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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ003111S
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00:33 Any town is proud of its Olympians and tiny Emmaville 00:37 in the New England district of 00:38 New South Wales with a population of just 500 is no 00:43 exception. Sprinter Debbie Wells first represented Australia as a 00:52 teenager at the Montreal Olympics and later at Moscow and 00:56 Los Angeles Olympics. But you know I wonder if this little 01:00 town realizes that it holds the bragging rights to an 01:04 even greater legend. 01:06 ♪ ♪ 01:15 Well I believe Tom Richards was born here in Emmaville 01:19 which was kind of a vegetable crate back in 1890, 92. And I 01:22 dare say that Tom Richards' father could well have been 01:26 here digging here in these shafts digging shafts from 01:29 6 o'clock in the morning 01:30 till 6 o'clock in the afternoon just to make a living out of_. 01:34 It was very hard, very hard times back in those days and 01:38 they had to work 01:40 hard to make a living on _ otherwise they just didn't 01:42 survive. Well Emmaville was a bustling town back in the 01:50 1890s. There was 01:52 nine hotels and there were three churches and each hotel 01:57 had a union team which was their relaxing time of a weekend when 02:01 the men would come to town and play Union Rugby with _ 02:06 in Emmaville. 02:12 Like most small towns around Australia Emmaville has its war 02:20 memorial complete with the names of those who volunteered from 02:22 this area. But the name of Emmaville' s most remarkable son 02:27 isn't here. For by the time he enlisted he had long moved away. 02:32 But over the next 35 years the man born here would become the 02:38 only name to represent both Australia and the United Kingdom 02:42 in Rugby Union and eventually the trophy for one of the 02:48 British Lion contests would be named after him. He would win a 02:53 gold medal at the 1908 Olympic games in London and then win 02:58 the military cross for conspicuous gallantry on the 03:03 battlefields of France. 03:04 ♪ ♪ 03:33 Richards grew up to be an athletic young man and his speed 03:37 strength and intelligent play led to a selection in the 03:41 Queensland team in 1905 as a breakaway. His light brown hair 03:46 led to the nickname of Rusty. That same year, his father, 03:51 still chasing a fortune on new gold fields traveled across the 03:56 Indian Ocean to the Transvaal Province of South Africa. 03:59 Joining him the following year, Rusty was soon playing in the 04:04 Cary Cup competition. His name was in the mix for selection 04:07 for the Spring Box 04:09 tour to Britain, but he was ruled ineligible for selection 04:13 so he went to England in the hope of playing against them. 04:17 The dream was realized. Playing for Gloustershire he was in a 04:22 warmup match against the Spring Box. Hearing that an Australian 04:28 team might tour England, he returned to Queensland 04:31 where his performances 04:32 ensured his selection for the 1908 tour. The first ever tour 04:37 of Britain by the Australians was where they gained the name 04:43 Wallabies. 04:45 ♪ ♪ 04:57 Behind me where these buildings are now was once the wide city 05:02 stadium where many of the main events of the 1908 London 05:06 Olympic games were staged. Rugby was then an Olympic sport and 05:11 the Wallabies met the champion county side Cornwall's which 05:16 represented England to play for the gold medal on the 26th of 05:21 October. Richards scored another try in the comprehensive 32 to 05:26 3 win and so became an Olympic gold medalist. Richards returned 05:34 South Africa and in 1910 an injury-ravaged British 05:39 Lions team called him up. As his time playing for British club 05:43 qualified him. He played in 12 games including the first two 05:48 tests. He remains the only man to have played for the Wallabies 05:53 and the British Lions. Richards played more Rugby in Australia 05:58 Britain and France and played a test for Australia against the 06:03 all American side in 1912. He retired from Rugby in 1913 06:08 returning to Australia to work as a journalist. 