HUBRIS AND VULNERABILITY LEARNING FROM HISTORY

K.M.S. BISMARCK escorted by seagulls.

"In May of 1941, the War had just begun" according to the American pop song   " Sink the Bismarck" of 1960. Well, it was a pop song and not History.  The Second World War began on 3rd September 1939. By May of 1941, it was already 21 months old. Through all those 21 Months the full panoply of British patriotic fervour and all its manifestations had been swiftly mobilised to win the War. "God Save the King", "Land of Hope and Glory" and especially "Rule Britannia!" swelled loyal chests.  The people did not really need to be reminded that:

"It is upon the Navy 
under the good Providence of God 
that the safety, honour, and welfare 
of this realm do chiefly depend" 
( taken from the preamble to "Articles of War" of King Charles II (1630-1685). 

RULE BRITANNIA

H.M.S. HOOD

Nothing better exemplified the inevitability of Victory in this struggle than that same Royal Navy. And the pride of the Fleet remained the 46,680 tons Battle Cruiser  H.M.S. HOOD with her awesome main armament of eight 15 inch guns and her impressive speed of 32 Knots, even though she had been commissioned in 1920. Unknown to the populace, she was overdue for a major refit when War broke out. Her steaming capacity was limited so much that she could only make 28 knots.  Despite this, HOOD was sent , in company with the new Battleship H.M.S. PRINCE OF WALES to attack and destroy the new German Battleship K.M.S. BISMARCK sailing in company with the Heavy Cruiser K.M.S. PRINZ EUGEN. 

K.M.S. BISMARCK

But the key to what happened was not only the nature of each ship but also the way it was being used.

HOOD was designed to avoid a battle with a superior ship such as BISMARCK, but she was used to seek out and attack BISMARCK. Of course, it could be argued that sailing in company with the Battleship PRINCE OF WALES - brand new and still suffering some operating problems, the pair were nominally far superior to BISMARCK and PRINZ EUGEN. 

K.M.S. PRINZ EUGEN

H.M.S. PRINCE OF WALES

PRINCE OF WALES had been commissioned on 19th January 1941. She had a displacement of 43,786 tons, a speed of 28.3 Knots and a main armament of 10 x 14-inch guns. But both before and throughout the brief but disastrous encounter, she was suffering major equipment failures, the worst of which was the jamming of "Y" Turret (the final one toward the stern, the second of her two four- gun turrets).

Another intruding factor was that the Flag Officer Commanding the Squadron was in HOOD. It was unthinkable that he would leave the attack to his hierarchically subordinate companion vessel.

THE ACTION

The brief engagement on 24th May 1941 provided what were to be among the most devastating minutes of the War. The British Squadron first spotted the German ships at 05.37  and the action was broken off by PRINCE OF WALES at 06.05. Twenty-eight minutes had elapsed. But in three of those minutes,  HOOD had been hit by BISMARCK'S remarkably accurate gunnery, blew up and sank with the loss of 1,418 men leaving only 3 survivors. It was a horrendous and awe-inspiring event which profoundly shocked those onlookers in the other ships, both German and British.

We know from eyewitness accounts, and from the wreck discovered in 2001, that the after magazine had exploded breaking the great ship's back and destroying her stern. The wreck also revealed that portion of the bow was missing - suggesting an explosion of the forward magazine either just before, or just after the ship sank below the surface.

Precisely what caused the catastrophe is keenly debated. The probable causes are either :

a direct hit by BISMARCK's 15" Shells penetrating to the HOOD's after magazine, or 

that a massive fire known to have been caused by another of BISMARCK's 15-inch shells in the midships section caused the 4-inch ammunition lockers (which were not armoured) to explode, causing damage to the 15-inch magazines resulting in the fatal explosion, or 

that a BISMARCK 15 inch shell fell short and travelled underwater striking the ship below its armour plating and exploding in or near the after magazine. 

There were also several theories suggesting that accidents within HOOD's own guns or the explosion of her own torpedoes might have been to blame. Both have been conclusively disproved. The ideas seem to have been intended to suggest that it was not the enemy that sank the HOOD- foolish disinformation.

