Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

James (Jim) John Bradley LAWTON was born on 21st November 1888 in Darling Street Drayton, near Toowoomba, Queensland.

He was the 8th child of 10 children. He had 7 older sisters and 2 younger brothers. His father Samuel Henry Lawton 1846-1922 was born on the Isle of Man and his mother Martha Fleming 1850-1927 was born in Sydney.

Jim spent his youth around Drayton which had been first populated as the business centre for the Darling Downs (Toowoomba later took over that role). He attended the Drayton School, farmed with his family and as a stockman drove cattle on the Darling Downs. He was an accomplished horseman.

War was declared on 4th August 1914 and Jim was keen to join in what he described as "the adventure". When volunteers were called for Jim enlisted on the 19th August in Toowoomba Queensland. His regimental number being 344.

He had some experience with the Light Horse in the form of Saturday afternoon recreation for 2 or 3 years before war was declared and so this, as well as his love horses, saw him join the Light Horse. He was appointed Trooper to the 2nd Light Horse Regiment, Australian Imperial Force at Enoggera Camp on 25th August 1914.
The 2nd Light Horse Regiment was made up of mainly Queenslanders and many were from the Darling Downs. Some of these men had been mates prior to enlisting. On the night Jim enlisted he rode down to his friend Jack McQuade who was also going to enlist where Jim was told my Mr McQuade he was delighted that 2 mates would go off to war together.

When asked why he enlisted Jim said he looked forward to the adventure, meeting new friends and going overseas. There was little fear of death or injury and in fact he said he was worried that the was might end and he would miss out. He was 25 when he enlisted which was older than many, and when asked about his age he joked that "he couldn't get a war to start earlier".

Jim embarked the "Star of England" on 24th September 1914 from Brisbane. They went to Melbourne for about 3 weeks waiting for more men to join their ship and then to Perth where they waited for the New Zealanders to join them. Jim described the trip from Melbourne to Perth as rough, especially crossing the Australian Bight with horses down. The majority of the men had not been on a ship this size and they found it crowded and confined.

When they left Western Australia, Jim tells that they were heading for England to fight in France but somewhere in the Indian Ocean they were told Turkey had declared was and so they went straight to Egypt, disembarking on 9th December 1914 in Alexandria, Egypt. From there they had to lead their horses about 8 miles to camp as the horses had to recover from their ocean crossing and not having been ridden for 3 months.


PROCEEDED TO JOIN MEDITERRANEAN EXPEDITIONARY FORCES:GALLIPOLI

The 2nd Light Horse left Alexandria Egypt around 9th May 1915 "where we shipped for the Dardanelles."

Jim wrote in a letter to his mother
"Before leaving we were all turned into infantry as they told us there was no work there for Light Horse. Of course this was a bit of a shock to us but we didn't mind it as those were the only conditions under which we could get away. They believed they would use the transports and wagons and as they required horses to pull I happened to be one who was detailed to take the horses across. We were 700 on board altogether and had about 800 horses" (It is possible the boat taking the horses to the Dardanelles was the Kingstonian).

"I didn't mind that much as the trip only takes three days from Alexandria to the Dardanelles and I was given to understand that I would join my regiment as soon as we landed. The regiment sailed in a different boat to us of course and started a few hours before us"

Unfortunately over the next 15 days (approximately), the ship with the horses went to different places trying to land. It "anchored for a few days awaiting orders". "Went from Lemnos Island to Imbros Island and then back to Point Hellies for a few days and later back to Lemnos Island".

"By this time the horses were looking bad as we only brought enough chaff with us to last the 3day crossing and as after that they had to live principally on barley and bran and they were all suffering from the cold and they went very poor quickly"

Finally, the boat went back to Lemnos Island where it received orders to return to Alexandria Egypt, where it disembarked on 25th May 1915.
(The full letter from Jim to his mother can be found under Documents, on the War Memorial Virtual website.)

ON GALLIPOLI

Jim rejoined his Regiment on Gallipoli where the 2nd Light Horse Regiment's role was to hold one of the most difficult parts of the Anzac line at Quinn's Post and to attack from there during the Battle of Sari Bair. Jim was engaged in all operations at Anzac.

On 24th October 1915 Jim was detached to Divisional Head Quarters as a Despatch Rider. His mate from their home town Drayton, Jack McQuade was also made Despatch Rider.

Here is a description of the role of despatch rider from the book LIGHT HORSE, The Story of Australia's Mounted Troops by Elyne Mitchell 1978.

"Following the landing at Sulva Bay in August 1915, we found it necessary to organise a despatch rider service between headquarters at Sulva and headquarters at Anzac. The distance was six miles, and almost the whole of the route was exposed to rifle fire from the Turkish trenches on the ridge overlooking it. The mail used to leave Sulva in the morning and return from Anzac in the afternoon. It had to be done at the gallop, and the rider was fired at from the moment he left the shelter of Lala Baba until he reached the wide communication trench near Anzac.
Yet all the Light Horseman, Mounted Rifles and Yeomanry were tumbling over one another to get the job, and fortunate indeed was considered the regiment which had o find the men for the duty. The ride was one of the daily entertainments. Everyone on the left of Anzac knew the moment the mail had left Sulva for the rattle of Turkish musketry which began on the extreme left and continued along the line until the rider was safely in the communication trench. Strangely enough this went on for nearly three months before either rider or his horse was hit.
Apparently there were a good many bets placed on whether the rider would make it or not, and the Australians suspected that Jonny Turk laid his bets too."

Jim said of the horses "The horses were like racers at the barrier. They knew that they had to fly through and they did".

