In Their Honour

Records show that some 568 Rifle Club members from the 1st Military District gave their lives during WW1, fighting for freedom. To date, over 250 of these men are listed on the Honour Board, with more to be added through ongoing research. These were ordinary young Australians who did something extraordinary for King and country. Their efforts need to be remembered. 

It is also important to recognise, not only the Queensland WWI riflemen who were lost in conflict, but also those from other conflicts and peace time contributions in which Queensland riflemen have played a part. This inclusive commemoration is reflected on the walls that flank the central circle of the ACWM, where all major campaigns and peace time efforts are represented through the addition of 12 plaques.

It is important to hear the stories behind these names on the Honour Board for WWI and other conflicts and peacetime operations.

We will continue to honour these riflemen at our ongoing ANZAC Day and Remembrance Day Commemoration Services.

The Gallipoli Campaign

Early on the morning of 25 April 1915, Allied forces landed on the Gallipoli peninsula in Ottoman Türkiye. The British Army landed at Cape Helles. Troops of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) landed north of Gaba Tepe (Kabatepe) headland, on a beach later called ‘Anzac Cove’. French troops landed in a feint at Kum Kale on the Dardanelles Asian shore before moving to the Helles sector on Gallipoli.

Ferocious Turkish resistance resulted in protracted trench warfare through the forbidding scrubby slopes and ravines. Fighting in the landings and early battles resulted in heavy casualties on both sides.

The unhygienic conditions for soldiers on Gallipoli caused serious illnesses. As the campaign moved into summer, more men were evacuated because of illness than wounds sustained during the conflict.

Reference – https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/wars-and-missions/ww1/where-australians-served/gallipoli#5

The Middle East

Most of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) went to France in 1916 after the Gallipoli Campaign. But the mounted units remained in Egypt to continue the fight against the Ottoman Army. The Ottoman threat to the Suez Canal ended with the Allied victory at Romani in August 1916. Then the Australians and other units in the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF) advanced into Ottoman territory. In 1917, the troops entered Palestine. In 1918, the EEF advanced into modern-day Jordan and Syria. The campaign ended on 31 October 1918, a few weeks after the capture of Damascus.

Egypt was a very important for the AIF during WWi for two main reasons. Many training camps were set up in Egypt for rapidly recruited troops before they were moved into active duty at Gallipoli. It also became important for troops to be sent there after leaving Gallipoli either for medical treatment or for leave before going to the Western Front.

The Western Front

World War I became known as the ‘Great War’, the ‘war to end all wars’. The most important battleground was the Western Front, in Belgium and France.

After the Gallipoli Campaign, Australian soldiers and airmen fought in each of the major British campaigns on the Western Front. Many battles became household names in Australia: Fromelles, the Somme, Bullecourt, Messines, Passchendaele, Villers-Bretonneux, Hamel, Amiens and Mont St Quentin.

Over 295,000 Australians served on the Western Front between March 1916 and November 1918. Of those service men and women, 46,000 lost their lives and over 130,000 were wounded. Battle conditions were so dire that more than 18,000 of the fallen had no known grave.

The Kanowna – Australia’s First Involvement in WWI

When war was declared in Australia on August 5, 1914, the most immediate military threats lay to Australia’s north in German New Guinea and on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait. The Germans had wireless radio stations located on islands in the Pacific, allowing for direct contact with its powerful naval fleet and their nation’s capital, Berlin. Breaking the strategic communications network was critical, as was defending Australian territory.

The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force (ANMEF) was formed in Sydney to take down German wireless radio stations in the South Pacific. A 1500-strong “Tropical Force Troop” from Sydney headed straight for German New Guinea.