The British had opened fire at 05.52 with HOOD firing on PRINZ EUGEN which was ahead of BISMARCK. Three minutes later the Germans returned fire, both their ships concentrating on HOOD.  An 8-inch shell from Prinz Eugen struck HOOD between the funnels starting a large fire amongst the ready use ammunition for the anti-aircraft guns. Just before 06.00 HOOD was hit directly by BISMARCK's fifth salvo at a range of 10.35 Miles. This resulted in the catastrophic explosion and within three minutes HOOD was gone along with all her crew save three, as we have said.

The first two salvos from PRINCE OF WALES had landed more than half a mile beyond BISMARCK. Her 6th, ninth and thirteenth salvos straddled BISMARCK. Two direct hits were made - one holed her bow and caused the loss of 1,000 tons of fuel oil. The second had fallen short and struck BISMARCK below the armour belt exploding in a boiler room. 

Tellingly, HOOD and PRINCE OF WALES in their eagerness to engage BISMARCK and PRINZ EUGEN had approached them at an angle of about 30 Degrees off the bow. The effect of this was to limit the British guns that could be brought to bear to the forward "A" and "B" turrets of each ship., whereas the German ships were able to bring all of their guns to bear. This was a serious tactical misjudgement. Nevertheless, it still left the British with 4 x 15-inch guns and 5 x 14-inch guns in action vs. the German ships with 8 x 15-inch guns and 8 x 8-inch guns in action. This meant that each firing of the British guns hurled 23,335lbs. of shells toward the Germans, and each time the Germans fired they hurled only 16,152 lbs in return. This is a result of the disparity in shell weights  :

HOOD                                       1,920 lbs. each x 8      Rate of Fire  2.0 per min. per gun

                                           

PRINCE OF WALES      1,595 lbs each x 5      Rate of Fire  1.3  per min. per gun

BISMARCK                      1,800 lbs each x 8      Rate of Fire 2.5 per  min.per gun

PRINZ EUGEN                 269  lbs each   x 8      Rate of Fire 4.0 per  min.per gun

The actual difference in weight of shells fired depends of course on the rate of fire actually achieved since the above rates of fire are design figures.  We know that the BISMARCK was firing its salvos at the rate of one per minute.

                               K.M.S. BISMARCK  bows on (note the "escort" of gulls.)

SUMMARY

The complexities of the contest are even greater than shown above, but the main outline has been given. The struggle was one of epic proportions and intensity.

The crushing loss of H.M.S. HOOD was a psychological blow to British confidence. It was the falling of one's champion in battle. Contrary to the anthem, it called into question the claim that "Britannia Rules the Waves." To British pride, this was intolerable, quite apart from being tragic. The old Lion Rampant himself, Winston Churchill gave the order: "SINK THE BISMARCK" and all hell broke loose at sea as the Royal Navy threw everything it could muster into that effort. On the 26th May, as BISMARCK made for the port of Brest for repair of damage sustained, Torpedo Bombers from the Aircraft Carrier H.M.S. Victorious made hits on her stern, jamming her port rudder in a turning position. This condemned her to steaming around in a given area.  

British destroyers kept watch on her position overnight. And finally on the 27th May the British Battleships KING GEORGE V and RODNEY came up into position , and with the aid of several Cruisers attacked the crippled BISMARCK and sank her with considerable loss of life , 111 survivors were rescued, but hundreds more were left in the water when U Boats were detected in the vicinity. These later saved some of those survivors after the British ships departed.

HUBRIS

The headlong dash of H.M.S. HOOD and H.M.S. PRINCE OF WALES into the attack on K.M.S. BISMARCK and K.M.S. PRINZ EUGEN brings to mind the quote attributed to Admiral Lord Nelson :

 "Never mind manoeuvres go at them" 

