Opinion Articles

SOUL MATTERS: Trooper's simple anthem for doomed youth
By Ray Collins

“Goodbye Cobber, God bless you.” These haunting words are attributed to Trooper Harold Rush of the 10th Australian Light Horse Regiment as he prepared to charge to his death as part of the third wave of Australian soldiers at the battle of the Nek in August 1915. This infamous battle highlighted many of the cruel elements of World War I: poor planning, ineffective command and a willingness to send men into battle against impossible odds.

As ANZAC Day approaches, many Australians will reflect on Trooper Rush’s words as they gather at Gallipoli or at the many cenotaphs around Australia. This year, for the first time, a dawn service will also be held at the Australian National Memorial near the French village of Villers-Bretonneux. It is expected to herald an increase in visits by young and older Australians to the battlefields of the Somme Valley and the Flanders Fields of Belgium.

As growing numbers of Australians tour the battlefields of the Western Front and visit the cemeteries that dot the landscape, they are confronted by the sheer number of headstones of Australian and other Commonwealth troops, as well as French and German troops, in cemeteries that, in some cases, contain the graves of in excess of 20,000 soldiers.

Trooper Rush’s words compel the visitor to ponder what confronted these troops as they faced the near certainty of death. The lessons that should have been learnt at Gallipoli were repeated again and again on the Western Front as ANZAC troops charged to their death against overwhelming firepower in battles at Fromelles, Pozieres, Bullecourt and Passchendaele. The same poor leadership and disregard for human life meant that some 50,000 Australians lost their lives in these and other battles.

What were their thoughts and words as they waited for the order that would propel so many to their deaths? To whom did they speak? Of whom did they think? How did their faith, or lack of faith, affect them as they faced the prospect of not returning home? How did they deal with their fears? Did the much celebrated Aussie humour that translated French place names such as Mouquet Farm into Moo-Cow Farm desert them, or did they laugh off the dangers they faced? How can the visitor place him or herself in that time and place?

These are just some of the intriguing questions that the visitors to these battlefields ponder as they walk through beautifully maintained cemeteries to search for the grave of a great-grandfather or distant relative.

Those attending the dawn service at Villers-Bretonneux this ANZAC Day will most likely visit the village’s Victoria School, rebuilt in the 1920s from funds donated by the schoolchildren of Victoria, and stand under the large sign in the playground that reads, “Do Not Forget Australia”. The chilling words of the Ode of Remembrance recited that morning will linger in their minds. We will remember them!

Lest We Forget.

Ray Collins

Ray Collins is the Acting Director of Schools at the Catholic Schools Office.