FAMILY LIFE

Alexander Charles Butcher was born in 1895. Son of George Butcher & Adina (Baker) Butcher.

 ATTESTATION

He was single labourer, eager to do his bit. He travelled to Brisbane on 6^TH January 1915 to complete his application which showed his next of kin as his mother. He stated her name was Mrs. Hull, which was her maiden name. She lived at Dunbible.

The Examining Medical Officer stated that Alexander “can see the required distance with either eye; his heart and lungs are healthy; he has the free use of his joints; and he declares he is not subject to fits of any description. I consider him fit for active service.”  On the second page of the Attestation Paper, he made the following oath in the presence of the Attesting Officer: “I, Alexander Charles Butcher swear that I will well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force until the end of the War … SO HELP ME, GOD.” 

His medical showed he was 21 years old, 5ft 11 inches tall (1.8m). Alexander was enlisted as a private into the 11^th Light Horse Regiment with service No 756

TRAINING AT ENOGGERA

Training for a Light Horseman was quite different from infantry:

Basic military training

·      Drill: Marching, saluting, parade ground discipline.

·      Rifle training: Using the .303 Lee-Enfield rifle, cleaning, loading, and target practice.

·      Bayonet work: Though the Light Horse fought mostly dismounted, they were trained with bayonets for close combat.

·      Physical conditioning: Route marches, fitness exercises, and learning to carry full kit.

Horsemanship

Each man was responsible for his own horse ("Waler" horses from NSW and QLD).

·      Daily grooming, saddling, and feeding drills.

·      Learning to ride in formation, mount/dismount quickly, and control horses under fire.

Mounted combat training

The Light Horse were mounted infantry (not cavalry). They used horses for mobility but usually fought on foot.

·      Training included dismounting under fire, leaving one man in four as horse-holder, and advancing in extended order.

·      Skirmish tactics, scouting, and reconnaissance.

Camp life & discipline

·      Living in tents at Enoggera, with a strict routine of reveille at dawn, roll calls, inspections, parades, and fatigue duties.

·      Soldiers also spent time digging trenches, building camp infrastructure, and learning field engineering basics.

Advanced preparation

Since the Light Horse were bound for the Middle East, training often included desert warfare preparation: long marches in hot conditions, water discipline, and living rough in bivouac camps.

VOYAGE OVERSEAS ROM BRISBANE TO EGYPT

On the 12^th June 1915 the recruits left Brisbane, sailing upon the HMAT Medic. 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.

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

SAILING WITH HORSES

When Alexander stepped aboard the Medic he was not only beginning his own long journey to war but also taking responsibility for a living companion — his horse. Unlike the infantrymen who embarked with little more than their rifles and kit, the Light Horsemen spent much of the voyage tending to the animals that would carry them through future battles.

Below decks, the Medic had been fitted with rows of stalls. Each morning at first light, Alexander and his comrades made their way down into the cramped, airless hold to feed, water, and clean up after their horses. The heat, smell, and flies could be overpowering, but the routine was strict and unrelenting: feed measured out carefully, water rationed, and the heavy work of mucking out stalls done daily to keep the animals healthy. When weather allowed, the horses were brought on deck to stretch their legs, led slowly around the ship, or lifted in slings to keep their muscles supple.

The rest of the day was divided between horse duty, parades, and training. On deck, the men drilled with their rifles, practised bayonet work, and kept up their physical fitness. The ship was crowded, hammocks and bunks jammed together, and meals were plain—bully beef, hard biscuits, and tea—but the men kept themselves occupied with cards, writing letters, or impromptu concerts. Seasickness was common, especially in the early days, and many struggled with the reek of horseflesh combined with the rolling sea.

There were lighter moments, too. The men organised boxing matches and games, and the bond between soldier and horse grew stronger each day. Alexander, like many of his regiment, came from country life and was used to handling horses; brushing down his mount or leading it carefully around the deck gave him a small sense of normality amid the voyage’s monotony.

The journey was not without loss. Some horses sickened and died despite the best efforts of their handlers and veterinary officers. Their bodies were solemnly hoisted up from the holds and buried at sea, a sight that reminded the men of the fragility of both beast and soldier in the campaign ahead.

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.

EGYPT TRAINING

After weeks at sea, Alexander and the regiment reached Egypt in mid-1915. The heat, dust, and strangeness of the desert were a sharp contrast to the green paddocks of Enoggera and the rolling deck of the Medic. The Light Horse were taken to sprawling training camps on the edge of the Nile delta, where long rows of bell tents stretched out across the sand.

Here, days were filled with endless drills under the blazing sun. The men trained in desert manoeuvres, riding long distances over open ground, practising to advance quickly and then fight dismounted with rifle and bayonet. Water discipline was strict; every drop had to be accounted for, both for the men and for their horses. Veterinary officers inspected the mounts constantly, while the Light Horsemen themselves cared for their animals with the same devotion they had shown on the voyage.

Training was not confined to horsemanship. Alexander and his mates dug trenches in the hard desert soil, learned field engineering skills, and practised rapid entrenchment in case of attack. Route marches along dusty tracks tested their endurance, and night exercises taught them to move and fight in darkness. When not drilling, the men rested in camp, explored the bazaars of Cairo when on leave, or wrote letters home in the evenings as the desert cooled.

