Around the Water Cart.

Joe says: In a recent "Water Cart" (Sabretache, March 2004, p 57), I mentioned that it seemed that the last British soldier to be executed was Pre J Itumo of the King's African Rifles (KAR), in 1953. Our Western Australian member, Dr Cecil Walkley, kindly wrote that he had served as Regimental Medical Officer with KAR, was familiar with the case and would seek more information from the Regimental Association. He has now supplied some fascinating details--too long for a "Water Cart" snippet--so I will produce a short stand-alone item for a future Sabretache. Thank you, Dr Walkley.

On 12 August 2004, the Quick Fire 25 Pounder Gun (QF 25 Pdr) was fired for the last time in Australian service at the Proof and Experimental Establishment, Graytown, South Australia. The 25 Pdr served operationally with the Australian Army from 1940 until the 1960s. After retirement from front line service, this particular gun served on as a proof and testing platform, mainly used for vertical recovery testing of fuses. The decision to retire the 25 Pdr was due to a combination of lack of ammunition, high maintenance costs and the decommissioning of the Vertical Recovery Capability at Graytown. A total of 10 rounds, 7 blank and 3 HES, were fired in the final practice. The final round was loaded and rammed by WO1 Colin Wattego, RAA, who had been a student on the last 25 Pdr course conducted by the Australian Army. (Le Grognard, Newsletter of the ACT Branch, October 2004).

Princess Alexandra recently presented the Peoples' Dispensary For Sick Animals' Dickin Medal to a six-year-old Springer spaniel named Buster at the Imperial War Museum in London. The Army dog, serving in Safwan, Southern Iraq, was working with his handler in some buildings thought to be the headquarters of terrorists responsible for attacks on British troops. The location had already been thoroughly searched, but Buster gave a "positive indication" and stared intently at a wardrobe. When it was moved, a piece of tin fell from the back, revealing a concealed cavity containing Russian AK47 assault rifles, a pistol, six grenades, ammunition and two kilograms of cocaine. The Dickin Medal was awarded to Buster for his bravery and devotion to duty. It is the highest decoration for gallantry that can be bestowed on any animal member of the British and Commonwealth Forces. It has already been awarded to 32 pigeons, 23 dogs, three horses and a cat since 1943. (Duty First, Journal of the NSW Branch of the Royal Australian Regiment Association, Spring 2004).

Mr Arthur Gane, ex-RAAMC, wrote to the Army Newspaper saying that he is researching a family member who served in 53rd Infantry Battalion in WWI. He is interested in hearing from any serving members who may have had family in that unit. He also asks if anyone has a copy of the unit history, The Whale Oil Guards. (Army, 7 October 2004). Joe says: As Mr Gane is particularly interested in photographs of the unit in training and at rest, he would no doubt also be pleased to hear from any MHSA members researching 53rd Battalion. According to Syd Tregellis-Smith's bibliography Shaping History, (author, 1996), The Whale Oil Guards by John Kennedy was published in Dublin in 1919 and The Whale Oil Guards: A Brief History of the 53rd Battalion AIF, 1914-1918, by Ron Crank DCM was published by the 53rd Battalion Association in 1965. Someone may be able to help with a copy? Contact Mr Gane at 2/7 Hesper Drive, Forster, NSW, 2428 or at [e-mail]

Divers have recovered a piece of the Nazi battleship Admiral Graf Spee off the coast of Uruguay, more than 60 years after it was scuttled by its captain off Montevideo to prevent it from falling into British hands. A group of private investors from Argentine and Germany plans to refloat the remains of the battleship and rebuild it on land as a museum. An international team of divers has refloated the Graf Spee's rangefinder, the first radar antenna to be installed on a warship. The 27 tonne find, which is 10.5m wide and 6m tall, is awaiting transport to shore from their marine crane. (The Canberra Times, 27 February 2004).

