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Mudros Harbour, Lemnos, image courtesy AWM PS1448

Mudros Harbour, Lemnos, image courtesy AWM PS1448

People

Terrell, Frederick Leopold, Cooper, Ethel, Avery, Louis Willyama, Seager, Alexandrine, Churchill-Smith, James, Hughes, Billy

Organisations

Advertiser, 10th Battalion, Cheer-Up Society

December, 1915

The remaining Allied troops were all withdrawn from the Dardanelles during December 1915, with the exception of a small force at Cape Helles, who remained there until early January. In total, more than 46,000 Allied lives were lost. Of these, 7825 were Australian.

THE WITHDRAWAL FROM GALLIPOLI

The success of the troop withdrawal from Anzac and Suvla Bay is legendary. Despite predictions that up to 30-40% may be lost, the departure of the Allied forces was close to incident free.

The final decision for the withdrawal was supported by the atrocious weather conditions in November, which made conditions almost intolerable. The situation was made worse by the fact that Bulgaria had joined the war on the side of the Germans, making it possible for the Germans to reinforce the Ottoman forces by rail.

By 8 December troop numbers had been reduced from close to 42,000 to around 36,000 and over the following 10 nights another 16,000 were withdrawn.

Out of combat areas, most Australian soldiers were able to enjoy some Christmas cheer with billies full of comforts sent from home by various charities.

NEWS FROM OUR SOLDIER CORRESPONDENTS

Of our correspondents, James Churchill-Smith (with the 10th Battalion) left Gallipoli in late November and spent most of the month on Lemnos playing sports, drilling and parading, exploring the Greek island, dining with nurses and dreaming of home. He left Lemnos on 27 December and arrived back in Egypt two days later.

Leo Terrell, on the other hand, was one of the last to leave. As an engineer with the Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train, it was one of his responsibilities to assist with the erection of the infrastructure required for evacuation, including a pier that was constructed on 16 December. On 17 December, he joined the exodus himself. He spent the rest of the month on Lemnos exploring and drilling. Not only did Leo celebrate Christmas during the month, it was also Clara’s birthday and his own. These events, it seems, didn’t improve his mood or his level of satisfaction with life in the army.

December finally brings us news of Lou Avery. Nothing was recorded in his diary after his evacuation to Egypt in September. Happily, we discover he is recovering, albeit slowly.

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Meanwhile, Ethel Cooper’s letters explain that she has been asked to help with the distribution of Red Cross parcels to the English (and Australian) prisoners. She also received the happy news that her friend Sandor has been assigned to military office work rather than being drafted into the army. This must have been a huge relief to her.

DECEMBER IN SOUTH AUSTRALIA

We don’t have a poem from Alexandrine Seager this month – instead we have included two letters to the Editor of The Advertiser. The Cheer-Up Society held its annual general meeting during the month and a decision to make payments to two of the organisers provoked one supporter to withdraw their contributions and complain in the newspaper. However, supporters were quick to respond in Mrs Seager’s defence. Indeed, the links between the Cheer-Up Society and the ‘boys in khaki’ is also demonstrated by the fact that it was at the Cheer-Up Hut on 8 December that the Returned Soldiers’ Association (which later became the Returned Services League – the RSL) was formed.

Throughout the Commonwealth, recruitment and conscription were hot topics. In Adelaide on 21 December, there was a large meeting of women at the Town Hall, appealing to women to encourage men to enlist.

South Australia’s share of the 50,000 additional troops promised by Prime Minister Billy Hughes was 4200, plus reinforcements. As more wounded returned home, almost 1000 trees were sent from Australia to Egypt to be planted on the graves of those who had lost their lives.

In other news, The Advertiser continued to run stories relating to the implementation of the legislation mandating early closing of bars – the Adelaide Club was a notable exception! 45 new shops were opened on the eastern side of the Central Market and plans to enlarge the Museum were announced.

Although the Government decided not to send Christmas cards in 1915 to save money, looking at the newspapers shows that Christmas was still big news and big business. The withdrawal from the Dardanelles was reported in the newspaper only days after it took place, but Australians didn’t know where their ‘boys’ would be sent next. No doubt as they prepared to wish each other a ‘Happy New Year’, there was a certain heaviness of heart.

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The Plan for the Dardanelles Campaign

The Dardanelles campaign was part of a plan to challenge the Ottoman Empire in a move designed to assist the Russian army and ensure that the Russians could export much needed produce by sea. From the outset, it was a controversial plan, with the geography of the region creating many challenges. In March 1915, a British and French fleet was forced to retreat as it approached the Dardanelles. Rather than abandon the plan, though, British strategists, led by First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George were reluctant to give up an ‘eastern solution’ which might alleviate the stalemate on the Western Front. The Australians and New Zealanders were only one part of the plan, which included British troops landing at the tip of the Peninsula (Cape Hellas) and the French launching an assault on the Asian shore of the entrance to the Dardanelles, opposite the British landing position. The Anzacs were to land along the Aegean coast, about 20 km north of the British. The Australian Government was not part of the planning process, and had no input into the British strategic planning. The campaign was a costly one for the Allies, with estimates of around 45,000 and a further 97,000 wounded (this included approx 8,000 Australians killed and more than 20,000 wounded; while around 21,000 UK and Irish died). By contrast, the Ottoman Empire lost around 87,000.)

