FAMILY LIFE

The Bambery brothers, George Sweeten Bambery (15^th July, 1880) and Timothy Bambery (21^st September, 1882) were born in Warwick, Queensland. They were the second and third of 12 children born to Timothy (Snr.) and Margaret Bambery. In the early 1890’s, the family moved to Crabbes Creek, before finally settling at Caves Point (Fingal Head) in 1897 where they started oyster farming. By 1911, George had purchased land in South Cooloon, as well as at Caves Point and according to his war record at the time of his enlistment he was working as a labourer. George and his brother Timothy went to Murwillumbah Public School.

ATTESTATION

George & Timothy visited the Murwillumbah enlistment centre on the 19^th October 1914. George answered several questions on the document, and we find out he was born in Warwick, Queensland, was, 22 years and 11 months old and a single man. He gave his occupation as labourer. His next of kin was his mother, Hannah, of South Murwillumbah and he had spent one year in the Murwillumbah Infantry, from which he resigned

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CERTIFICATE OF ATTESTING OFFICER

On the second page of the attestation documents the attesting confirms the following “The foregoing questions were read to the person enlisted in my presence. I have taken care that he understood each question, and his answer to each question has been duly entered as replied to by him”

OATH

He also made the following oath in the presence of the Attesting Officer: “I, George Bambery, swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force until the end of the War, and a further four months thereafter unless sooner lawfully discharged, dismissed or removed therefrom: and that I will resist His Majesty’s enemies and case His Majesty’s peace to be kept and maintained; and I will in all matters appertaining to my services faithfully discharge my duty according to law

SO, HELP ME, GOD.” 

MEDICAL EXAMINATION

Military records state that George was 32 years old stood 5ft 5¼ in (166cm) and weighed 143lb (65kg) with grey eyes and dark brown with speckled grey hair.  He had a scar on the palm of his right hand. He had never been vaccinated. He had a small round birthmark on his right thigh. His eye sight was good. George was Roman Catholic. He had a conviction for taking oysters off the river training wall & had been fined.

CERTIFICATE OF MEDICAL EXAMINER

The medical examiner certifies I have examined the abovenamed person, and find that he does not present any of the following conditions, viz: -

Scrofula; phthisis; syphilis; impaired constitution; defective intelligence; defects of vision, voice, or hearing; hernia’ haemorrhoids; varicose veins, beyond a limited extent; marked varicocele with unusually pendent testicle; inveterate cutaneous disease’ chronic ulcers; traces of corporal punishment or evidence of having been marked with the letters D. or B.C; contracted or deformed chest; abnormal curvature of spine; or any other disease or physical defect calculated to unfit him for the duties of a soldier.

He can see the required distance with either eye; his heart and lungs are healthy; he has the free use of his joints and limbs; and he declares he is not subject to fits of any description

I consider him fit for active service

CERTIFICATE OF COMMANDING OFFICER

This is completed during the recruits training. The commanding officer certifies that this attestation of the abovenamed person is correct, and that the required forms have been complied with. He then states “I accordingly approve, and appoint Timothy receiving Regimental No. 725 and George No. 726, and both were drafted to the 15th Battalion, E Company.

15^TH INFANTRY BATTALION

The 15th Infantry Battalion was raised from late September 1914, six weeks after the outbreak of the First World War. With the 13th, 14th, and 16th Battalions it formed the 4th Brigade, commanded by Colonel John Monash. The 15th Battalion is remembered for its bravery and resilience during World War I

AUSTRALIAN TRAINING CAMP

They travelled to Enoggera on 26 Oct 1914, before being moved to Broadmeadows in Victoria for training.   Now training for the new recruits began. Firstly, the men received their vaccinations for smallpox, rabies & plague, then a recruit had to be inducted into military forms of discipline, command, and order. This was partially achieved through a program of basic training carried and, in a sense, was maintained for a long as a man was in the service. It involved marching and drilling with the rifle, cleaning and caring for personal equipment and being supervised and inspected in ways quite different to ordinary civilian life. For example, no boots should be allowed to get in a bad state of wear but must be sent to the bootmaker without delay for repair. Men who were found with hair long and unshaven had to have a haircut and shave

Secondly, after basic training there followed the far more serious exercise of turning a man into a fighting soldier at least partially prepared for the kind of warfare he was about to experience overseas. The topics and exercises in the syllabus of training were a world away from their former lives and included daily physical training, entrenching, wiring, firing rifle grenades, firing the Lewis light machine gun, dealing with gas attack, using hand grenades, using the bayonet, and the routines to be followed in the trenches.

