Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Errol Victor Iles was born on 11th August, 1886 in Ballarat, Victoria. Iles’ only recorded next of kin was his mother, Charlotte Iles, who lived with him at 68 Charles Street, Norwood. They were both Methodist. Iles was a salesman and single before he enlisted for World War One on 13th September, 1915.

Iles embarked for World War One on the HMAT A30 Borda on 11th January 1916 from Adelaide, South Australia. Iles’ first disembarkment was in Heliopolis, Egypt, where he arrived on 1st March 1916. This is where Iles commenced his training as a soldier in the 3rd Light Horse Regiment Battalion.

Following his training in Heliopolis, Iles arrived in Moascar, Egypt on 21st April, 1916. Iles was moved from Heliopolis and the Light Horse Regiment Battalion to the 5th Division Artillery based in Moascar. This Artillery received 205 reinforcements from several Light Horse Battalions including Iles. After arriving in Moascar, Iles trained there to prepare for his first battle in Ferry Post East, Egypt. On arriving in Ferry Post East, Iles was given the roll of a ‘Mustered Gunner’, controlling one of the main machine guns used in World War One.

After one month in this role of a Mustered Gunner, Iles was appointed ‘Driver’ and was moved back to his original Battalion of the 3rd Light Horse Regiment. This was one of his main roles at war. As a Driver, riding ‘horse drawn vehicles’ was Iles’ main responsibility in the war. Some of these vehicles comprised of carriages attached to horses in which equipment was stored as needed in battles. Other vehicles were either a single or pair of horses with equipment attached to the horses’ sides.

Having spent only one month in Ferry Post East, Iles then proceeded to Alexandria, France, on 18th June, 1916. Iles moved to Alexandria to join the ‘British Expeditionary Force’ (BEF). The BEF was the part of the British Army that was sent to the Western Front to battle in World War One. Iles served on the Western Front as a Driver in the BEF.

Iles didn’t spend very long with the BEF as a Driver before he disembarked in Marseilles, France, on 29th June, 1916. This was where Iles was appointed ‘Bombardier’. While there was no information on Iles’ specific responsibilities as a Bombardier, similar to the ranking of a Corporal, a Bombardier was a ‘non-commissioned’ officer in the Army. This meant that Iles did not earn any commission as an officer of the Army. He continued in his role as a Bombardier for the duration of his time in World War One, which was up until 1919, moving around France. His records indicate that he was active in this role ‘in the field (France)’, but do not disclose specifically where in France.

While in the field in France, in November 1916, Iles disobeyed an order and consequently, his ranking was reverted from Bombardier back to Driver. Iles spent nearly two full years as a Driver before being reappointed as Bombardier in April 1918.

Iles’ time at war ended in 1919 when he left France to return home to Australia via England. Iles survived the war and returned safely to Australia on the ‘Orontes’ which he embarked on 15th May 1919 in Devonport, England. He arrived home in June 1919 but the specific date of arrival to Adelaide is unknown as Iles’ records show two different dates, both in June 1919.

Iles was awarded the ‘British War Medal’ for participating in the war. He was also awarded the ‘Victory Medal’ given that Australia was an ally to Britain, one of the winning countries of World War One along with France and the United States.

Iles died on the 22nd July 1976 at the age of 90. He has a plaque in the South Australian Garden of Remembrance where his body is buried.

Iles showed the true meaning of the ANZAC Spirit by being committed to serving his country in World War One, regardless of the difficult challenges that he had to face. Iles stood by his ‘mates’ and showed comradery to get through the fight of the war. Iles further demonstrated the ANZAC spirit by having ‘reckless valour in a good cause, resourcefulness, fidelity, comradeship, and endurance’ and never gave up or owned defeat’. For this, we remember him.

Bibliography

National Archives of Australia, n.d, NAA: B2455 ILES ERROL VICTOR, Australian Government, accessed 2 March 2017, <https://recordsearch.naa.gov.au/SearchNRetrieve

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Errol Victor ILES n.d, RSL Virtual War Memorial,

accessed 4 March 2017, <https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore

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Studio portrait of Errol Victor Iles n.d, Photograph, State Records of SA, accessed 5 March 2017, <https://rslvirtualwarmemorial.org.au/explore/people/140313>.

E00952 n.d, Photograph, Unknown Australian Official Photographer, accessed 5 March 2017, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E00952/>.

E01054 n.d, Photograph, Unknown Australian Official Photographer, accessed 5 March 2017, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E01054/>.

PB0277 n.d, Photograph, Unknown Australian Official Photographer, accessed 5 March 2017, <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/PB0277/>.

Tibbitts, C 2007, The Drivers, Australian War Memorial, accessed 3 March 2017, <https://www.awm.gov.au/blog/2007/08/03/the-drivers/>.

Anzac Spirit n.d, Australian War Memorial, accessed 6 March 2017, <https://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/anzac/spirit/>.