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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ005109S
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00:24 Travel to almost any city, town, or Hamlet in Australia
00:28 or New Zealand and the chances are, you'll find some sort of 00:32 memorial to the Anzec soldiers of the great war. 00:37 But of the thousands of memorials found across the 00:41 country, this one here in Mullumbimby in the Northern 00:44 Rivers Region of New South Wales, Australia has special 00:48 significance to me. And that's because of four names 00:52 that it represents. Just here across the road in the 00:57 Service Men's Club, those four names are found on the honor 01:01 roll, they are, Samuel Laverty, George Laverty, and Percy Tulk. 01:09 Samuel Laverty is my grand- father, Joseph his older brother 01:15 George, his younger brother, and Percy Tulk was their 01:20 best friend and brother-in-law married to their sister Essie. 01:24 This war has left its mark on our landscape, but the mark 01:29 it has left on our national souls and family hearts, 01:32 is even greater. My grandfather fought in this war 01:37 as did his brother and brother - in-law and on my wife's side 01:42 her grandfather also volunteered as did three of his brothers. 01:46 I'm taking the opportunity of exploring the 01:52 First World War 1st World War's ANZACs in our family. 01:54 We're going to track down the man behind the pictures and 01:58 fragments of memory that are part of our family heritage. 02:01 And discover our own connections to the great war. 02:05 So join us as we embark on a journey of discovery 02:09 back into history to discover secrets from the past 02:13 I'm sure there are going to be lots of surprises along the way. 02:38 As we set out to discover the ANZACs of our family tree 02:42 our first task is to collect all we know about our grandfathers 02:47 so, I've come to the town of Mullumbimby in the Byron Shire. 02:51 The town is nestled at the foot of Mount Chincogan in the 02:58 Brunswick Valley about 10 km from the coast and the Pacific 03:02 Ocean. The name Mullumbimby was given to the district by the 03:07 Bongalong Aboriginal people possibly because of the 03:11 proximity of Machin Cogan. 03:13 My mother's grandfather Samuel Laverty migrated to Australia 03:18 from county down in Northern Ireland In 1885 on the 03:23 Immigration Ship Belgic. He and his wife Emma 03:28 established a farm here at Wilson's Creek near Mullumbimby 03:32 where they raised their family of six children, four boys 03:36 and two girls, this was called the Estate Farm 03:40 and they became prominent dairy farmers in the community. 03:44 And the area leading up to the farm still carries the 03:49 family name today, Laverty's Gap as do a couple of other 03:53 streets in the area. 03:54 The war brought home issues of faith to many soldiers 03:59 including my grandfather. He drew strength from his faith 04:03 and took a keen interest in the Bible and spiritual matters 04:06 that lasted all his life in fact at one stage 04:10 he even contemplated becoming a clergyman. 04:13 While on leave he visited Northern Ireland where he met 04:17 his future wife, Mary Jane Dillan, after the war 04:21 Samuel came home and established this dairy farm for himself 04:25 and his future wife. He then returned to Northern Ireland 04:29 and married Mary Jane Dillan and brought his wife back here 04:34 where they settled on this farm on the outskirts of Mullumbimby 04:37 and raised a family of eleven children. 04:40 As the children grew older and more land was required 04:45 the family acquired another farm here on the outskirts 04:49 of Mullumbimby. As for Gary this is your family tree 04:55 and this is you here and this is your mother Jane 05:00 and this is her father Samuel Robert. 05:04 So my grandfather...Your grandfather... 05:06 The one who went to war... The one who went to war... 05:08 Alright. And his father was Samuel Robert. Same name. 05:12 Same name and he came out to Australia from County down 05:16 in Ireland. So that's the family well, I never...That's the family. 05:20 Now how many children were there in my grandfather's 05:24 family? How many siblings did he have? He had six children 05:27 Joseph, the oldest, and then Essie, Samuel...my grandfather. 05:34 Your grandfather George, Alma, and Robert. 05:38 Four boys, four boys, two girls, two girls, yes. 05:41 Now, on the four boys, how many of them enlisted? 05:45 The three oldest Joseph... So do we have any pictures 05:49 of Joseph? Joseph, this is Joseph in Knight Horse Uniform. 