Town Talk | Anzac legacy: Bravery beyond borders

And I begin with one of my favourite quotes:

Field Marshal Erwin Rommel: “If I had to take Hell, I’d use the Australians to take it, and the New Zealanders to hold it.”

This was a remarkable tribute to our service members. However, on a lighter note, given the ‘real estate’ the Aussies had just taken, I don’t think they’d want to hang around.

Back in World War I, the Germans became familiar with the attributes of Australian soldiers. A German battle commander wrote:

“The forces confronting us consist of Australians, who are very warlike, clever and daring. They are feared in hand-to-hand combat.”

However, some of our allies were less impressed. The Americans were “bewildered” by our lack of discipline. And the Brits saw an “irreverent regard for social hierarchy”. It left their officers “speechless”. Perhaps, more accurately, it should have been an “irreverent disregard”. My guess is that few Australian soldiers would give a toss about their social hierarchy.

However, it is in Villiers Bretonneux (France) where we are best remembered, where an Anzac Day service is held annually and where painted on the wall of the school hall is: “Never forget the Australians”. And they never should! In the battle to re-take their village, 1200 Australians were killed.

Everything I’ve read tells me that the Aussies, wherever they participated, were bold and strong. They have also been described as tough, determined, clever, resourceful, fearless, brave, resilient, reckless, ruthless, revengeful and, at times, undisciplined. I could find no further reference to ‘social hierarchy’, but there were reports of our soldiers not saluting British officers.

A short story about Albert Jacka — World War I

Many would describe Melbourne’s Jacka as undisciplined. He was also resourceful and fearless. He saw something that needed doing — and did it. He received one Victoria Cross, but those who went to war with him said he should have won three.

At Bullecourt, one of the first battles using tanks, he took a reconnaissance of the enemy positions — bringing back two German soldiers who had been on patrol. He recommended that the planned attack should be re-assessed. His report was shelved, and many lives were lost because of the unsuccessful action. Later in the war, General John Monash was in charge; he came across Jacka’s recommendations, which became standard practice for all future tank battles in all wars.

There are many stories about Jacka. One night, on a battlefield near the Somme, he charged German guns and was shot seven times. This was a Victoria Cross he failed to receive. However, Australia knew him well — and when he returned home after being hospitalised in London, he was mobbed in the streets.

Our losses

In 1914, we remained a baby nation – with a huge land mass and a male population of 2,548,000. When war clouds gathered over Europe, our leaders sent a message to England: initially, we would supply an army of 20,000, but that would increase over time. By the end of that war, we had sent 416,000 young men — supposedly aged between 19 and 39 — to fight at Gallipoli, on the Western Front and in the Middle East. More than 60,000 were lost, with 155,000 wounded — many, more than once. Proportionately, Australia’s casualty rate was higher than any other country in the British Empire. Perhaps they were, just a little bit, too brave.

From 1939 until the end of World War II, we sent just under one million people from a total population of 6,967,754. We lost 39,657. (This number is debated and varies from 29,000 to over 40,000; however, this is the only number I could find that occurs twice.) Of course, some Australians enlisted in the army of the country in which they were living at the time, and some enlisted in the RAF. Thirty-five Australians fought combat operations in the Battle of Britain, and 14 (40 per cent) of them were killed. My uncle, Cec Brown (Mooroopna), was a survivor and turned 18 the year after the battle. He was ‘but a pup’ when he enlisted.

And then we lost 340 in Korea, 523 in Vietnam, 47 in Afghanistan and four in Iraq.

Our national identity

From settlement until 1870, our defence force consisted of a succession of British regiments that guarded remote fortifications, fought the Indigenous people and guarded convicts. In the 1850s, the six colonies began raising their own forces.

Between 1851 and 1871, Australia’s population quadrupled to 1.7 million. The gold rush boosted our economy and was, perhaps, the beginning of a new national identity. Many of the population now came from places other than Britain, and we began to change.

However, it appears that the greatest influence on our national identity came from the military. Certainly, World War I impacted the country considerably. Reports like this one were read at home:

“The Australians rose to the occasion. Not waiting for orders or for the boats to reach the beach, they sprang into the sea … Then the Australians found themselves facing an almost perpendicular cliff … Here was a tough proposition to tackle in the darkness, but those colonials, practical above all else, went about it in a practical way … Then this race of athletes proceeded to scale the cliffs … there has been no finer feat in this war than this sudden landing in the dark and storming the heights…”

This is one way of describing the (partly) Churchillian debacle that was Gallipoli. However, at home, they were not surprised; they knew our boys could fight. And the First Lord of the Admiralty had other opportunities to repair his reputation — another time, another war.

More than 4000 war memorials were constructed after World War I, listing the names of our dead. We mourned, but we saw qualities we liked in our armed forces. Perhaps, in particular, we recognised ‘mateship’.

The people of Australia saw themselves as the Anzacs — and ‘The Anzacs’ became more than the boys who fought at Anzac Cove. Many Australians saw themselves in every serving serviceman or woman. There was a ‘hiccup’ after the Vietnam War when some Australians who disapproved of the war also disapproved of the men who had been conscripted to fight. Our boys had done what they were asked — nothing more, nothing less. More than 500 of them had given their lives, and once more, Australians resumed their national identity, which included justice and a fair go.

Jacka’s Mob

The stories about Albert Jacka were taken from a book written by a comrade of his, Ted Rule, who lived with his Cobram-born wife on an orchard in Shepp East. Jacka’s Mob has been referred to as “the bible of World War I”. It is a remarkable story about a remarkable man, written by someone who was on the spot. Ted was himself a hero, coming home with a Military Medal and a Military Cross.

I want to tell you more about both these men — someday soon.

Who are we?

There has been a great deal of research — and it tells us what we already know. Not only is Anzac Day an important time of remembrance, it is a celebration of who we are and who we want to be. It has been said that, as a country, we ‘punch above our weight’ and are proud to look after one another. We volunteer; we donate money when we can; we bounce back after troubling times — and we know that mateship, as clearly demonstrated by our Diggers, is a large part of all of us. There is little doubt that Anzac Day embodies who we are and what we stand for.

Australia has much to be grateful for. ‘At the going down of the sun — and in the morning — we will remember them.’

Anzac Day at Tallygaroopna

It will be a great day at Tally, in the town’s 100-year-old hall, starting at 11am.

Bev Moss will read excerpts from her book, A Community in Grief — about the town’s involvement in World War I. And John Pettigrew will share his family’s war service history.

After the ceremony, the Tally Lions Club will invite you to stay for lunch — and members will welcome a gold coin donation.

While you are there, visit the Dugout. For 70 years, this area dug under the stage in the hall was a meeting place for Tallygaroopna’s sub-branch of the RSL. It contained memorabilia and photos of two world wars. In 1988, this material was moved to the Shepparton branch for safekeeping. The ‘Dugout Visitors Book’ contains details of 1700 visits from near and far.

The first Greater Shepparton Heritage Plaque will be unveiled by John Dainton, the patient chairman of this project, along with members of the Heritage Advisory Committee.

You’ll be made very welcome at Tallygaroopna.

May it be easy, my friends

Marnie

Email: towntalk@sheppnews.com.au

Letter: Town Talk. The News. P.O. Box 204. Shepparton 3631.

Phone: Send a text to 0418 962 507. (Note: text only. I will call you back if you wish.)