servicemen

Wow! Full house. Great photo

'Incredible mystery': The Indigenous soldiers of the Light Horse Brigade The Indigenous contribution at the charge of the Light Horse Brigade at the Battle of Beersheba is not widely known, but one man is determined to shine a light on these soldiers and their stories. Pastor Ray Minniecon is a man on a mission. The Kabi Kabi man is trying to understand the life of his grandfather, James Lingwoodock, who was involved in the 1917 Battle of Beersheba - viewed as Australia's most significant victory of World War One. Private Lingwoodock was also a Kabi Kabi man from Queensland who worked in cattle and was known to be a good horseman. "And one of the things that is very interesting is that the Light Horse had the highest number of Indigenous soldiers in any regiment within the ADF in World War One." At the outbreak of the war, Private Lingwoodock was among 1000 Indigenous Australians who would answer the military's call. "A lot of Indigenous troopers were mates of the white Australian troopers and they enlisted together," he says. "They couldn't enlist as their Indigenous name so a lot of them just changed their name to John Smith and with the connivance of the recruiting officers they were allowed to join up." Private Lingwoodock found himself caught up in the Battle of Beersheba in 1917, a pivotal event in the war in which 800 Australian light horsemen charged the heavily fortified Turkish stronghold. "The Indigenous troopers were considered to be equal by the other troopers because they were all riding horses and surviving in the desert, eating at the same campfires," he says. "Everybody had to pull their weight. " But it was a different story on their return from war. "It was a tragedy when the Indigenous troopers came back to Australia from the Light Horse, cos they went from being equal troopers along with their white fellas to persona non grata. Source: www.sbs.com.au/news/article/incredible-mystery-the-indige...

John Geary was 22 years old when he first enlisted in the AIF in August 1917. Born near Bundaberg in 1894 to William Geary and Rosie Broom, Geary was a stockman on Tantitha Station near Bundaberg. Like Lingwoodock, Geary’s skills as a horseman were well-suited to the Light Horse where he was assigned, and he joined several similarly skilled Indigenous recruits as part of the 20th Reinforcements. They trained at the Light Horse camp, at Rifle Range, Enoggera, just outside Brisbane, and made ready to embark overseas in December 1917. John left behind his new wife Alice Bond. On 7 May 1918, the 11th Light Horse Regiment, encamped in the Jordon Valley, was subjected to an early morning raid by enemy airplanes. Bombs were dropped on the camp, resulting in numerous casualties. During this attack Geary was severely wounded, receiving a large wound to his head. He was initially treated by the 4th Light Horse Field Ambulance and then transferred to the 14th Australian General Hospital in Port Said, where his condition deteriorated. Geary underwent surgery twice, suffering severe headaches, fits and partial paralysis to his left arm and leg. Despite making a good recovery, medical authorities decided he should be sent home, and he was discharged from service. Geary left Egypt in July 1918 and returned home to his family at Tantitha Station. His son, John Robert, was born a year later. Sadly, tragedy stuck in 1921 when John’s mother, son and wife passed away. In 1925 he married Warri Adelaide Drumley, with the couple and their family residing in the Beaudesert area. John Geary died in 1953 at the age of 60. Source: www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/james-lingwoodock-and-john-geary-...

You just hope they weren't on board during Pearl Harbour.