The Truth About Our ‘greatest’ Gallipoli Success – Uncovered 98 Years Later

Sharon Evans Big Sky Publishing – Marketing & Communications

“We commemorate the landing at ANZAC Cove on April 25th but the Battle of Lone Pine is pretty much forgotten in terms of any national recognition. Despite the fact it was only a small part of a large offensive on ANZAC, it is a riveting story and deserves the full treatment. It was four days of the most gruelling fighting that produced the largest number of awards for valour of any battle in Australia’s war history.”

Adelaide historian and author Simon Cameron’s new book Lonesome Pine, The Bloody Ridge reveals Australia’s greatest Gallipoli success. A battle largely unknown to many Australians and yet one of our most famous assaults. Cameron’s book, written after eight years of painstaking research, explores through the eyes of the soldiers the four bloody days of this battle, where thousands of lives were lost in the intense battles and their life after war.

Cameron hopes that his new book will educate and enlighten all Australians about the real truth of this famous battle. He says, “We are about to celebrate the anniversary of this battle, and soon approaching the centenary, yet the details on the memorial plaque, that stands next to Cyprus pine (a descendant of the actual Lone Pine), at Adelaide’s State War Memorial, Kintore Avenue, are incorrect, illustrating our lack of interest.”

On August 6th 1915 the Battle of Lone Pine, was fought over four intense and bloody days. In this short period of time, seven of Australia’s nine Gallipoli VCs were earned — a powerful tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the soldiers involved. Cameron’s research into the battle diaries and letters of the men involved reveals the terrible toll on the Australian soldiers.

Cameron says: “It was less of a heroic advance than a desperate struggle to hold on with inadequate weapons, and in the words of one of the soldiers the ‘sangfroid of the men’ was because they were too tired to care. In a war where the artillery gun and machine gun ruled, this was a fight with bomb and bayonet for four days.”

Lonesome Pine offers an insight in the lives of the men of the front line, their stories from unpublished diaries, never exposed before now. It describes the days leading up to the attack and the horror of battle in gripping detail. Cameron says: “The Battalion commanders recorded some amazing accounts. Two commanders were killed behaving like heroic weekend warriors rather than cool professionals, and all were at the sharp end and lucky to survive.”

“The commander I find most fascinating is Charles Macnaghten, Commander 4th Battalion. He was shot in the leg and refused to leave the scene until three days later. The toll on him was psychological, and led to a lonely death in distant Canada. It is probably representative of many of the men.”

Lance Corporal Cyril Lawrence’s sums up the feeling on the battle field, “Right beside me, within a space of fifteen feet, I can count fourteen of our boys stone dead. Ah! It is a piteous sight. Men and boys who yesterday were full of joy and life, now lying there, cold – cold – dead – their eyes glassy, their faces sallow and covered with dust – soulless – gone – somebody’s son, somebody’s boy, now merely a thing. Thank God that their loved ones cannot see them now – dead, with the blood congealed or oozing out.”

Lonesome Pine sets out the battle as it evolves, and with the support of user friendly maps provides an insight into what war’s grand plans and tactical manoeuvres mean on the ground. Cameron also chronicles the aftermath for many of the soldiers. It is one of the unique things about the book but is, unfortunately, terribly bleak, reminding us that there is no wisdom in war.

Lonesome Pine conveys through the accounts of the men living and fighting on the front line the Australian solders’ determination and doggedness as well as the reckless cost of the horrors of war.

Short Facts:
• Lone Pine is a large football sized area on the 2nd ridge line at Anzac
• It was the scene of the opening assault of the August Offensive to break the stalemate on Gallipoli
• At 5.30 pm 6th August 1915, 3 whistle blasts launched the attack from concealed trenches and tunnels.
• It was the scene of 4 days of the hardest hand to hand fighting by any Australian force.
• Seven Victoria Crosses were won – the highest number for any single Australian battle.
• 1000 Australians died there, and 2000 wounded. Turkish casualties double that.
• The Lone Pine became the most famous tree in Australia
• Descendants of the Lone Pine tree can be found all over Australia, propagated from a cone brought back by a brother of one of the dead.
• Lone pine was named by the Anzacs after a popular music hall show “The Trail of the Lonesome Pine”
• The battle remains largely unknown and lost within the Anzac story.

STORIES AND ACCOUNTS FROM MEN ON THE FRONT LINE

Commander Charles Macnaghten: Charles Macnaghten, commander 4th Battalion, shot in the leg and refused to leave the scene until three days later. The toll on him was psychological, and is probably representative of many of the men. Given a high award MacNaughten in October, completely broke down in November, and had to return to Australia. He did not return to Sydney, effectively deserting. Instead re‐enlisted as a private in Queensland under an assumed name, and then started wearing his GCMG star on the troop ship, making sure he was noticed in what must have been a big dilemma for the Army. He was made a lieutenant, and proceeded to the Western Front where he promptly breaks down again. He doesn’t return home, obviously too ashamed, immigrates to Canada and his trail then goes cold. We do know he died soon after, suggesting self‐harm.

Lieutenant Keysor, VC: Keysor was one of the seven Australians to be awarded a Victoria Cross. He was a bomber and hard fighter. Post war his Victoria Cross was stolen during a home robbery but the thief returned the Victoria Cross with note apologising that his financial position did not permit the return of the rest of the goods. Keysor other claim to fame is the fact he almost died re‐enacting his exploit for a silent film in the 1920s.

Lieutenant Frederick Tubb, VC: Tubb, a Victorian, lead the district recruiting drive telling the avid crowd that he was going over “to try for a VC”, and wins one defending a post to the last two men standing, both injured, holding the barricade with his revolver. The entire district came to greet him when he was repatriated to Australia in April 1916. He recovered to be killed in Belgium in 1917.

Robert (Jack) Massie: Jack, an all‐round sportsman, reputed to be Australia’s best left arm bowler, had his career ended thanks to a bullet through the shoulder at Lone Pine. A whimsical example of the effect of war.

Lieutenant Col Cyril Hughes: Hughes was a light horseman who served briefly on Gallipoli, and never at Lone Pine, but is the unsung hero of the transformation of Anzac into to the place of pilgrimage that so many Australians visit now. Took on the responsibility of directing the War Graves Commission in the Middle East, and dedicated his life to the role and died in EgyIn 1924 he proudly declared “in 1915 we felt we did not quite finish our job, but by heaven we would see it out this time.” His contribution does not even rate a mention in the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

Sir Joseph Talbot Hobbs: Hobbs was successful Perth architect and nuggetty artillery commander at Gallipoli, had the hardest job on the peninsula – to try on find gun placements to cover the Lone Pine assault, in the restricted confines of Anzac, with the Turks holding the high ground in every direction. No one understood the difficulties like Talbot Hobbs and a heroic effort to build an entrenched road way all the way to the plateau was the result. After the war he put his architectural heart into the war memorials at Kings Park, Perth and Villers Bretonneux, France.

INTERESTING ANEDOTES IN WRITING THE BOOK

Decipher hand writing: Simon Cameron explains: “Trying to read pencilled notes in tiny pocket diaries written nearly a hundred years ago made me realise that interpreting hand writing will increasingly become a specialised skill.”

Turkish Pine Memorial Trees: A small group of surviving soldiers gathered pine cones from ‘Lone Pine’ before returning home. These pine cones were propagated and seedlings have been planted all over Australia as memorial trees. The propagation is now handled by the Yarralumla nursery in Canberra.

The current problem is that many of these trees were planted close to 100 years ago and they are beginning to die from both old age and the Australian climate. The question must be asked, what are we doing to preserve and re plant these trees.