Was this necessary, or advisable? The two German ships had been spotted the previous day by the British Heavy Cruisers H.M.S. SUFFOLK and H.M.S. NORFOLK. These two sister ships were substantial combatants in their own right each displacing 13,450Tons, carrying a main armament of 8  Eight Inch guns (as did K.M.S. Prinz Eugen). They also carried two quadruple mounts of 21" Torpedo Tubes and they each had a speed of 31.5 Knots.  They had not only sighted  BISMARCK and PRINZ EUGEN the day before the battle, but they had followed them continually, vectoring HOOD and PRINCE of WALES onto the German Squadron. They clearly had no trouble keeping up with the great ships of either side. Their involvement in the action would have had the advantage of enabling the British to achieve the maximum advantage in achieving the best angle of attack so that ALL their guns were brought to bear. This could be done using the Cruisers' torpedo tubes to fire on the German ships causing them to alter course to avoid the torpedoes. (This was done repeatedly during the war, often by mere Destroyers with great effect.) Even their main armament  - a combined 16  8 Inch guns could have been very useful as we see with PRINZ EUGEN and her 8 Inch guns scoring hits on the HOOD.

But the services of SUFFOLK and NORFOLK were NOT used. However, after HOOD had been sunk and BISMARCK damaged, they joined company with PRINCE OF WALES at last and then were brought in to assist KING GEORGE V and RODNEY to despatch the crippled BISMARCK.

It seems that the hubris induced by the "Britannia Rules the Waves" syndrome, the Nelsonian  "Never mind manoeuvres " exhortation,  and the myth of "the Mighty Hood" as she had long been known, had led to the decision not to use all available forces, and not to seek the optimum angle of approach. It is easy to be the armchair Admiral after the event of course. But the facts are the facts.

In December of the same year 1941, the British Battleship PRINCE OF WALES and the Battle Cruiser REPULSE were sunk when attacked by eighty-eight Japanese land-based Aircraft. The ships, with only 4 Destroyers and no air superiority cover, were despatched to reinforce Singapore. With its massive seaward pointing defence guns, Singapore had been "impregnable".  Until the Japanese attacked "through the back door" piercing through the"impenetrable" jungle. These two traumatic events, following so closely on the loss of HOOD, finally put "paid" to British hubris.

VULNERABILITY

For all the consideration given to Armour to protect the waterline and beneath it, to protect the main deck, the gun turrets, the barbettes on which the turrets were mounted ,adding thousands of tons of weight to the great ships, they all retained a point of vulnerability out of necessity : the stern beneath which there extended the propellers and their drive shafts and the rudders. Both propellers and rudders must, of necessity, be exposed in order to have their influence on the seas.

                                 Fairey "Swordfish" Maximum Speed 134 MPH.

And it was at this point of vulnerability, that the ancient, obsolescent Fairey "Swordfish" bi-plane Torpedo Bombers from the carrier H.M.S. VICTORIOUS were successful in striking the BISMARCK, leading to her sinking. One of their torpedoes struck her stern and the explosion jammed BISMARCK's port rudder at an angle of 12 Degrees to Port. This caused the great ship to begin to circle and defied all efforts to regain control of her direction. 

The whole story is too long to recount here, but basically, the British had lost contact with BISMARCK earlier due to her clever maneuvering and the pursuing armada of battleships, battlecruisers, cruisers, and destroyers had, in any case, desperate needs for fuel. Only King George V and Rodney were able to stay the course and were joined by Suffolk and Norfolk. Finally, a Catalina Flying Boat detected Bismarck and those ships moved in for the kill.


The great drama came to a close

SUMMARY

A matter of Hubris and Vulnerability - there are lessons here - not only Naval but for all of us in our lives not to be led astray by inflated ideas of ourselves and to know ourselves well enough to consider our weakest points both moral and spiritual.

 

1950s CHILDHOOD - SOCIAL REALITIES - WORLD WAR I

MOTHER'S MATE CALLS

I have tried to identify the point in my life at which I began to take the family, community and national memory of World War I seriously , so far without success. Perhaps in writing this post I shall stumble across it.

My earliest memories of the "idea"of the first World War are of images of rather absurd looking flickering figures walking in a jolting fashion in odd uniforms. There was always at my Grandma Dixon's  house among the large depressing photo portraits around the Lounge Room wall a young soldier, left profile ,eyes raised slightly as if gazing on some distant scene. I believe his name was Patrick Boyd and that he was my Grandma Dixon's brother who died in 1919,just after the War.The family spoke as if he had died because of the War, I have yet to prove that.I wonder now if his death had any influence on my Grandad's later heavy drinking and brutish behaviour.There was never any talk of him serving in that War.

