Walter George Dawes MORGAN DAWES [1843]

   Another name for Walter was Wally DAWES.

  General Notes:

A photocopy of the family bible has Walter's date of birth as July 19th 1893.

Walter (Wally) Dawes, a carpenter, of Iona, Victoria, Australia, enlisted at Warragul on the 20th of December 1915, and was later re-examined in Melbourne on the 18^th January 1916. His service number was 4093. He was allocated to the 10/22 Reinforcements at Broadmeadows and embarked from Australia on 7 March 1916, however the name of the ship he left on is not recorded in his service record. I have found the ships name on the Australian War Memorial Website recorded as the HMAT Wiltshire. He travelled to Moascar, Egypt, where he was taken on strength from the 10/22 reinforcements to the 5^th Cyclists Corp at Ferry Post.

The Cyclist Corp is a little known part of Australia's military history.

On the 10^th March 1916, the Army circulated a memorandum (No.32) regarding the formation of the cyclist Corp. The Corp was formed in Egypt and was initially made up of volunteers in the 1^st and 2^nd Divisions and in April 1915 the 4^th and 5^th Divisions were formed. The Standard issue cycle was made by BSA (Birmingham Small Arms Company). By 1911 the BSA Mark IV model, fitted with a 'coaster' rear hub was in production, (today's equivalent would be like a velodrome bike with fixed hub which meant pedalling all the time) however, the Australian cyclists in Egypt had to persevere with a variety of BSA bicycles ranging from the Mark 1 to the Mark IV. It was not until July 1915 that the Mark IV was introduced, now fitted with hand-operated rear brakes, and a free wheeling hub in place of the coaster hub. Shortly after the Australian cyclists had reached France, this bicycle became the standard issue to cyclist units.

The cyclists were also given Lee Enfield SMLE .303 rifles which they normally slung over their shoulder but bikes were fitted with clips to carry the rifles, as well as straps and clips for the soldiers personal equipment. The units were also equipped with lightweight machine guns.

The 5^th Cyclists Btn, of which Wally was a member, was inspected by General Godley on 29 April 1916 and a fortnight later took part in a tactical exercise in the desert in Egypt. On the 24^th of May the 5^th underwent their first firing practice on a musketry range. By 31 May 1916, the 5^th had new rifles able to take high velocity cartridges, however such things as puncture repair kits and spare parts were not so readily available.

On the 16^th of June 1916, the cyclists boarded a train which took them to Alexandria, where they embarked to France the next day. According to the book, Cycling to War by Ronald Austin, they arrived in Marseilles on 25 June, however, Wally's service record says he arrived in Marseilles on the 27^th of June. After arrival in Marseilles, the Cyclists boarded a troop train and travelled to northern France.

Once they arrived in northern France they were issued with gas masks and instructed on how they were to be worn. On the 1^st of July 1916, orders were received regarding the formation of the II Anzac Corp Cyclists Battalion, which was to consist of 1 and 2 companies provided by the New Zealand Cyclists Corp, who were still in Egypt, and the 3 and 5 companies, made up by the 5^th Australian Cyclists, of which Wally was a member. The 5^th were ordered to remain attached to the 5^th Australian Division until the New Zealand cyclists arrived from Egypt. The New Zealand contingent arrived in Marseilles on 17 July 1916. Whilst the 1^st and 2^nd companies of the II Anzac Corp Cyclists Battalion were made up by the New Zealanders, the 3^rd Company was made up from the 5^th Cyclists plus a few from the 4^th Cyclists. However, the New Zealanders bicycles did not arrive until August 1916, this made training very difficult with the shortage of machines. On the 16^th of September the Cyclists moved to the frontline.

The unit patch was a 1 x 1 inch red diamond centred inside a 2 x 2 in white diamond worn on both sleeves. This patch was retained until 1918 when the unit was redesignated the XXII Corp Cyclists Battalion.

During the war the Cyclist Battalion undertook many tasks including, forming guards to escort the Corp Commander, traffic direction, frontline fighting, delivery of dispatches and cable burying. The Cyclists became so proficient at cable burying, they could lay large distances in a short time and eventually became the supervisors of cabling operations. They also provided work parties for various other battalions, including the Royal Engineers and were often attached to other units and battalions.

In October 1916 the II Anzac cyclists, less their bikes were sent to the trenches to fight. They worked with two companies on the line and the third in the support line. They worked on a 4 day rotating roster, 4 days in the trenches, and 4 days on the support line. After a month in the frontline the Cyclists were relieved by another battalion and they returned to Bac St Maur to collect their bicycles and returned to billets just outside of Doulieu.

Cyclists were often sent to other units and from 17 November 1916 to 29 May 1917, Wally was one of 25 Cyclists who was seconded to the Town Major of Armentieres as a fire brigade detail. During this time, on the 11th January 1917, Wally was treated for a septic hand.

