George Young's War

Pozieres, pulverised by shelling, where George Young suffered shell shock.  AWM A05776

George Henry Young suffered a bit of a battering in the war.  He was wounded in the foot at the Dardanelles, being invalided to Malta and later England.  In 1916 in France he was hospitalised with shell shock, and again invalided to England.  During his lengthy periods in convalescence, he managed to marry a young English woman, and when repatriated in 1919, they had a baby with them.

When he returned to France he suffered shell shock after the terrible shelling of Pozieres, where his Battalion had been posted.

Rod Martin tells the story of George Young's war. 

Sergeant E R Fairlie, killed at Cape Helles

An image of Ernest Fairlie in his pre-war Militia uniform, The Australasian, 17 July 1915.

Of those local soldiers who survived the landing at Gallipoli, some went on to lose their lives in a wasteful battle to take Krithia, at Cape Helles.  Schoolteacher Ernest Robert Fairlie, 5th Battalion
was one of those.   Rod Martin explains in a clear way what happened and why.  How Fairlie died remains a mystery, with no one left who could tell. Ernest Fairlie taught at  Essendon High School, and his name is on the Honour Board of the school, as well as the Essendon Town Hall (shown as E H Fairlie).   Read his story here.

The Reluctant Soldier

Samuel Gaudie and the 5th Infantry Battalion landed at Gallipoli on day one. Gaudie remained there until he returned to Lemnos in October 1915 though the reason is not clear from the records.  The troops were quite debilitated by exposure and disease by that time, and many were evacuated for a rest, or to recover from disease.  Sam seems to have decided he liked it on Lemnos, and disappeared.  He may have found someone to shelter him in the Greek village of Castro on the island, which would have been delightfully human after the horrors of Gallipoli.  He probably just didn't want to return.  It set a pattern for the next few years.   You can read the story of Sam's misadventures, as told by Rod Martin.

Missing - a baker from Ascot Vale

14 Federation St, Ascot Vale. Reproduced with permission from www.realestate.com.au)

Twenty-three year old baker Edward Smith left this home in Ascot Vale in 1916 to join the 5th Infantry Battalion and never saw it again.  Rod Martin tells the story of the missing baker.

How Private Young saved himself

3 Battalion men boarding the train for Alexandria, 4 April 1915  (AWM P02282.007)

A sixteen year-old boy was amongst this group of men who were preparing to leave Egypt and storm the Gallipoli shore.  Rod Martin tells the story of how Pte Douglas Hector Young of Ascot Vale survived the terrifying storm of bullets with a self-inflicted wound, but who went on to redeem himself after this military crime. 

Private John Yates - a short war

John Yates, a railway fireman of Moonee Ponds, enlisted on 1 September 1916 and embarked with 5 Infantry Bn one month later.  Rod Martin tells the unfortunate story of John Yates, who had a short war, killed by friendly fire.

An underage soldier

Troops waiting to board the Demosthenes on 16 July 1915.

Private Albert Newell may have been amongst this group of troops waiting to board the Demosthenes in 1915.  Albert was underage when he enlisted, and like many other underage soldiers struggled with military discipline.  Newell's service record was spanned by several gaol sentences, and at one point managed to have himself sentenced to death.  See Albert's story here.