Captain Robert Cuthbert Grieve Captain Robert Cuthbert Grieve Unit: 37th Battalion, 10th Brigade, 3rd Division Action: 7 June 1917, Messines, Belgium Grieve, 27, commanded the men of A Company, who were hit by fire from a pillbox as they were going through a gap in the wire. Half the men and all the officers except Grieve were injured. Grieve called for help from a mortar and machine-gun unit, but they had been wounded as well. The citations says: ``He then, single handed, under continuous fire from these two machine-guns, succeeded in bombing and killing the two crews, re-organised the remnants of his company, and gained his original objective. Captain Grieve, by his utter disregard of danger, and his coolness in mastering a very difficult position, set a splendid example, and when he finally fell wounded the position had been secured and the few remaining enemy were in full flight.'' Biography: Because no superior officers survived the action described above, Grieve's recommendation for a VC was unusual in that it was issued by the men he led. Grieve, born in Brighton, Melbourne, on 19 June 1889, was educated at Wesley College where he was a keen cricketer and footballer before becoming a travelling salesman. He enlisted on 9 June 1915, and with nine months service in the Victorian Rangers he was commissioned second lieutenant in January 1916. The wound from a sniper he received in the VC action caused him to be hospitalised in Britain for six months. He rejoined his unit but was soon back in Britain suffering double pneumonia and trench nephritis. He returned to Australia in May 1918 and within three months married the Australian Army nurse who had cared for him. He set up his own business which he ran until he died, collapsed at work with a heart attack, on 4 October 1957. He is buried at the Springvale Cemetery; his wife predeceased him and they had no children. He donated his VC to his old school Wesley College, where it was one of the artefacts to survive a fire which destroyed the school's war memorial library.
Corporal Arthur Charles Hall Corporal Arthur Charles Hall Unit: 54th Battalion, 14th Brigade, 5th Division Action: 1-2 September 1918, Peronne France In order to capture Peronne, the 54th Battalion had to cross fields that contained two German trenches. They breached the first but were held up at the second until the actions of two men, Hall, 22, on the left and Temporary Corporal Alexander Henry Buckley, 27, on the right, who rushed two different machine-gun posts. Hall's citation says: ``Single handed he rushed the position, shot four of the occupants, and captured nine others, and two machine-guns. Then crossing the objective with a small party, he afforded excellent covering support to the remainder of the company. Continuously in advance of the main party, he located enemy posts of resistance and personally led parties to the assault.'' Biography: Hall was raised near Byrock, a small NSW town that Henry Lawson labelled ``a dismal place'' which nevertheless offered 23 volunteers to the AIF, four of whom were awarded some of the highest awards for bravery. Born on 11 August 1896, he was working on his father's property before enlisting in the AIF on 3 April 1916. He arrived in France in February 1917 and was wounded -- shrapnel in the right buttock -- the following month. He was discharged in August 1919 and returned to the land until World War II, in which he served as a lieutenant in the 5th Garrison Battalion. He married in 1927 and when he died at Nyngan on 25 February 1978, he was survived by his widow and four children. He is buried at St Matthew's Anglican Church at West Bogan, near a small wooden church built from timber cut on his property.
Private John (Patrick) Hamilton Private John (Patrick) Hamilton Unit: 3rd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Division Action: 9 August 1915, Lone Pine trenches, Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey In the early hours, the Turks launched a fierce attack on the whole front. In the north, this was aimed at the junction between the 3rd and 4th Battalions. The Turks bombed the Australians at Sasse's Sap and the Diggers counter attacked. The Turkish troops then hit back, and broke over the barricade towards 3rd Battalion headquarters. Battalion adjutant Captain Owen Howell-Price told six men to get onto the trench parapet. Under heavy fire, Hamilton, 19, held his position in the open, with just a few sandbags for cover and instructed those in the trench where to throw their bombs while he kept up constant fire with his rifle. The citation says: "His coolness and daring example had an immediate effect. The defence was encouraged and the enemy driven off with heavy loss." Biography: Hamilton died in Sydney on 27 February 1961, the last survivor of the seven Lone Pine VC recipients. He was born at Penshurst, Sydney, on 24 January 1896 and worked as a butcher before joining the AIF. He took part in the initial Gallipoli landing but was evacuated with influenza in March before returning to duty in June. He served in France and England and returned to Australia after the war where he was discharged as Lieutenant in 1919. He lived in Tempe, Sydney, and worked as a wharf labourer for 30 years, being an active union and Labor Party member. He returned to active duty in World War II, serving in New Guinea and Bougainville. He was survived by his widow and a son. 'Capt Shout charged down trenches strongly occupied by the enemy, and personally threw four bombs among them, killing eight and routing the remainder'
