An Officer and a Cyclist

by Tracey Langner

Jacob Edwin (Jack) Hindhaugh commanded Australia’s Cyclist Corps in France during the First World War, and it is this role that makes his collection intriguing. Being new to the Memorial’s staff, I was surprised at the notion of cyclists on the Western front: how on earth did we win the war on bicycles? As I read on, I developed a great regard, not only for the stamina of the cyclists, but for Jack himself. His diaries reveal an honest and candid account of the conditions he faced throughout his service. Hindhaugh was an officer in Australia’s pre-war defence scheme, and in August 1914 volunteered to serve overseas with the first contingent of the Australian Imperial Force. At almost 35 years of age on enlistment, he was appointed captain in the headquarters of the First Light Horse Brigade. Following this appointment he was to gain command of Australia’s Cyclist Corps in France. Jack served for 1,528 days, and his diaries record 1,430 days of that journey. The Australian War Memorial holds five of Jack’s original handwritten diaries, plus a transcript which includes the contents of a missing sixth diary.

Reading through Hindhaugh’s diaries left me with an impression of high energy; he did not like sitting still. His diary entry from Heliopolis on 28 April 1915 reads:

Two weeks later, Jack landed on Gallipoli, as aide-de-camp to Colonel Henry George (Harry) Chauvel, commander of the AIF’s 1st Light Horse Brigade.

Jack’s service on Gallipoli was brief. He was wounded in the Turkish offensive within weeks of arriving, and evacuated two months later, on 1 July 2015. Following recuperation in Heliopolis, Jack was appointed to command Australia’s 1st Division Cyclist Company. His diary entry on 14 March 1916 reads:

The 150 men of his Cyclist Company were recruited from reinforcements for the 4th Light Horse, who arrived in Egypt during the Gallipoli campaign. The cyclists were employed militarily for the first time when the First Division entered the line south of Armentières in mid-April 1916. The cyclists played a significant role, carrying messages and transporting men quickly behind the front. They would scout ahead, scouring the best routes forward, and provide communications between the brigades and divisions. On some occasions, cyclists faced battle, but predominantly their role was one of support. Hindhaugh’s diary entries are detailed, revealing a varied routine; in addition to scouring forward routes, cyclists carried out police work, traffic control, and they built light railways. His entries also report on weather conditions, billeting, relocation orders, the wounded, working liaisons, and leave activities.

Six months into the role of commanding the 1st Division Cyclist Company, on 25 September 1916, Hindhaugh was promoted to major, and continued in this post on the Western Front for the next two years. The First Division Cyclist Company was restructured a couple of times. In 1916 it was organised under 1 ANZAC Corps Cyclist Battalion. By January 1918, all five Australian divisions were grouped together to form the Australian Corps, with amalgamation enabling efficient redistribution of scarce reinforcements. Hindhaugh’s unit became the Australian Cyclist Battalion. It and the 13th Light Horse made up the Australian Corps Mounted Troops.

In addition to the diaries, Hindhaugh compiled a visual record of his war service, comprising nearly 1,000 postcards, more than a hundred photographs, and ephemera ranging from concert programs to dinner menus to pressed flowers to the paraphernalia of war obtained from German prisoners. Approximately 725 of the postcards were arranged chronologically and geographically, and beautifully displayed in a large album titled “Round the World, 1914 – 1918!” Countries featured include Egypt, Malta, Italy, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom and lastly Australia.

Jack began his war service with the first convoy to go overseas and he did not leave the Western Front, the Beaurevoir Line, until the AIF’s last day of battle. His final parade with the Australian Cyclist Battalion was on 4 October 1918. The final sentence in his last diary entry laconically reads, “So home at last after four years and two months.”

Primary source: AWM collection PR05615; Hindhaugh, Jacob (Jack) Edwin (Major, 1881–1959)

Secondary source: Anzac Gentleman. Around the World with the AIF Light Horse and Cyclist Corps 1914-18. By Richard Langereis (2009)