Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Lyonel Herbert Daniel

7th Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Division – Gallipoli. 15th Brigade Machine Gun Company, 5th Division – France.

Lyonel Herbert Daniel was born in 1893 in Geelong, Victoria, the second of six children of William Arthur Daniel and Sarah Ricketts. The family moved to Melbourne around the turn of the century and lived in Clarke Street, Prahran. As a young man, Lyonel worked as a shopwalker. (Probably for the same firm as his father who was employed as a salesman. Lyonel’s cousin Charles Weaver Vessey, worked as a salesman for Foy’s department store and it is possible that the Daniels also worked there). Lyonel enlisted in the AIF on 19 July 1915 (on the same day as his cousin) and was allocated as a reinforcement to the 7th Infantry Battalion then in action at Gallipoli.

After initial training, Lyonel embarked on the troopship Star of Victoria from Melbourne on 10 September 1915 as an acting corporal for the journey to the Middle East. After further training in Egypt Lyonel finally joined his unit at Anzac Cove on 7 September.

Despite the battalion's success in holding the trenches at Lone Pine, the August Offensive failed to break the deadlock as setbacks elsewhere resulted in continued stalemate and for the rest of the campaign the fighting was relatively static. Finally, in December the decision was made to evacuate the Allied force from the peninsula.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7th_Battalion_(Australia)

The 7th Battalion’s diary for December reads:

ANZAC – 19/12/15 – Enemy very quiet during night and more barbed wire placed in front of his position.

Sniping kept up during night as usual and more barbed wire put out in front of trenches.

Parties employed during SAA (about 200,000 rounds and 3,000 grenades.) Destroyed all water carts and trench stores etc. LtCol H E Elliott sent to hospital this morning with sprained ankle and Major A Jackson assumed command of the battalion.

1715-1745 – ‘A’ party of 6 officers and 224 other ranks under Major A Hart left in small parties at 5 minute intervals, last party leaving at 1745. Sniping kept up as usual.

2000 – Battalion Headquarters shifted up into firing line.

2135-2205 – ‘B’ party o 4 officers and 90 other ranks under Major G G McCrae left in small parties at 5 minute intervals commencing at 2135 and last party at 2205.

Enemy very quiet but sniping kept up as usual on both sides.

ANZAC – Dec 20th – 0120 – Received message from Brigade Headquarters ordering ‘C’ party to commence moving at 0200.

0200 – Received order for ‘C’ party to move. Telephone with Brigade Headquarters dismantled. Machine Gun section and 2 guns under Lieutenant H Barker 7th Battalion and Lieutenant Traill 8th Battalion left firing lines at 5 minute intervals by small parties of ‘C’ party under Lieutenants Crooks, Hamilton, Nicholson and Captain Denehy respectively and in that order.

0240 – Last party under Major A Jackson and Lieutenant J Bowtell-Harris left firing line. 6 rifles left behind with automatic attachment invented by Lance Corporal Scurry, 7th Battalion timed to discharge at intervals up to 30 minutes after departure of last party.

0315 – Everyone embarked safely.

Casualties for past 24 hours – Nil. Ammunition expended SAA 12,000 rounds. Grenades 14. Flares nil.

No alteration in strength.

SARPI – Battalion disembarked and went into camp at Sarpi, Lemnos. Strength 22 officers and 605 other ranks. Lieutenant Moncur to hospital sick. 2 other ranks sent to and 3 others returned from hospital. 2 men away on baggage guard.

SARPI – Dec 21st 1915 – Battalion resting. Orders received to be in readiness to embark at short notice. Strength 23 officers and 601 other ranks. Lieutenant W L Heron returned from hospital and 4 other ranks sent to hospital sick.

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1343223

After resting at Sarpi Camp on the island of Lemnos the 7th Battalion boarded the troopship Empress of Britain for the short voyage to Alexandria.

In Egypt the AIF was expanding.  There were two divisions in Egypt resting after Gallipoli, the 1st and 2nd and of these, one of them (the 1st) was split up to provide a cadre upon which to raise the 4th and 5th Divisions. Around this time the decision to raise a fifth division from fresh volunteers in Australia was also made and as a result, the 3rd Division was officially raised on 2 February 1916. For Lyonel Daniel, this meant transferring from the 7th Battalion to the new 59th Battalion, part of the 15th Brigade. The Commander of the new Brigade was the original 7th Battalion’s commanding officer, H. E. ‘Pompey’ Elliott.

Taken on strength with his new battalion at Tel-el-Kebir on 24 February 1916, Lyonel was detached to the training school at Zeitoun for three weeks of instruction in the operation of the Vickers machine-gun after which he was transferred to the newly raised 15th Brigade Machine Gun Company. Originally each battalion had its own machine gun section but in the new divisional organisation these were incorporated into independent companies under the command of each brigade.

After being brought up to strength the 5th Division embarked at Alexandria on 17 June 1916 to join British Expeditionary Force in France, arriving at Marseilles on 24 June. While his unit settled into life on the front in France Lyonel was detached with his unit on 3 July for further training. When the Machine Gun Company returned to the 15th Brigade on 21 July, they found things had changed dramatically.

