Blog category - Diary of an ANZAC
Wednesday 3rd February 1915
03 February 2010 by Janice Farrer.
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Diary of an ANZAC
Please note: Care has been taken to transcribe these entries without alteration to preserve the original language of Herbert Vincent Reynolds.
Courtyard, 14th Australian General Hospital, Abbassia By George Lambert ART02817
‘The Field Ambulance reinforcements for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd disembarked at 9am and entrained for Cairo* at 9.30am. We arrived at Abbassia at 5pm and marched to the camp behind the barracks. We slept in a mess room for the night, but it was too cold to sleep comfortably, we had only a small blanket. All the Field Ambulance reinforcements were under the charge of Sgt, Baker. Our camp is about 4 miles from the city.’
*Originally soldiers of the AIF were going to finish their training in England but after the bitter winter experienced by Canadian soldiers the men of the AIF were sent to Egypt to train in a more ‘suitable’ climate.
For the classroom: What other reasons might they have to send the troops to train in the Egyptian desert?
Tuesday 2nd February 1915
02 February 2010 by Janice Farrer.
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Diary of an ANZAC
Please note: Care has been taken to transcribe these entries without alteration to preserve the original language of Herbert Vincent Reynolds.
‘Arrived at Alexandria at 8am the harbour was full of wind jammers most of which are prizes. We pulled into the wharf at 2pm, the Light Horse Ambulance reinforcements went ashore and proceeded to the camp. No leave was granted, but I got ashore with a couple of other chaps and we went to the city, returning at about 1am. We got a cab man to drive us back to the wharf, could not see much of the place at night, visited a couple of music halls.*’
*After so long on a ship the many soldiers looked forward to the excitement of Alexandria. The men wanted to partake in recreational activities such as music halls.
For the classroom: If you were a soldier and spent a long period at sea how would you spend your first day in a new land?
Diary of an ANZAC: A Gallipoli Perspective
01 February 2010 by Janice Farrer.
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Diary of an ANZAC
This is the story of Herbert Vincent Reynolds No. 622 First Field Ambulance, First AIF.
Herbert Vincent Reynolds enlisted in the 1st AIF at the age of 18Born in Sebastopol Victoria on 16thSeptember 1896 Herbert attended Sebastopol State School until 1912 and obtained high marks for both the drawings and models he made.
Since the age of 14 Herbert was an army cadet and in 1914 when the war broke out he was called up for service. While on parade with the 8th Infantry Battalion he was told by his commanding officer to “go home” as he was too young. Once home, he obtained a letter of consent from his mother and joined up with the 4th Field Ambulance when it was formed.
The decision to go to war was a hard one for Herbert. From the age of 13 Herbert was responsible for providing for his Mother and siblings. Without his weekly income it would be hard for his family to survive without him. Nevertheless, the call to war was too strong and Herbert became one of the 421,809 men who would sign up for service during the First World War.
Over the next few months diary entries written by Herbert upon his arrival in Alexandria 1915 will be posted. They will cover Herbert’s experience in the lead up and duration of the Gallipoli campaign.
Care has been taken to transcribe these entries without alteration to preserve the original language of Herbert Vincent Reynolds.