Lieutenant George Mawby Ingram Lieutenant George Mawby Ingram Unit: 24th Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd Division Action: 5 October 1918, Montbrehain, east of Peronne, France Ingram, 29, became the last member of the AIF to be awarded a VC. With his company commander wounded, Ingram led the attack against a quarry that held more than 100 Germans armed with 40 machine-guns. The citation says: ``Lieutenant Ingram, without hesitation, dashed out and rushed the post at the head of his men, capturing nine machine-guns and killing 42 enemy after stubborn resistance. Later, when the company had suffered severe casualties from enemy posts, and many leaders had fallen, he at once took control of the situation, rallied his men under intense fire, and led them forward. He himself rushed the first post, shot six of the enemy, and captured a machine-gun, thus overcoming serious resistance. On two subsequent occasions he again displayed great dash and resource in the capture of enemy posts, inflicting many casualties and taking 62 prisoners. Throughout the whole day he showed the most inspiring example of courage and leadership, and freely exposed himself regardless of danger.'' Biography: Ingram was a carpenter who, on four occasions, joined the military. Born in Bendigo on 18 March 1889, he signed up with the militia aged 14. After his apprenticeship, he moved to Caulfield, set up a business and married in 1910, although that marriage was dissolved 16 years later without children. He enlisted on 10 December 1914 with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force and served in New Guinea. He was discharged from that on 19 January 1916 and signed up for the AIF on the same day. He was awarded the Military Medal for his courage and initiative in the attack near Bapaume. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in June 1918 and promoted to lieutenant in October. After the war, he worked with a building contacting firm and became, in 1935, one of the permanent guards at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. He re-enlisted in World War II and was promoted to captain in the Royal Australian Engineers. He remarried in 1927 but his wife died in 1951. He married a third time later that year. He died at his home at Hastings, Victoria, on 30 June 1961 and was survived by his widow, their son and a son from his second marriage. He is buried at the Methodist section of Frankston Cemetery, Victoria.
Private Reginald Roy Inwood Private Reginald Roy Inwood Unit: 10th Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Division Action: 20-21 September 1917, Polygon Wood, east of Ypres, Belgium Inwood, 27, single-handedly attacked an enemy strong post. The citation says: ``(He) captured it, together with nine prisoners, killing several of the enemy. During the evening he volunteered for a special all night patrol, which went out (550m) in front of our line, and there -- by his coolness and sound judgment -- obtained and sent back very valuable information as to the enemy's movements. "In the early morning of the 21st September, Private Inwood located a machine-gun which was causing several casualties. He went out alone and bombed the gun and team, killing all but one, whom he brought in as a prisoner with the gun.'' Biography: Inwood was one of three brothers from the Broken Hill family of miners who served with the AIF -- Robert was killed at Pozieres in 1916 while Harold was wounded and shipped home in 1917. Inwood was born on 14 July 1890 and enlisted on 24 August 1914. He was appointed lance-corporal while serving at Gallipoli but was demoted to private the following year for being absent without leave. After the VC action, he was promoted again and had reached the rank of sergeant by the time he left the battalion on 30 May 1918. He returned to a heroes welcome in Broken Hill, moved to Adelaide and was married within six months and divorced three years later. In 1927 he married again, and then as a widower with no children, married a third time in 1942. He worked as an attendant at the Adelaide City Council until he retired in 1955. He died on 23 October 1971 and is buried in the West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide.
Lance-Corporal Albert Jacka Lance-Corporal Albert Jacka Unit: 14th Battalion, 4th Australian Brigade, New Zealand and Australian Division Action: 19-20 May 1915, Courtney's Post, Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey At 3am on 19 May, the Turkish forces attacked the Anzacs. The Australian forces repelled the Turks, except at Courtney's Post where the ground favoured the Turks. About 4am, the Turkish soldiers entered part of Courtney's trenches, forcing the Anzacs to withdraw. The Turkish soldiers were blocked to the south by soldiers of the 14 Battalion, and to the north by Lance-Corporal Albert Jacka, 22. Lieutenant Keith Crabbe asked Jacka if he could retake the trench. The attempt he made failed, and resulted in two of the three men who joined Jacka being injured in the counter-attack. A second attempt was made, with Crabbe creating a diversion while Jacka worked his way around the Turks' flank. Jacka entered the trench, shot five men and bayoneted two others. Jacka's first words to Crabbe were ``I managed to get the beggars, Sir''. Biography: Jacka, who was awarded the first Australian Victoria Cross of the war, is regarded as one of our greatest soldiers. The official historian C.E.W. Bean wrote: ``Everyone who knows the facts, knows that Jacka earned the Victoria Cross three times''. Jacka was born at Winchelsea, Victoria on 10 January 1893. He worked on his father's farm after school before finding a job with the Victorian State Forests Department. He enlisted at the outbreak of the war and landed at Gallipoli on 26 April 1915. After receiving the VC, his likeness was used on recruiting posters. After being commissioned at Pozieres, in August 1916, Jacka was awarded the Military Cross for what Bean called ``the most dramatic and effective act of individual audacity in the history of the AIF''. Finding himself caught 250m behind enemy lines, he attacked a group of German soldiers escorting 40 Australian prisoners. He was wounded three times in the action in which most of the