Then too, I saw in many places War Memorials, most small with names I came to realise were the dead , inscribed below, and surmounted by a soldier standing at attention and resting on arms reversed , and in the heart of Sydney City the solemn Cenotaph which I always had learned to respect

SYDNEY CENOTAPH  DAWN SERVICE  ANZAC DAY

Even in my early teens,  as other histories more remote came to  attract my reading attention, World War I seemed to strike a stubborn streak in my mind - it was boring, old-fashioned, irrelevant. Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that my early years were spent in the midst of World War II still the great reality of my early teens, filling movie houses, books, magazines . Maybe it made World War I seem as it did. 

Do you know? I think writing in order to think something through, works. That was obviously it. 

Off on my first visit to Canberra ,the National Capital in  1957/58.
The diesel railcar set was the latest thing operating as the Canberra-Monaro Express.
Rail fans of the time spoke of its speed as low flying! Lol! I doubt it passed 80 mph.

But as time went on,WWII 's colours began to fade, and I visited our Nation's Capital Canberra for the first time. There I visited the great War Memorial, which at the time was still principally concentrating on World War I in its magnificent displays.Now, I began to understand the terrible reality of that "War to end all Wars", and what it had meant to the infant Australia and the World.

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL, CANBERRA

Australia lost 61,966 Military Deaths or 1.38% of her total population of 4.5 millions at the time.
United States 116,708    "            "       "  0.13%  "  "     "            "        "  92        "       "   "    "  .

That visit drew the veil away ,the psychological barrier in my mind ,and I came at last  to rationally think  about the Great War. I was then about 17 and working for the Solicitor for Railways . I travelled to Canberra on my Railway Employee's once a year free Pass. I got more value out of that journey than I could have hoped for.

As the years have gone by, with the advent of television and growing publishing interest in World War I and then the arrival of the Internet ( how blessed we are to live in the Internet era!) my interest has grown and grown. And I have discovered Private Billy Wilson , my maternal Grandmother's brother , whom I knew had called his beautiful young sister "Doll's eyes", was blown to pieces at Armentieres.

And as if by magic, young Australians and older ones, are flocking to Anzac Day Services around the World each year in GROWING numbers at Gallipoli, Villers Bretonneux and now Fromelles. Just as I have , over the years come alive to that great tragedy,and its significance, so have many others and their children and their children's children.

Truly, of those who gave their lives, it can be said::

                                   'THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE"

CHILDHOOD - THE CAMERA AND THE TRUTH

1947  - ME IN KHAKI SHORTS WITH MUM & DAD
AT THE BACK OF OUR WEATHERBOARD HOME

When I retrieved this photo at the time I commenced this Blog, I found it to be very revealing. Now, I was already quite familiar with it. It had been around and accessible since the film had been developed ( how quaint that sounds in the era of the digital camera and the computer!). But now I really looked at it - as if for the first time!

We were "poor"! God bless Mum & Dad - I never knew it. At that time we rented the house at 22 Second Avenue, Berala. Although Dad had re- painted it internally, externally he left it as the owner kept it. The house was not very old, dating from the immediate pre-Depression period. It was completed as I understand it,  in early 1929 and I believe Mum and Dad and my elder brother Pat were its first tenants.

But "poor"or not, Mum and Dad had that fierce working class self-respect of the time, that ensured that we always "scrubbed up "well when we went out - as the picture of me and my Dad in Pitt Street, Sydney also in 1947 shows. We were photographed by one of the many street photographers who, with their trim Leica 35mm cameras, abounded in immediate post War Sydney.

With my  Dad in 1947 outside the Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board's  Head Office in Pitt Street Sydney. Note my Beach Bucket(tin) with the image of the "Queen Mary"on it and Dad's Gladstone Bag 

Either photo, taken by itself would tell a very different story.

Again, when I look closely at the first photo , I am distressed to see how completely worn and even ill, my poor Mum looks. She may in fact have been suffering the problems that led to her having a hysterectomy in about 1951. I knew nothing of these things  until Mum was hospitalised at Saint Joseph's Hospital in nearby Auburn for the operation.