06:12 ♪drums and bugle♪ 06:22 When Australia found itself at war with Germany in 1914 the 06:28 call for volunteers drew Richards. He enlisted in the 06:32 Australian Imperial Force, the AIF, in August 1914 and was 06:37 allocated as a stretcher barer in the first in the first field 06:40 ambulance. Richards kept a very detailed diary of his time in 06:45 the AIF. Not only does it tell us a lot about his activities, 06:50 it is also a fascinating insight into his own soul. Richards 06:55 recorded his own journey and own emotional struggles in this 07:00 very intimate picture of his heart. In order to learn more 07:03 about Richards we're going to get some insight from Dr Daniel 07:07 Reynaud, associate professor of history at Avondale College of 07:10 Avondale College of Higher Education who has read Richards' 07:15 diary as part of his research. Daniel, what have you learned 07:18 about Tom from his war diaries? 07:20 Well I think it's one of the most interesting diaries I've 07:24 ever read and having read many. First of all, we get a really 07:29 complex character coming through He's a very detailed writer, a 07:33 very prolific writer and writer who explores much of what he 07:38 does and what he sees but how he feels about it. And what we 07:42 learn is he's kind of volunteered to join the army 07:46 but at the same time 07:48 he's not fully convinced that it's a just cause. He kind of 07:53 feels like he ought to be doing more for the war. He's a medic, 07:56 he's a stretcher barer but he feels he really should be in 08:00 combat but he's opposed to war. He doesn't like the officers. He 08:06 in fact, tries to get out of being Lance corporal because he 08:10 doesn't want the responsibility yet feels bad about not wanting 08:14 that. He ends up becoming an officer in a combat unit and 08:18 winning the military cross for bravery. So all of these 08:21 incredible tensions in his life. Now the other really interesting 08:26 entries of his diary which he hardly ever see is his really 08:30 detailed descriptions of his own spiritual journey. He uses his 08:34 diary to put down his thoughts on God and faith and church. 08:38 Fascinating journey that he's on. 08:42 ♪ ♪ 08:47 He's quite cynical, quite cynical about the British cause. 08:52 He recognizes that it's not a clear cut goodies versus baddies 08:57 British versus the nasty Hun. And yet, he still joins up. 09:03 He still participates but all the way through in his diaries 09:08 he's aware that this is ambiguous, that war isn't this 09:15 clean good versus bad. He's a man of quite a bit of world 09:20 experience. He's traveled a lot and he certainly doesn't relate 09:24 to a lot of his fellow Anzacs. He feels different from them. 09:27 Remember he's come from a very working-class background and 09:30 he's kind of worked himself up in society and he's very 09:35 conscious of being different. 09:40 A woman continued to wave her handkerchief enthusiastically 09:44 to give us encouragement on our voyage of legalized murder. The 09:50 whole business seems almost unbelievable. Church service was 09:55 held at 11:30 when the chaplain tried to justify the Allies 09:59 position and asked God for protection and deliverance. 10:04 The irony of it all, such hypocrisy. Surely this great God 10:09 if he has the power to influence victory in any particular way 10:13 would also have the power to prevent it at the very first 10:18 and before lives were sacrificed It seems to be a difference that 10:23 men alone can settle and might takes precedence over right. 10:28 Richards really objected to the idea that God was on one side 10:36 or another in this war. Now when the chaplain preached a sermon 10:40 it was going to be God rather than the French or Russians 10:44 who destroyed the German army. He wrote in his diary: 10:49 This does not savor of a way a righteous God should be. 10:56 ♪ ♪ 11:10 After training Richards sailed for Europe on board the trade 11:13 ship Euripides, part of the huge convoy that carried the 11:17 Australian and New Zealand forces. He had fun teasing a 11:21 Jewish colleague who asked the identity of a dish of pickled 11:25 pork. Veal, said Richards, which was good enough for his friend 11:29 who ate it with a clear conscience. The troop ship was 11:36 diverted to Egypt and the Australians disembarked and were 11:40 taken to a camp outside of Cairo Richards was involved in helping 11:45 set up the YMCA recreation hut which was the venue not only for 11:50 quiet relaxation and letter writing, but also concerts and 11:55 lectures for the troops. 