Australian soldiers were freed and the Germans captured. He was awarded a bar to his Military Cross for his actions at Bullecourt on 8 April 1917 in which Jacka carried out a dangerous night reconnaissance of the enemy's position, breaking through the wire in two places before reporting back. He went out again to lay tapes in preparation for the 4th Division's attack of the Hindenburg line, and captured two Germans. A few months later, at Messines, he led his company in capturing a field gun. In Polygon Wood, Jacka was praised for his role in rallying the troops. In May 1918 he was badly gassed and evacuated to England. A member of his Battalion wrote: ``He deserved the Victoria Cross as thoroughly at Pozieres, Bullecourt and at Ypres as at Gallipoli . . . The whole AIF came to look on him as a rock of strength that never failed. We of the 14th Battalion never ceased to be thrilled when we heard of ourselves referred to . . . by passing units on the march as `some of Jacka's mob'.'' His actions came at a personal cost -- during his convalescence in London, he suffered months of debilitating nervous reactions in which slight noises would cause him to shake extremely. He also clashed with senior officers, with his fiery temperament seen as holding him back from further promotion. He returned to Melbourne in October 1919 to a public reception at Melbourne Town Hall, went into business, importing electrical goods the following year with two former Diggers and then married and adopted a daughter. His business collapsed in the Great Depression but he was elected to the St Kilda Council and served as its mayor. He died aged 39 on 17 January 1932 of chronic nephritis as a result of his war injuries, and is buried in St Kilda Cemetery. Eight recipients of the VC were pallbearers. A house was purchased for his wife from public donations.
Private John William Alexander Jackson Private John William Alexander Jackson Unit: 17th Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd Division Action: 25-26 June 1916, near Armentieres, France Jackson was part of a group of Australians who entered the German trenches on the Western Front on the night of June 25-26. The raiding party was hit by heavy fire returning to their trench. Jackson got back to his trench leading a German prisoner, but then returned into the heavy shell-fire to bring in a wounded man. After bringing that man to safety, Jackson went back again, and was helping Sgt Hugh Camden bring in a badly wounded private when they were hit by shellfire that knocked Camden unconscious and blew off Jackson's right arm above the elbow. Jackson returned to his trench, and after an officer applied a tourniquet to the arm with a piece of stick and string, went out to search no-man's land for another half an hour until he was satisfied all wounded men were back safely. The citation says: ``He set a splendid example of pluck and determination. His work has always been marked by the greatest coolness and bravery.'' Jackson, at 18 years 10 months, remains the youngest Australian to receive a VC and this was the first of 53 Victoria Crosses to the AIF on the Western Front. Biography: Jackson was awarded the army's highest honour but he quit the service at one point in dispute over the validity of his commendations. Born near Hay, NSW, on 13 September 1897, he was a drover when he joined the AIF on 15 February 1915. After training in Egypt he landed in Gallipoli on 20 August and was nearly shipped home after suffering dysentery but joined his unit in time to be shipped to France. He had been originally recommended for a Distinguished Conduct Medal, which was issued to him and then withdrawn because the higher award was issued, but he refused to hand it back and at one stage, during World War II, quit the army over the matter and told them to take him to court. The army decided not to order him to return the medal, and Jackson rejoined the army three weeks later. After World War I, he tried farming before buying a pub in Wollongong and had a string of jobs during the Depression. He was married in 1932, and served between 1941-42 despite his disability. He was involved in a four-vehicle accident in 1946 and was charged with manslaughter but the case was dismissed. In 1953 he moved to Melbourne and worked as the commissionaire with the Melbourne City Council. He died in 1959. Divorced in 1955, he was survived by his daughter.
Captain Clarence Smith Jeffries Captain Clarence Smith Jeffries Unit: 34th Battalion, 9th Brigade, 3rd Division Action: 12 October 1917, Passchendaele, Belgium Jeffries, 12 days short of his 23rd birthday, was involved in the third attack by the Australians on Passchendaele. The attack stalled at two pillboxes east of Augustus Wood. The citation says: ``Organising a party, he rushed one emplacement, capturing four machine-guns and 35 prisoners. He then led his company forward under extremely heavy enemy artillery barrage and enfilade machine-gun fire to the objective. ``Later, he again organised a successful attack on a machine-gun emplacement, capturing two machine-guns and 30 more prisoners. This gallant officer was killed during the attack, but it was entirely due to his bravery and initiative that the centre of the attack was not held up for a lengthy period. His example had a most inspiring influence.'' The attack failed, but Passchendaele was eventually captured by Canadian troops. Biography: Jeffries, born in Wallsend, New South Wales on 26 October 1894, worked as a surveyor at the Abermain Collieries run by his father before signing up for the AIF. Jeffries had a background with the militia, and was appointed second lieutenant in the 34th Battalion before he was shipped out in May 1916. He was wounded in the thigh at Messines in June 1917 and promoted to captain four months before the VC action. He is buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery, near Passchendaele.