Following the 5th Division's arrival in Europe, the brigade's first major action came at Fromelles in July 1916 when they and the British 184th Infantry Brigade were committed to attacking the German positions along the Laies River which were held by the 16th Bavarian Reserve Infantry Regiment. During the battle, two of the brigade's battalions – the 59th and 60th – were committed to the assault while the other two were held back in reserve. Of the two assault battalions, the 60th suffered the heaviest casualties, losing 16 officers and 741 men, while the 59th suffered 695 casualties.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15th_Brigade_(Australia)

On 24 August 1916 Lyonel was promoted to Temporary Corporal, reverting to Private on 14 October.

By October 1916, the front had advanced only a few kilometres beyond Pozières to Flers, the front line under constant bombardment from the German artillery. The constant bombardments of the summer and autumn had pulverised the soil and the abnormal rainfalls ushering in the winter reduced it to mud. On 28 October the 15th Brigade prepared to move into the front line between Flers and the German-held village of Ligny-Thilloy. The 15th Brigade Operation Order describes the plan but not the muddy reality.

1. The 15th Brigade will relieve the 14th Brigade in the left sector on 28th October.

2. The 57th Battalion will take over the front line with 2 companies in the fire trench and 3 companies in support in the COBHAM TRENCH. The Battalion will rendezvous at the CARLTON TRENCH by 12 noon on 28th inst. At 1 p.m. guides supplied by the 14th Brigade will guide the Battalion to the line.

3. The 58th Battalion will occupy the support position in the SWITCH TRENCH. The Battalion will be met by guides from the 14th Brigade at CARLTON TRENCH at 3 p.m.

4. The 15th M. G. Company will send one section to the front line. This section will meet guides at the CARLTON TRENCH at 12 noon. The remaining sections and Headquarters will accompany the 58th Battalion.

5. Brigade Headquarters will move at 2 p.m. and will take over the sector when the Battalion reliefs have been completed.

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1346574

The Brigade’s diary for 31 October continues:

31/10/16 – 4.30 am – The enemy heavily shelled the front line trenches for 5 minutes. Brigade Headquarters was accurately shelled at intervals during the day.

The day was fine and clear and as a result parties of a few men in the open were always shelled. The retiring parties were shelled but were lucky to escape without loss.

A number of our wires were held up at Division Headquarters owing to interruptions and the delay caused inconvenience to the 59th Battalion’s move.

The 57th battalion left the area at 10 am. The 58th Battalion were withdrawn at about 4 pm. The Machine Gun Company and light Trench Mortar Battery were withdrawn at about 5 pm.

Brigade Headquarters handed over to the 14th Brigade at 8 pm and returned to S 16 d.

The 59th Battalion was brought forward to CARLTON TRENCH (S 16 d). At night they furnished a working party of 89 men.

Casualties – 5 Other Ranks killed, and 7 Other Ranks wounded.

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1346574

Among the casualties for 31 October was Lyonel Daniel who is recorded as having a Gunshot Wound to his right thigh and a fractured right forearm. (It’s worth noting that WW1 service records normally describe all wounds with the abbreviation GSW including shrapnel wounds.)

Lyonel was moved quickly from the Dressing Station to the British 36th Casualty Clearing Station 35 km away at Heilly. The next day he was on an ambulance train that took him to the 23rd General Hospital at Etaples. On 6 November he was on the hospital ship Panama and later that day he was admitted to the Graylingwell War Hospital in London.

Lyonel returned to Australia on the hospital ship Militades on 4 May 1917.  Even before his formal discharge in Melbourne on 21 December Lyonel began working for Thomas Kirkham on his farm at Cockatoo and a year later, he was able to part purchase the property with the help of his parents. The farm was partly in his mother’s name when he applied to the Repatriation Department in 1919 to purchase the property under the Discharged Soldiers Settlement Act 1917.

A reference from Thomas Kirkham in support of the application provides details of Lyonel Daniel and the property, Pheasant Hill Farm.

To the Local Repatriation Committee

Gentlemen/

   With regard to a returned soldier, Mr L H Daniel, he came to work on my farm as soon as he came back from the front and was with me 11 months and then from 1st October 1918 he partly purchased my old farm at Cockatoo Creek and he thoroughly understands milking of cows and he is milking 9 cows at present also understands managing pigs and ploughing and growing potatoes and oat crops and he has at the present time one of the finest oat crops in the district and also grows a lot of fruit in the way of plums about six to nine acres and in full bearing he had 7 tons last season and he is well up in this line and he can manage horses very well and I know he is quite capable of managing any small farm now

Trusting this will meet all you desire

I am, Yours Gentlemen/

Thos. Kirkham

Lyonel’s application was successful and on 24 January 1920 he married Olive Jean May in Kew. The couple lived on the farm for several years and had two children. Their daughter, Beryl Helen died as an infant in December 1921 and their son Kelvin James was born on 20 June 1926.

The 1927-37 electoral rolls show the family were living at 93 Arundel Street, Benalla and Lyonel’s occupation is recorded as a mechanic. 1942-54 shows them living at 707 North Road, Oakleigh and Lyonel’s occupation is that of a fitter.

From the 50s the Lyonel and Olive lived at 28 Park Street, Seaford. Lionel died in February 1975 and is buried at Springvale Cemetery.