12:03 But there are lots of things on Richards' mind maybe. His 12:06 brother's been killed in a mining accident in South Africa. 12:10 His mother's returned to Australia and his dad is unwell. 12:14 He's quite concerned about conflict he's having with his 12:17 father about religion. His father really is pushing him in 12:20 a particular direction but Richards is struggling with very 12:24 formalized religion and wants something dynamic 12:29 at the same time. 12:30 In April, the Anzacs were packed onto ships and they sailed for 12:36 the islands off the Turkish peninsula of Gallipoli. On the 12:42 evening of the 24th of April they prepared for the landings 12:45 the next day. 12:49 Tonight although the fellows are naturally a little excited they 12:53 are in really good spirits. There has been a stronger 12:57 tendency for sacred music also of late with mouth organ and 13:01 concertina. Only a few minutes ago they were playing and 13:05 singing Nearer My God to Thee and Lead Kindly Light. It's 13:10 wonderful how religion gets them down when there's danger about. 13:16 This ordeal shall also test bringing my lack of faith home 13:20 to me. I keep leaning right in that direction as I walk blindly 13:24 and aimlessly now. 13:30 ♪sinister music♪ 13:51 This is the fateful beach at Anzac Cove. Daniel tell us about 13:58 Tom Richards and what he would have experienced right here. 14:01 Well on the morning of the 25th he was on his ship out in the 14:06 harbor here and about 8:30 he got down into the boats that 14:10 were bringing the men ashore. He would have been hearing 14:13 gunfire since the dawn and as he got closer he would have seen 14:17 men on the beach and perhaps running up the hills behind us. 14:22 The first thing he did when he landed was to pull out his 14:25 camera and take seven photographs. He shouldn't have 14:28 had a camera. Soldiers were not supposed to be taking snaps 14:32 especially in a battle. But there was his journalistic 14:36 instincts from before the war coming out. And then in the 14:41 afternoon he was helping load the boats with wounded soldiers 14:44 who were being taken out to the ships. And over the next few 14:48 days he was smoothing up shrapnel gully behind us and 14:51 brining the wounded down to the beach. 14:53 How does his spirituality hold up in the heat of battle? 14:58 Well it does hold up. He keeps noting spiritual things in his 15:02 diary. He often records church services which he wants to share 15:07 with his father knowing how much his father would enjoy having 15:11 that subject discussed. But of course in the first few weeks of 15:15 the battle there were no services held. Many of the 15:17 chaplains are still on board ships. They're dealing with the 15:20 many wounded that are there. So there's not much to write about 15:24 at first. On the 24th of May, he writes about Chaplain McKenzie, 15:30 the famous Scotsman who conducted many of the burial 15:35 services during the truce when they buried thousands of Turkish 15:39 dead from the battle a few days earlier. And then he records the 15:43 very first church service on the 13th of June that McKinzie holds 15:47 holds in a bowl of hills up behind us there and hearing the 15:51 men sing as the sun sets over the Mediterranean and a shell 15:56 came along and exploded over the service and knocked over a few 16:00 men. But fortunately the injuries were slight. 16:08 The church service was held spellbound and silent for the 16:14 few minutes that the above above drama was being enacted and the 16:18 prayer concluded, they all rose and sang Abide With Me. Parson 16:23 Andrews went on explaining the beauty of St. Paul's letter to 16:26 the misbelieving people of Corinth punctuated here and 16:30 there by the callous bursting of shrapnel shells. Before we 16:34 rose to the final hymn, Nearer My God to Thee, the casualties 16:38 numbered five, bad enough in all truth, but still an astoundingly 16:43 small toll considering the number of shells. 