On this Day – 9 Dec 1917 - Jerusalem occupied by the Desert Mounted Corps 1942 - Australians occupy Gona, New Guinea 1997 - Death of Mr Ted Matthews 1997 - Death of Mr Ted Matthews LEST WE FORGET Ted Matthews, the last of the original ANZACs, has died 82 years after he landed at Gallipoli and helped forge the greatest Australian legend. He was 101 years old. His death removes the last living link with the most defining moment in Australian history and the last memories of the act that began the entire tradition of ANZAC. Mr Matthews was the last survivor of the men who went ashore in the first Gallipoli landing at dawn on April 25, 1915. Born in Leichardt in New South Wales, Australia. Ted Matthews was one of six children. A carpenter when war broke out, he had been in the Army cadets and knew how to handle a rifle. He joined the Signals Corp because he was fluent with Morse Code. Ted turned 19 on Gallipoli. Ted was among the last men evacuated from Gallipoli on the morning of December 20, 1915 and, as he had landed in the first wave almost eight months earlier, he was a witness to the madness that was Gallipoli. He used to say he had never fired a shot at Gallipoli but, in recent years, he recalled firing off one bullet at a fleeing Turk. I hope I missed the poor bugger, he said. He thought the idea of the invasion was good. if we had got through to Russia, we would have shortened the war. But they (the British) mucked it up. The planning was poor. His mind remained sharp towards the end. He recalled accurately how Winston Churchill had refused in 1911 to agree to a Turkish request for an alliance and had confiscated two Turkish ships. Germany replaced the ships and the Turks embraced the Germans. After Gallipoli, where he was nearly one of the first casualties - having been hit in the chest by Turkish shrapnel when landing (the shrapnel was stopped by a note book in his pocket - a present from his mother) - Ted Matthews went on to fight in France and Belgium and at Villers-Bretonneux, where the Australians beat back the Germans and helped bring the war to a close. Ted Matthews didnt much like talking about the war. Yet he did, as if talking about it, he could still serve his country and his mates who died. So when this old Australian was asked every ANZAC and Rememberance Day what he thought about war, he put aside his disgust for the subject and did what he thought was his duty. He spoke about the folly of war, of why Australians and others had marched too quickly to it, and why it should be avoided at all costs. The whole point of ANZAC Day has been lost, he said on the eve of last ANZAC Day. Its not for old diggers to remember, its for survivors to warn the young about the dangers of romanticising war. 1917 – Desert Mounted Corps In March 1916 the ANZAC Mounted Division (1st, 2nd and 3rd Light Horse Brigades and New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade) was formed in Egypt under the command of Major General [later Lieutenant-General Sir] Harry G. Chauvel. In August, as part of the British and allied forces, the Division defeated a Turkish advance to Romani, and forced the enemy back to the line Gaza-Beersheba. During 1917 the Division was involved in the initial battles for Gaza and in the capture of Beersheba, where the Light Horse, armed only with rifles and bayonets, acted as cavalry. In August the Desert Mounted Corps was formed, consisting of the ANZAC Mounted Division (1st, 2nd Light Horse and New Zealand Brigades), Australian Mounted Division (3rd, 4th Light Horse and 5th Yeomanry Brigades) and the Yeomanry Division. After playing a prominent part in the capture of Jerusalem in December, the Corps was withdrawn to rest. However, the German ‘Michael’ offensive in March 1918 caused many British troops, including most of the Yeomanry Division, to be redeployed to France. Nevertheless, the Corps defeated a determined attack in April by the German Asia Corps at Abu Telluk in the Jordan Valley. During September the Corps played an important part in the advance to Haifa and Semakh, and on 1 October entered Damascus. Turkey signed an armistice at the end of that month, by which time Corps units had reached Aleppo. The above text is taken from the booklet The Australian Army - A Brief History. 1942 - Australians occupy Gona, New Guinea The Japanese withdrawal from the Kokoda Trail enabled the allies to plan the encirclement of important Japanese positions in the Buna, Sanananda and Gona beachhead. Gona was the first of the three to fall to the allies after weeks of heavy fighting.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 17:57:00 +0000
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