Diary of HV Reynolds - Epilogue
Herbert spent the next 10 days in very poor condition. He was unable to eat or drink let alone write. He was evacuated off the peninsula and spent time at Lemnos Field Hospital before being invalided back to England.
Though he returned to his unit in Egypt and continued on to serve on the Western Front until the end of the war he never fully recovered from this illness and like many ANZACs carried this experiences at Gallipoli with him for the rest of his life.
He returned to Sebastopol Victoria where he lived out the remainder of his life as a husband and a father. Private Herbert Vincent Reynolds died in 1978 at the age of 82.
Comments
paul says:
That was a fantastic jorney thank you. Will there be another diary?
Vincent Reynolds says:
Thankyou for sharing my father's diaries with the wider public. It has been a grerat privilege for my family to see them on your blog. Many thanks must go to my brother, Rex, and my late parents for ensuring that these diaries and objects have been cared for and now shared. Vincent Reynolds (My brother, Rex, is not in good health at this time of writing.)
Liz says:
As I was reading this passage, I thought to myself how lucky I am to be an Australian. The amount of effort and pride put into defending the country for our future generations. It is sad to hear about the soldiers experiences but it is good to read how it feels to be in a war. If I was a nurse/soldier I would be exhausted at the sight of the fighting, firing hour after hour after hour. The only thing I can say is I am Australian and I am proud.
janfar says:
Hi Vincent, thank you for allowing me to share your family’s story. It has been a privilege working on this project and it would not have been possible without the hard work done by Rex in the compilation of the manuscript. I will treasure my copy! Please pass on my well wishes and heartfelt thanks to Rex and your entire family. Regards, Janice
Dave Thomas says:
I've thoroughly enjoyed following Herbert Reynold's journey over the last few months. As someone who knew little about the Gallipoli campaign, and far less about the ANZAC part in that campaign, it has been extremely illuminating. Thanks to the Reynold's family for sharing the contents of the diary, and thanks to Janice Farrar for the selection of photographs, paintings and drawings which have added in great part to my enjoyment while reading Herbert's story. My interest in Gallipoli began while researching the war service of a local (English) man, an officer in the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Yeomanry, who was killed in Palestine in 1917. It turned out that he had actually joined up in Australia, as an infantryman in the 4th Replacements of the 12th Battalion AIF, was evacuated from Gallipoli after 6 weeks due to sickness, was sent back to hospital in England and eventually transferred to the RGHY as an officer. He then returned to Egypt where the RGHY was attached to the Australian Mounted Division. If you're interested, there is a diary of an RGHY officer, ET Cripps, which picks up the story from August 13th 1915. (He landed with the RGHY at Suvla Bay on August 19th.) The diary can be found and downloaded from http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~terryw/gloucest/gloucest.htm#Diary_of_ET_Cripps
Tracey Thorn says:
Thank you to the Reynolds family for sharing this wonderful piece of history.
Christine Dagnall says:
Thank You for sharing this diary. A real eye opener for what these men( and women) had to endure.
tash says:
wow, this guy makes me feel poud to be an australian
Kathryn Simpson says:
Hi Janice Can you please tell me your source for the info below on your blog? ie - specifically that the extra fabric was to prevent sunstroke. Where did this theory come from? Many thanks Kathryn *Did you know that it was believed that sunstroke was caused by direct sunlight on the spine? As a precaution, the soldier’s tunics were made with an extra strip of fabric running the length of the spine.
aliya says:
im only young and to read this, it made me realise how tough it was and that what he did was great
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