George Victor Browning

During the First World War, 27 officers of the Australian Customs Service served their country of birth, or adoption, in the military forces or in a support capacity.  

George Victor Browning  was one of them.

George Victor Browning

George Victor Browning had joined the Department of Trade and Customs, as a junior clerk, in 1915.  He was one of six children (five boys and one girl) born to Charles and Ellen Browning of Eastbourne Street, Windsor, a suburb of Melbourne. The Brownings saw four of their boys off to war, the fifth, Roy, being too young. Walter, serving in the 22nd Battalion, was killed in action at Bullecourt on the 3rd of May 1917. He would have been only a short distance from his brother George who was in the same action. Norman, serving with the field artillery, was wounded but returned home safely at the end of the war. Charles, the first to enlist in August 1914, served at Gallipoli and in France, also returning home at war’s end. When George enlisted on January the 24th 1916, his three older brothers were already in uniform.

As George marched into the recruiting depot he would have been determined to enlist and join his brothers, in particular Norman and Walter who had signed up only eight or nine days earlier.  At only five feet four and a half inches tall, he needed to stretch a little to make the grade. This was helped, no doubt, by his thick mop of black hair, which could have accounted for an extra inch or so.  He would also have hoped that his pale complexion and protruding ears did not give the recruiting officer reason to question his age, because he was going to tell a lie. George was to give his age as 18 years when, in fact, he was only 17 years and 4 months. He need not have worried; the war machine was too hungry for new recruits.

George was posted to the 13th reinforcements of the 21st Battalion and commenced his training at Broadmeadow Camp. Early July saw his unit board the transport “Ayreshire”, arriving in France on November the 22nd 1916, via a two month training session in England. No summer sports for these lads, it was straight into a miserable winter on the Western Front.

Life in the trenches was no boy scout camp.  If the Germans weren’t trying to kill you, then nature would take over. Mostly, everything bad happened at once and one of the most miserable impacts was a disease known as “trench foot”. Trench Foot was, in fact, a fungal infection brought on by prolonged exposure to dampness. If not treated, gangrene and amputation could result.

AWM E00081 - 

Australian ambulance men at

Bernafay carrying victims of trench foot

George Browning found the harsh conditions of that first winter in France cared little for sensitive southern feet and he was an early victim of trench foot, being hospitalised for three months in early 1917. However, he was able to return to his unit in time for the action at Bullecourt on May the 2nd, the same battle that saw his brother killed.

Another bout of trench foot in August/September 1917 saw George have a further break from the front, but he was back in the thick of things by the time the Australians advanced and captured Broodseinde Ridge, east of Ypres, in October.

Late 1917 saw the Australian army in a rather battered state. Units had been heavily depleted and replacements were both slow in arriving and inexperienced. It was time to draw breath and take stock. For George Browning, this meant a period of leave in Paris, followed by a further three weeks in Britain, together with participating in the regrouping that was being undertaken. However, the human harvesting machine demanded more fodder and, by late March 1918, it was back to work.

April 1918 saw the beginning of actions that would eventually lead to the German surrender. The 21st Battalion, with many other Australian and allied units, took part in battles at Hamel, Amiens and Mont St Quentin. The 21st suffered heavily and was, by September that year, reduced to barely company strength. In late September, the order was given to disband and reinforce other units.

However, the survivors of the 21st had other ideas and on the 25th of September they mutinied. Commonsense seems to have prevailed and the order to disband was withdrawn before the day was over. Yet, the writing was on the wall. The 21st Battalion fought its last engagement at Montbrehain on the 5th of October and was withdrawn from the front the next day, being finally disbanded on October 13th. George Browning was redeployed to the 24th Battalion on that day and returned to Australia in June 1919. He was discharged from the AIF shortly afterwards.

Courtesy National Archives of Australia, 

series J2364 Circa 1940-1955. 

George Browning is believed to be middle row, 

far left in light suite and dark hair.

George returned to his employment with the Department of Trade and Customs and was married to Olive in the early 1920’s. They had, at least, two sons and the young family relocated to the new national capital, Canberra, around 1930, taking up residence in Lister Crescent, North Ainslie and, later, in Toms Crescent, Ainslie.  

Following the family example, George and Olive’s boys enlisted in the services during World War 2.  Walter joined the navy in 1942, returning home safely in 1945. Victor joined the army in 1944, but sadly died of illness in 1945 while still undergoing training with 19 Infantry Training Battalion.