In March - May 1917 the Cyclists undertook a large amount of telephone cable burying work. This work was carried out in the open and the Cyclists were vulnerable to enemy shell fire and gas attacks. Cable laying was carried often carried out at night with only natural light so as not to attract attention from the enemy. On completion of the cable work in May the Cyclists were given the task of constructing a track from the support and front lines then across no mans land through the enemies trenches to a point named Middle Farm about 500 yards north from Messines. The aim of the track was to allow horses to easily move up to and through the German trenches. After reconnaissance of the proposed route it was decided to carry out the necessary work at night prior to the main attack being launched. On the morning of the Messines battle, 7 June 1917, several parties were detailed to carry out specific tasks over a distance of 1.7kms. At 2.15am on 7 June, 291 troops and 13 officers cycled from Steenbecque to Hill 63 but en route were forced to don gas masks due to enemy gas shells landing in the area. This delayed their arrival, but the cyclists completed the 1.7 kms of track within 3 hours despite being under fire.

From the 14^th of June for three weeks the cyclists were engaged in more cable burying tasks and were occasionally subjected to enemy fire. On the 22^nd of June 1917, Wally was hospitalised due to gas. It appears he may have been sent back to England as the service record seems to read Belgravia for his place of hospitalisation. He returned to the Cyclists Battalion on 11 July 1917.

On 30^th July 1917 Wally went on leave, returning on 15 August 1917. On 17 November 1918 Wally was detached to the 133 AT Coy until 15 January 1918.

On 1 January 1918 the II Anzac Cycles Corps were renamed the XXII Corps Cyclist Battalion and were to be restructured. The structure finally changed on 16 January with the departure of No 3 which joined the Australian Corp Cyclists. With the departure of the Australians, No 3 Company became a New Zealand Company sub unit.

The Australian Cyclists formed an entirely new unit, the Australian Corps Cyclists Battalion. The new unit was formed mainly from existing I Corps Cyclist Battalion plus a few from the II Corps. As of 1 January 1918 the strength of the Australian Corps Cyclist Battalion stationed at La Creche was 16 officers and 345 other ranks. The new unit could not accommodate all of the No 3 Australian Company so many cyclists were posted to either infantry or artillery units in need of reinforcements.

On the 16^th of January 1918 Wally transferred from 22 Corps Cycle Battalion to the Australian Corp Cycle Battalion. He remained with that unit for the remainder of the war.

Wally was demobilised and left England on board the Mahai and returned to Australia in June 1919. He was classed as TPE at discharge.

Like so many of the soldiers who have returned home from war over the years, Wally was changed by his experiences and seems to have had little or no contact with his family following his return to Australia. It is now known that he spent some time in Newry, near Maffra where he probably continued working as a carpenter, as he had before the war. He then moved on to Canberra sometime in the late 1920's or early 1930's. He was living at the Capital Hill Camp in Canberra in 1932. This camp was a tent camp set up to house labourers and tradesmen who were working in Canberra at that time. He later moved to a guest house in Canberra where he spent about 20 years.

Sometime in the late 1950's, Wally's sister Dora (Theadora) set about tracing Wally's whereabouts. How she did this is uncertain, but she eventually found his location and wrote to Wally. Wally answered her letter and very soon after arrived at her home in Garfield. In April 1960 Wally made a Will in Canberra appointing his sister Dora as executrix of his Will and leaving her all his possessions. He gave his address as Garfield when he made this Will so he may have returned to Canberra to wind up his affairs at that time. He returned to Garfield and lived in a bungalow at his sister Dora's house in Garfield Road, Garfield for a short time, then in a 3 roomed wooden house at the corner of Jefferson Road and Railway Avenue in Garfield. He purchased this property on the 20^th of July 1960 from L L Richardson and W Norrie with a deposit of £50 with the remaining £670 (noted on original receipt) to be paid within 6 months. Wally paid the outstanding amount of £680 (noted on final payment receipt, perhaps the extra £10 was to cover stamp duty) on the 28^th of July 1960. Sadly the family only had a few short years with Wally back in their family. He developed dementia and was placed in Larundal Hospital in Bundoora sometime around 1963. He was later admitted to the Cheltenham Home and Hospital for the Aged at Warrigal Road Cheltenham, where he passed away in July 1965.

It was always thought that Wally had a partner at some stage in his life, however no details of her are known to any living family, other than that her name was Bessie. It is not known if they married and although there is a photograph of her that was probably in Wally's possessions there is no further information on Bessie at this time.

After Wally's death the house on the property was given to his niece Beryl Campbell and the land was given to his great nephew, Peter Towt. There was some problem with the land due to it containing a road easement which made the land difficult to sell. The house that was on the Garfield property was moved to a block at Pakenham Upper which was then owned by Wally's niece Beryl Campbell (Nee Blackwell) and her husband Don Campbell. ²⁹⁵²

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Military: World War 1 SERN 4093, 1914-1918.

2. Residence, 1914, Iona, Vic, Australia. Occupation - carpenter

3. Residence, 1924, Newry, Vic, Australia. Occupation - carpenter

4. Residence: Capital Hill Camp, 1935, Canberra, ACT, Australia. Occupation - carpenter

5. Residence: Kingston Guest House, 1937-1949, Canberra, ACT, Australia. Occupation - carpenter

6. Residence: Hillside Hostel, 1958, Canberra, ACT, Australia. Occupation - carpenter

7. Residence: Jefferson Road, 1963, Garfield, Vic, Australia.

Walter married Bessie [—?—] [3363] [MRIN: 1021].