This training was then put into practice during what were called ‘Field Days,’ when men would practice using the skills they had acquired in mock attacks both by day and by night. How well men had learnt to use their weapons, in cooperation with each other in training, would be tested in the harsh reality of the front line. Training would take several months

Australians were given a range of inoculations while in camp. The most important jab was to protect against smallpox and typhoid – indeed, having this was an essential precondition of enlisting.

The recruits were issued with their uniform- service dress jacket was made of Australian wool and its loose fit gave the wearer more allowance for movement. The four large pockets were very useful. A unique feature designed for comfort was the pleated back, which provided a double thickness of cloth down the back that the pack rubbed against. Breeches were corduroy worn with wool wrap puttees. The famous khaki felt slouch hat or early service cap is probably the most distinctive part of the uniform. turned up on the left and featuring a plain khaki band, chinstrap and “rising sun” badge.

SOLDIER’S KIT

Australia's World War I soldiers went to war weighed down by almost 30 kilograms of clothes, weapons, tools and kit.

·      Breeches: made from khaki woollen cord fabric, with side pockets and button flies. Soldiers were issued with two pairs of breeches, plus a pair of dungarees. The breeches ended above the ankles and the gap was filled with puttees.

·      Braces: worn with breeches.

·      Puttees: The men wound these strips of woollen cloth, almost three metres long, upwards from the ankle to just below the knee. Soldiers disliked the puttees, probably with good reason: the tight binding restricted circulation and might even have contributed to the high incidence of trench foot. Mounted troops wore leather leggings.

·      Shirt: Soldiers were given two grey, collarless, flannel shirt, plus a military shirt.

·      Ankle boots: brown and lace-up.

·      Socks: Made from wool or cotton. Soldiers were issued with three pairs.

·      Greatcoat: the khaki woollen coat (which weighed about 3kg) often doubled as a soldier's bedding and was his chief protection against the cold and wet. The coat came into its own when snow hit Gallipoli in November 1915 and also on the Western Front.

·      Jersey

·      Singlets: Soldiers were issued with 2 woollen singlets.

·      Cotton "drawers" (underpants): Soldiers were issued with two pairs.

·      Abdominal belts: a sort of cummerbund that was issued to keep soldiers warm and supposedly ward off disease.

·      Backpacks and webbing: The main backpack was a rectangular sack measuring about 15 inches x 13 inches, closed at the top by a folding cover secured by two straps. The webbing included a web belt, cartridge pouches, small haversack, bayonet frog, an entrenching tool holder (plus another holder for its handle), and a water-bottle holder.

·      Identity disc: Soldiers were initially issued with one medal "dog tag" on a cord, but later in the war they were given two tags, made of compressed fibre.

·      Soldiers were also issued with a "housewife" - a sewing kit containing such items as needles, thimble, thread, wool and button so they could carry out running repairs.

·      Also in their kit were a short-magazine Lee-Enfield (SMLE) rifle, a rifle sling, a bayonet and scabbard, and an "entrenching tool" (they were "diggers" after all). This came in two parts, with the helve (handle) separate from the spade part.

·      Soldiers were issued with eating equipment (knife, fork, spoon, an enamel mug, water bottle (with two-point capacity), and a mess tin with carrier.

·      They also had a clasp knife (with marlin spike, tin-opener and lanyard), razor, shaving kit, soap, comb, two towels, field dressing (carried in the tunic's inside pocket), and a hold-all, in which they could pack their private possessions.

·      No item was probably looked after more carefully than their service pay book: privates were paid six shillings a day.

VOYAGE OVERSEAS

The brothers were part of the original establishment of the 15th Battalion, three-quarters of which was recruited from Northern NSW/ Queensland and the rest from Tasmania. The battalion was united in Melbourne before embarking for Europe in December 1914. They embarked on 22 Dec 1914 on the SS Ceramic with a stopover in Albany, Western Australia. 

Alongside his comrades, he marched aboard, his boots ringing on the gangway. As the ship’s lines were cast off and the quay began to slip away, the reality of war lay ahead, but for now, the sea breeze carried only the sound of voices and the excitement of men bound for adventure, duty, and the unknown.

The epic voyage across the ocean has been described as “the longest journey to war in the history of the world.” They thought it was the start of a new adventure- for many it was their first time so far away from home. However, after some time at sea the biggest problem turned out to be boredom. On the voyage, due to overcrowding, training was limited to mainly to lectures and a little physical training.

SLEEPING & LIVING ARRANGEMENTS

Recruits likely slept in a crowded troop deck below, where rows of hammocks or three-tier wooden bunks were crammed close together.