George Victor Browning passed away in Canberra on the 19th of March 1971.  He had done his duty.

    

Hugh Gerner Brain

During the First World War, 27 officers of the Australian Customs Service served their country of birth, or adoption, in the military forces or in a support capacity.  

Hugh Gerner Brain  was one of them.

Sir Hugh Gerner Brain

It was Tuesday morning, July the 13th 1915 and a typical winter’s day in Melbourne, with scattered cloud and cool temperatures. Australia’s campaign at Gallipoli was in its third month and casualties were mounting. The Melbourne newspaper, The Argus, reported in its issue on that day that total Australian casualties were 2298 killed, 8097 wounded and 783 missing. The newspaper also advised that the new minimum height for new recruits was down to five foot two inches, allowing selection from a much larger pool of potential recruits.

Hugh Gerner Brain

Imagine, for a moment, a pale, almost sickly young man with a mop of brown hair, neatly combed and with grey eyes peering out from beneath thickish eyebrows. He is only slightly built, perhaps a little under  five and half feet in height with a beak-like nose hovering uncertainly in the centre of a pleasant, but plain, face.

His quiet and precise manner mistakenly suggests a degree of nervousness as he approaches the recruiting staff who had recently established a depot in downtown Melbourne.  This was not the first time he had attempted to enlist, having been previously rejected on physical grounds. On this occasion, however, he would not be turned away.

Born on the 3rd of December 1890, Hugh Gerner Brain was in his 25th year as strode into the recruiting depot. A quick medical examination, an oath, a signature or two and he marched out as a new recruit in an Australian army struggling to maintain operational viability.

Hugh had attended Armadale State School and, following the award of a scholarship, University High School, a co-educational private school.[1]  His education had been interrupted following an accident and his wish to study law was not to be fulfilled. He sat the State public service exam in 1906, commencing employment with Victorian Public Service Commission. In 1913, Hugh transferred to the Commonwealth Public Service and the new Inter-State Commission with the Department of Trade and Customs.

Hugh Brain’s abilities received early recognition, being temporarily advanced to “corporal” in early October 1915 as the new 31st Battalion was being formed. The battalion embarked for service overseas on the 5th of November aboard the “Bakara”, and arrived in Suez on the 7th of December.  The unit did not proceed to Gallipoli as the evacuation was about to commence. Any disappointment amongst the troops on having missed the action was to be dispelled, however, when the 31st Battalion was decimated in its first action at Fromelle in July 1916.

Fortunately for Hugh, however, he had been snatched up by ANZAC HQ. His advanced administrative skills were in high demand and assisted his early advance through the ranks.  

The Australian Dictionary of Biography takes up the story:

“Posted to 1 Anzac Corps headquarters in March 1916, he rose to warrant officer while serving on the Western Front and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal (1917). In August 1917 he was commissioned and transferred to A.I.F. Headquarters, London, as deputy assistant adjutant general. Promoted captain in August 1918, he returned to Melbourne in June next year for duty with the business board of administration, Department of Defence. He was appointed M.B.E. (1918) and O.B.E. (1919), and placed on the Reserve of Officers on 30 September 1919.

After the war Brain took George Swinburne's advice, left the public service and joined Edward H. Shackell & Co.: the firm administered secretarial and shareholding matters for the Baillieu-engendered Collins House group of companies, based on the Broken Hill silver, lead and zinc resources, and governed from Collins Street. Shackell was the brother-in-law of W. L. Baillieu. With Aubrey Bulte, recruited from the Public Works Department, Brain worked as secretary to the Electrolytic Zinc Co. of Australasia Ltd, Metal Manufactures Ltd, Amalgamated Zinc (de Bavay's) Ltd, Minerals Separation Ltd and Hampden Cloncurry Copper Mines Ltd. On 3 June 1920 at St Mary's Anglican Church, Caulfield, he had married Monica Eva Futcher.

