Service Record/diary

CJ Hackworth enlisted in the light-horse and was one of the very few light-horsemen at the Gallipoli landing. Before enlistment he was a seaman and had been on one of the ships trying to save Mawson in Antarctica. At Gallipoli he served as a semaphore operator aboard the command ship. His diary, which has been lodged with the Australian War Memorial, has some very interesting insights into the landings and service in the Middle East during WW1.

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Jim Murfitt

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Edward McDonnell

My Great Grandfather Edward McDonnell was born 30th August 1883 in Myton, Kingston Upon Hull Yorkshire England. He travelled to Australia in 1913 and joined the Australian Imperial Force. I don’t know what happened to him after that, but I believe he remained in Australia.

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Service records

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Letter to Dad 22/2/1918

10th Training Battalion
Forant
22-2-1918

Dear Dad,

Received several letters from home by this mail. One from yourself; one from Phem, one from Agg and one from Jan.
Well! I suppose by the time you receive this I shall be packing up for France as my tour of duty here as Bombing instructor finishes on the 1st of April. However I have been very fortunate in having six months experience in England.
By your letters it seems that several of mine have gone astray during the period I was in convalescence and hospital so I will give you some of the details.
Of course you know that we hopped the parpet at Messines on 7th June at 3.10am. I was just 200ft from one of those enormous mines. The barrages of artillery and machine gun were fearful and the sights I saw that morning , I shall never forget. To get to the “jumping off trench” we had to advance two miles through a hail of shrapnel, high explosive and gas. The night was pitch black and the loose gun teams and rider less horses made the approach rather uncomfortable. I was very fortunate in getting my platoon in position before the attack without any casualties. Some platoons were wiped out altogether. We got through the Germans alright and did not meet with much resistance.
I had the job of clearing up the left bank of the River Dorve which was mentioned in the papers at that time and was then to take charge of the line for the battalions. Just before I had reached the proposed picket line I got into the barrage and got my wound. It knocked me about ten yards, the bullet entering the centre of the left side, of the backside and coming to the surface on the inside of the thigh two inches below the privates so I was indeed lucky. The attack was still going on and I was afraid be being taken a prisoner so I collected all my strength and after having a ligature tied on my leg by one of my boys, started to crawl back to our old line. I was just about giving up hope of getting back when, one of the boys who had a bullet through his cheek, gave me a hand and we reached our old line safely. From here we could not shift for some considerable time as Fritz was shelling like blazes. When the shelling died away we commandeered some prisoners and made them give us a hand. The trench I was brought is named “The Only Way”. All the trenches have different names, and it struck me as being very appropriate to the occasion as I had been longing for a trip to Blighty and the only way of getting one at that time was to be wounded.
From the dressing station we were taken back to the hospitals in Motor Ambulance and by this time I was in quite good spirits. When we reached the railhead hospital however the enemy long range guns were making themselves obnoxious by shelling the station so we had to lie under marques and wait our turn. At last we were put on a hospital train and “Oh My” the feeling of comfort we had when we were turned into the warm beds. The medical staff were very good to us and did everything possible.
As we steamed down the line to the coast the shelling gradually died down and one had time to think, so that when we reached the coast hospitals I began to feel the wound more than before. The next morning I went under an anithetic and had the shrapnel bullet removed and early the following morning sailed for Blighty. I tried to get to a hospital in London so that I would be near May but they sent me to Plymouth.
We were treated absolutely top notch there and it was with sorrow that I was transferred to the Convalesent home in Kent. (Lord Darnleys home) Here the feeding and medical arrangements were not as good as Plymouth. After I had been at Kent for about a fortnight I recevied a medical board and marked General services with a fortnights sick leave. That was just two months after I was wounded and I did not feel fit. Still it could not be rectified so May and I went to her home in Wales for the fortnight and had one of the best holidays I’ve ever had in my life. After another week in Draft camp I went across to the Buse and stopped there for a little over a week.
When I rejoined the battalion I felt very weak and could not sleep so after about a month the Doctor recommended me for a rest. I had been taking opiates to make me sleep so you can tell how I felt.
So then I received this job and am now practically as fit as a fiddle. May has been sticking to her job up town but is feeling the effect of the raids so is coming down here for this month and then getting a school nearer home. Well Dad must now close.
Trusting all at home are well I remain your affectionate son
Don

View details for Addison, Donald McGaw