Air below decks could be stuffy, especially in warmer climates, and seasickness was common during the first few days.

DAILY ROUTINE

Reveille early each morning, followed by physical exercises on the open decks (weather permitting). There were parades and inspections—officers ensured uniforms, rifles, and kit were clean and in order. Training was a little problematic—drill without much space, rifle maintenance, lectures on military discipline, signalling, and trench warfare theory. The ship’s decks were used for marching in tight circles or practising bayonet thrusts into stuffed sacks. Rifle shooting was impossible at sea, so soldiers learned to strip and clean their weapons until it was second nature.

MEALS

Three hearty meals a day were served; breakfast usually consisted of porridge, stew, and tea. Lunch included soup, meat, vegetables, and pudding. Meat, bread with jam and tea was served for dinner. The meals were served in shifts from the ship’s galley. Queues were long, and eating on a rolling ship meant many tried to eat quickly before nausea set in.

HEALTH & SANITATION

Shipboard hygiene was critical—every man was ordered to scrub his section daily to prevent disease. Saltwater baths were the norm, with freshwater rationed for drinking.

THE VOYAGE EXPERIENCE

Entertainment included church drill, concerts, singalongs, card games, and makeshift cricket matches on deck when the weather allowed. To keep up morale, an area of the ship was roped off where regular boxing and wrestling tournaments were held. This became commonly known as the Stoush Stadium. No letters could be sent until they reached port, but men often wrote diaries or unsent letters to be posted later.

The troops engaged in lifebelt drill; a cookhouse on deck; soldiers on fatigues peeling potatoes 'spud bashing'; going to the dentist; barber, pay day; soldiers cleaning personal equipment; medical inspection

CROSSING THE EQUATOR CEREMONY

The crossing the Equator ceremony, ‘Neptune’s Journey,’ was played-out on each troopship.

SIGHTS AT SEA

On the way to Egypt the ship would pass through the Great Australian Bight, cross the Indian Ocean, and stop at Colombo (Ceylon now Sri Lanka) for coal and supplies.

SECURITY

By late 1914, German raiders were active, so lifeboat drills were frequent, and lookouts kept watch for suspicious ships. Troopships generally sailed in convoys or at least took zig-zag courses to make torpedo attacks harder. Ships often travelled under blackout conditions at night, with lookouts specifically watching for periscopes or torpedo wakes.

APPROACHING EGYPT

After several weeks at sea, the men finally saw the dusty shoreline of Port Said or Alexandria. The reality of leaving home truly sank in. The recruits would soon exchange the ship’s cramped decks for the sandy training grounds of Egypt, preparing for what lay ahead. They disembarked at Alexandria, Egypt on 1^st Feb 1915.

EGYPT 1915

Timothy & George’s adventure began after reaching Alexandria in Egypt, on February 1st. The month at sea getting there was followed by a six-hour train trip to Heliopolis and an hour-long march into camp at Heliopolis. Many men kept diaries and the following is an entry from one recording Egypt's brutal weather: "Towering sandstorms blowing like hell. The dust is making a lot of men sick. They are dying at the rate of three a day."

EGYPTIAN TRAINING CAMP

Immediately the 8 companies of the 15th battalion were merged into 4 larger companies (A, B, C, D), with both brothers being moved to C Company under the command of Captain Hugh Quinn. They had already completed their basic training in Australia but over many more tough months, in the Egyptian training camp, the volunteers left their old lives farther behind. They began their training with physical fitness exercises, they were taught individual and unit discipline, how to follow commands, how to march, some basic field skills and how to safely handle his weapons. 

Training would be for eight hours a day six days a week. All day long, in every valley of the Sahara for miles around the Pyramids of Giza were groups or lines of men advancing, retiring, drilling or squatted near their piled arms listening to their officer. For many of the battalions many miles of desert had to be covered in the morning and evening to and from their allotted training areas. At first, to harden the troops, they wore full kit with heavy packs. Their backs became drenched with perspiration, and the bitter desert wind blew on them as they camped for their midday meal and many deaths from pneumonia were attributed to this cause.