In 1929 Brain, Bulte, Victor Bolderman, Ellis Davies and Marsden Blackwell purchased shares in Edward H. Shackell & Co. On Edward's death in 1932, the group assumed control, with Edward's brother Harold as governing director. The company was renamed Secretariat Pty Ltd. At its peak, Secretariat administered the affairs of forty-seven firms, including over thirty gold-mining companies. The goldminers were dispensed with in the late 1930s as the company concentrated on the manufacturing firms, Electrolytic Zinc, Associated Pulp & Paper Mills Ltd, Metal Manufactures and its subsidiaries, Austral Bronze Co. Pty Ltd, Cable Makers Australia Pty Ltd and Austral Standard Cables Pty Ltd.

Members of The Australian Naval Board.
Brain is on extreme right

During World War II Brain's business talents were put to public use. He was deputy-director of hirings, Army Headquarters, Melbourne, honorary assistant-secretary, business matters, Department of Defence, and business member (1941-42 and 1944-46) of the Naval Board; he was also a member of the Naval Charter Rates Board, of the committee establishing war-damage insurance regulations and of the paper industry wartime advisory council. In addition, he performed part-time staff duties with the Volunteer Defence Corps in 1943-46.

Secretary of Gold Mines of Australia Ltd, Western Mining Corporation Ltd and Western New South Wales Electric Power Pty Ltd, Brain was a director of Austral Bronze and Cable Makers of Australia, and joint managing director of Metal Manufactures. In 1956-68 he was chairman of the Australasian Temperance & General Mutual Life Assurance Society. By 1960 Bulte, Davies and Blackwell had died. The shares of Secretariat were sold jointly to E.Z., A.P.P.M. and W.M.C. Brain retired from the company that year and established a consultancy in Lonsdale Street.

Named Victorian Father of the Year in 1959, Brain gave his £500 award to Melbourne Legacy, an organization with which he was actively associated from 1930 (president 1935). He sat on the Baillieu Education Trust from its foundation in 1935 (chairman 1941-52), and for some thirty years was a member of the Soldiers' Children's Education Board and the advisory board to the Council for Christian Education in Schools. Although not a graduate, he chaired the University of Melbourne's appointments board for twelve years and was a board-member of the summer school of business administration for fourteen; he was, as well, a councillor of Ormond College, a trustee of St Hilda's College and a fund-raiser for International House. For over thirty years he was a member of the Schools' Board and its successor, the Victorian Universities and Schools Examination Board, and chairman of its finance committee.

Among his other public positions, Brain was a trustee of the Cairnmillar Institute, a member of the advisory board of the Melbourne Young Women's Christian Association, chairman of the appeal committee of the Melbourne Lord Mayor's Fund for Hospitals and Charities, a member of committees of the Presbyterian Church of Victoria and chairman of the Anzac Fellowship of Women. He had been a special constable during the 1923 police strike and a member of a large, anti-subversion group in Melbourne during Jack Lang's turbulent premiership of New South Wales. In 1951 he was associated with Sir Edmund Herring in 'A Call to the People of Australia'. Brain was for many years a member of the finance committee of the Liberal Party, Victorian branch. In 1963 he was appointed foundation president of the Victorian Institute of Licensed Shorthand Writers. For forty-five years he was honorary secretary of Premises Ltd, the company which backed the Athenaeum Club, of which he was made an honorary life member. He was also 'moneyer' for nearly twenty years of the Beefsteak Club.

Brain was an energetic, talented and highly valued servant, rather than a leader. With a sound sense of humour, he was fond of practical jokes. As a hobby, he wrote limericks about hundreds of Legacy members. His honours, including life membership of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, culminated in a knighthood in 1972. Sir Hugh died on 31 December 1976 at Heidelberg and was cremated with Presbyterian forms; his wife, son and two daughters survived him”.

---

[1] Frank Strahan, 'Brain, Sir Hugh Gerner (1890 - 1976)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 13, Melbourne University Press, 1993, pp 246-247.

A Custom of Service - Eric William Benjafield

During the First World War, 27 officers of the Australian Customs Service served their country of birth, or adoption, in the military forces or in a support capacity. 

 Eric William Benjafield  was one of them.

29919 Gunner Eric William Benjafield

By the time Eric Benjafield enlisted in the AIF in early 1916, the sense of adventure which characterised those who joined in the early stages of the war had been replaced with a more sober realisation of what lay ahead.  The heavy casualties from the Gallipoli campaign had brought a new realism to the decision to “join up”.  Yet, when this fresh faced young man lined up for his new uniform, the full horrors of the Western Front had not yet been encountered by Australian troops.

