Author: Kev

SHUTTING down the Navy for the summer holidays is a way of retaining sailors, Defence Minister Joel Fitzgibbon says. It’s also a way of abrogating defence responsibilities. I can just see the people smugglers in Indonesia frantically putting out the message that it will be open season for queue jumpers over the summer break.

Docked ships will be manned by a skeleton staff using protective alarms.

Yeah, that’ll work. I trust the protective alarms are tactically sited to give all round defence.

Pause and remember.

“In September, for example, there came to the medical officer of the 9th a youngster named Gray (of Murgon, Q’land), whom he remembered having seen before. This was one of two brothers, Queenslanders of the 9th Bn., who during the voyage from Australia nearly a year before had both become ill with influenza. They had been so reduced by illness that they were suspected of being tubercular, and were consequently brought before a medical board at Mena Camp and ordered to be returned to Australia. Both were so heartbroken that they wept, and Col. B.J. Newmarch (of Sydney), who presided over the board, relented, and allowed each of them to be put temporarily off duty, in order to build themselves up by food and exercise. They were eventually declared fit, and afterwards sedulously avoided the doctor, and both landed with their battalion. At the Landing one brother (Pte. G.R. Gray) had been a member of one of the parties which penetrated farthest. It was the other who now came to the regimental doctor saying that he had received a wound at the Landing and, though he had been to hospital, it was again giving a little trouble. He had endeavoured to “carry on,” but had at last been forced to see if the doctor could advise a little treatment. The medical officer found that he had had a compound fracture of the arm, two bullets through his thigh, another through diaphragm, liver and side; and that there were adhesions to the liver and pleura. He was returned at once to Australia, where he was eventually discharged from hospital and , re-enlisting, returned to the front in the artillery. His brother eventually became quartermaster of the 9th, in which capacity he continued to serve until the last year of the war.”

Many years later I had the honour to serve as a Cadre Officer at 9th Battalion, The Royal Queensland Regiment, the new name for the old 9th, the keepers of the Battle Honours and traditions. I was at the bar in the officer’s mess drinking with two guys who had landed at Gallipolli with the 9th on the 25th of April. They argued long and loud over who was actually the first of all ANZACs to land that morning and later conversations with others confirmed these guys had the right to the argument. We were drinking schooners with rum chasers and although I was 30 something and fit, it become apparent I would fall on my face if I kept up with them. Both these guys were pushing 80, tall six-footers and both DCM winners! The 9th went on to suffer 1094 killed and 2422 wounded (including gassed) and it’s members were decorated into the history books being awarded; 1 VC 1 CB 1 CMG 5 DSO 1 MVO 35 MC, 2 bars, 1 2nd bars 35 DCM 152 MM ,11 bars, 1 2nd bar 4 MSM 1 Albert Medal 52 MID 5 foreign awards 35 MCs (2 bars, 1 2nd bars); 35 DCMs and 152 MM (11 bars, 1 2nd bar) for chrissakes. Pause and remember; not at the misery or the terrible casualty rates although they are horrendous; but at their sheer toughness. Good men; I dips me to lid to them all. From Digger History