Private Joergen Christian Jensen Private Joergen Christian Jensen Unit: 50th Battalion, 13th Brigade, 4th Division Action: 2 April 1917, Noreuil, France The 50th and 51st Battalions were ordered to clear the outpost villages, a series of villages along the Hindenburg Line. They met fierce resistance at one barricade. Jensen, 26, Private William Quinlan O'Connor and four men attacked the barricade, which held about 45 Germans and a machine-gun. O'Connor shot the machine-gunner. The citation says: ``Jensen, single-handed, rushed the post and threw in a bomb. He had still a bomb in one hand, but taking another from his pocket with the other hand, he drew the pin with his teeth and by threatening with two bombs and by telling them that they were surrounded, he induced them to surrender.'' Jensen sent a prisoner to a nearby post of Germans, instructing them to surrender too. Ignorant of their surrender, Australian troops began firing on the second group of Germans until Jensen, at great risk, stood on the barricade waving his helmet until the firing stopped. Jensen was awarded the VC while O'Connor received the Distinguished Conduct Medal. Biography: Jensen, who was born in Denmark on 15 January 1891, became an Australian citizen a month after Australia, along with Britain, declared war on Germany. Having migrated with his family in 1909 and worked as a labourer, he enlisted in March 1915 and was posted to Gallipoli. He was sent to France with the 10th Battalion, wounded and then transferred to the 50th in January 1917. He was severely wounded at Villers-Bretonneux on 5 May 1918 and spent several months in hospital. When he returned to Australia, he worked in an Adelaide bottle shop. He married Katy Herman on 13 July 1921 but died within a year. He is buried at West Terrace Cemetery, Adelaide.
Private Thomas James Bede Kenny Private Thomas James Bede Kenny Unit: 2nd Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Division Action: 9 April 1917, Hermies, France Kenny, 20, was with a platoon ordered to skirt around the village of Hermies, dig in, and engage the enemy. By the time the platoon reached its designated point, it had suffered heavy casualties and immediately found itself in fierce fighting with Germans fleeing other Australian units which had entered the village. The platoon was then pinned down by a machine-gunner. The citation says: ``Private Kenny, under very heavy fire at close range, dashed alone towards the enemy's position and killed one man in advance of the strong point who endeavoured to bar his way. He then bombed the position, captured the gun crew, all of whom he had wounded, killed an officer who showed fight, and seized the gun.'' Biography: Kenny's reputation as an extraordinarily good bomber could be linked to his other reputation, that of a talented rugby player. Born on 29 September, 1896, at Paddington, New South Wales, he was training to be a chemist when he enlisted in the AIF on 23 August 1915. Soon after the VC action, he was sent to Britain suffering trench foot and did not rejoin his unit until April 1918. He was wounded two months later and in August sent home, with nine other VC recipients, to help recruit new troops. After the war he worked as a travelling salesman, first in northern New South Wales and later in Sydney for Penfold Wines. He married in 1927, on the day he turned 31, and the couple had three children, although two died of rheumatic fever. Kenny died on 15 April 1953 and is buried at Botany Cemetery, Matraville.
Lance-Corporal Leonard Maurice Keysor Lance-Corporal Leonard Maurice Keysor Unit: 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 1st Division Action: 7-8 August 1915, Lone Pine trenches, Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey Keysor, 29, was the first of seven recipients of the Victoria Cross at Lone Pine, four of which were awarded to one unit in 24 hours of action. In the attack on Turkish trenches, launched as a diversion to allow the British landings at Suvla Bay, Keysor was a bomb thrower. When the Turks threw their hand-made bombs into the trench, Keysor would smother the explosion with sandbags, or even his own coat. If he had time, he would hurl the bombs back. Several times he caught the bombs mid-flight and threw them back. He was wounded twice but refused to leave his post, keeping his position for 50 hours and helping another company which had lost its bomb throwers. He continued to hurl back bombs until the situation was relieved in what was considered one of the most spectacular individual feats of the war. Biography: In 1977, RSL leader Bruce Ruxton bid a then record $11,700 at Sotheby's in London to buy the Victoria Cross awarded to Keysor, a Canadian Jewish Gallipoli Digger, to prevent it going to a private collector. Keysor was born in London on 3 November 1885, migrated to Canada with his family, then moved to Sydney three months before the outbreak of the war where he worked as a clerk. He enlisted in the AIF and landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. He was evacuated due to wounds he received in the action for which he earned the VC, and was posted to France in 1916. He was wounded twice in 1918, shot in the arm in March and gassed in May which ended his service. Shortly after the war, he returned to London where he married and his wife had a daughter. In 1927, he re-enacted his bomb throwing action for a film For Valour, and had to be treated in hospital for burns and cuts when one of the bombs filled with flash powder exploded. He was rejected for the British Army in 1939 on medical grounds. He died in London in 1951 and was cremated after a service at the Liberal Jewish Synagogue at St John's Wood.
