Uncommon Bravery, Edward William Mattner MC DCM MM

Recently the Australian War Memorial received a donation from the family of the late Edward William Mattner MC DCM MM.  This significant collection, which includes his medals, letters to his parents and photographs, highlights the exceptional life of service to Australia both in military and civil life.

During the First World War Mattner would receive the Military Cross, Distinguished Conduct Medal and Military Medal for bravery; one of only six Australians to receive this medal group during that war.

Mattner’s service was not confined to the battlefields; he would serve for over two decades in the Australian Senate, including two years as President of the Senate.  He was also a gifted athlete, the first member of his family to attend University and a farmer.

The grandson of German migrants, Edward Mattner was born in Oakbank, South Australia on 16 September 1893.  He was working as an assistant teacher in South Australia when he decided to enlist two weeks before his 22nd birthday in 1915.

While serving in the 18th Battery of the 6th Field Artillery Mattner would thrice distinguish himself.  The first occasion occurred in June of 1917, the battery was under heavy bombardment and a nearby ammunition dump caught fire, endangering the men, the guns and the ammunition.  Mattner, with four others used buckets of water to try to extinguish the fires as well as moving ammunition while boxes were exploding around them.  For this bravery Edward would receive the Military Medal.

He would next distinguish himself on 26 September 1917 when the battery again came under heavy fire, the commanding officer was wounded and one of the guns knocked out.  Mattner took command of the battery, exposing himself to the fire in order to keep the guns in action and to get the wounded out.  For this act of courage and leadership he was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.

On 27 October the newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant Mattner went with four other men to the aid of an infantry unit that was near the battery.  Under an intense German bombardment they treated the men’s wounds and brought them back to a place of safety.  Mattner himself was wounded during the bombardment, but chose to remain on duty.  For this third act of heroism he was awarded the Military Cross.

In February 1918 The Advertiser quoted his commanding officer as saying in his 27 months in service he never missed a day on duty, days in hospital excluded, and that the officer considers his record of service to be unequalled in the Australian Artillery.  Rare in Australian First World War service records, Mattner has no record of any misconduct or disciplinary action. 

The collection that has been donated to the Memorial includes the letters that he wrote to his parents during the First World War.  These letters show a man who was not at odds with what he was doing, he believed in the cause that he was fighting for.  It also shows an unusual optimism, for a man that had seen so many horrors he always seemed to show an uncanny ability to view things positively when telling his parents. 

On 29 July, 1916 after his first experiences of the fighting in the Somme he wrote to his mother and father saying ‘We are now in the thick of it.  By the powers it is marvellous.’ His optimistic spirit then continues ‘It is impossible to move more than 2 yards in any direction without falling into shell holes…This position was believed by the Germans to be impregnable, but such is not the case for he has been pushed well back and will be pushed yet further.’

After the war Mattner retired to his farm at Balhannah in South Australia, becoming a prominent figure in the Returned Sailors’ and Soldiers’ Imperial League of Australia.  In 1923 he married Lorna Prince, a 22 year old nurse in Adelaide. 

When the Second World War broke out Mattner once again chose to serve his country.  Aged 47 he reenlisted in the Second AIF, reaching the rank of Major and serving as second in command of the 13th Field Regiment in Papua New Guinea.  In February 1942 he was diagnosed with Fibrositis, a chronic pain disorder, causing him be discharged from the AIF as ‘permanently medically unfit’.

After returning to Australia he was asked by the South Australian Government to fill a vacancy in the Australian Senate caused by the resignation of Oliver Uppill.  From his very first speech in the Senate Mattner made it clear that he would be a champion of the needs of the military.  During his first term he argued that the equipment that AIF had was inferior to the equipment of their American allies and fought to have this fixed. 

He failed to win re-election in the election of 1946, but returned to the Senate four years later, where he continued to serve until retiring in 1968.  While in the Senate he always acted as an advocate for the needs of the Armed Forces, supporting the military in every conflict from the Second World War to the Vietnam War.

Edward Mattner died in mid-December 1977 at the Repatriation General Hospital in Adelaide; he was cremated at the Centennial Park in Adelaide.

This special donation will soon join the National Collection, helping to tell the story of the Australian experience of war.   For more information about donating items to the Australian War Memorial, please see our website http://www.awm.gov.au/collection/donations.