Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Allan and Mary McInnes of Euabalong, NSW. Brother of Allen Andrew McInnes MM who was killed in action on 28 June 1918 while serving with the 18th Battalion and is buried in the Longueau British Cemetery and Harold Edward McInnes

Medals: 1914-15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal

Colin was born in Lake Cargelligo in 1881, the son of Allan McInnes and Mary McFadzean. Allan was born at Grants Flat near Goulburn, the son of Gregor McInnes and Anne Gibson.

Colin was the fourth child of eleven children, ten sons and one daughter. His brother Allen also enlisted and was killed at Villers-Bretonneux. Colin grew up on his parents’ property at Eubalong in the Riverina.

Colin enlisted in the Australian Light Horse on January 4th, 1915. He was assigned to the Light Horse Depot at Liverpool and, after authority was given to form the 12th Light Horse Regiment, he was re-assigned on March 1st to this regiment. Within forty-eight hours of its formation one thousand men marched out of the Liverpool camp to the camping area at Holsworthy adjacent to the German internment camp.

By April 24th the regiment was horsed and equipped and made the twenty-two-and-a-half-kilometre trip to Sydney for a procession of overseas troops parading through the main streets of Sydney. More training followed and on June 9th embarkation orders were received. On June 13th the troops and their horses left Sydney on the S.S Suevic. This was the Suevic’s only war service, transporting the troops from Sydney, via Adelaide, to the Dardanelles campaign. At Adelaide all the horses were disembarked as previous light horse regiments had lost a large majority of their horses on the long sea journey and so the horses for the 12th regiment would not make the journey to the Dardanelles.

The first port of call, on July 11th, was Aden in Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula where the troops of the 11th and 12th Light Horse assisted Welsh Garrison Troops to force out a four thousand-strong force of Saudi riflemen who had cut-off the water supply as well as food and medical supplies to Aden. The two regiments remained on-board their transport ships but showed their readiness to assist the Welsh who eventually managed to force the Saudis out. The troops finally disembarked in Aden, the first Australian troops to do so.

By July 22nd the Suevic had made the three-thousand-kilometre journey across the Red Sea to Cairo. Arriving in a bad dust storm and oppressive heat the troopship berthed at Suez and the troops disembarked and made their way to the 2nd Oasis camp Heliopolis. Without horses vigorous dismounted training on the sandhills ensured the fitness of the troops.

On August 23rd, the 11th and 12th Regiments were paraded and informed that the 4th Light Horse Brigade was to disband and that they were to travel to Gallipoli as infantry. Bandoliers, shoulder pouches for bullets, were handed in and infantry pattern ’08’ webbing issued, and a final farewell parade was held on August 24th.

On August 25th the regiment marched from Cairo to Alexandria where they boarded the Troopship S.S. Marquette to Lemnos. Three days later they travelled to Anzac Cove on the Prince Abbas, arriving at midnight following a dangerous journey avoiding submarines. When the regiment gathered in Rest Gully, below Walker’s Ridge, the troops were informed that the 12th Light Horse Regiment was to be disbanded, and the men were to provide reinforcements to other light horse regiments that had been heavily weakened through causalities, sickness, and disease. Colin McInnes and other troops from C company, were transferred to the 6th Light Horse regiment, joining the troops at Holly’s Spur. This meant the 6th Light Horse was now composed of three hundred and fifteen men, full strength. During the move from Rest Gully to Holly’s Spur Trooper Alfred Neaves was shot by a sniper and was the first member of the 12th Light Horse to be killed and the only one buried at Gallipoli. 

The 6th regiment became responsible for the defence of a sector on the far right of the ANZAC line and continued in this role until the evacuation in December. During the three months the regiment improved their trenches and placed lines of protective barbed wire. Enemy fire continued and some were wounded while in November the firing increased and the troops were involved in bombing actions to stall the advance of the Turkish troops toward Chatham Post. As a counter measure a one hundred and twenty-metre tunnel was dug towards the Turkish position and a successful action resulted in the capture of a Turkish trench which was then connected to the Allied trenches. The troops came under heavy fire and eleven men were injured and five were killed by exploding shells. One of these wounded men was Colin McInnes who died of his leg wounds on November 13th, 1915, on the hospital ship Neuralia. He was twenty-four years old and was buried at sea forty-five miles from Alexandria.