Later still in 1954 the owner of the house died and  the Real Estate Agent came to our home to tell us that the place was to be auctioned. I was there and I can recall Mum being quite upset thinking that we might have to move. The Agent wasn't a bad fellow . He carefully explained the process , stating that he would be standing at the top of the steps on the front verandah, and that bidders would be at the bottom of the steps - "Don't worry he said , there might not be many and I will not call out too loud!"

As it happened, the market then was very quiet it seems. Although there were a few curious neighbours , there were no bidders and the property was "passed in"at auction. So Mum and Dad were able to negotiate to purchase the place for 800 Pounds with the aid of a loan from my maiden Aunt Nell to whom Mum and Dad had always been very kind.

In due course Dad, now a home owner set to work and, totally through his own labour, transformed the property: clearing the blackberry infestation from the Northern side and laying a concrete driveway from the new wrought iron gates he installed,replacing the front fence ,  adding a new kitchen and laundry, closing in the rear verandah , re-furbishing the bathroom and installing first a gas heater at the bath and later a hot water service for the whole house  and finally he opened out the Lounge Room onto the Dining Area freed up by the new kitchen. It was an extraordinary effort for a part time amateur. In the course of those works over the years we went from an Ice Box  to a gas Refrigerator ( Silent Knight brand) to an American Crosley Electric Refrigerator. And the hand operated wringer on the Laundry concrete tubs gave way to a barrel shaped Simpson Electric Washing Machine ( Agitator type) later replace by a Hoover. And finally the clothes lines stretched across the backyard gave way to a Hills Rotary Hoist which was ultimately supplemented by a an electric Clothes Dryer. He also re-roofed the house and re-painted it externally.There seemed to be no practical project he would not put his hand to, and he never failed to achieve a good result. Well done that Dad!
Alas the "practical genes"did not get through to me!

Most of this transformation took place in the second half of the 1950s - a time of great prosperity in Australia as the country found its feet and recovered vigorously after the War under the brilliant Menzies Coalition Government  which ruled for 23 years. The Great Depression and Wartime Austerity were shaken off completely and a new self- confident era  evolved.

In this period we were certainly no longer "poor"  by anyone's standards, rather we had become inhabitants of the burgeoning lower middle class in our lifestyle, and as I came into my 20s I felt few direct inhibitions to my progress in life. Though it must be noted , that given their own backgrounds, my dear Mum and Dad were not so well placed to advise me.Not that it would probably have been possible at that age , when I of course knew everything.   

STRUGGLING OUT OF ADVERSITY WITH STYLE AND EXCELLENCE - THE 1930s

THE CHRYSLER BUILDING
NEW YORK CITY

It is true that THE GREAT DEPRESSION, which began in 1929, never really ended, rather, World War II began in 1939 and consumed the world economy , and almost everything else.

Nevertheless, struggling through the horrors of mass unemployment and crumbling economic activity, the Western World in particular steadily picked itself up and patched its spirit together - even if it could not find the right formula for restoring the economy to health and vigour.

We can see this recovery of spirit in the images of the time. At the head of this Post, we see the ever beautiful Chrysler Building completed in 1930 in New York City. It has become a symbol of that brilliantly resurgent spirit, even though it had been commenced in 1928. In 1993, my wife and I were staying at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York  City(trying to exorcise the memory of our 1986 visit when we had to stay in the City's second worst hotel The Aberdeen - another story) and we had a room looking out to The Chrysler Building - what a joy!

CHRYSLER BUILDING - EXULTANT DETAIL

The Art Deco style which was also born in the 1920s became the characteristic style of the 1930s. It was evident across the board, in architecture,transport, art and advertising and attire.One of the leading demonstrations of this, and one which also became iconic was in railway transport and it was The Twentieth Century Limited :

1930s ICONIC IMAGE

Like most streamlined Steam Locomotives, the streamlining was applied to an existing group of locomotives. The named train dated back to 1902 and was already well known, but the streamlining in 1938 brought about its iconic status.The design styling was done by Henry Dreyfuss.The New York Central Railroad gloried in the standing of its premier train. They maintained an extremely fast service covering the 960 miles between Chicago and New York at an average of the magic ( Mile a Minute) 60 mph! The train was handsome coming or going:

......or going......