05:53 Ahh, he was a handsome fellow. Yes. Very tall. Very tall. 05:57 Well, over six feet. They say that all the boys were great 06:00 horseman. Yeah. And Crack- shots. They were. 06:04 So that's...That's the oldest, who came next? 06:08 And then your grandfather Samuel Robert. Yes. 06:11 A machine gunner. Right. So this is him here. 06:14 Yes. Okay. Yes. And the next boy was George. 06:19 This was the youngest. Yes. The youngest one who enlisted. 06:22 Yes, and he was obviously in the light horse. 06:24 Now what about Essy's husband Percy Tull? Issy's husband 06:29 this is a photo, this is all we have. That's of Percy. 06:33 Alright, so he left for the battlefield soon after he was 06:40 married. Yes. Yes. Okay. 06:44 These days it is pretty easy to find out their service record 06:48 in the National Australian Archives on the internet 06:51 however, I'm going to get some professional help so that I can 06:55 really understand what all these documents mean. 06:58 Dr. Daniel Renner Associate Professor of History of 07:03 Avondale College of Higher Education has studied the 07:06 stories of many Anzac Soldiers and will guide me through my 07:09 search. Daniel, I'm interested in finding out the details 07:15 of my grandfather's war record, his war history, 07:19 how do we go about that? 07:20 Well, that's very simple. First of all, we'll go to the 07:23 National Archives of Australia, I've got the Home Page up here. 07:27 To Record Search, we'll go to the middle to Name Search 07:31 and up we get Family Name so your grandfather's family name? 07:36 Laverty and we select a Category of Record, it is World War I 07:43 Search... There are 15 Laverty's who served in the 1st World War. 07:48 We can refine this search result. First name. Samuel. 07:55 Okay, so we got the records here. First page, 07:58 we find his name when he enlists and click here. Age: He's 18 08:06 years and one month old. Now his unit is the 3rd Machine Gun 08:10 Battalion. That means that he's not an infantryman, 08:14 he's in the supporting unit lugging those big heavy 08:17 Vicker's machine guns around firing and supporting the 08:21 infantry that are attacking. So he's on the Western Front. 08:23 He's on the Western Front managing vault in key battles 08:26 from the time that he's there. You can see Villers-Brettonneux 08:29 very famous site. He's there in action, Backlov Hammel 08:33 Mont St Conte, See, he's wounded there. 08:37 That's around the time of the Hindenburg Outpost Attack 08:40 but it's a light wound because he's not evacuated. 08:44 Yes. You know, I can remember my grandfather when I was young 08:48 talking about he had aches and pains and referring to 08:52 the injury, the wound he must have received here that's 08:57 recorded. Okay! Okay, so now let's go to the brothers that 09:02 we noticed there. Yes, two, two brothers, His older brother was 09:06 Joseph, okay, so we bring up Joseph and here we go. 09:10 Oh, look at this, August 1914. Right. At the beginning of the 09:13 World War. He's keen. Ahu. And he joins the 2nd 09:18 Australian Light Horse Brigade. Ah! Country boy is he? 09:22 County boy off the farm. Familiar with horse riding. 09:25 Now. Another brother. That's George Albert. 09:34 Okay, George. Here we go. He enlists in October 1918. 09:41 So that's towards the end of the war? 09:44 The war finishes the next month and if we click here we see 09:47 no, he's discharged almost immediately. No Active Service. 09:51 So the three brothers all enlisted but only two of them 09:54 would have actually seen service. That's right. 09:56 The 2nd Lighthorse Regiment landed here on the 9th of May 10:19 1915. Daniel, if I look at the sheer cliffs here and I count 10:25 out wondering why Joe and the Lighthorse were at Anzac Cove? 10:29 Well, you're right, it's not really horse country is it? 10:32 That's the point the Lighthorse actually left the horses behind 10:37 in Egypt and came over as Foot Soldiers because that's 10:40 what was needed for this campaign. 10:42 So the 2nd Regime of the Light- horse was sent up the Monash 10:48 Valley to the ridge line at Quinn's Post. 10:51 So this is Quinn's Post high on the Gliflee Ridge? 10:56 It is the absolutely crucial place on Gliflee. 11:00 And what would it have meant to Joseph to be here? 11:03 Well, this place decides whether the Anzac Forces can stay 11:08 or go, or whether the Turks are under threat. 