Why a minute of silence at 11am on 11th of November every year is observed.
In a Train carriage in the Compiegne forest in France at 5.00 am on the 11th of November 1918, the Allies represented by France and Great Britain signed the Armistice with Germany.
The Armistice with Germany was agreed to come into effect at 11.00am to allow time for news to reach combatants. The guns from the western front then fell silent.
The War to end all Wars was over, how wrong that statement was.
Some historians will say that the Second World War started with the signing of the Versailles Treaty on the 28th of June 1919 in France with Germany.
When Germany defeated France during the WW2, Adolf Hitler, had the same train carriage that was used to sign the Armistice in WW1, taken from its museum. It was placed in the same spot in the Compiegne Forest were the first Armistice was signed.
The second Armistice with France was signed at 6.36pm on the 22nd June 1940.
The 4th Light Horse Regiment was formed on the 11th of August 1914 as part of the Australian lmperial Force. Raised in Victoria the Regiment drew to its ranks the finest men available. It was the only Australian unit to see service on all three fronts, Gallipoli, Palestine and France. It was granted a total of 24 battle honours.
The 4th Light Horse Regiment will be best remembered for the charge at Beersheba in the late afternoon on the 31st of October 1917. It is remembered as the last great cavalry charge. And it is were the legend of the 4th Light Horse was born.
Just before 6 am on the morning of the 31st of October 1917, the British Lieutenant General Chetwode ordered the British artillery to begin bombardment of the main Turkish trenches on the southwest side of Beersheba.
The water wells of Beersheba were vital for the welfare of the Desert Mounted Corps horses. With time running out for the Australians to capture Beersheba and its water wells before dark. Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel, the Australian commander of the Desert Mounted Corps, ordered Brigadier General William Grant commanding the 4th Light Horse Brigade, to make a mounted attack on Beersheba.
The Brigade assembled and were in formation approximately 3 miles, 4.8 kilometres southeast of Beersheba with the 4th Light Horse on the right, the 12th Light Horse Regiment on the left and the 11th Light Horse Regiment held in reserve.
Grant made the decision to order his Light Horsemen to charge cavalry style, when They would normally have ridden close to an objective then dismounted to fight.
It was about 4.50 pm when they started towards Beersheba with both men and horses tied, it has been reported that some horses had not had water for up to 48 hours. They set off at trot, then breaking into a canter.
As they came over the top of the ridge looking down towards Beersheba, the Turkish gunners opened fire with shrapnel. But the pace was too fast for the gunners. After three kilometres, Turkish machine-guns opened fire from the flank, they were detected and silenced by the support of British artillery. They were now at a full gallop.
The rife fire from the Turks that were in the trenches was wild and high, reports state that the Light Horse were charging so fast that the Turks did not think to lower the sights on their rifles. When found by the troopers they discovered that their rifle sight were set at 1600 yards.
While the 4th Light Horse Regiment troopers dismounted at the trenches and tackled their objective on foot. Many of the 12th Light Horse Regiment troopers were able to get straight through and take the town.
The result of the daring charge was a success, and Beersheba was now in the hands of the Australians. Nearly all the important water wells were intact. The 4th and 12th Light Horse casualties were thirty one killed and thirty six wounded. They captured over seven hundred Turkish soldiers.
The area that Beersheba is in, is often referred to as the Holy Land. It is mentioned in the bible a number of times. There is a water well at Beersheba that can be traced back to Abraham.
Almost a year latter, a patrol of the 4th Light Horse would be the first allied troops to enter Damascus. The capture of the city by the allies signalled the end of World war One in the Middle East. Less than a month later the 400 year rein of the Ottoman Empire ended in that region. The British army ruled Palestine from late 1917, until a civil administration was established on the 1st of July 1920.Britain was granted a mandate for Palestine on the 25th of April 1920 at the San Remo Conference, on the 24th of July 1922 this mandate was approved by the League on Nations. The mandate ended in 1948 when the state of Israel was created and remains a region of conflict between the Jews and Arabs to this day.
Over 120,000 horses were sent overseas from Australia, these horses were called Walers because although they came from all parts of Australia, they were originally sold through New South Wales.
The Waler is a combination of multiple breeds, in an effort to combine their desirable qualities. They were sturdy hardy horses able to travel long distances in hot weather with little water. These horses were specifically bred for the military.
The logistics of looking after the horses would have been huge, Farriers would have been kept busy. The Australian Army Veterinary Corps was formed in 1909 to care for horses in the military.
Only one horse was ever sent back to Australia, his name was Sandy and belonged to Major General Sir William Bridges.
I have only been able to find one person who was enlisted in the 4th Light Horse Regiment close to Beaufort, there may have been more, his name was William Bailley. William was born in Skipton.
Hi name appears on the nominal roll for the 4th Light Horse. William was at Gallipoli were he was injured. He was invalided back to Australia on 3rd of March 1916, discharged from the AIF on the 25th of June 1916 on medical grounds
I found this interesting while researching this article. When the men and horses were on their way to Egypt by ship. lt was reported that the 4th Light Horse Regiment’s regimental mascot, ‘Mick’ the possum died on the 19th of November 1914. Mick was buried at sea with full military honours.
During the inter war years , the regiment was re-raised as a part time unit based in the Corangamite region of southern Victoria. There were a number of men from Beaufort that enlisted into the 4th Light Horse militia, my father Eric being one of them on the 19th of June 1939 at the Mechanic’s Institute in Beaufort.
I have a photo that has approximately 120 troopers in it. l also have a incomplete list with 105 names that matches with the photo. The heading states members of C Squadron,. Beaufort, Ararat, Willaura and Skipton taken at Warnambool in 1939. These are some names readers may recognise.
Eric Lofts, Gilbert Lofts, Roy Crick, Mervyn Crick, Rex Dunn, George Davis, Ron Vagg ,Mick Mulcahy, George Mulcahy, Stan Whiting, Harry Trengrove, Les Trengrove, Allan Trengrove, John Wallish, William Parker, William Stewart, John Hook and Grant Cougle.
This article was printed in the Ripon Shire Advocate on the 12th of August 1939.
On Monday afternoon and evening the members of the Beaufort and District 4th Light Horse Regiment held their first parade at the Beaufort park, and were issued with kit and equipment. The Commanding Officer of the troop Lieutenant R C Guthrie, supervised the distribution of equipment, etc.
A longer article was printed in The Advocate on the 23rd of September 1939, and this is a small part of it.
The smart Khaki uniforms and emu feathers worn in the hats of the troopers are becoming a familiar sight in town, and there is now no doubt that the Light Horse are more than one up on the infantry in regard to picturesqueness.
The men attended a number of camps, the first a three day bivouac at Langi Willie Skipton. One month at Warrnambool, three months at Colac, three months at Hamilton and the biggest camp was at Torquay were the full 2nd Cavalry was encamped which contained 2,500 horses. Many of these men then transferred to full time soldiers in the Australian Imperial Force, at the outbreak of World War Two.
In the post war period, the regiment was re-raised as an amalgamated unit designated the 4th/19th Prince of Wales’s Light Horse, which is currently part of the Australian Army Reserve.
One of Martin Luther King Junior, famous quotes.
We must live together as brothers or perish together as fools.
Information for this article has come from, the Australian War Memorial Canberra, the National Archives of Australia, the Ripon Shire Advocate and Men of Beersheba by N. C. Smith.
Written and Researched by Colin Lofts
Contact MHHV Friend about this article.
