11499 / 20017
MATTNER, Edward William
| Service Numbers: | 8380, SX12762, S1124 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 7 September 1915, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Last Rank: | Lieutenant |
| Last Unit: | 2nd/13th Field Regiment |
| Born: | Oakbank, South Australia, 16 September 1893 |
| Home Town: | Oakbank, Adelaide Hills, South Australia |
| Schooling: | Adelaide High School, University of Adelaide |
| Occupation: | School Teacher |
| Died: | Natural causes, Daw Park, South Australia, 21 December 1977, aged 84 years |
| Cemetery: |
Bonney Flat Methodist Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Adelaide High School Great War Honour Board, Adelaide University of Adelaide WW1 Honour Roll, Balhannah WW2 Roll of Honour, Oakbank Old Scholars Roll of Honor, South Australian Education Department Roll of Honour, Woodside District of Onkaparinga Honour Board |
World War 1 Service
| 7 Sep 1915: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 8380, Adelaide, South Australia | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Nov 1915: | Embarked AIF WW1, Gunner, 8380, 6th Field Artillery Brigade , HMAT Persic, Melbourne | |
| 22 Nov 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Gunner, 8380, 6th Field Artillery Brigade , Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '4' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Persic embarkation_ship_number: A34 public_note: '' | |
| 11 Jun 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Sergeant, 6th Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 8 Oct 1917: | Promoted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, 6th Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 8 Jan 1918: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 6th Field Artillery Brigade | |
| 11 Nov 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 6th Field Artillery Brigade |
World War 2 Service
| 14 May 1941: | Enlisted Australian Military Forces (WW2) , Lieutenant, SX12762 | |
|---|---|---|
| 14 May 1941: | Enlisted Lieutenant, SX12762, Wayville, South Australia | |
| 15 May 1941: | Involvement Lieutenant, SX12762 | |
| 15 May 1941: | Involvement S1124 | |
| 1 Jun 1942: | Discharged Lieutenant, SX12762, 2nd/13th Field Regiment |
Edward William Mattner
Name: Edward William Mattner
Service Number: 8380/SX 12762/S1124
Place of Birth: Oakbank
Date of Birth: 16 September 1893
Place of Enlistment: Wayville
Date of Enlistment: 7 September 1915
Age at Enlistment: 22 years
Next of Kin: Father, Wilhelm Charles Mattner
Occupation: Teacher
Religion: Methodist
Rank WW1: Lieutenant, Sergeant, Captain, Adjutant of 6th Brigade Artillery.
Rank WW2: Major
Edward was the third child and elder son of William Charles and Emily Mattner. Educated at Oakbank School, Adelaide High School and the University, he played cricket for University and League Football for Sturt. In 1915 Edward was appointed to Port Pirie High School but decided to enlist as a Private in the 1st A.I.F., leaving Australia in 1915 as a Gunner in the 18th Battery, 6th Field Artillery Brigade, 2nd Division. Successfully promoted, he gained his commission in the field and subsequently became Adjutant of the 6th Brigade. Edward saw service in the Somme, Pozieres, Bullecourt, Messines, Ypres, Menin Road and Passchendaele and was awarded the Military Medal, the Distinguished Conduct Medal and the Military Cross. He was one of only five Australians so decorated.
In 1919 Edward returned to Australia. He purchased a farm at Balhannah in 1920, where he was an early pioneer of summer potato cropping. He also ran a dairy herd, had fat lambs and grew subterranean clover.
In 1923 he married Lorna Prince of Peterborough. They had a family of two daughters and four sons.
Edward took a keen interest in local affairs, was President of the Onkaparinga branch of the Agricultural Bureau, Secretary of the Onkaparinga District Committee of the Liberal and Country League, and President of the Onkaparinga Returned Soldiers and Sailors’ Imperial League of Australia.
In 1941 he was appointed Major in the 2nd A.I.F., taking reinforcements to the 43rd and 48th Battalions overseas. Edward then proceeded to Papua in 1942 as Second-in-Command of the 13th Field regiment. He was invalided home and declared medically unfit for military service due to the reoccurrence of trench ulcers in the legs, suffered since World War One.
Upon the retirement of Senator O. Uppill, Edward was appointed Senator for South Australia in October 1944, and represented the State until 1946. Re-elected in 1949, he continued in the Senate until 1968. He was President of the Senate from 1951 to 1953. Throughout his political career Edward served with Tom Playford, H.H.Shannon and Speaker of the House, Archie Cameron.
Interested in racing, he had many successful racehorses at the farm, including Resting, Sebago and Wyclass. A committee member of the Onkaparinga Racing Club, he had the pleasure of seeing Sebago win a Great Eastern Steeplechase.
After the death of his wife in December 1970, Edward went to live in Woodside, next door to his youngest son, Dr. C.P. Mattner.
Edward William Mattner died on the 21st December 1977. He was survived by his children, 16 grandchildren and one great-grandchild. Edward and his wife Lorna are buried at Bonney’s Flat Cemetery, Balhannah.
Edward was a man committed to his country, family and local community and gave selflessly to them as part of his strongly held belief that when we benefit from society we have the responsibility to give something back in gratitude.
*Information and photos courtesy of Dr. C.P. Mattner of Woodside
Submitted 25 October 2023 by christopher collins
Biography
"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..." - READ MORE (www.awm.gov.au)
"A SPLENDID RECORD. SOUTH AUSTRALIAN THRICE DECORATED.
Many remarkable performances have been written down, to the credit of mem bers of the Australian Imperial Force, and among the recipient of honors Second- Lieutenant E. W. Mattner, of the Battery, Field Artillery, certainly deserves to have his name prominently placed. The officer for some time in command of the battery, but now transferred to the command of the Artillery Brigade, gives details of Lieutenant Mattner's distinctions in a letter. The young South Aus tralian soldier is a son of Mrs. E. L. Matt ner, of Oakbank. He left Australia as a gunner, and was in turn promoted to the rank of bombadier, corporal, sergeant, and second-lieutenant. As a corporal he won the Military Medal at Messines in June last. He was a sergeant when the D.C.M. was granted to him for his behavior in the engagement at Menin-road, Ypres, in September.
He gained his commission in the field in October, and a few days later he was wounded, but remained on duty. Before many more days had elapsed he had won the Military Cross. During his 27 months on active service he has never missed a day on duty, and each decoration has been for personal bravery under heavy shell fire. The officer, who has himself been mentioned in dispatches five times, considers Mr. Mattner's record without parallel in the Australian artillery and, he thinks, in the British army. Lieutenant Mattner went through the fighting on the Somme, at Pozieres, Bullecourt, Messines, Menin-road (Ypres), and Paschendael. It is interesting to note that up to November 17 last the 18th Battery had been awarded 41 decorations. Thirteen of the non-commissioned officers had been granted commissions to that date and were serving with various units." - from the Adelaide Advertiser 07 Feb 1918 (nla.gov.au)
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