Eric William Benjafield was born on the 7th of October 1893 at Latrobe in North West Tasmania. Life in that beautiful part of the world would have been great for a young lad.  Plenty of fresh air, good food - locally produced - and exercise aplenty all served to produce strong and healthy young men, at just the time the Empire called.

Queens College Hobart

Eric's father, Frederick Benjafield, was Postmaster at Devonport West Post Office and wished to ensure his son had every opportunity to progress through life.  It was for this reason that young Eric found himself a boarder at Queens College in Hobart, where he completed his education.

While he commenced his career as a “civil servant” in the young Commonwealth Public Service, available records do not indicate, definitively, in which Commonwealth Department Eric served.  However, the Australian Customs Department in Canberra clearly identifies a “Benjafield, EW” as one of their officers who served in the 1st World War.  Furthermore, Australian War Memorial and National Archives of Australia records indicate only two Eric Benjafield's as serving in that war, one of whom is an Eric William Benjafield.  Given that the other Eric is described as an orchardist or farmer from south of Hobart, it is reasonable to consider that “our” Eric was an employee of the Customs Department.

Eric appears to have relocated to Melbourne at some stage prior to his enlistment.  The evidence for this is suggested from two sources.  The first pointer to Eric's residency at this time is his pre-enlistment medical examination which was conducted, in Melbourne, on the 28th of January 1916.

The second pointer is less precise.

Voting age in those days was at 21 years, which meant Eric was too young for the election of September 1914 and, as could be expected, there is no electoral roll record of him up to that time.  However, the next election was called for the 5th of May 1917 (writs issued on the 26th of March 1917) and the Conscription Referendum was held in 1916.  Troops, both at home and abroad would have been given the opportunity to register and vote and, in any case, Eric attained his “majority” in October 1914.  The only Electoral Roll entry is of an Eric William Bengafield (note spelling) in the 1919 roll showing an address at 195 Brighton Rd Elwood Vic.  As this is the only “Bengafield” of any gender or given name in Australia on an electoral roll between 1901 and 1936, it is reasonable to assume this to be “our” Eric and representing his civilian residency in 1914-1916.

Claremont Camp near Hobart,Tasmania

Notwithstanding his whereabouts when he chose to enlist, Eric must have returned to Tasmania shortly thereafter, for family or military reasons we can guess, as his attestation papers were signed at the Claremont Camp outside Hobart on the 3rd of April 1916.  Perhaps it is as well that he did choose to visit his family at this time.  Nevertheless, he was soon back in Melbourne as part of the 120th Howitzer Battery.

Training as a Gunner, Eric Benjafield with his mates in the 120th boarded the HMAT “Aeneas” and sailed from Melbourne in early October 1916.  They arrived in Plymouth on the 19th of November and continued their training in England until their deployment to France in March 1917

On the 3rd of April, Eric transferred to the 105th Battery, operating near Bapaume, and on the 13th was severely wounded while his unit was engaged in an artillery duel. Sadly, he succumbed to his injuries and died the next day.

The Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau took an interest into the circumstances of Eric's death. In their report the following eyewitness statements were quoted:

• “At Noreuil, near Bullecourt, April 14/17 (April 14, 1917, ed), we were in action and Gnr Benjafield was wounded by a shell fragment, which caused septic poisoning.  He walked to the dressing station and was sent to the C.C.S. (3rd) (No.3 Australian Casualty Clearing Station, ed) where he died at 12 (noon) next day.  He was buried in Achill le grand Cemetery, about 2 miles from Bapaume, and I saw the grave about a month later, when I went to the same C.C.S. Wounded.  His great chum, Gnr Paton, sent his things home.” 11628 Gnr I. Robey, 105 Howitzer Bty, 28.8.17.

• “I saw him wounded at Moriel (or Moreai, ed) Gulley – he was caught by a gas shell in the leg and arm.  I carried him to the dressing station where he died some little time after from septic poisoning.  I do not know place of burial and cannot refer to anyone for further particulars.”  2182 Gnr C M Harris, 105 Howitzer Bty, 17.9.17

Greviller British Cemetery

Eric William Benjafield was finally laid to rest at Greviller British Cemetery, Bapaume, France.

However, for those that were left this was and would never be the end of the story.  Eric's family, as with tens of thousands of other families across the nation, would live with the memory of a son, husband, father who would not return.  What's more, they would continue to receive “official” reminders of their loss from a government that, perhaps, was equally struggling with its own grief, or guilt.