TRANSFER TO 5^TH LIGHT HORSE AUGUST 1915

By late August 1915, Alexander was transferred to the 5th Light Horse Regiment, already a veteran unit of Gallipoli. For the moment, he remained in Egypt, continuing to train and prepare for future service.

GALLIPOLI AUGUST TO DECEMBER 1915

When Alexander was transferred to the 5th Light Horse in late August 1915, he was sent straight into the trenches of Gallipoli. The August offensives had just ended, and the men of the 5th were holding their lines against the Turks. For the next four months, life was a grind of trench watches, digging and repairing defences, and carrying supplies up from the beaches. Sniper fire was constant, and sickness plagued the ranks; dysentery, lice, and flies made every day a trial.

As the year turned to winter, the peninsula grew bitterly cold. Alexander endured the storms and freezing nights of November, when men who had survived bullets and shells now risked frostbite and exposure. By December, the order came for evacuation. The 5th Light Horse stayed to the very last, keeping up the illusion of strength while men quietly withdrew in small groups. Alexander was among them, slipping away from the trenches and down to the beach under cover of darkness. On Christmas Day 1915, he was safely back in Egypt, disembarking at Alexandria with the rest of the regiment.

DECEMBER 11915 TO FEBRUARY 1916

The following weeks were unsettled, as men were moved between camps, absorbed into new units, or detached for duties around Cairo. At one point, Alexander found himself on Town Piquet in Cairo — part of the rotating guard detachments used to keep order among soldiers on leave in the city’s crowded streets and cafés. It was a thankless but necessary job, and once finished, he was marched out to Tel el Kebir, the sprawling desert camp where reinforcements gathered. There, at the General Base Depot, he trained and waited until 22 February 1916, when he was finally taken on strength again with the 11th Light Horse Regiment, now rebuilding at Serapeum on the Suez Canal. He found the regiment settled at Serapeum on the Suez Canal. Life there was very different from the trenches of Gallipoli. The men trained in desert conditions, riding long distances over the sand, learning to fight in the heat, and practising the strict water discipline needed to survive in the Sinai. Outpost duties, patrols, and camp routine filled his days, with the constant presence of the Canal reminding them why they were there — to defend one of Britain’s most vital lifelines.

APRIL 1916 PIQUET

In April, Alexander was detached for a time to Cairo, where he served on Town Piquet. It was a thankless duty, patrolling the streets alongside other soldiers to keep order among the thousands of troops on leave in the city. When that duty ended, he was sent on to Tel el Kebir, the great desert camp east of Cairo. There he joined the endless drills and parades of the General Base Depot, waiting for orders to return to his regiment.

JULY 1916

At the beginning of July 1916, Alexander marched into Moascar Camp, where the 11th Light Horse had shifted their base. Now, at last, he was back with his unit, just in time for the campaign that would take them deep into the Sinai Desert.

BATTLE OF ROMANI AUGUST 1916

Alexander entered a new phase of the war. The 11th Light Horse were thrown into the defence of the Suez Canal, then rode out into the desert to meet the Turks at the Battle of Romani in August. It was a hard fight under a blazing sun, but a decisive victory, and from there the regiment pushed forward, mile after mile across the Sinai sands. Alexander rode through places that were little more than wells and clusters of palm trees — Bir el Abd, El Arish, Magdhaba — each a staging point in the long pursuit.

PALESTINE 1917

By 1917 the campaign had shifted into Palestine. The Light Horse found themselves fighting before the ancient city of Gaza. Twice they attacked, and twice they were thrown back, suffering heavy losses. In October, when the third attempt began, Alexander fought dismounted as the famous mounted charge at Beersheba broke the Turkish line. From then on, the army pressed north, and the 11th Light Horse endured long months of hard fighting and weary patrols.

REST & RECOVERY 1918

In February 1918 Alexander was granted a brief reprieve, spending two weeks at the Port Said Rest Camp. For the first time in many months, he had proper food, a chance to swim, and time to recover his strength. But the return to the front was not far away.

WOUNDED IN ACTION MAY 1918

On 2 May 1918, while serving with his regiment in Palestine, Alexander was caught in a bombing and wounded in the right thigh and leg. He was carried from the field and passed through the long chain of medical units — from the field ambulance close to the line, to clearing stations and stationary hospitals, and finally to the Australian General Hospital at Port Said. His injury was severe enough to end his war.

RETURNED HOME

On 12 July 1918, Alexander boarded the transport Darwin for home. For more than three years he had ridden and fought with the Light Horse — from the sands of Gallipoli to the Sinai and Palestine — and now his war was over.

FOR HIS SERVICE

For his service Alexander was awarded the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, and the Victory Medal and his name is recorded on the

Queensland Garden of Remembrance, Bridgeman Downs, Wall 40, Row F

HOME LIFE

Alexander married Dorothy (Dot) Newby in 1933 in the Methodist church, Milla Milla. They had a daughter, Marjorie in 1935 and a son, Donald, in 1937. Alexander died 31^st August 1983, aged 87, in Queensland. 

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