16:46 ♪mournful music♪ 16:59 So this location played an important role in the course of 17:01 the battle. 17:03 Yes this is Wire Gully. Now where we're standing didn't 17:06 exist; it was much lower and this hill came down either side 17:13 into this very steep gully that was too steep for trenches so 17:17 they just put barbed wire there to create the front line. Now 17:21 on the 19th of May, the Turks launched a major counter attack 17:25 to drive the Australians back into the sea. And in moving from 17:29 this direction up to the hills here to hit Queen's post and 17:34 Steel's post. But across Wire Gully no cover at all and the 17:39 Australians here mowed them down line after line, hundreds 17:44 of men killed and wounded at this spot. Now the Australians 17:48 are here and they're also suffering some casualties from 17:51 the Turks as they're attacking. 17:53 Now was Tom Richards involved in any of this? 17:56 Yes. He's here just right at the Australian line and he's taking 18:00 the Australian wounded from this battle down to the outpost. In 18:04 fact, he's so heavily involved and so conspicuously involved 18:08 that the general who writes the report of the battle mentions 18:12 him by name. It's called a "mentioned in dispatches" and 18:15 it indicates particularly distinguished service. 18:18 So Richards plays an important role here. 18:21 He does. In fact, let's go down and have a look where he worked. 18:25 ♪ ♪ 18:37 So this is where Richards would have been based? 18:40 Yes this is 4th battalion parade ground, just below Wire Gully. 18:44 It's a semi-sheltered spot where they can bring the wounded and 18:47 as you can see some of the men who died are buried here. 18:50 I wonder how he must have felt amongst all this death and 18:54 carnage? 18:56 Well it's his usual mixed emotions. He's been writing 19:00 hopefully to a couple of girls in Australia. He finds out 19:03 that they've got married. He's worried that he's becoming 19:07 cynical and negative. He wants to live up to his ideals. He 19:11 hears a sermon about purity that makes him feel better. He feels 19:16 sick at heart at these good men who've been killed. And he hears 19:21 another sermon that really challenges him and inspires him. 19:26 The preacher attacked the Australia for the Australians 19:32 mob by telling them they were woefully swelled headed and 19:36 thought only of their own achievements belittling 19:39 foolishly those of the timing. I am not in the humor to deal in 19:44 detail with this remarkable service but suffer me to say 19:47 that it raised considerable discussion amongst the boys 19:51 but it will do them quite a lot of good as we are hardly 19:56 broad-minded and fair enough to our opponents or even our 20:00 friends. ♪ ♪ 20:03 It sounds like this sermon made a real impression on him. He's 20:06 struggling with spiritual issues here. 20:08 He certainly is. He's wrestling with a whole lot of things. 20:11 Now he's evacuated from Gallipoli with malaria and this 20:15 gives him time and space to think. And he gets angry with 20:19 the preacher. His sermon tried to scare soldiers into obeying 20:23 God, with threats of punishment. It's not the God he recognizes. 20:27 On the other hand, he doesn't like the way religions compete 20:31 against each other when they all claim to serve the same God. 20:36 What he's looking for is religion that's intelligent, 20:39 it's practical and relevant to everyday life and he 20:43 particularly finds a connection through music to God. 20:48 ♪ ♪ 21:12 In 1916, the Australians moved to the battlefields of France. 21:17 While the countryside behind the lines was idyllic and beautiful 21:21 the front lines were places of boredom punctuated by periodic 21:26 violence and unpredictable death. 