Private John Leak Private John Leak Unit: 9th Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Division Action: 23 July 1916, Pozieres, France Pozieres was supposed to be captured on the first day of the battle of the Somme. After three unsuccessful British attacks, a fourth attempt, from the 1st Australian Division that included the 24-year-old Leak, was made. The citation says: ``He was one of a party which finally captured an enemy strong point. At one assault, when the enemy's bombs were outranging ours, Private Leak jumped out of the trench, ran forward under heavy machine-gun fire at close range, and threw three bombs into the enemy's bombing post. He then jumped into the post and bayoneted three unwounded enemy bombers. "Later, when the enemy in overwhelming numbers was driving his party back, he was always the last to withdraw at each stage, and kept on throwing bombs. His courage and energy had such an effect on the enemy that, on the arrival of reinforcements, the whole trench was recaptured.'' Biography: In 1916, Private John Leak, a 24-year-old teamster from Rockhampton, was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for bravery. The following year, he was sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of desertion. Had the English-born Leak been serving in the British Army, he would have almost certainly been shot by a firing squad. But Leak's desertion was not the result of a soldier's nerves' breaking, like so many convicted of that military offence. Leak was a larrikin, with a charge sheet that showed a long list of offences. And the most common of these was absent without leave. His military record shows that Leak's life conviction for desertion was, within weeks, reduced to two year's imprisonment, and that was suspended. The most likely explanation is that Leak's commanding officers cut him a fair bit of slack because of his VC but that their patience ran out. What would probably have been another absent without leave charge was upgraded to desertion, probably to teach him a lesson. Leak was born in Portsmouth, England in 1892 and came to Australia sometime before the war began. His file shows that his parents were dead and his next of kin was listed as a brother living in Canada. He joined the 9th Battalion on January 28, 1915, and was sent to the Middle East as reinforcement for the unit which recruited almost exclusively from Queensland. Leak's service record shows that his VC was gazetted on September 9, 1916. The next entry gives a glimpse of the kind of soldier he was: ``CRIME'', it read in capitals: ``1. Entering sergeants mess & demanding drink. 2. Neglecting to obey RSM in that he refused to leave Serg's Mess when ordered to by the RSM.'' For that, Leak copped 14 days detention as punishment. Throughout 1917, Leak was charged with being absent without leave on at least six occasions. The punishments varied: forfeited pay on three occasions, detention on three more. Then, in November 1917, Leak was absent from November 1 to November 6. This time, he did face his commanding officer who had handed out the earlier punishments. He went before a Field General Court Martial. Penal Servitude for Life was the punishment. Leak served less than a month. In December the sentence was commuted to two years, and suspended. If the intention was to encourage Leak to mend his ways, it failed. On April 25, 1918, he went absent without leave again, turning up back in his unit four days later. He copped 11 days forfeiture of pay. In June, Leak was in strife again, getting seven days field punishment for ``insolence to an NCO''. Leak was wounded three times and gassed once. He returned to Australia in January 1919, leaving Britain just days after marrying a Beatrice May Chapman, with whom he had been living -- when on leave -- in Cardiff, Wales. There is no record that she ever travelled to Australia. He married again in 1927, and fathered seven children. He returned to Rockhampton to find the locals had put on a welcome home party for him at the railway station. In an interview in 1971, he said he took one look at the party, jumped on a train travelling south, and never returned. He never joined the RSL, or marched on Anzac Day. ``I don't believe in war,'' he said, in the 1971 interview. After the war, he drifted around Australia, working in Victoria, Western Australia before settling in South Australia, where he died in 1972. In 1951, he wrote to the army seeking payment of a war gratuity which he had not claimed in 1919. The old soldier included his service number, and his decoration, but not his address. And so his application was marked ``no address supplied''. No effort was made to track him down and pay the gratuity. Sad, considering the pay he had lost as punishment during the war.