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Churchill-Smith, James

James Churchill-Smith enlisted in May 1915, in Adelaide. He was born in October 1894, and was educated at Norwood Public School before going to the School of Mines. He was initially assigned to the 10th Infantry Battalion before joining the 50th, when the AIF was doubled in February 1916.

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10th Battalion

The 10th Battalion was among the first infantry units raised for the AIF during the First World War. The battalion was recruited in South Australia, and together with the 9th, 11th and 12th Battalions, formed the 3rd Brigade. The battalion was raised within weeks of the declaration of war in August 1914 and embarked for overseas just two months later. After a brief stop in Albany, Western Australia, the battalion proceeded to Egypt, arriving in early December.

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Terrell, Frederick Leopold

After working as an iron moulder, 25 year old Frederick Leopold (Leo) Terrell was frustrated by the lack of work in South Australia and, enlisted for service for the Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train at Keswick on 27 March, 1915. After several months of training, Terrell embarked from Australia on 3 June 1915 and served with the AIF at Gallipoli, landing at Suvla Bay. He later served with the 12th Field Artillery Battery on the Western front in Europe.

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Avery, Louis Willyama

Louis Willyama Avery was born on July 15, 1891, and moved to Adelaide from Broken Hill for his education. He attended St Peter’s College and later the SA School of Mines, where he studied Engineering. He was working in Broken Hill when war was declared, and he decided to enlist for service in August 1914. He was a member of the 3rd Field Engineers, A.I.F, 1st Australian Division, 3rd Brigade, and landed at Gallipoli on 25 April, 1915. Later in the war he fought in Europe, being awarded a Military Medal in 1917. Following his time in the Dardanelles, Avery was hospitalised suffering from typhoid fever, and letters from his father to military administration show how difficult it was for families in Australia to find out information about the health of soldiers overseas.

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Cooper, Ethel

Caroline Ethel Cooper (1871-1961) was something of an eccentric – for starters, she had a pet crocodile called Cheops which she kept in her apartment, and lived a very independent lifestyle. A proficient musician, she formed her own Women’s Orchestra in Adelaide before the outbreak of the war. A regular visitor to Germany, she was living in Leipzig when the war broke out. She remained in Germany for the duration of the war, writing a letter each week to her sister Emmie in Adelaide. Although these letters could not be posted during the war, the first 52 were smuggled to Switzerland and posted from Interlaken and the remainder were hidden and sent from England in 1918. Although her premises were often raided by police and she was forbidden from leaving several times during the war, she was not detained and had a pass that stated her presence was ‘agreeable to the military authorities’. She returned to Adelaide for a few years after the war, but returned to Europe where she participated in relief work. She settled in Adelaide in 1936, with her then-widowed sister.

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Seager, Alexandrine

In business before the war, Mrs Alexandrine Seager had the administrative and organisational skill required for running the Cheer Up Society, which she founded in, after visiting Morphettville camp to see her son in the Australian Imperial Force in November 1914. With the support of the editor of Adelaide newspaper, The Register, she appealed to South Australian women to join the Society, which aimed to provide 'general comfort, welfare, and entertainment' for soldiers. Initially, they visited camps, arranged entertainments, such as concerts and sent comforts to the front. As the wounded began returning from Gallipoli, they provided comfort and care. From 1915 they were based in a large tent behind the Adelaide Railway Station, which was replaced by the Cheer-Up Hut in nearby Elder Park (opened on 14 November, 1915). The Society had eighty country branches, and a key aspect of their fundraising was the annual Violet Day Appeal (first held on 2 July 1915). She was also instrumental in the foundation of the South Australian Returned Soldiers’ Association. For further information, visit History SA's online resource, Adelaidia

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Advertiser

The Advertiser was founded in 1858. Between 1893 and 1929,Sir John Langdon Bonython was its sole proprietor. He also held the post of editor for 45 years, and under his direction the Advertiser became a prominent Australian daily newspaper. It appealed to the growing middle class and was proudly South Australian, although Bonython was determined that its coverage should be as complete as possible. The newspaper prospered, partly thanks to the prominence given to small advertisements. Bonython had been an advocate for Federation, and promoted the cause through his newspaper. Indeed, he represented South Australia in the Federal Parliament for several years from 1901 as a Protectionist. Bonython was also a noted philanthropist, giving significant sums of money to educational institutions, and to the needy during hard times. He also gave a large sum of money towards the completion of Parliament House in Adelaide.

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Cheer-Up Society

The South Australian Cheer-Up Society was founded by Alexandrina Seager. Its object was to support the soldiers as well as to bring them into contact with the 'highest type of womanhood'. They visited the soldiers at camp before they embarked for the trenches and provided them with supper, concerts and conversation.

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Hughes, Billy

Billy Hughes migrated to New South Wales from Britain in 1884, when he was 22. He worked as a labourer and a cook before opening a small mixed shop. He became a union organiser and entered politics in 1894. He studies law and was admitted to the bar in 1903. A supporter of Federation, he was elected to federal Parliament in 1901. He was Attorney General in Andrew Fisher’s Labor government. When Fisher resigned in October 1915, Hughes took over at Prime Minister.

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