21:29 ♪ ♪ 21:40 In December 1916, Richards was commissioned a Lieutenant and 21:46 became a combat officer in the first battalion. Daniel, what 21:50 did this mean? 21:52 Well it's part of the complexity of his character. He doesn't 21:54 like officers but he becomes one because he wants to improve his 21:59 lot in life. He doesn't really agree with the war but he 22:02 becomes combat officer and as a platoon commander he's in charge 22:06 of about 40 men. And at first he's not really comfortable in 22:10 that role. He's not sure what he's doing, but he gradually 22:14 grows incompetence and confidence. Then at the second 22:17 battle of Bancor on the 4th of May he leads his platoon along 22:22 on a German trench and he's a bomber which means that he and 22:26 his men are carrying bags of hand grenades and they're 22:29 dropping them in the bunkers, they're throwing them around the 22:31 corners of the trench clearing the German line and 22:34 then have done that 22:36 build a barricade and throw bombs to prevent the Germans 22:39 from recapturing it. For this excellent work, he's decorated 22:44 with the military cross. 22:45 And did he continue his interest in spiritual things? 22:48 Yes he did, but his diary records things that are similar 22:53 to other people who went to the front line. The references to 22:56 religion and spirituality drop while they're in the front 23:00 trenches. Their mind is actually occupied with survival. But 23:04 Richards is still asking questions. He's investigating. 23:08 He's still trying to find what it is that he's searching for in 23:13 life. 23:15 The English preacher was in attendance today to administer 23:18 unto our sinfulness and he put up a jolly good showing, too. 23:22 He took Christianity 23:25 in a broad sense and clenched his arguments 23:28 well down. He didn't hold himself up as an example. 23:32 He knew his shortcomings only too well but it's cross purity, 23:37 his holiness that I want to impress upon you. 23:45 Thomas "Rusty" Richards is remembered now every time the 23:49 Wallabies and British and Irish Lions meet. Yet his story as an 23:53 Anzac hero also deserves remembering. And perhaps above 23:58 that was his own constant spiritual quest of meaning in 24:02 life. For all of his wondering and flaws Richards remained 24:07 committed to trying to discover who God is and how we can best 24:12 worship him. Perhaps that's a quest for all of us to pursue 24:16 and to contemplate right now as we pray. 24:19 Dear Heavenly Father, we remember the battles, physical, 24:26 emotional and spiritual that Tom Richards fought during his time 24:30 on Gallipoli and in France. We honor his commitment to 24:35 spiritual searching and pray that we many also have the 24:39 courage to look for faith, to seek out and find a real faith 24:43 in God. Please bless us and our families and we ask for this in 24:51 Jesus' name. Amen. 24:53 ♪ ♪ 25:11 If you'd like to find out more about trusting Jesus and find 25:14 that real hope that the Anzacs found during the challenges of 25:18 war, if you'd like to experience how God is with us even during 25:22 our darkest and most difficult trials then I'd like to 25:26 recommend a free gift we have for all our Incredible Journey 25:31 Viewers today. It's the booklet Secrets of True Greatness. I'm 25:38 sure you will want to read this small booklet that shows how 25:42 God is with us even when we face enormous struggles and 25:46 challenges. This booklet is our gift to you and is absolutely 25:51 free. I guarantee there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 25:55 So make sure you take this wonderful opportunity to receive 25:59 the free gift we have for you today. Phone or text us: 26:05 at 0436333555 in Australia or 0204222042 in New Zealand or 26:15 visit our website TiJ.tv to request today's free offer and 26:21 we'll send it to you totally free of charge and with no 26:26 obligation so don't delay. Call or text 0436333555 in 26:30 Australia or 0204222042 in New Zealand or visit our website 26:38 to request today's offer. Write to us at: 26:54 Don't delay, call or text us now. 26:58 If you've enjoyed our journey through the life and times of 27:03 Tom Richards from Emmaville to Gallipoli and then onto 27:05 London and our reflections on what faith in God really means 27:11 then be sure to join us again next week when we will share 27:14 another of life's journeys together. Until next week 27:17 remember the ultimate destination of life's journey. 27:21 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth and God will wipe away 27:26 every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death 27:29 nor sorrow nor crying. There shall be no more pain for the 27:34 former things have passed away. 27:37 ♪ ♪ |
Revised 2020-07-09