So it was that Eric's family (similar to countless others) received the following “official” communications:

1 July 1917 – Certificate of Report of death;

22 October 1917 -  Package containing personal effects (a disc, metal chain, gold ring, knife, 2 keys, belt, badges, signalers badge, metal wrist watch and strap);

27 March 1920 – Photo of grave;

7 May 1921 – British War Service Medal;

28 November 1921 – Memorial Scroll and Kings Message;

11 August 1922 – Memorial Plaque;

9 April 1923 – Victory Medal.

To paraphrase King George “.....a brave life given for others in the Great War.”

A Custom of Service - An Introduction

Flag of The Australian Customs Service

The Beginning

The Australian Customs Service began its life as a consequence of a citizens referendum which bound the separate Australian states - New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and eventually Western Australia - to form a Federal Commonwealth. This Federal Commonwealth required the establishment of a Commonwealth Government, with powers agreed by the states and included in the new Australian Constitution . Section 51 of the new Constitution specified powers to be granted, in particular responsibility for trade and commerce with other countries, and among the States, bounties on the production or export of goods, lighthouses, lightships, beacons and buoys, quarantine, weights and measures, copyrights, patents of inventions and designs, and trademarks. The year was 1901.

With the passing of the Customs Act 1901, the Department of Trade and Customs and the Department of Customs and Excise were formed.

Department of Trade & Customs

The Department of Trade and Customs was established as an advisory and regulatory body and survived, more or less in its original form, until 1956. It had responsibility for social and economic research, patents and trademarks, industrial and scientific research and defence industries.

The Commonwealth Lighthouse Service became part of the Trade and Customs department shortly after its formation. Shipping in Australian waters depended heavily on the operation of lighthouses to aid safe navigation. Trade, immigration and commercial fishing were all subject to the need to operate safely in the coastal zone and functioning lighthouses were essential.

North Head Quarantine Station,
Sydney 1919

As previously mentioned, the Commonwealth was responsible for quarantine and the Commonwealth Quarantine Act of 1908 facilitated the introduction of a Federal Quarantine Service in 1909. This service was not only responsible for quarantine control of products and people from overseas, but also controlled the movement of plant and animal products between states.

The Department of Customs and Excise

Section 90 of the new Australian Constitution gave exclusive power to the Commonwealth over the imposition and collection of duties relating to customs, excise and bounties. This function was vested in the Department of Customs and Excise.

It also became obvious, due to the conflicting interests of the separate states, that a body was required to adjudicate matters relating to interstate trade. As a result, the Interstate Commissions Act was passed in 1912, with the Commission being established in 1913 under the control of the Customs and Excise departme

Those Who Served

Upon entering the Australian Customs headquarters in Constitution Avenue, Canberra, one is confronted with a memorial to all those Customs Officers who have served in times of war. On the section dedicated to officers who served during the First World War there is a list of 27 names. In researching these names many interesting stories have been unearthed. Amongst those 27 we can find a pilot in the fledgling Air Force, a future knight of the realm, at least one future general and a spelling error of some significance.

The names of these men are listed below. Their story, one by one, will be told in future episodes as the research is completed.

Listing in order of appearance on the Customs Honour Roll (the order is representative of the date of enlistment):

CR Cowling
IA Ridgway
RV Wilson
HG Ralethorpe (spelling error - should be Palethorpe)
JLR Burney
JL Lacey
DG Robertson
HG Brain
W Parkes
TR MacNee
AN Trask
GV Browning
FP McArdle
EW Benjafield
EN Lear
C Storey
WG Duffy
JR Lowe
CR McColl
W Jones
JRD O’Loughlin
WE Cremor
TAC Taylor
DR Conly
RW Thompson
EH MacDonald (YMCA)
AF Parkin (Munitions)

Countdown To ANZAC 24 April 1915

Jack Reilly's diary for this day is a simple, "Left Harbour of Ladros 5am.  Anchored north of Lemnos Island.  Expect to land on Gallipoli Peninsula tomorrow morning."

1st Battalion War Diary: 5am - Left Mudros Harbour to rendezvous in bay North of Island. 11.30pm - Left rendezvous.

1st Brigade War Diary: Wind rising again, East by North. No rain. The accommodation on this ship (the Lake Michigan,ed) is very bad.

