There have been some enquiries about Roffs and Anzac.
There is a 1 August 2014 posting on Roff Report.
In the meantime the focus is on Jack.
The above photo is from Mum's files – Jack in full regalia.
The date is interesting. He was joined up at 21 years and 7 months on 2nd May 1915, with his brother William Frederick (Fred) a couple of years older. Jack was a Law Clerk, and Fred was a chemist, and may have completed his apprenticeship under Cyril Newton and Adam Newton at Enmore. What enticed them to sign up? Hard to say. But that's 100 years to the day if this is posted by tomorrow. His enlistment papers recommend him for the 3rd AGH, and Mum had mentioned his step-brother Dr Will Newton pulled some strings to get him in there, with Fred's chemist experience lending weight.
They sailed on the Mooltan for Europe on 15th May, so basic training must have been basic, and reports are that training continued on the boat. He did not travel very well, and had 14 days hospitalised while on the Mooltan from 20th May until 2nd June.
The 3rd AGH arrived in England, expecting to be posted to Europe but were diverted via Egypt as the Gallipoli campaign was escalating, and arrived at Lemnos Island (not Lesbos) in late July. Lemnos is 50 miles from the Gallipoli peninsula. The 3rd AGF was set up at a place called Mudros on the island.
You can track their movements to Europe on the Mooltan at a couple of websites:
http://www.gallipoli.gov.au/nurses-at-gallipoli/
and
http://throughtheselines.com.au/research/3-AGH
[This is an excellent website and has links to a summary of war records, with photos which Jack could be in. They also have photos of 1915 superimposed on current day – there are about 10 or so on display at Mitchell Library.]
Jack's movements on Lemnos are of course unknown. As a private he probably started in setting up the base camp and hospital, but at some stage he must have been assigned to collect the wounded from the bases at 'Gallipoli' and ferry them back for hospital treatment. No glory in that. The websites report an August Offensive with high casualty rates. Reportedly a kind soul, I imagine Jack offering comfort to some battered human beings on the boat to Mudros.
Mum reports he was at Gallipoli: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X56vkusRgoE
You would not argue with that. (My apologies for suggesting it was Lesbos Island…just testing them)
But his stay in the action was short-lived, though I imagine he had seen enough for a lifetime. The websites report that though there was a good survival rate in the hospital casualties, disease became bad over the summer. Flies. Jack's records show he was promoted to Lance Corporal on November 11th 1915, but succumbed to jaundice (hepatitis?) and admitted to the 3rd AGH on the island on 25th November until discharged to duty on 8th January 1916, so 45 days. He was not much good after that it seems, "off-strength" which would be consistent with hepatitis, and so sent to Alexandria on 27th January. He was eventually repatriated from Cairo in August on the Seang Choon, with instructions to have a hernia attended to. Poor guy.
So what is the significance of the date on the photo? 12 August I would have him on Lemnos, but maybe sailed on the boat with the nurses who arrived after the forward brigade.
The websites link to some photos by AW Savage, and one from Christmas 1915 is below.
I wonder if Jack is in the photo, or still confined to bed. Fred may have been in the shot.
To confirm, I have Jack's photo album of his time with the 3rd AGH, and I wonder how he was allowed to take photos and apparently having a camera was verboten, or maybe he bought some off Mr Savage – they look very similar to his. There are not many of "action", I think he was over the novelty of it all by that stage. What to do what to do.
But be thankful he survived it all, not sent to the Western Front as the 3rd AGH was, and was able to return, discharged from duty in November to join theatre and musical groups, meet Mona and start our families.
His war records I secured on line some time ago…do not remember the links. But here are some selected pages.
Brendan
