An Anzac’s story – Roy Kyle
ANZAC is the acronym for Australian and New Zealand Army Corp. It is also a nickname for the
soldiers who fought with the Corp during World
War 1. Anzac is also synonomous in both Australia and New Zealand, with the ill-fated landings at Gallipoli during the disastrous Dardanelles Campaign of 1915. The date of the landings is now a
national holiday to honour those who have fallen while serving in their country’s armed
forces.
Roy Kyle was an Anzac, and this is his story. What most likely started out as a grand adventure ended up with him experiencing some of the worst of the
fighting in this most awful of conflicts.
At age 89, at his family’s urging, he started writing these memoirs. Sadly he died before finishing. His family requested noted author Bryce Courtenay to edit and complete the work. Courtenay’s contribution however, went much further than merely editing. He supplied detailed notes throughout the text, adding to this first-hand account.
A significant portion of the early part of the book is about Kyle’s upbringing before the war, and is an interesting account of rural Australian life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
This memoir is particularly significant, as a man who was a private throughout the war, fighting at the sharp end, wrote it. He wasn’t an officer, a tactician or part of the rear-echelon, which provides a fresh departure from much of what has been written about WW1.
Kyle enlisted in June 1915 at age 17, with his parents’ permission, but telling the recruiters that he was 19.
The 1st Division of the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) had landed at Gallipoli Cove on April 25, 1915 as part of an offensive in the Dardanelles that was intended to put Turkey, a German ally, out of the war. The landing had been a disaster, being accidentally put down several miles from where they were supposed to have been. The opposing Turkish forces were well entrenched and took a fierce toll of the AIF forces.
As part of the 2nd Division of the AIF, after final training and outfitting in Egypt, Kyle was part of the relief force that relieved the 1st, landing at Gallipoli on 2nd September 1915. He describes both fighting and the general life of the soldiers in the harsh conditions but sadly in too little detail. His age when commencing to write this account, as well as coming from an era with an ethos of not blowing one’s own trumpet too loudly, may have been contributors to this.
Courtenay’s notes provide complementary details including discussion of two Australian initiatives. The first was the periscope sniper
rifle arrangement that could be safely fired at the enemy while staying down out of view in the trenches. The second was an ingeniously simply device to create a self-firing rifle by the use of empty bully beef tins. One tin dripped water into a second, lower tin, which would eventually topple over along with some stones, pulling a string tethered to the trigger and firing the rifle.
The Dardanelles campaign was abandoned in late 1915 and the soldiers were evacuated. The self-firing rifle arrangement was used to good effect during the evacuation by giving the Turks the impression that the Australian trenches were still occupied when they had in fact been abandoned.
From the East, the 2nd AIF joined the fighting in France. Kyle experienced much combat during this time, as the Allied commanders tended to use the Australian troops effectively as shock troops during any new campaign, contributing to the high losses experienced. He also saw some less usual service such as being attached to a guiding unit that was supposed to check the condition of roads prior to the disastrous Battle of the Somme. Instead he found himself with nothing to do for some weeks as the roads turned out to be non-existent despite being included on maps. He also volunteered to serve in a newly formed heavy trench mortar unit.
He also reflects the Australian soldiier’s views on the conscription issue. The AIF soldiers had all been volunteers, but with the heavy losses at places like Gallipoli and the Somme, the Australian government wished to introduce mandatory conscription in order to maintain a sufficient level of fresh reserves. A national vote was held on the issue, with the soldiers voting wherever they were serving. The issue was voted down, with Kyle voting against it like many other soldiers, being proud of their volunteer status.
In June 1918, Kyle was injured by artillery and hospitalised. He neatly describes the conditions that were experienced by the wounded at the time. He was in a convalescence unit by August, waiting to be shipped back to Australian. He eventually left England some two weeks before the end of the war.
Kyle’s subsequent attitude towards this horrendous conflict is best shown in his own words.
‘…for four and a quarter years, we did our best to exterminate each other in all sorts of horrible ways, succeeding to the grand total *us and them) of 27,530,700 killed, wounded and missing, not counting the millions of civilians who suffered the same fate.
It was so senseless and largely due to national rivalry brought about by national pride and a few ambitious people on both sides…’
More reviews about the An ANZAC's Story