GALLIPOLI APRIL 1915

After two months training in Heliopolis his battalion returned to Alexandria on April 12 and from there they sailed to the island of Lemnos, off the coast of Greece. On 25 April 1915 the 15th Battalion was part of a combined Australian and New Zealand landing force that came ashore on the Gallipoli peninsula. The intention of the landing was to gain control of the Dardanelles straits and force Turkey out of the war.
George and Timothy were aboard HMS Seeang Bee with the rest of A and C Company when they left Lemnos early on the morning of 25 April. Companies B and D had left the day before on HMS Australind and were stationed off Anzac Cove by this time. The 15th Battalion was assigned as a follow-up wave for the landing at Gallipoli, and most of the Battalion had landed by the night of 25 April however, C Company did not disembark until 9am on 26 April. They were ordered to support the right of the 3rd Brigade

The 15th Battalion did not land until 9 pm, several hours after the first wave of Anzacs had come ashore, which meant that the fighting by that stage of the landing was mainly taking place in the precipitous ridges above the beach. A diary entry reads-"This morning a fleet of gunboats is bombarding the coast and we are in the midst of them ... Aeroplanes were called in to help. There are more battleships here than I thought the English had. Bombardment is an awful thing. There are a lot of wounded coming from shore”

They were immediately sent into action; they were split up into companies and sent to reinforce other Australian units engaged with the Turks on second ridge. It is believed the Bambery brothers were sent to 400 Plateau, in the region of Lone Pine, which is where both were killed in the fighting over the following days.

A dairy entry reads- “there are plenty wounded. I have carried some dead uns past too. The shrapnel from the Turks is flying over as I write. The Turks bombarded us all day. We lost a few men. Shrapnel has done a lot of damage to us. There are a hell of a lot of killed and wounded ...”

KILLED IN ACTION 26^TH APRIL 1915

During the fighting on 26^TH April, Private George Sweetin Bambery was killed. The following day (27 April) his brother, Private Timothy Richard Bambery was also killed. Both brothers were lost within the first 48 hours of their arrival at Gallipoli.

Owing to the confusion of the fighting, historical documents do not tell us how the two men were killed, but we know it was in the region where the memorial to the missing at Lone Pine now stands. Their remains were never recovered, and their names are recorded on that monument. Sadly, the family read a newspaper article about another local soldier who stated that George & Timothy were dead.

It is now we need to remember that conditions at Gallipoli defied description as the terrain and close fighting did not allow for the dead to be buried. Flies and other vermin flourished in the heat which resulted in an epidemic of sickness. Of the 213,000 British casualties 145,000 or 67 per cent were due to sickness with the primary causes being dysentery, diarrhoea, rheumatic, and enteric fever.

FOR HIS SERVICE & LONE PINE MEMORIAL

For his service, Timothy was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. George’s effects were returned to his mother on 13^th December 1915 and consisted of cards, photos & a horse shoe. On 25^th January 1916 his mother received a War Pension Claim for both her sons of 52 pounds pa from 1^st August 1915

With the brothers having no known grave their names are commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The Lone Pine Memorial, co-located with the Lone Pine Cemetery at Anzac, is the main Australian Memorial on Gallipoli.  It is one of four memorials to men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force. The Memorial is on the site of the Turkish trenches and tunnels which were the objective of the Australian 1st Division attack on 7th/8th August 1915. 

Most Australians killed on Gallipoli are commemorated here, their original graves having been lost in the interim. As becomes readily apparent, relatively few soldiers are buried in the marked graves in the various cemeteries on the peninsula.

The Lone Pine Memorial commemorates 3268 Australians and 456 New Zealanders who have no known grave and those who succumbed to wounds or disease and who were buried at sea during evacuation to Alexandria, Malta, and the UK; 960 Australians (nearly 1 in 8 of those lost) and 252 New Zealand soldiers were thus accounted for.

Many ANZACs wounded at Gallipoli succumbed to their wounds either at sea or on the nearby island of Lemnos, where several cemeteries are located, and the other destinations mentioned above.

Designed by Sir John Burnet, the principal architect of the Gallipoli cemeteries, it is a tapering pylon 14.3 metres high on a square base 12.98 metres wide. It is constructed from Turkish limestone

FOR HIS SERVICE

For his service George was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. The Australian War Memorial has memorialised their names on panel 74 of the Roll of Honour and on the Murwillumbah Cenotaph in Remembrance Park on Tumbulgum Road. The high round column is surmounted by a ball. It is set on a square, on the sides of which are inscribed in marble the names of the 228 soldiers who went from the Tweed district, and who gave their lives for the Empire. On the side facing the main street is tablet telling in gold letters the reason of the erection of the memorial.

Their names are also memorialised at Uki in the park on the corner Rowlands Creek Road & Kyogle Road.  This is a tower with clock and bronze plaques which read “In Honour of Those Men and Women of This District Who Served in World War II and In Proud Memory of Those Who Passed from the Sight of Man "Lest We Forget" Commemorating the 2nd A.I.F.”

If you have any additional information about this individual, we invite you to email us at rsl@msmc.org.au.