"For 'tis the sport to have the enginer/hoist with his own petar" (Hamlet, Act 3, Scene IV). The "Petardier" first appeared in the British artillery establishment in 1618. Little is known of the early history of the appointment, but in 1686, when the "Bombardier" came into being, the Chief Petardier and four Petardiers with the same pay and status as Bombardiers were on establishment. The Petardier's specialty was the 'petard' (Shakespeare wasn't strong on spelling!). This type of mine, said to have been invented by the Huguenots around 1589, was a bell-shaped, gunpowder-filled contained of brass or iron, fixed to a wooden base. By exploding the device against the door of a fort or other fortification, the Petardier hoped to demolish it. The Firemaster was expected to train the Petardiers in its use. To quote the old drill book:

   "... a strong hooke is to be scrued into the substance you intend
   to ruine (Shakespeare wasn't the only one!) and upon the hooke
   hangs the wringle (ring) of the petard, and likewise to be shored up
   with a strong forked rest to stay the reverse of it. (There follows
   directions for filling and fusing the petard, plus a final warning)
   ... the Petardire must be careful to avoyd the danger of her Reverse
   by retyring in side line from it"

In the event of the door being too strong, the petard could easily become a projectile, to the extreme discomfort of any Petardier who had not kept strictly to the drill and 'retyred' to the side in accordance with instructions. Evidence that petards did sometimes backfire was obviously available to Shakespeare and has come down to us in the modern expression "hoist with his own petard". As the use of the petard diminished, the duties of the Petardier and Bombardier became interchangeable, so one of them had to go. The Bombardiers survived; after 1728, Petardiers ceased to be held on establishment. (Le Grognard, July 2004)

General Robert E Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia at Appomattox Courthouse on 9 April 1865. However, the Civil War had another month to run and the last battle was not fought until 13 May 1865, in Texas. On that day, a Union force consisting of troops from the 2nd Texas Cavalry, the 34th Indiana Volunteers and the 62nd Coloured Infantry clashed with a similar sized Confederate force at Palmetto Ranch. The final volley of the war was fired at about 4 pm by the 62nd Coloured Infantry and shortly thereafter the Confederates surrendered. Casualties were light, but Private John J Williams of Company B, 34th Indiana Volunteers, earned the melancholy distinction of being the last soldier to die in action during the Civil War. (Le Grognard, July 2004).

In late March 1942, Japan ruled the skies over New Guinea. So when a lone Japanese "Nell" bomber appeared at 10,000 feet near Seven Mile Strip and some 16 kms inland from Port Moresby at about 1 pm on 31 March, some thought it was a lone reconnaissance aircraft. Australian P-40 Kittyhawk fighters from the token squadron at Port Moresby were ordered to intercept, but did not depart. Nor did a single Army anti-aircraft gun fire--because the "Nell" approached from the northwest, hesitated and turned southwest, then resumed course. As it came out of a cloud, one wing broke off with an audible crack and the aircraft plummeted to the ground. It has now been revealed from Japanese records that the eight-man crew of the Mitsubishi Type 96 had been involved in an attack on Clark Field in the Philippines on 12 December 1941. Their aircraft was hit by anti-aircraft fire and crash-landed. All eight crew were captured, to be discovered and released when Japanese ground forces overran the Philippines. However, the men had been officially listed as missing and--in accordance with Japanese naval custom- given a one-rank promotion. They were regarded as a bad example for having been captured, segregated from other Japanese aircrew for morale purposes and continually placed in the most vulnerable position of bomber formations sent against Australian targets. But they kept coming back. Finally, Admiral Takajiro Onishi issued an instruction that the bomber crew was to fly over Port Moresby with no escort and ordered, "Do not return". The crew set out on the morning of 31 March from Lae and at 12.45 local time Port Moresby reported to its base at Rabaul, "finished bombing. All bombs hit mark". Fifteen minutes later, another radio message came: "We will go in. All around is clear. Thank you for your kindnesses during our lifetime. Banzai for the Emperor (Tenno heika)". It now appears that, even though the aircraft was armed, the bombs reported as released at 12.45 were never dropped on Australian positions. They may have been salvoed, unarmed, when the bomber made a slight variation over the swamps before entering Moresby airspace. Even today, nobody knows why the wing suddenly cracked and fell off. It was certainly not caused by the mild atmospheric conditions or by ground or aircraft fire. Was it sabotage? Were vital wing bolts removed or the main spar partly sawn through--under orders--before the bomber departed? It seems unbelievable that the wing broke off accidentally just moments before the crew intended to self-destruct. All eight crew are believed to be buried somewhere beside the wreckage of their aircraft in the Waigani area outside Port Moresby. (Air Force News, 29 July 2004).