11:12 You can see how narrow the ridge is here and if the Turks 11:15 could overlook this side of the ridge, they'd look right 11:18 down Monash Valley and no Australians could move without 11:21 danger. On the other hand, if the Aussies can take this other 11:25 side, then they'd do the same to the Turks. So this point 11:29 decides the success or failure of either side. 11:33 So here we find the key battles on May 15, the 2nd Lighthorse 11:40 with Joseph attack trying to push the Turk's back on May 1819 11:44 the Turk's counterattack... heavy losses here... 11:47 The truce of May 24 when they clear the bodies from this 11:52 battlefield all happened in this tiny space of granite. 11:57 So this was a critical location in the course of the Giliflee 12:01 Campaign? A lot depended on what happened here and to think 12:05 that Joseph was involved right here in all of this. 12:08 And I imagine with the opposing forces being so close to 12:13 each other, there must have been continual action and some 12:17 continual fear and stress and tension. Constantly on alert 12:22 because they're always raiding each other trying to take this 12:25 key point. 12:29 So what we have here is what's left of an old Australian trench. 12:33 We come about 250 meters up from Quinn's Post, so what's Joseph 12:39 doing here in these trenches? Well after the May battles 12:43 the 2nd Lighthorse occupy these trenches on top of Pope's Hill 12:48 facing the Turkish line a bit further away than there at 12:52 Quinn's Post and holding the fort. 12:55 So how long is he here for? Well he's here from late May 12:59 until early August. so what's he doing for two and a half 13:03 months? Basically keeping an eye on the Turk, the occasional 13:06 sniping, a bit of a squirmish, maybe some grenade throwing 13:10 they called them bombs. Artillery from time to time 13:14 but it is fairly routine, boring work. 13:17 Soldier's life is being life at 99% boredom, 1% terror. 13:24 So here we are back at Quinn's Post, Joseph returns for the 13:30 August Offensive, what was that all about? 13:33 Well, it's the last desperate attempt by the British 13:36 to make a success of the Gliflee Campaign. 13:38 So they planned huge landing north in skirmish, the Kiwis are 13:43 there to try to take the height's and the Australians 13:46 are playing a supporting role down at Lone Pine, there is a 13:49 diversionary battle on the 6th and at here and at the neck 13:52 on the 7th and 8th the Light- horse are attacking to pin 13:56 the Turks down in this area so that they can't attack the 14:00 Kiwis. So with all this fighting taking place at probably one of 14:05 the most dangerous places on Giliflee Joseph was fortunate 14:10 to survive, wasn't he? He is, he is because he's been here 14:14 for three critical battles, the May 15 attack, 14:16 the counter-attack by the Turks, same month and then this 14:20 this August attack and then they're attacking very well 14:23 prepared positions. Very alert Turkish troops who are expecting 14:27 an attack at any time. This is an incredibly dangerous place 14:30 to be, Joseph is very very fortunate to come out of all 14:36 or this unscathed. 14:38 And after these intense and dangerous battles Joseph 14:43 succumbed not to bullets or bombs but to something much less 14:47 threatening. He was evacuated on the 1st of September 14:51 to the Greek Island of Lemnos suffering from an 14:54 ingrown toenail but it was actually very serious. 14:58 It was so bad that it prevented him from moving around easily 15:03 and he was also debilitated from the severe dysentery 15:08 that affected so many of the troops here that he had to be 15:11 sent to England for treatment and was out of action for 15:14 six months. When he recovered, it was to find himself back in 15:19 Egypt. 15:36 Beer Al Romano on the Sinai Coast is not far from the 15:40 Suez Canal. In 1916 this place was known as Romani 15:45 and was the front line between the Turkish Empire 15:50 which controlled Palestine and the British forces 15:52 protecting the vital Suez Canal. 15:56 In 1916 Joseph Laverty rejoined the 2nd Light Horse Regiment 16:02 at Romani near the Suez Canal. 16:05 He was immediately engaged in building defenses and undertaking 16:10 reconnaissance patrols east and south into the desert. 16:14 In July Turkish forces built up for major offensive 16:21 and the Lighthorse were active in finding out their movements 16:24 patrolling often daily out to the Oasis at Cartier. 16:28 In early August the Turks attacked, the Lighthorse 16:34 defeated the Turks at the Battle of Romani and then 16:37 pushed them back to Cartier. Two more battles Agmagdibah 16:42 and Raffa brought the British Forces to the border 16:46 of Palestine. Over the next year Joseph Regiment 16:51 would take part in three great battles, one of them a defeat, 16:55 and the other two decisive victories. 