Sergeant Albert David Lowerson Sergeant Albert David Lowerson Unit: 21st Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd Division Action: 1 September 1918, Mont St Quentin, north of Peronne, France The 22-year-old Lowerson was twice commended for his action in the week leading up to the attack on Mont St Quentin. At Virgin Wood on 27 August, he bombed a machine-gun post and the next day he mounted the parapet to bomb the enemy who had pinned down his platoon. On 1 September, Lowerson was on the right of the village in a part of the attack that met fierce opposition. The citation says: ``Regardless of heavy enemy machine-gun fire, Sergeant Lowerson moved about fearlessly directing his men, encouraging them to still greater effort, and finally led them on to the objective. On reaching the objective he saw that the left attacking party was held up by an enemy strong post heavily manned with 12 machine-guns. Under the heaviest sniping and machine-gun fire, Sergeant Lowerson rallied seven men as a storming party, and directing them to attack the flanks of the post, rushed the strong point, and, by effective bombing, captured it, together with 12 machine-guns and 30 prisoners. Though severely wounded in the right thigh, he refused to leave the front line until the prisoners had been disposed of, and the organisation and consolidation of the post had been thoroughly completed.'' Biography: ``Alby'' Lowerson had left the family farm to become a gold prospector before enlisting in the AIF on 16 July 1915. Born in Myrtleford, Victoria on 2 August 1896, he joined the 21st Battalion in Egypt in January 1916. He survived the battle of Pozieres heights but was wounded near Mouquet farm. He was recommended for, but did not receive a Military Medal for ``gallant and skilful work on patrol throughout the operations of the brigade at Armentieres and Pozieres''. He was wounded again in May 1917 at Bullecourt. He was promoted sergeant later that year. He was hospitalised after Mont St Quentin but returned to duty a fortnight later. He was wounded a fourth time at Montbrehain, in the final battle of the war for the Australian infantry. When he returned to Australia, he established a tobacco and dairy farm at Myrtleford named St Quentin. He married in 1930 and the couple had a daughter. He served again in World War II in training units, but died on 15 December 1945 of leukaemia. He is buried at Myrtleford Cemetery.
Private Robert Mactier Private Robert Mactier Unit: 23rd Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd Division Action: 1 September 1918, Mont St Quentin, north of Peronne, France The actions of Mactier, 28, are considered the most extraordinary for the VCs awarded to Australians at Mont St Quentin. Bombing patrols were sent forward to attack German strong points so that the battalion could take the village that overlooked Peronne, but the patrols were unsuccessful and the battalion was stuck. The citation says ``Private Mactier, single handed, and in daylight, thereupon jumped out of the trench, rushed past the block, closed with and killed the machine-gun garrison of eight men with his revolver and bombs, and threw the enemy machine-gun over the parapet. Then, rushing forward about (20m), he jumped into another strong point held by a garrison of six men, who immediately surrendered. Continuing to the next block through the trench, he disposed of an enemy machine-gun which had been enfilading our flank advancing troops, and was then killed by another machine-gun at close range. It was entirely due to this exceptional valour and determination of Private Mactier that the battalion was able to move on to its `jumping off' trench and carry out the successful operation of capturing the village of Mont St. Quentin a few hours later.'' Biography: Robert Mactier and his brother David both signed up for the AIF but only one of them, David, made it home alive. Robert Mactier was born in Tatura, Victoria, on 17 May 1890 and worked on his father's property Reitcam (Mactier backwards) before he enlisted on 1 March 1917. He trained in Britain and arrived in Belgium on 23 November 1917. He is buried at Hem Farm Military Cemetery, France. His brother David signed up again in World War II and served for three years before being discharged. Mactier Park in Tatura hosts the town's annual food and wine festival.
Lieutenant Joseph Maxwell Lieutenant Joseph Maxwell Unit: 18th Battalion, 5th Brigade, 2nd Division Action: 3 October 1918, Beaurevoir Line, near Estrees, France When the 22-year-old Maxwell was awarded the VC, he had previously been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal and two Military Crosses. Maxwell took charge of his company's attack early on 3 October when the commander was wounded. The citation says: ``The enemy wire when reached under intense fire was found to be exceptionally strong, and closely supported by machine-guns, whereupon Lieutenant Maxwell pushed forward single handed through the wire and captured the most dangerous gun . . . He again dashed forward and silenced, single handed, a gun which was holding up a flank company. Subsequently, when with two men only he attempted to capture a strong party of the enemy . . . and it was due to his resource that he and his comrades escaped. Throughout the day Lieutenant Maxwell set a high example of personal bravery, coupled with excellent judgment.'' Biography: Maxwell, who was a boilermaker's apprentice in Newcastle before the war, was born on 10 February 1896 in Sydney. He had served for five years in cadets and militia before joining the AIF on 6 February 1915. He served at Gallipoli from August 1915, and went to France with his unit in March 1916, with time away from his unit in between for two periods of hospitalisation. As a sergeant he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for his action on 20 September 1917 when he took control of a patrol whose officer had been killed. Shortly after he was appointed second lieutenant and promoted to lieutenant in January 1918. He was awarded the Military Cross in March 1917 for leading a reconnaissance patrol that attacked 30 Germans. He was awarded a bar to his Military Cross for his actions at Amiens in August, where he lead the company in attack and rescued the crew from a crippled tank before it burst into flames. After the war, he worked as a gardener in Canberra and southern NSW. He married in 1921 and divorce five years later, then remarried in 1956. He was rejected several times for service in World War II, but signed up in June 1940 under a false name. He was found out and given a position in a training battalion. He died in Sydney on 6 July 1967 and his ashes are interred at Eastern Suburbs Crematorium in Botany.
