Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Alfred Harbord Lambton, known as Harbord, was born on 23rd January 1887 at Alvaleigh Station near Ayr QLD.  He was the 6th of 10 children born to his parents Harbord and Eleanor Lambton.  His older siblings were Eleanor, Edith, Alva, Ruby and Edward.  He had 2 younger sisters Nellie and Elsie and 2 younger brothers Henry and Guy but sadly both boys died at less than a week old.  Harbord was educated at Charters Towers QLD and in 1905 aged 18 joined the Citizen Military Forces (CMF) at Charters Towers with the rank of Private and for 3 years served with the Kennedy Regiment C Company.  During that time he attended the School of Instruction in Army signalling.  When WW1 broke out the Kennedy Regiment became known as the 31st Infantry Battalion. 

On the 16th December 1907 Harbord, aged 20, became a Lay Priest with the Anglican Church at Charters Towers.  He did his theological training at St Francis Theological College in Brisbane then was made a Deacon on 27th October 1912 and appointed to St James Cathedral in Townsville QLD as Assistant Curate.  On the 5th October 1913 Harbord was ordained as a Priest and then spent the next 5 years serving parishes in Townsville, Mackay and Sarina.  It was while he was the Curate at St Luke’s Anglican Church at Sarina QLD that he enlisted for WW1 at Brisbane as a Chaplain on 4th September 1918 aged 31.  He was commissioned as a Captain and is described as being 5ft 11ins tall with a dark complexion, brown eyes and dark hair.  Harbord embarked from Sydney on HMAT Port Darwin and disembarked at Suez, Egypt, on 20th October 1918. 

He proceeded to Moascar Camp and 8 days later was posted for duty to the 14th Australian General Hospital (14th AGH) at Port Said.  On 12th November he was posted for duty to the 4th Light Horse Brigade (LHB) and proceeded to join them at Zgharta in Syria which is 10 miles inland from Tripoli on the coast.  During the Ottoman rule the term Syria was used to designate the approximate area including present-day Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel/Palestine.  The borders changed after WW1.  On the 27th November 1918 Harbord was then posted for duty to the 11th Light Horse Regiment (LHR), a sub-unit of the 4th LHB.  Harbord and the Regiment spent Christmas Day there and enjoyed some gifts from home as well as Christmas Pudding and a free issue of 2 bottles of beer per man.  The day after Christmas the Regimental Flag donated by the women of Australia was flown for the first time.  That same day Harbord took 2 days leave to “The Cedars”.  Known as the Cedars of God, they are located in the Kadisha Valley of Bsharre, Lebanon, they are one of the last vestiges of the extensive forests of the Lebanon cedar that thrived across Mount Lebanon in antiquity.  This was where the soldiers took their leave. 

On the 12th January 1919 the General Officer Commanding (GOC) General Edmund Allenby inspected the troops at Zgharta.  Harbord and the Regiment remained at Zgharta until 14th March 1919 when in preparation for their return home to Australia, they proceeded to Tripoli and embarked on SS Ellinga.  They disembarked at Port Said 2 days later then proceeded to Moascar Camp in Egypt.  The excitement of knowing they’d soon be sailing for home very quickly turned to disappointment with the announcement that the Egyptians had rebelled against British rule and the uprising had spread very quickly from the lower provinces of Egypt to the Nile Deta in the north.  The Regiment was called back into duty to help stamp out the uprising.  They gathered equipment and horses and left Moascar Camp on the 18th March 1919 to take up patrol duties at Tel-el-Kebir Camp as well as escort duties for barges moving on the canals.  Harbord proceeded to Cairo on 28th March and returned to the Regiment 3 days later. 

On the 1st April 1919 the Regiment left Tel-el-Kebir Camp and proceeded 79 miles northwest via Zagazig to Mansourah arriving there 2 days later.  The Regiment provided patrols, train escorts, guards and construction gangs for several locations in the region. 

On the 28th June 1919 General Allenby issued his farewell order to the Australian troops and also attached a special personal tribute to their services throughout the campaign.  Harbord and the Regiment entrained from Mansourah to Moascar on the 4th July 1919 and 2 weeks later entrained from Moascar to Kantara.  On the 22nd July 1919 they embarked from Kantara on HMT Morvada and disembarked at Sydney on 28th August 1919.  Harbord then proceeded by train to Queensland arriving at Brisbane at 7pm on the 30th August 1919.  His appointment was terminated on the 14th September 1919…exactly 1 year to the day from when he left Australia for Egypt.  Harbord returned to being Curate at St Luke’s Anglican Church at Sarina QLD.

On the 7th January 1920, 16 days before his 33rd birthday, Harbord married Urara Mary Dimmock aged 21, at Mackay QLD.  From 1920-1923 Harbord became the Rector at Innisfail and was also the locum at Charters Towers.  On 23rd November 1923 Harbord was appointed Priest-in charge of the Anglican Mission Station at Dogura in Papua New Guinea. 

While working as missionaries in PNG Harbord and Urara welcomed 2 daughters…Josephine 1926 and Roberta 1930.  In October 1933 Harbord established a new Mission Station at Sefoa at Cape Nelson PNG.  On one occasion the launch they were in was wrecked during a gale and they had to swim for their lives with Harbord clutching their child while he swam.  In 1936 Harbord was forced to retire from his mission work in PNG after 13 years due to his failing eyesight.  The family returned to Australia and from 1937-1954 Harbord was Rector at parishes in Home Hill, Townsville, Charters Towers and Bowen.  He retired in 1954 and returned to Townsville where he continued working as a locum and assistant at various parishes.  From 1954-1968 he also held the position of Chaplain at the Townsville Hospital.  In January 1974 Harbord and Urara moved to Brisbane. 

On the 12th July 1979 Alfred passed away at Brisbane aged 92.  He was cremated and his ashes were laid at St James Cathedral in Townsville QLD. 

Alfred Harbord Lambton was awarded for service in WW1 the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Respectfully submitted by Sue Smith 20th November 2023.

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Lebanon

https://www.koolkatquilting.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/History-of-the-11th-Light-Horse-Regiment-web-version-pdf.pdf