Noon - Left Lemnos absolutely calm & fine.

4pm - Anchored North of Lemnos.

11pm - Left anchorage. All lights out.

Sir Ian Hamilton's diary:

24th April, 1915. H.M.S. "Queen Elizabeth." Tenedos. Boarded the Queen Lizzie at 1.30 p.m. Anchored off Tenedos just before 4 p.m. Lay outside the roadstead; close by us is the British Fleet with an Armada of transports,—all at anchor. As we were closing up to them we spotted a floating mine which must have been passed touch-and-go during the night by all those warships and troopships. A good omen surely that not one of them fell foul of the death that lurks in that ugly, horned devil—not dead itself, but very much alive, for it answered a shot from one of our three pounders with the dull roar and spitting of fire and smoke bred for our benefit by the kindly German Kultur.

I hope I may sleep to-night. I think so. If not, my wakefulness will wish the clock's hand forward.

The 1st Battalion History takes up the story, "......on the 24th we moved out of Mudros Harbour to the west side of the island, ready for the attack on the following day.

Our arrangements for leaving the ship had been finalised. As early as possible in the operations, three destroyers were to come alongside; first two, one on each side, and, when they were clear, a third. The troops to go in each destroyer were carefully selected. The transport personnel and horses were to remain on board, and also a hold party. We were to carry three days rations in packs and an extra 150 rounds of ammunition. We were warned there would be a difficulty about getting more water; and General Birdwood advised us to drink all we could before leaving the ship, as after that our water bottles might be all we should have for a couple of days. A lot of canvas water bags had been made for extra supplies. We knew very little of the actual plans for the attack. In fact, the whole thing seemed rather in the air, and so it proved. We understood that the 3rd Brigade was to land from warships at about 4am and endeavour to rush the enemy positions and hold on until the rest of the Division got ashore - and that was about all."

Charles Bean again, "Meanwhile in Mudros, immediately after midday, destroyers came alongside the transports of the 3rd Brigade and transferred half of the 9th Battalion to the Queen, half  of the 10th to the Prince of Wales and half of the 11th to the London. The men, with their full packs and rifles, clambered on board very quietly and clambered below decks.  Every alleyway and mess deck in the ships was full of them. The Navy had insisted on feeding them; it would not let them pay for canteen stores; sailors, marines, and officers shared in the expense of providing extras from the ships' canteens.....

General William Bridges

....As soon as the troops were on board, at 2pm, the ships left port.  Colonel MacLagan, commanding the 3rd Brigade which was to make the landing, said goodbye to General Bridges in the Prince of Wales and boarded one of the destroyers.

'Well, MacLagan,' said Bridges as they parted, 'you haven't thanked me yet.'

'Yes sir, I do thank you for the great honour of having this job to do with my brigade,' was the reply. 'But if we find the Turks holding these

Colonel MacLagan

ridges in any strength, I honestly don't think you'll ever see the 3rd Brigade again.'

'Oh, go along with you!' said Bridges laughing.

Just before dusk that evening the men of the 1st and 2nd Brigades in their transports in the Bay of Purnea saw, steaming slowly along the horizon to the west, a squadron of five warships.  They passed gradually across the skyline, trailing a long streamer of smoke, until the night closed over them.

They were the battleships carrying men of the 3rd Brigade to Gaba Tepe."

Countdown To ANZAC 23 April 1915

1st Battalion War Diary: "Remained on board preparing for disembarkation."

Charles Bean records, "On the afternoon of the 23rd many British transports sorted themselves out from the others in the crowded basis and moved between the other cheering troopships into the outer harbour.  Many noticed, as they passed her, a certain old cargo

River Clyde after the landing

steamer with two masts and a yellow funnel.  Slung over her starboard side were half a dozen men on ropes, painting that side of the ship yellow.  Her name was the River Clyde (soon to be carved into infamy. See here - in part from the 1931 movie "Tell England" -  for the reason ed).  A space near the bow still remained to be coloured.  That evening General Birdwood, with his Chiefs of Staff, moved into the battleship HMS Queen, and General Bridges and his Staff into the Prince of Wales."

Meanwhile, the commander of the whole operation, Sir Ian Hamilton, no doubt enjoying his kippers for breakfast, waxes lyrical in his recollections and exchanges comforting messages:

23rd April, 1915. S.S. "Arcadian." Lemnos. 