Jim and two other returned Anzacs were interviewed by Bart Marney of the Toowoomba Chronicle on 24th April 1971 and some of the conditions on Gallipoli were described.
The food was poor-hard biscuits and bully beef was almost unchanging fare of the Anzacs shared with swarms of flies. "When we had some jam, it was almost impossible to keep the flies from sticking to it."
Water was a problem on the peninsular - one pint a day had to suffice each man for his thirst and his cleaning requirements.
Poor food, scarce water, flies, lice, debilitating heat and then snow and primitive sanitation arrangements saw men fall victim to dysentery. During this interview Jim is quoted as saying "every man on Gallipoli looked sick enough to be in hospital. They were dying of dysentery - big strong men - they would go down the gully and die".
Other than during this interview Jim rarely spoke of the hardship of life on Gallipoli. When he did speak of Gallipoli it was always about mates and looking out for each other.


EVACUATION FROM GALLIPOLI

If the campaign was a failure, the evacuation was an outstanding success. Jim was one of the last to leave Gallipoli as he was part of the rear guard. He described the evacuation saying at night the evacuation troops would move down to the beach with their feet wrapped in blankets to deaden the noise. You'd see hundreds of men walking with scarcely a sound. He described this as very eerie. As the evacuating troops left Gallipoli each night Jim said "it started to get lonely".
"As despatch riders we were camped on the beach. There were 4 of us. We lived like fighting cocks the last week. We had meals of rolled oats and condensed milk left on the beach during the evacuation."
"We remained until the end because as despatch riders we had to break up the wirelesses before we left. We left on the night of the 19th December, and at daylight on the 20th we sailed to Lemnos Island to join our Regiment who had left Gallipoli earlier. From there we went back to Egypt.


EGYPT, SINAI, PALESTINE, JORDAN

After the evacuation from Gallipoli, the 2nd Light Horse was back in Egypt. From here they were deployed to protect the Nile Valley and defend the Suez Canal. During this campaign Jim was promoted to Corporal on 3rd March 1916.

By May 1916 the 2nd Light Horse had commenced the advance across the Sinai.
The battles against the Turks continued for the Light Horse for another 12 months until April1917, when it was relieved by the 4th Brigade which had come from the Suez Canal. Jim had been appointed to Sergeant in November 1916.

Jim and his Regiment spent some time in Khan Yunis in Palestine (now Israel). The 2nd Light Horse was also engaged in the Battle of Beersheba, in October 1917 which was made famous by the 4th Light Horse Regiment's cavalry-style charge to secure the water from wells at Beersheba. The final capture of Gaza followed in November 1917.

After these battles the 2nd Light Horse spent some time in Divisional Bivouac Area at Richon, (south of now Tel Aviv). The 2nd Light Horse was then committed to operations "to clear and occupy" the west bank of the Jordan River in the Jordan Valley, north of the Dead Sea. The Regiment left bivouac at Richon in February 1918. They were engaged in a heavy battle against the Turks east of Jericho, near Shunat Nimrin, near the river Jordan on 11th April 1918.
During this battle Jim was shot.

Jim was shot in the left front chest and shoulder. The bullet passed through and exited at his back between his shoulder blade and spine. Jim tells the story how one of his fellow Light Horseman who was near him, picked up a stick and pushed part of his lung and other tissue back inside the bullet exit hole. (This became an often told family story).

The journey for him to seek medical assistance was quite an extensive one. He had to be transported approximately 400-500kms.
On the 11th, the day he was shot he was treated immediately by the 1st Light Horse Field Ambulance. (This was a medical unit attached to divisions situated in the forward fighting area). He was then taken to the Anzac Mounted Receiving Station and from here he began his trip to seek medical attention in a hospital.
He was transferred to 66 Clearing Station on the 15th and then moved on 18th to 75 Casualty Clearing Station. (Casualty Clearing Stations were very small hospitals near railheads or similar transportation hubs in the forward area of fighting. They were used to deliver emergency treatment and move the casualties back to Stationery or General Hospitals).
On 20th he was admitted to the 43 Stationery Hospital and transferred again to the 44 Stationery Hospital and finally on 22nd April, 11 days after he was shot he arrived and was admitted to the 14 Australian General Hospital in Port Said, Egypt.
The medical report states he had a GSW (gunshot wound) chest and shoulder, Haemothorax left side and very septic condition of the exit wound. (Perhaps that had something to do with the stick!)

Jim's father Samuel Henry Lawton received official notification dated 18th April 1918 that "Sergeant J.B.Lawton had been wounded."

The medical Officer in charge of Jim's case, Major A.W. Marwood recommended Jim be transferred to Australia for a period of 6 months but not to be permanently discharged. Major Marwood must have felt the war would continue and all men were needed.

Jim was transferred from the 14 Australian General Hospital on 11th July 1918 to the ship "SS Port Darwin". It sailed for Suez for return to Australia on the 12th July 1918 with Jim onboard. His war was over.

Jim returned to Melbourne where he recovered in the 16 Australian General Hospital. On 19th August 1918 his would had healed and he was able to return home to Drayton in Queensland. Jim said it was very lonely at home in Drayton as most of his mates were still overseas fighting as were his two younger brothers.
His final discharge from the Australian Imperial Expeditionary Force was 4th September 1918. His Certificate of Discharge states he was discharged in consequence of "being medically unfit, Gunshot wound Chest and (L) shoulder. On active service abroad". It was signed by Major I. Jackson at Brisbane.

In 1920 Jim married Elsie Frances Ross and they had one daughter Marjorie Jean Lawton in 1922. He remained in Toowoomba all his life continuing to ride his beloved horse well into his 70s and attending every ANZAC day service and marching in the parades until his 85th year. After that he continued to attend the ANZAC services and parades but he marched on the footpath as he said he could not keep up with the pace of the young soldiers. He continued to attend each dawn service until his heath in 1980 aged 91.