IN HONOUR OF ALL ANZACS
The following item is taken from another page ... I am indebted to my cousin Robyn who had researched far more than I did some time back.
SWADLING SNIPPETS
JAMES SWADLING
by Robyn McNamara (nee Swadling)
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
JAMES SWADLING
James Swadling was born in Erina, Gosford, NSW on 17 May 1857 to parents James Pattison Swadling (an 18-year-old sawyer) and Jane Swadling.
James P's parents had emigrated from Seddlescombe, Ssx in 1838, with James P being born just two months after their arrival in Sydney. His wife Jane nee Pettit had emigrated in 1854 from Cambridgeshire.
Since his father James P was involved in the timber industry, James Jnr followed - working as a teamster on the Central Coast and in Sydney. Along the way he met Elizabeth Rose, granddaughter of two convicts. They married on 25 May 1881 in Webbs Creek - this union producing ten children.
James was aged 58 but thought that with his knowledge of horses, teams and blacksmithing he would be of vital use to the war effort. With that in mind he dropped his age ten years and enlisted on 20 September 1915 at Holdsworthy, Sydney. He was accepted and his records ten days later show that
#1405 Trooper James Swadling 5'6½" tall,
of dark complexion having brown hair and blue eyes
was in the 2nd Remount Division - 5th Squadron
which had been formed in Sydney in September that year.
He was listed as a 49-year-old driver (of horses as he had never driven a car) and would earn the princely sum of five shillings a day to live in the desert and see war at close hand.
By the time they arrived in Egypt however, the evacuation of Gallipoli was imminent. When the Light Horse left for Gallipoli in 1915, they left behind detachments to take care of the horses. To free these men to rejoin their regiments, two remount units were formed, each of four squadrons. Accordingly, at the end of March 1916 the units were reduced by half, each contributing two squadrons to a single remount unit.
Following the evacuation of Gallipoli in December 1915, the Australian and New Zealand forces in Egypt underwent a period of reorganisation and expansion. It was decided to expand the AIF from two infantry divisions to four (later five).
Fortunately in James' case (or so it was thought) the maximum age for enlistment was set at 50.
These reinforcements, containing a high proportion of Boer War veterans and expert horsemen, embarked on 10 Nov 1915 on the HMAT Orsova from Sydney. As was the case, the older men with experience with horses were put in charge of the animals and not allowed in the main theatre of fighting.
I ANZAC Corps was initially commanded by General Alexander Godley and comprised the three "veteran" ANZAC divisions\'97 the Australian 1st and 2nd Divisions and the newly formed New Zealand Division. The corps' divisions were initially manning the defences east of the Suez Canal against the anticipated Turkish invasion of Egypt.
James, in the Second Remounts was in support of those fighting campaigns in Sinai and the Suez. Members of the division carried out their first offensive action, crossing the Suez Canal, in the Jifjafa raid between 11 and 14 April 1916.
It is said that the distinguished reputation of Australian horses in the Sinai and Palestine campaigns was in no small part due to the work of the remount units, which were responsible for their training.
On 13 March 1916, under the command of General Sir William Birdwood - the original commander of the ANZAC - the corps began the process of embarking for France but by this time James was in the 3rd Aust General Hospital for kidney related problems. Wife Elizabeth was informed of this in a letter on 23 Mar 1916 which only stated he was "suffering from mild illness".
He was still serving overseas when his father James P died on 14 May 1916 in Leichhardt.
On 9 Jun 1916 James was recommended for discharge from the Abbassia station on the grounds he was "permanently unfit and too old for active service." They had discovered his real age was 59 and he was sent home from Suez per HT Sydney on the grounds of "Senility and Eramillis Kidney".
So there is no great, heroic, Hollywood-style war story for James Swadling - he wasn't a young man seeking adventure as was the case for so many. He probably didn't think he could go over there by himself to win the war in a couple of weeks either. He was a simple man of the bush who, despite his advanced years, answered the call when his country asked and thought his skills could somehow make a difference. And probably the army were happy to take older, experienced men so possibly didn't do too much inspection of the applicant.
James was aged about 69 when he died on 30 May 1926 of Broncho Pneumonia in RPA Hospital Sydney.
He was buried in the Church of England section in Waverley Cemetery on 1 Jun 1926.
James was my great grandfather and I thank him for his courage and service. RIP Robyn McNamara nee Swadling
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ROY LEONARD SWADLING
by Robyn McNamara (nee Swadling)
WE WILL REMEMBER THEM
ROY LEONARD SWADLING
At nearly age 18, Roy Leonard Swadling enlisted as Regl No. 1235 with the "North Coasters" Route March on Sunday, 23rd January 1916 in Coffs Harbour. They became known officially as Carmichael's Riflemen's Club or unofficially as 'Carmichael's Thousand', taking the name from the NSW Minister for Public Information Ambrose Carmichael.
Married men were insured for the princely sum of £300 (donated by local residents to pay premiums) and towns and neighbours issued challenges to each other.
Roy would have been encouraged to enlist as there were constant appeals and notices in the newspapers around the state for men, especially those belonging to rifle clubs, to fight for their country.
Roy was put into the 36th Battalion which became part of the 9th Brigade of the 3rd Australian Division.
It was noted on his enlistment form that his father James was also with the Expeditionary Forces (with the 2nd Remounts). He had formerly been in the Citizens Forces - the Militia. It was no wonder that they were given a rousing reception for those already at camp as this meant their numbers had swelled to nearly 2000 men.
There were raffles run to ensure soldiers left with a wristwatch costing about 40 shillings and socks were being knitted by women and schoolchildren before the soldiers left.
