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Australia

When James Strachan was born on 26 March 1886, at Jingellic, New South Wales, his father, Alexander (1849 to 1950), was 36 and his mother, Mary France Georgina, nee Roy (1859 to 1950), was 27. He had four brothers and two sisters; Evelyn Kate (1877 to 1956), William Tough (1879 to 1916), John James (1881 to ?), Alexander Roy (1884 to 1986), Walter (1888 to 1964) and Elsie Georgina (1893 to 1987).

On the 3 September, 1915, James enlisted in the AIF (Australian Imperial Forces) at Melbourne, Victoria. He was given the service number 1620 and was put on strength with the 12th Reinforcements of the 8th Light Horse.

Upon enlistment, James was a single, 29-year-old labourer. He stood 5 foot 10 inches tall (178 cm) and weighed 11 stone (70 kg). His complexion was given as fresh, eyes blue and hair dark brown. His records show that he had distinctive marks which included two warts on his back and a scar on his right knee and stomach. James’ religious denomination was given as Church of England.

On the 10 November, 1915, James embarked on HMAT A11 Ascanius, sailing from Melbourne, Victoria. The trip would take him across the Great Australian Bight to Fremantle, on to Colombo, in Ceylon, before finally disembarking at Suez, at the Southern end of the Suez Canal, in Egypt.

It wasn’t long after arriving in Egypt that James was hospitalized with mumps at the No. 4 Australian Hospital at Abbassia. He would spend a total eleven days in hospital from the 7 January to the 18 January 1916. Upon returning to his unit, he was taken on strength with the 3rd Reserve Regiment at Heliopolis, before being transferred to the 46th Battery of the 4th Division Artillery.

On the 16 April, 1916, James was admitted to the No. 1 Australian Stationary Hospital with a case of venereal disease. This time, he would only remain in hospital for a period of six days. James would spend further time in various field and stationary hospitals during his enlistment but these would be in France and England, although for the same condition.

On the 1 May, 1916, James was remustered as a Driver in the 12th Field Artillery Brigade. This unit, along with James, left Serapeum by two trains late in the evening of the 1 June, 1916, and embarked on troopships at Alexandria early the next morning. Of the four troop ships required to move the Brigade to France, James would have most likely been on either the Caledonia or the Kingstonia, the other two being used for equipment and supplies. It took five days for the convoy to sail across the Mediterranean to the Port of Marseilles, in the south of France. By the 18 June, the Brigade was settling into billets in Caestre, France.

The first time James’ battery went into action would have been during the period of 3 July to the 13 July when the 46th Battery relieved the 22nd Battery of the 2nd Divisional Artillery in the line near Fleurbaix. During this period, the 46th Battery fired 863 rounds mainly for verifying targets and retaliation. The average range was 300 yards, and although the battery was heavily shelled, there was no damage to either guns or personnel.

Another duty undertaken by the battery was wire cutting. The 12th Field Artillery Brigades war diary for this period states

“The 45th, 46th and 47th Batteries were all detailed as Wire Cutting Batteries and must have performed their work excellently from remarks subsequently made by the Infantry, to the effect that the wire entanglements gave them no trouble at all, infact (sic) were hardly noticed.”

At one stage, the 46th Battery was continuously in action for 57 hours, during which 3895 rounds were fired.

After their period in the line, the three Batteries of the Brigade went to new billets in Managatte, near Steenwerk. They then spent some time refitting with personnel and equipment while undertaking training programs that included; gun laying, battery gun drill, route marches, semaphore signalling, driving drill, physical training and squad drill.

In late August the Brigade moved from Setques, France to Reninghelst, France and moved into gun positions. The image on the previous page shows an 18 pounder battery site behind Vaulx, for registration on Lagnicourt. Such a scene would have been familiar to James.

During September the Brigade was stationed first in the Boeschepe region and then the Dockebusch region. During this period the 46th Battery continued to support infantry troops in the front line, firing rounds for registration and retaliation. During this time, up until April 1918, James’ position as a driver could have included a number of tasks. The moving of the guns, the transportation of ammunition and other materials from stores areas behind the lines, as well as the care and maintenance of the wagons and horses, would have filled James’ days.

The only date recorded for 1917 in James’ records shows that from 23 June, 1917, to the 3 July, 1917, he was awarded leave from France to England. A gap of almost a year then appears and it is not until March, 1918, that we once again find him being admitted to hospital. On the 3 April, James rejoined his unit and, two months later, was promoted to Bombardier. It is assumed that James was with his unit in the field during that entire time.

The 10 August, 1918, sees James being admitted to the 1st Australian General Hospital in England, once again for the treatment of venereal disease. After leaving hospital he is transferred to the Overseas Training Brigade on the 19 October. It is from here that he is posted as absent without leave during the period 2359 (24 hour time) on the 12 November to 2235 on the 19 November. For this, his is awarded 14 days Field Punishment No. 2 and forfeits 21 days pay. In the British and Commonwealth forces there were two categories of field punishment. Field Punishment No. 1 consisted of heavy labouring duties, possibly being fixed by handcuffs and being tied to a post or wheel. Field Punishment No. 2 was different in that the offender was not necessarily attached to a fixed object.

On the 13 April, 1919, James embarked on the ship SS Wyreema, returning to Australia some weeks later. He was finally discharged from the AIF on the 11 July, 1919. For his service during the war, he was awarded the 1915-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

When war once again came to Australia in 1939, James enlisted in the CMF (Citizen Military Forces), being given the service number V402649. He gave his sister, Georgina, as his next of kin. Australian Electoral Rolls indicate that during the 1930s and 1940s, James lived at Tooma in New South Wales. Current record searches provide no information on whether James married during his lifetime. James passed away in Goulburn, New South Wales in 1973, at the age of 87 and was buried at Goulburn, New South Wales.

Extract from "Light Horsemen of the Upper Murray", Year 5 and 6 Project, Corryong College.