16:58 They were the second Battle of Gaza in April 1917, 17:03 the Battle of Beersheba in October and the third Battle 17:07 of Gaza in November. 17:09 These last two battles broke the Turkish defenses in Southern 17:14 Palestine and the British troops began a rapid advance along the 17:19 coast road into Palestine. 17:21 Two more battles at Mughar Ridge and at Nebi Samwil 17:27 opened the way for the capture of Jerusalem, but Joseph 17:31 missed them all. Although he was in line from June to 17:35 September, he was absent, sick with fever during the 17:39 second Gaza Campaign which was perhaps fortunate for him 17:43 and then sent to a Hodgkiss Machine Gunners Course 17:46 at Zaytoun. On his return he probably helped operate 17:52 one of the regime's Hodgkiss machine guns. 17:55 Then in September, he was hospitalized again 17:58 this time with a serious case of Shingles. 18:03 Jerusalem, the most sacred city in the world and the most 18:14 important one in Bible history. How did Joseph Laverty 18:18 and the other Anzacs react to being in the Holy Land? 18:21 Well, we often think of them as very secular men and they were 18:26 but to be honest, they were absolutely fascinated by 18:31 the history around them. Right from the time they arrived 18:35 in Egypt and through to the boat sailing to Galipilee 18:39 and the waters pour sail through and then here in the Holy Land 18:42 they are pestering the chaplains for information, for stories, 18:47 to get knowledge about all of these places. 18:50 In Egypt, they wanted to know about Moses and the Exodus 18:56 they wanted to know about Mary and Joseph 18:58 bringing baby Jesus down into exile because there's a 19:02 traditional place where they stopped on their way to Egypt, 19:06 they also wanted to know about Paul and his missionary 19:09 journeys. Then here in Israel they're asking questions 19:14 about Abraham and Beersheba. They're asking for stories 19:18 about David capturing Jerusalem. They're walking The Via Del Rosa 19:23 following the path of Jesus to His Crucifixion. 19:27 Then going down to Jericho, they want the stories of Joshua, 19:33 Rahab and the spies. Then up to Megiddo a popular 19:37 interpretation was of Armageddon, 19:40 the final battle of history. 19:42 And they were fascinated with the planes of Megiddo 19:45 where that story was set. And then through to Nazareth 19:50 the hometown of Jesus. So these Anzacs were keen to find out 19:56 these stories. Their letters and diaries show they were very 20:00 passionate religious visitors to the Holy Land. 20:08 These are the legendary plains of Megiddo, the site of a 20:12 number of great battles in history, it also gives its name 20:16 to the great apocalyptic conflict known as the 20:20 Battle of Armageddon mentioned in the Book of 20:23 Revelation in the Bible. 20:24 Here is September 1918 Alan B. carried out his last master's 20:30 stroke. The complete destruction of the Turkish Army in Palestine 20:35 opening the floodgates for a run straight to Damascus. 20:39 Ellen B's main force advanced across the planes of Megiddo 20:45 sweeping into Nazareth where they almost captured the German 20:48 General commanding the Turkish Army at his headquarters 20:52 at the Casanova Monastery. 20:55 In the meantime, Joseph's unit formed part of Chateau's 21:00 Force on Ellen B's right-wing protecting the main attack. 21:04 Once it had cut loose, Cheatuas Force captured the crossing of 21:09 the Jordan River then swept up through Jordan taking them on 21:13 then capturing huge numbers of Turkish Forces East of the 21:17 Jordan River. 21:19 This was Joseph Laverty's last significant action in the 21:23 Great War. In October he was again evacuated sick 21:28 and soon the war was over. As an original Anzac, 21:32 he was slated for the earliest possible return to Australia 21:36 and in mid-December, he took ship for home. 21:40 In the meantime, his younger brother Samuel had signed up 21:47 and after training in the Machine Gun Corps 21:49 left Australia in November 1917. He too was out of action 21:55 several times through illness spending a month in recovery 22:00 but he was destined for France not Palestine. 22:04 My grandfather's oldest sister Essie married Percy Tulk, 22:11 Percy enlisted in January 1916 and served in France and later 22:17 in Belgium, Flounders and was killed in action in the 22:20 Battle of Passiondale on the 20th of September, 1917, 22:25 his body was never identified or recovered. 