Roy Swadling embarked on the HMAT 'Beltana' in Sydney as a Private on 13th May 1916 in 'D' Company - the same as cousin John James (Jack) Swadling.
It's not known if Roy was informed of the death of his grandfather James the day after his embarkation.
Although the Beltana was supposed to sail to Egypt via Albany in Western Australia, the urgency of troops needed in France meant the destination was changed to England. They arrived there on 9th July 1916 and spent the next four months in training at the Lark Hill, Durrington camp on the Salisbury Plains in Wiltshire.
The Bn crossed to France via Southampton on 22nd November, arriving at Steenwerck, France a few days later. It moved into the trenches of the Western front in the Armentieres sector for the first time on 4th December 1916, just in time for the onset of the terrible winter of 1916-17.
The men were usually rotated one week in and one week out of the front line. When out of the front line the Bn was housed in billets at locations west of Armentieres.
The Battle of Messines launched at 3.10am on 7th June 1917 was its first major battle. This was the battle's storyline in "Beneath Hill 60" about the miners who tunnelled under the German lines successfully, causing the biggest explosion on earth until that date. Nineteen underground mines were exploded along the several mile front line, from the south at Ploegsteert Woods to the north near Ypres. The shock could be felt across the English Channel at Dover.
The battalion held the ground captured during the battle for several days afterwards and was subjected to intense artillery bombardment. One soldier wrote that holding the line at Messines was far worse than taking it.
Roy was wounded in action near the Ploegsteert (Plugstreet) Woods in Belgium on 11th June 1917. He was admitted for a gunshot wound to the thigh and shell shock and was treated by the 9th Australian Field Ambulance, then moved to 12th Australian Field Ambulance where he was treated for abrasions, his wound and shell shock further treated.
Roy was then moved to the Division Rest Station where he stayed until 26th June.
On 13th June the 9th Bde Commander placed a recommendation "this soldier who was conspicuous for his bravery and gallantry in the recent offensive." Roy was discharged to duty in Belgium (Messines) on 29th June 1917 and three days later was awarded the Military Medal.
On 29th June his family were also notified of his injury.
His mother Elizabeth received a letter from the Base Records Office dated 17th January 1918 stating "the London Gazette dated 14th August 1917 had printed an article relating to the conspicuous service rendered by your son..." This was also published in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette #219 of 20th Dec 1917.
Meanwhile his cousin John had died of shrapnel wounds to the stomach on July 4.
On 23rd July Roy reported sick. He was treated by the 9th Australia Field Ambulance for scabies then transferred to the 20 General Hospital at Camiers where he stayed for four days. He was then transferred to the 3rd Australian Division Base Depot at Rouelles where he stayed for two days before being admitted to the 39 General Hospital at Havre.
His promotion to Cpl on 21st October was due to the death of Cpl Charlton who was listed as KIA.
When the German Army launched its last great offensive in the Spring of 1918 on 8th August, the battalion was part of the force deployed to defend the approaches to Amiens around Villers-Bretonneux. It took part in a counter-attack at Hangard Wood on 30th March, and helped to defeat a major drive on Villers-Bretonneux on 4th April.
The fighting to defeat the German offensive had exacted a heavy toll upon the 3rd Division, and the 9th Brigade in particular. Reinforcements from Australia were dwindling and thus it was decided to disband one of the 9th Brigade's battalions to reinforce the other two. The 36th was the battalion selected. In what one of the battalion's officers called an "unselfish act" the 36th disbanded on 30th April 1918.
On 8th May 1918 Roy was transferred to the 33rd Bn ex Base Dep France.
On 21st June, he was involved in a reconnaissance action for which he was recommended to be mentioned in the Corps Orders "For conspicuous courage on the afternoon of 21st June, 1918, North East of Villers Bretonneux. Cpl Swadling, MM, showed great courage during a daylight reconnaissance of No-Man's Land, and subsequent raid on enemy front line when an endeavour was made to capture two Germans. He entered the trench and remained there until the party were forced to retire owing to the approach of an enemy Machine Gun Team."
On 3rd July 1918 Roy was "Congratulated for gallantry and devotion to duty during a daylight reconnaissance of No-Man's Land and subsequent raid on enemy front line on afternoon of 21-6-1918."
Roy was part of the Battalion's famed 8th August Offensive south of the Somme River which was the precursor to the end of the war 100 days later. Again thankfully he came through unscathed.
Roy was with the Battalion when they fought their last battle at the end of September near Le Catelet (east of the Hindenburg Line). It was the last battle because by the order of the then Australian Prime Minister William "Billy" Hughes, all Australian Division had to be withdrawn from all front line duties from the 2nd October 1918.
The 33rd disbanded in May 1919.
Roy's war was not quite over and he must have celebrated a little too much because on 17th May 1919 Roy had to attend a District Court Martial held at Havre charged with "While on active service leave drunkenness on 12 May 1919". He was found guilty and deprived of seven days' pay. This was confirmed by Brig. Gen A R Burrows. Who could blame him after so many years of war?
Roy was left with a permanent limp caused when shrapnel was deflected by his utility belt on his hip. He had also been gassed but later said that nothing was done on his return about that. In his words he "just got off the bus and went on with life".
Roy was discharged on 15th November 1919 and was awarded a Military Medal, BWM, BVM, MID.
I thank him for his sacrifice and courage. Roy was my great uncle in more ways than one. RIP Robyn McNamara nee Swadling
(Roy was my maternal grandfather, known as Pa. Crissouli . Robyn is my cousin .)
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| Roy Leonard Swadling (Pa) |
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