A gorgeous day at last; fitting frame to the most brilliant and yet touching of pageants.
All afternoon transports were very, very slowly coming out of harbour winding their way in and out through the other painted ships lying thick on the wonderful blue of the bay. The troops wild with enthusiasm and tremendously cheering especially as they passed the warships of our Allies.

Nunc Dimittis,(from the opening words in the Latin Vulgate, "Nunc dimittis servum tuum, Domine" -  "Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord" ed.). O Lord of Hosts! Not a man but knows he is making for the jaws of death. They know, these men do, they are being asked to prove their enemies to have lied when they swore a landing on Gallipoli's shore could never make good. They know that lie must pass for truth until they have become targets to guns, machine guns and rifles—huddled together in boats, helpless, plain to the enemy's sight. And they are wild with joy; uplifted! Life spins superbly through their veins at the very moment they seek to sacrifice it for a cause. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

English poet, Rupert Brooke,
died from infected mosquito bite
while accompanying the
Mediterranean Expeditionary Force 

A shadow has been cast over the wonders of the day by a wireless to say that Rupert Brooke is very dangerously ill—from the wording we fear there can be no hope.

Dent, principal Naval Transport Officer, left to-day to get ready. Wemyss said good-bye on going to take up command of his Squadron.

Have got d'Amade's revised orders for the landing at Kum Kale and also for the feint at Besika Bay. Very clear and good.

At 7.15 p.m. we got this message from K. (Lord Kitchener, ed.) - "Please communicate the following messages at a propitious moment to each of those concerned.

(1) My best wishes to you and all your force in carrying to a successful conclusion the operations you have before you, which will undoubtedly have a momentous effect on the war. The task they have to perform will need all the grit Britishers have never failed to show, and I am confident your troops will victoriously clear the way for the Fleet to advance on Constantinople.

(2) Convey to the Admiral my best wishes that all success may attend the Fleet. The Army knows they can rely on their energy and effective co-operation while dealing with the land forces of the enemy.

(3) Assure General d'Amade and the French troops of our entire confidence that their courage and skill will result in the triumph of their arms.
(End of message)"

" Personal:  All my thoughts will be with you when operations begin."

We, here, think of Lord K. too. May his shadow fall dark upon the Germans and strike the fear of death into their hearts.

Just got following from the Admiral:—

"H.M.S. Queen Elizabeth,
23rd April, 1915.
My dear General,
I have sent orders to all Admirals that operations are to proceed and they are to take the necessary measures to have their commands in their assigned positions by Sunday morning, April 25th!  I pray that the weather may be favourable and nothing will prevent our proceeding with the scheme. 'May heaven's light be our guide' and God give us the victory. 
Think everything is ready and in some ways the delay has been useful, as we have now a few more lighters and tugs available.
Yours sincerely,
(Sd.) J. M. de Robeck."

I have sent a reply—

"S.S. Arcadian,
23rd April, 1915.
My dear Admiral,
Your note just received gives expression to my own sentiments. The sooner we get to work now the better and may the best cause win.
Yours sincerely,
(Sd.) Ian Hamilton."

Rupert Brooke is dead. Straightaway he will be buried. The rest is silence.
Twice was "the sight" vouchsafed me:—in London when I told Eddie I would bespeak the boy's services; at Port Said when I bespoke them.

Death on the eve of battle, death on a wedding day—nothing so tragic save that most black mishap, death in action after peace has been signed. Death grins at my elbow. I cannot get him out of my thoughts. He is fed up with the old and sick—only the flower of the flock will serve him now, for God has started a celestial spring cleaning, and our star is to be scrubbed bright with the blood of our bravest and our best.

Youth and poetry are the links binding the children of the world to come to the grandsires of the world that was. War will smash, pulverise, sweep into the dustbins of eternity the whole fabric of the old world: therefore, the firstborn in intellect must die. Is that the reading of the riddle?

Almighty God, Watchman of the Milky Way, Shepherd of the Golden Stars, have mercy upon us, smallest of the heavenly Shiners. Our star burns dim as a corpse light: the huge black chasm of space closes in: if only by blood ...? Thy Will be done. En avant—at all costs—en avant!   (En avant - French - "Forward", ed)

Meanwhile, the best of many nations - "the flower of the flock" -  await their destiny!