Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Early Life:

Raymond Victor Scott was born in Norwood, South Australia, in March 1983. Both Raymond’s father, Walter Wilson Scott, and his mother Margret Wilson Scott, were Australians, making Raymond a true blooded Aussie. He lived at 168 Magill Road, Norwood which was no more than a five-minute walk from the Saint Ignatius Junior school. Raymond was a practising follower of the Church of England religion; which is a part of the Anglican community. During school, Raymond was hired as a part time clerk. Subsequently, after graduating high school he decided to become a fire fighter.

Raymond enlisted for war on the 31st of July 1915, at age 22. At the time of enlistment Raymond was single and described as being 5 feet 7, weighing 70kg and having dark brown hair. He had grey eyes and his completion was depicted as “fresh”.

Service:

Raymond Victor Scott embarked for his training on the 2nd of December 1915, aboard RMS Malwa. I’m imagining the journey on this ship would have been the furthest thing from luxury. The voyage would have been rocky, tense and very crowded. The boat would have been filled with young soldiers experiencing a mix of emotions such as determination, regret, excitement and anxiety. These young men would have been conscious of the fact that this journey could very well be the end of their road. The boat ride itself would have been a very uncomfortable long journey, until finally it arrived in Egypt where the soldier would have trained for a month before finally joining the front lines.

Raymond was ranked as a private, or more specifically a gunner. A private is the lowest class in an active army. Once a soldier has had the basic and bare minimum training, he or she is deemed a private and is eligible to participate in battle. A private is then put into different categories depending on what Corp or Regiment they belong to. These categories include Trooper, Craftsman, Signalman, Patrolman, Sapper, Musician or Raymond’s role, a gunner. 

Raymond fought in Egypt after he was taken on strength to the 11th field Artillery Brigade. He spent around a year after that training in terrible conditions, fighting trench warfare against brutal and unforgiving opponents. One facet of war that returning soldier have said was one of the harder aspects, was the heavy equipment the soldier would have to carry. What a soldier would lug in the war would vary depending on their attack plan, their role and their environments. However, generally the gunner’s equipment (Raymond’s class) would consist of a gas mask, a rifle, ammunition, a bayonet, grenades, protective clothes (such as boots, thick material clothes, helmet etc.), a shovel and a bag called a “haversack”, that would contain personal equipment.

Throughout his time spent at war Raymond suffered injuries on three different occasions. The first one was on the 10th of June 1917. As a result of this injury Raymond was out of action for 9 days, until he was cleared by medical staff to return back to the front lines. He was then wounded on the 25th of July, just over 1 month after his previous injury. This injury left him with the medics for close to a month, until he was finally cleared to go back and join his comrades on the 15th of August. He was then injured for the third and last time on the 14th of September. Following this injury, he was deemed unfit to return and was sent back home.

Raymond Victor Scott was awarded three medals; the Star medal, the British War Medal and the Victory medal. The Star medal was awarded between 1914-1915 and was given to those who were willing to participate in some of the more gruelling theatres of combat. The British War medal was given to all those who were involved in the great war in one way or another. This medal was generally given to those who went into combat. It was also awarded to anyone who spent more than 28 days in the navy, and the staff of military hospitals. Finally, the Victory medal was a medal given to all soldiers in the Alliance. It was awarded in 1919, and it was created to commemorate the victory over the Triple Entante.

Anzac Spirit:

I believe Raymond Victor Scott showed ANZAC spirit by not giving up and getting back up every time he was knocked down. Raymond was injured three times before he was deemed unfit to fight and sent home by the medics. Raymond was injured in combat and sent to the hospital twice, but he didn’t use the first two injuries to stop him from going back to the front lines. Instead he persisted in going back to fight for his country, not once but twice. In my opinion this demonstrates true perseverance and courage. I believe Raymond did not want to let down his friends and was determined to fight for his country.

However, I believe Raymond showed these very qualities even before he joined the army. ANZAC spirit is about sacrificing yourself for a greater cause and Raymond did exactly whilst working as a fireman. Although a fireman is no soldier stuck in the middle of gruelling trench warfare, they still put themselves in risk to serve other which I believe is the bases of true ANZAC spirit.