22:29 We went in search of his name on the Menin Gate Memorial 22:33 of the Missing in Ypres, Belgium. This memorial is 22:37 dedicated to British and Common- wealth soldiers who were killed 22:41 in the Ypres Salient of World War I and his graves were 22:45 unknown, Percy Tulk was one of them and it was here among 22:50 the missing that we found his name, his name engraved 22:55 Percy Tulk. 23:00 By the time our grandfather Samuel Laverty arrived here in 23:05 Villers-Bretonneaux in June 1919 the was had taken a turn 23:10 in favor of the Alis...Having beaten the Russians in 1919 23:14 the Germans thought all their forces on the western front 23:18 hoping for a quick victory before the newly arrived 23:22 Americans could turn the tide. In April their attack came 23:27 perilously close to cracking the British 5th Army 23:31 but the Australians helped hold the line most famously here 23:36 at Villers-Bretonneau where their accomplishments are still 23:39 remembered. On the 4th of July 1918, General John Monash 23:48 Commander of the Australian Corps fought his model battle 23:51 here at Harmell. Samuel's unit wasn't involved in the initial 23:56 battle but help in consolidating the games in mid-July. 24:01 From here Samuel took part in the Great Advance 24:05 called the 100 days from the 8th of August to the 11th 24:09 of November which sought the defeat of Germany. 24:12 As part of the Australian Corp, he advanced from Harmell 24:17 through Chipilean Bray which the Australians captured 24:20 in August. Then his unit played a minor part in the Great Victory 24:25 at Mt. St. Quinten in early September. 24:28 It was near here that the Australians fought their 24:33 last battle cracking their first Hindenburg Outpost Line on the 24:38 18, 19 of September and it was here that Samuel received his 24:44 one and only war wound. But it wasn't so severe that he needed 24:49 that he needed to leave the unit for treatment. 25:05 This ends our journey that's helped me discover what shape 25:09 the lives of my family as we visited the locations, 25:13 learned of the dangers they experienced, 25:15 and the hardships they endured, as I've seen where they lived, 25:19 fought and died, I've watched the story unfold. 25:23 I've discovered that my ancestors form an integral part 25:28 of my own identity. I've realized how my grandfather's 25:32 values, his dedication, his faith, his love of the Bible 25:37 and its message have been passed on to me and future 25:40 generations and I've discovered that my ancestors form an 25:45 integral part not only of my own identity, 25:48 but that of our nation as well. 25:54 If you would like to find out more about the Anzacs and 25:58 their experiences with God then I'd like to recommend 26:02 our free booklet for you today. It contains inspirational 26:06 stories of our fighting men, officers, soldiers, chaplains, 26:10 as they fought, worshipped, prayed, sang, and trusted God 26:16 in the Hill of Gilippilee. Our free gift is the booklet 26:19 the Faith of the Anzacs. I guarantee these stories 26:24 will lift your spirits and lead your thoughts on a place 26:28 that works in the trial and tests of life. 26:31 This booklet is our gift to you and it's absolutely FREE, 26:35 there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 26:42 So make the most of this wonderful opportunity 26:44 to share in the testimonies of the Anzacs. 26:46 Phone or text 0436.333.555 in Australia or 024.422.2042 in 26:56 New Zealand, or visit our website at TIJ.tv or, 27:01 simply scan the QR code on your screen and we'll send you 27:05 today's FREE OFFER, totally free of charge and with no obligation 27:10 Write to us at GPO Box 274, Sydney NSW 2001, Australia, 27:16 or PO Box 76673 Manukau, Auckland, 2241 New Zealand. 27:24 Don't delay, call or text us now. 27:27 If you've enjoyed our journey to Galiplee in the footsteps 27:31 of the Anzacs and our reflections on the courage, 27:35 loyalty, and commitment, then be sure to join us again 27:39 next week when we will share another of life's journeys 27:42 together. Until then, let's pray to the same God 27:47 that the Anzacs did. 27:48 Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you for our families 27:53 and for our family history and heritage. 27:56 Many of us have family members who have fought in some of the 28:00 of the great battles for Australia. 28:02 We are in awe of the commitment they showed to their country 28:06 and to their beliefs. We want to honor their memory 28:10 and remember their courage during times of hardship. 28:13 We ask you to bless us and and our families today 28:17 In Jesus' name, we pray, Amen! |
Revised 2023-03-09