Category Archives: Military

From Veteran to Victim: An Unfortunate Life.

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Richard Fage gripped his bayonet-tipped, flintlock musket. He crouched bravely within his battalion’s defensive square, deafened by the artillery and cannon fire of Napoleon’s troops. For hours they’d been on the edge of the battle, but the order to advance had finally arrived. Now on open flat ground, the men of the 3rd battalion of the 14th Regiment were sitting ducks. Their bright red coats and distinctive white cross straps were still unblemished by mud and blood. Richard, like nearly … Continue reading

From Longreach to the Western Front – Kenneth Selby Henderson

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  1914-15  England and France are in conflict against Germany and Austria in northern France and Belgium – the Western Front. The war is deadlocked. The Gallipoli campaign, conceived by Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, is an attempt to break the deadlock by invading Turkey through the Dardanelles to reach Constantinople (Istanbul), establish a supply route to Russian troops fighting the Germans on the Eastern Front. 1915-1916  The Gallipoli campaign fails – poorly executed, the defensive capabilities and determination of … Continue reading

Wheeler Project – Reflections

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Annie Wheeler’s index of Central Queenslanders serving in the Australian Imperial Force (A.I.F.) has enabled Genealogical Society of Queensland (GSQ) volunteers to document the lives of more than 2,700 Australian men and women who fought and died and World War I. Their service records, housed in the National Archives of Australia (NAA), show the diseases from which they suffered – scabies and diarrhoea, trench foot, venereal disease, influenza and tuberculosis – as well as the battle injuries that either killed … Continue reading

The Value of a Photo

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Last week I found a photo of my grandfather taken when he was 25 years old. I came upon him suddenly after an afternoon of searching. I felt a shock of instant connection as I saw family resemblances and recognised my uncles and my mother in his features. Even though he was not looking directly at the camera I could see a far away dreamy look, even a sadness, that startled me. It was a look that I instantly recognised. … Continue reading