A few years earlier in fact, the British had introduced an even faster train the Silver Jubilee of 1935 ,picking up on the Royal Silver Jubilee, running between Newcastle and London at 67.4 mph average over 270 miles   miles. The A4 Class Locomotives of the London and North Eastern Railway were designed and built as Streamliners under the masterly hand of Sir Nigel Gresley.

THE SILVER JUBILEE in 1936

But the recovery spirit was also notable at sea. In this element British design fell short of the leadership one might have expected.The Queen Mary completed in 1936  still came across to those in the Dominions beyond the Seas as the greatest ship in the World. But that was because the Imperial propaganda machine was so good. It is plain now, for everyone to see that the French ( with the Italians ,masters of design excellence) with the absolutely beautiful,stunningly elegant S.S. NORMANDIE had produced the 1930's and perhaps all time's finest ship:

S.S.NORMANDIE ENTERS NEW YORK HARBOUR
IN TRIUMPH AFTER WINNING THE COVETED  BLUE RIBAND
1935

NORMANDIE IN NEW YORK - WOWING THE LOCALS
AFTER WINNING THE BLUE RIBAND FOR THE
FASTEST ATLANTIC CROSSING 1935


But Normandie's excellence extended to the realm of art as well - nothing was too good for this great ship as the image below illustrates:

Design excellence sans frontieres

Sadly, S.S. NORMANDIE was destroyed by fire in New York Harbour during the War as she was being gutted for troop carrying. The fire was a complete accident as an oxy -acetylene torch touched a huge curtain. The fire spread quickly. In their zeal to put out the fire the U.S. authorities put so much water into the NORMANDIE that the great ship rolled over at her berth and sank alongside.

Automotive design move unevenly , but spectacularly  during the 1930s. Consider the following :

1931 STUTZ LE BARON SEDAN

The Stutz Le Baron of 1931 is not very far advanced from the cars of the late 1920s, but it makes a good benchmark for the beginning of the decade.Everything is there : Trunk Mud Guards, Running Boards, Head lights, Radiator Side opening Bonnet, Wire Wheels, Spare wheel on Mudguard.

1938 JAGUAR SS SEDAN

The 1938 Jaguar SS shows that in England not a great deal had changed, except that , true to its name, the Jaguar has adopted a very feline stance , and seems poised to pounce , but all the elements are preserved save the Spare wheel on the Mudguard.

"In the East the sun climbs slow, How slowly,

But Westward look! The land is bright!"

Robert Frost

And westward , across the Atlantic how true it was :

1938 BUICK WITH STYLE

The Trunk is now what we call the Boot, the Mudguards are tending to unity with the body, if not always completely there yet , the Headlamps survive but likewise, we can see their fate is fast approaching, the running boards are merely vestigial , but the side opening Bonnet appears safe as yet. Nevertheless, the whole ensemble is something altogether different 

from the Stutz and the Jaguar which are clearly  old-fashioned.Modern times are here! Depression or not!

Back East in Germany the Maybach suggests people have been concentrating on other things:

1938 Maybach D58 ZEPPELIN Sedan

The 1938 Maybach Zeppelin from Germany is an almost complete design throw back to 1931, the only concession to modern times lies in the flow of the Mudguards, the Spare wheel Metal covers and the disc wheels, though there is a boot. Minds were obviously on other things.

But, in Merrie England, where the Government was still preparing its defence plans on the basis that there would be no War for 5 years(!!), excitement was the order of the day when Vauxhall introduced the thrill a minute 1938 Ten Four!

 What can we say! Is this not Modern ! Well, look : a Boot, vestigial Running Boards,Rear Mudguards fairing into the Body, drilled Disc Wheels and, well, that's your lot for 1938 ( and more than a decade to come though no-one could know!):

In the sky a miracle of modernity created a true revolution. No more, bi-plane, no more string and wire, there arrived on the scene the Douglas DC 3 of 1935:

It was a marvel of modern design and excellence in performance and reliability. Hundreds went into service and transformed civil Aviation. No-one knew, but they were witnessing the birth of the aerial workhorse of the coming World War when thousands of these planes would be around the globe carrying troops, paratroopers, equipment, ammunition and supplies generally. They were to perform remarkable feats of difficult service and endurance. They would be known, in the military version as the Dakota. And their familiar engine drone was always re-assuring except to our enemies in their homelands.They were the Aerial success story of the 1930s , and for that matter of the 1940's.

