The award of the Victoria Cross has proven to be a critical moment in the recipient’s life. Along with the crimson ribbon comes a public interest in their life and set of public expectations that create ongoing obligations upon them. An often-recorded thought that appears in the biographies of Victoria Cross recipients is that it was easier to win than wear.
Victoria’s first Victoria Cross recipient was Lieutenant Leslie Cecil Maygar of the 5th Victorian Mounted Rifles. Maygar’s Military life is well documented, and most biographies focus on these periods of service. Whilst these are essential aspects of his story, one ponders what it was like to wear the crimson ribbon in a small rural Victorian community between the South African and Great Wars?
Leslie Cecil Maygar was born at Dean Station, near Kilmore Victoria in May 1868 the seventh child of Edwin and Helen Maygar. The Maygars arrived in the Port Phillip District from Bristol England in the late 1830s. Edwin Maygar’s family were political refugees from Hungary.
Life in Colonial Victoria was bountiful to the Maygars: Edwin’s joint ownership of the Strathearn Station near Euroa with his three sons illustrates the family’s success. During this period the Maygars became skilled horsemen.
The Maygars whilst being successful graziers led lives that rarely resulted in public attention. A survey of the newspapers prior to 1900 provides very few glimpses of the family. The Euroa Advertiser of September 1897 contains the first public mention of Leslie Maygar. Maygar and his bother Horace were felling trees when an accident occurred killing Horace instantly: “Leslie Maygar carried his brother to the camp, then ran home some three miles for help.”
The article also makes mention of the brothers being members of the local detachment of the Victorian Mounted Rifles which Leslie had joined in March 1891. By 1899 Leslie had been promoted to Sergeant with Ruffy Detachment of E Company. Continue reading here.