Sergeant Stanley Robert McDougall Sergeant Stanley Robert McDougall Unit: 47th Battalion, 12th Brigade, 4th Division Action: 28 March 1918, Dernancourt, France In the mist at dawn, McDougall, 28, could hear the sound of bayonet scabbards slapping the legs of German troops on the march towards the Diggers in position along a railway line. He ran for reinforcements and picked up a a Lewis gun from an injured gun team, killing seven Germans who tried to set up their machine-guns near the Australian troops. He ran along the Australian line, firing at 20 Germans who retreated but about 50 enemy soldiers crossed the line. The citation says: ``Sergeant McDougall realised the situation, and at once charged the enemy's second wave single handed with rifle and bayonet killing seven and capturing a machine-gun which they had. "This he turned on to them, firing from the hip, causing many casualties and routing the wave. He then turned his attention to those who had (crossed the railway line), until his ammunition ran out, all the time firing at close quarters, when he seized a bayonet and charged again, killing three men and one enemy officer, who was just about to kill one of our officers. "He used a Lewis gun on the enemy, killing many, and enabling us to capture 33 prisoners.'' Biography: McDougall had the background of the classic Aussie Digger. Born in Tasmania on 23 July 1889, he was an excellent horseman and marksman, a competent bushman and an amateur boxer who gave up his trade as a blacksmith to enlist in the AIF in August 1915. He was posted to Egypt the following March with the 15th Battalion, and went to France in June 1916 with the Queensland-based 47th Battalion. He was awarded the Military Medal for his actions in repelling another attack at Dernancourt eight days after the VC action. After being discharged in December 1918, he became an inspector with the Tasmanian Forestry Commission, and was praised for his brave and efficient rescue work during bushfires. He died on 7 July 1968 at the North East Soldiers' Memorial Hospital, and was survived by his wife who he married in 1926. They had no children. His ashes are at the Norwood Cemetery in Canberra, and the uniform he wore and Lewis gun he used at Dernancourt are in the Australian War Memorial's Hall of Valour.
Sergeant Lewis McGee Sergeant Lewis McGee Unit: 40th Battalion, 10th Brigade, 3rd Division Action: 4 October 1917, east of Ypres, Belgium As the 40th Battalion attacked Broodseinde Ridge, they were pinned down by machine-guns protected in 10 pillboxes. McGee, 29, could see that his platoon would suffer heavy casualties from a machine-gun which lay 50m ahead over open ground. The citation says: ``Single handed, Sergeant McGee rushed the post armed only with a revolver. He shot some of the crew, and captured the rest, and thus enabled the advance to proceed. ``He reorganised the remnants of his platoon and was foremost in the remainder of the advance; and during consolidation of the position, he did splendid work. The non-commissioned officer's coolness and bravery were conspicuous, and contributed largely to the success of the company's operations.'' Most of the 10 pillboxes were captured in other individual acts of bravery. Biography: McGee was working as a train driver until he enlisted in March 1916. Born on 13 May, 1888 in Campbell Town, Tasmania, McGee was posted to the 40th Battalion and shipped to France in November 1916. The battle of Broodseinde was a success for the Australian divisions, although the Diggers were unable to build on the success when rain fell that afternoon turning the battle ground into mud. McGee was killed eight days after the VC action. He is buried at Tyne Cot Cemetery, near Passchendaele, and was survived by his wife and daughter.