The human spirit was sorely tried by the Great Depression, but through it all at some levels, hope shone through. It found expression in many ways as we have seen and produced a great deal of excellence. It was soon to be tried even more and further by World War II, which was to be transformative in many ways, not all for the good.But much that came out of that conflict better, had its origins in the better elements of the 1930s struggle against adversity.

CHILDHOOD SOCIAL REALITIES - WORLD WAR I

CHILDHOOD        SOCIAL REALITIES OF WORLD WAR I

MOTHER'S MATE CALLS

I have tried to identify the point in my life at which I began to take the family, community and national memory of World War I seriously, so far without success. Perhaps in writing this post I shall stumble across it.

My earliest memories of the "idea" of the first World War are of images of rather absurd looking flickering figures walking in a jolting fashion in odd uniforms. There was always at my Grandma Dixon's house among the large depressing photo portraits around the Lounge Room wall a young soldier, left profile,eyes raised slightly as if gazing on some distant scene. I believe his name was Patrick Boyd and that he was my Grandma Dixon's brother who died in 1919,just after the War. The family spoke as if he had died because of the War, I have yet to prove that.I wonder now if his death had any influence on my Grandad's later heavy drinking and brutish behaviour. There was never any talk of him serving in that War.

Then too, I saw in many places War Memorials, most small with names I came to realise were the dead, inscribed below, and surmounted by a soldier standing at attention and resting on arms reversed, and in the heart of Sydney City the solemn Cenotaph which I always had learned to respect

SYDNEY CENOTAPH  DAWN SERVICE  ANZAC DAY

Even in my early teens,  as other histories more remote came to attract my reading attention, World War I seemed to strike a stubborn streak in my mind - it was boring, old-fashioned, irrelevant. Perhaps this had something to do with the fact that my early years were spent in the midst of World War II still the great reality of my early teens, filling movie houses, books, magazines. Maybe it made World War I seem as it did. 

Do you know? I think writing in order to think something through, works. That was obviously it. 

Off on my first visit to Canberra ,the National Capital in  1957/58.
The diesel railcar set was the latest thing operating as the Canberra-Monaro Express.
Rail fans of the time spoke of its speed as low flying! Lol! I doubt it passed 80 mph.

But as time went on,WWII 's colours began to fade, and I visited our Nation's Capital Canberra for the first time. There I visited the great War Memorial, which at the time was still principally concentrating on World War I in its magnificent displays.Now, I began to understand the terrible reality of that "War to end all Wars", and what it had meant to the infant Australia and the World.

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL, CANBERRA

Australia lost 61,966 Military Deaths or 1.38% of her total population of 4.5 millions at the time.

United States 116,708    "            "       "  0.13%  "  "     "            "        "  92        "       "   "    "  .

That visit drew the veil away, the psychological barrier in my mind, and I came at last, to rationally think about the Great War. I was then about 17 and working for the Solicitor for Railways. I travelled to Canberra on my Railway Employee's once a year free Pass. I got more value out of that journey than I could have hoped for.

As the years have gone by, with the advent of television and growing publishing interest in World War I and then the arrival of the Internet ( how blessed we are to live in the Internet era!) my interest has grown and grown. And I have discovered Private Billy Wilson, my maternal Grandmother's brother, whom I knew had called his beautiful young sister "Doll's eyes", was blown to pieces at Armentieres.

And as if by magic, young Australians and older ones, are flocking to Anzac Day Services around the World each year in GROWING numbers at Gallipoli, Villers Bretonneux and now Fromelles. Just as I have over the years, come alive to that great tragedy, and its significance, so have many others and their children and their children's children.

Truly, of those who gave their lives, it can be said::

                                   'THEIR NAME LIVETH FOR EVERMORE"