On April 26 1915, the day after the dawn landing at Gallipoli, Sapper Duncan McRae (2nd Field Co. of Engineers) was shot in the shoulder by a Turkish sniper. He was evacuated to Egypt and from there to a military hospital in England. Unfortunately it was
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On May 12 1915, a 21 year old clerk with the New South Wales shire of Murrumbidgee enlisted in World War I. His name was Eric Richard Conolly. He became a member of the 3rd Battalion A.I.F. Initially, Private Conolly served at Gallipoli, and was on the
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PRIVATE ARTHUR WILLIAM SINGLETON – SERVICE NUMBER 301 Aged 20, Tasmanian born Arthur Singleton enlisted in the 12th Battalion, one of the first raised in Australia. He was a farmer’s son, and had already served in the state’s volunteer military service for several years. Like many young
Read more →A TIME OF CHANGE Recently I found an unusual old wrist watch in a family jewel box. I can only assume it belonged to my husband’s grandfather, Wallace Conolly. The band has vanished, but otherwise it is in reasonable condition. It has a hinged, deep case reminiscent
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VISION FOR A NATION By 1815 Governor Lachlan Macquarie’s extensive building programme and his efforts to raise the moral standards of the colony of New South Wales were bearing fruit. Sydney, which had been little more than a squalid penal camp when he arrived, was becoming a
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GOODBYE HOBART TOWN On October 20 1914, the 12th Battalion AIF embarked from Hobart on the troopship Geelong. They were accompanied by two Australian army nurses; Sister Alice Gordon King ( left in the picture below) and Sister Janet Ella Radcliff (right). Alice was twenty eight years
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The SS Kyarra was built in Dumbarton, Scotland, for the Australasian United Steam Navigation Company. She was launched in 1903 as a luxurious passenger liner. Following the outbreak of WWI in 1914 the ship was requisitioned for use as a hospital ship.
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FLORAL MEMENTOES OF WAR The Gallipoli Rose (Cistus salvifolius) was the Australian War Memorial’s first commemorative plant. It grew on the bloody battlefields of Gallipoli. The sight of the flowers lifted the spirits of the Anzacs (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps), who brought home the seeds.
Read more →A WORK IN PROGRESS – GHOSTS OF GALLIPOLI A fellow author invited me to share some information about my current work-in-progress in an author ‘interview’ called The Next Big Thing! You may expect me to talk about The Water Doctor’s Daughters, or All Along the River; Tales
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