Lieutenant Frank Hubert McNamara Lieutenant Frank Hubert McNamara Unit: No 1 Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, AIF Action: 20 March 1917, Palestine Four planes from the AFC No 1 Squadron were ordered to attack a section of railway line. One pilot, Captain Douglas Rutherford, was hit by ground fire and forced down. McNamara, 22, saw that a large group of Turkish cavalry were riding towards the downed pilot and so landed close by to help. The citation says: ``He did this under heavy rifle fire and in spite of the fact that he himself had been severely wounded in the thigh. He landed about 200 yards from the damaged machine, the pilot of which climbed on to Lieutenant McNamara's machine, and an attempt was made to rise. "Owing, however, to his disabled leg, Lieutenant McNamara was unable to keep his machine straight, and it turned over. The two officers, having extricated themselves, immediately set fire to the machine and made their way across to the damaged machine, which they succeeded in starting.'' As the cavalry arrived, the men took off yelling and firing wildly at the enemy. Biography: McNamara was the only Australian airman to receive a VC in World War I and the only Australian to receive the award in the Palestine campaign. He was born in Victoria on 4 April 1894 and after studying at Melbourne Continuation School, he completed a teacher's course and became a teacher. He enrolled in the Senior Cadets in 1911 and then joined the militia's 46th Infantry Battalion. He learnt to fly, while on leave from teaching, at the Point Cook Central Flying school in 1915 and joined the No 1 Squadron of the AFC when it was formed in January 1916. The wounds he received in rescuing Rutherford prevented him from flying in the Middle East campaign but he continued on with the Australian Air Corps and then the RAAF, when it was formed, after the war. He was sent to England in 1925 on exchange with the RAF and returned two years later to command the No 1 Flying Training School. In World War II, he was promoted to air commodore and then air vice-marshal when he became Air Officer Commanding, Headquarters, RAAF, London. He was created a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1938 and a Companion of the Order of the Bath in 1945. He died in London in 1961, and was survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.
Lieutenant Rupert Vance Moon Lieutenant Rupert Vance Moon Unit: 58th Battalion, 15th Brigade, 5th Division Action: 12 May 1917, near Bullecourt, France Moon, 24, was given the task of taking his platoon and capturing a machine-gun shelter. Moon, who had already been wounded that day, led the charge with the cry, ``Come on boys, don't turn me down''. He then chased the retreating Germans to the main trench, but was forced back by bombs. Organising his own volley of grenades, Moon lead the men into the trench, where the Germans had retreated to dug outs, keeping the enemy below until reinforcements arrived. He was wounded twice in taking the trench. The citation says: ``During the consolidation of the position, this officer was again badly wounded, and it was only after this fourth and severe wound through the face that he consented to retire from the fight. His bravery was magnificent and was largely instrumental in the successful issue against superior numbers, the safeguarding of the flank in attack, and the capture of many prisoners and machine-guns.'' Biography: Moon, born in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria on 14 August 1892, followed his father into a career with the National Bank before switching to a career with the military. He was with the 13th Light Horse and 8th Infantry Regiment before he enlisted in the AIF on 21 August 1914. He was promoted to lance-corporal at Gallipoli and within a year had been commissioned as second lieutenant. After the VC action, he returned to Australia for two months before returning to France and being promoted to captain. After the war he had various jobs, including managing a rubber plantation in Malaya, and working as a jackaroo/bookkeeper near Corowa, NSW, before returning first to the bank and then an accountancy firm for the rest of his working career. He signed up again in World War II. He died on 28 February 1986.
Captain James Ernest Newland Captain James Ernest Newland Unit: 12th Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Division Action: 8 April and 15 April 1917, west of Boursies and Lagnicourt, France Newland, 36, and Sergeant John Whittle, of the 12th Battalion, were awarded the VC for their actions in the fierce fighting at Boursies and Lagnicourt. Both men were Boer War veterans and several times stood alongside each other in the defence against the major attack along the whole front. Newland's citation says he was awarded his VC for his bravery on three occasions. "On the first occasion he organised the attack by his company on a most important objective and led personally, under heavy fire, a bombing attack. He then rallied his company, which had suffered heavy casualties, and he was one of the first to reach the objective. "On the following night his company, holding the captured position, was heavily counter-attacked. By personal exertion, utter disregard of fire, and judicious use of reserves, he succeeded in dispersing the enemy and regaining the position. "On a subsequent occasion, when the company on his left was overpowered and his own company attacked from the rear, he drove off a combined attack which had developed from these directions. These attacks were renewed three or four times and it was Captain Newland's tenacity and disregard for his own safety that encouraged the men to hold out. The stand made by this officer was of the greatest importance and produced far-reaching results.'' Biography: Although sometimes claimed as a Tasmanian hero, Newland was born near Geelong on 22 August 1881. He served in the Boer War and joined the Victorian Artillery when he returned, becoming an instructor with the CMF. He was posted in Tasmania when war was declared and joined the 12th Battalion -- a Tasmanian unit. He took part in the Gallipoli landing, being wounded shortly afterwards, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant within a month. He was mentioned in dispatches at Pozieres, and was wounded twice in 1917. He stayed in the army after the war and served as a quartermaster during World War II. When he retired, he worked with the Australian Red Cross in the Northern Territory. He died on 19 March 1949, and is buried in Brighton Cemetery, Victoria, survived by his wife and daughter.