"Sandy", the former mount of Major-General Sir William Throsby Bridges, (whose body was returned to Australia and buried on Mount Pleasant in Canberra as described in Joe's feature in Sabretache, September 2004) was the only one of over 136,000 Walers returned to Australia after serving in WWI. "Sandy" came home in 1918, after quarantine in Egypt, to live out his twilight years in a paddock by the river at Maribyrnong, Victoria. When the gelding, growing blind and weak, was humanely put down in 1923, a taxidermist from the Australian Museum in Sydney was standing by. Sandy's head and neck was mounted and displayed at the Australian War Memorial until taken down for storage in the 1980s to make way for other collections. A large new humidified glass cabinet is being constructed for the head. Memorial spokeswoman Laura Ryan said "It has to be remembered that Sandy is now almost 100 years old and that he is a very fragile and precious relic ... once the cabinet is ready, we do intend to display him again from time to time and perhaps to lend him out for short periods to other institutions. (The Canberra Times, 7 July 2004).

Marcel Caux's state funeral was held in Sydney on 27 August 2004. When he died aged 105, he was one of only four Australian survivors of FIRST WORLD WAR. But as early as 2001, when he first became know to most Australians from reports of a Remembrance Day service at Martin Place in Sydney, questions were being asked by military historians and others about him. Newspaper reports at the time said that he had enlisted, aged 16, in the 17th Infantry Battalion and transferred to the 20th Infantry Battalion. But the AIF Nominal Roll shows no "Marcel Caux"; nor does the embarkation roll of the 17th Battalion. The Department of Veterans' Affairs confirmed that the man then known as Marcel Caux had served, but that he had preferred to retain some anonymity until that time and had asked that his service record remain private. The Sydney Morning Herald story published on the day after Mr Caux's funeral provides some answers. It also indicates the depth of the mystery surrounding Marcel Caux. The Department of Veterans' Affairs issued a statement on the eve of the funeral: "The Department is confident as to Mr Caux's identity and this is supported by available records". The spokesperson for DVA would make no other comment, but an undertaker confirmed that Mr Caux's body had been examined after he died and (the newspaper said) that this had been to check his war wounds and other identification marks, such as the mole behind his left knee. It is now clear that Marcel Caux was born, enlisted, fought and was wounded as Harold Katte. The deception began when Harold enlisted in September 1915. He declared he was 18, when he was only 16. His father, Percy Katte, signed the enlistment application for Harold, only 5ft 6in (165cms) and 7st 101b (49 kilograms). Harold was wounded three times, including in 1916 at Pozieres and in 1918 near Villers-Bretonneux, on the first day of the battle of Amiens, where his knee was shattered and his war ended. He was still only 19 when shipped off to England for repatriation. Back in Australia, he sought to put his past behind him. His son, Marcus de Caux has said that Harold cut off all ties with his family after the war because they treated him badly. By the time he married in 1929, he had become Marcel Caux, choosing his name from Pays de Caux in France. His wife believed him to be French; the marriage certificate records him as having been born in Brest. Although there is no record of a divorce, he married again in 1949, this time claiming to have been born in Quebec. It was only in 1998, when the French authorities invited Marcel to go to France to accept the Legion of Honour that he confessed to his family, declined the offer of a return trip to France, but accepted the medal at a private ceremony in Sydney. When newspapers published lists of WWI survivors in 1999 and 2000, Caux's name did not appear, although he was included as "anonymous". From 2001, he became a regular at Anzac Day and Remembrance Day services. Harold Katte, born in 1899 in Marrickville, although some records say Hurstville, had four siblings. Their descendants thought Uncle Harold has "just disappeared". (The Sydney Morning Herald, Weekend Edition, 28-29 August 2004). Joe says: Marcel Caux's death left four surviving men who enlisted for service in WWI: Peter Casserly, 106, who served on the Western front with Railway Transport units; Evan Allen, 105, of Melbourne, who served with the Navy; John Ross, 105, of Bendigo and Gilbert Bennion, 106, of Tweed Heads, neither of whom served overseas.

Joe says: Thanks to our member J Scott-Durbin, who adds to our information on the rank of WO3 in the British Army (Sabretache, March, June and September 2004). He writes that WO 3rd Class (PSM) James Love of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, who is buried in Kanchanaburi Cemetery, Thailand, would have been caught with 2nd Argylls at the fall of Singapore in February 1942. At that time, the Argylls, whose pre-war station was Malaya/Singapore were still using 1938 ranks. He also recalls Warrant Officers Class Two of 1st Battalion The Gordon Highlanders changing to the "single crown" badge of rank several years after the war, leaving the RQMS as the sole wearer of the crown and laurel leaves.