LEWIS, Lancelot Ashley
| Service Numbers: | Officer, Commissioned Officer |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 24 August 1914 |
| Last Rank: | Major |
| Last Unit: | 3rd Light Horse Regiment |
| Born: | Burra, South Australia, 25 September 1885 |
| Home Town: | Burra (SA), Goyder, South Australia |
| Schooling: | St Peter's College, Adelaide, South Australia |
| Occupation: | Pastoral Inspector |
| Died: | War related effects, Glen Osmond, South Australia, 13 June 1938, aged 52 years |
| Cemetery: |
Burra Cemetery, South Australia |
| Memorials: | Adelaide Grand Masonic Lodge WW1 Honour Board (2), Adelaide Rowing Club WW1 Pictorial Honour Board, Burra District WW1 Honor Roll, Hackney St Peter's College Honour Board, Myrtle Bank War Memorial, Naval Military and Air Force Club of SA Inc WW1 Honour Roll |
World War 1 Service
| 24 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 3rd Light Horse Regiment | |
|---|---|---|
| 22 Oct 1914: | Embarked AIF WW1, Second Lieutenant, Officer, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '1' embarkation_place: Adelaide embarkation_ship: HMAT Port Lincoln embarkation_ship_number: A17 public_note: '' | |
| 1 Feb 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Lieutenant, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, See p2 of his service record | |
| 24 Mar 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Lieutenant, Commissioned Officer, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, Egypt and Palestine - Light Horse and AFC Operations | |
| 15 May 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Captain, Commissioned Officer, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 15 May 1915: | Promoted AIF WW1, Captain, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, Per p 2 of service record | |
| 8 Feb 1916: | Promoted AIF WW1, Major, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, PER P 2 SERVICE RECORD | |
| 24 Dec 1916: | Wounded AIF WW1, Major, Commissioned Officer, 3rd Light Horse Regiment, Battle of Rafa, Preliminary to Battle of Rafa. Sustained raking gunshot wound whilst prone with the bullet entering via back of his head, raking through the neck and out in the scapular region of his back. | |
| 26 Oct 1917: | Discharged AIF WW1, Major, 3rd Light Horse Regiment |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Steve Larkins
Lancelot Asley LEWIS (1885-1938)
Lancelot Ashley Lewis was the fourth son and youngest child of John and Martha Ann (nee Brooks) Lewis, and was born at Burra in SA's mid North on 25 September 1885. He had an older sister (by one year) Jane Florence (later married, surname Melrose) and his next older brother, Essington, was destined to become one of the titans of Australian industry, ultimately heading BHP, establishing the Newcastle steelworks in NSW and being appointed Director of Munitions in WW2.
Like his older brothers Lancelot began his education in the public school at Burra before being sent to Adelaide as a Boarder at the Collegiate School of St Peter (these days known as St Peter's College). He sat and passed the University entrance exams although it is unclear if he undertook any studies. He trained and worked as a pastoral inspector following school.
Like his older brother Essington, he excelled at sports and athletics. He spent a lot of time in school breaks working on his father's properties, and later played football for the Norwood Club in Adelaide where with brother Essington, they were instrumental in a Grand Final win over Port Adelaide and a susbequent interstate victory over Carlton.
(following is an extract from the Norwood Football Club's Website)
Career: 1903 to 1907, 1909 to 1912
NFC Games: 82
NFC Goals: 13
Debut: v Sturt (Unley) 6th June 1903
Finale: v Sturt (Norwood) 17th August 1912
Premierships: 1907
NFC Life Member
Best & Fairest: 1910
South Australian Games: 7
Lancelot Ashley Lewis’ early career largely mirrored that of his elder brother and Norwood team-mate Essington, and he went on to even greater football honours.
Like Essington, Lance was born at Burra, worked on family properties and was a skilled horseman. At the age of nine he made a solitary trip on horseback from Burra to Adelaide and at the age of 12, rode alone to Warrnambool and back.
Lance was a gifted sportsman at St Peter’s College, excelling at football, cricket and athletics. He later rowed for Adelaide and was fond of horse racing, but football was his chief sporting love and he travelled each week from Burra to play with Norwood.
Lance was a strong, 182cm follower-half-forward with accurate disposal. Both brothers were influential in Norwood’s 1907 grand final win over Port Adelaide and the subsequent defeat of Carlton for the Championship of Australia.
A high mark by Lance in the 1907 grand final is Norwood’s first action shot and features on a silver shield given by the NFC in 1908 for competition in the NSW Football League and now on display at Moore Park Sydney, as the Norwood Shield.
After horseback trips to Darwin and back through the outback cattle country in 1907 and 1908, Lance played in South Australia’s winning team in the 1911 carnival in Adelaide.
He gave away the bride when Norwood team-mate Phil Robin, who was to die at Gallipoli, married Nellie Honeywill in Cairo in 1915. Lance served at Gallipoli and as a major in the Anzac Mounted Division was severely wounded at Al Arish, Sinai, in 1917.
He returned to manage family stations and was managing director of the stock and station agents, Goldsborough Mort.
The pastoral districts of South Australia produced a lot of men with an inclination to join the Militia Light Horse and many saw service in South Africa during the Boer War. A young Lancelot Lewis was drawn to service in the 23rd Light Horse Regiment and was commisioned as a 2LT. It was a natural progression with the outbreak of war for him to enlist in the AIF and he was appointed 2LT in the 3rd Light Horse Regiment (3LHR).
3LHR arrived on the Peninsula on 13 May 1915, without their horses. They were to fight as infantry. There is reference in his service record of wounding at Gallipoli from a gunshot wound to the chest but closer examination revealed the relevant pages to have come from Captain Eric Lewis also of 3LHR. NAA have been advised of this anomaly.
While serving at Gallipoli, he took ill with enteric fever (typhoid) and was invalided to England where he recovered, subsequently returning to his unit in Egypt.
In December 1916 at El Arish, in the lead up to the Battle of Rafa, he was shot and wounded very seriously. Hit while prone, a bulllet raked the right side of his head, neck and shoulders causing severe and recurrent haemorrhages, partial paralysis and other effects. Sepsis also set in and his condition was classified 'dangerously ill'.
By May he had recovered sufficently to be sent to South Africa for rest and in due course On May 21, 1917, Lancelot embarked aboard the Neurlia from Suez, Egypt, for a six month change to Durban, South Africa. However it was decided he would not be returning to Active Service, and on August 26 he embarked from Cape Town aboard HMAT A71 Nestor to return to Australia. His appointment was terminated on October 26, 1917, with a War Pension of £4/15/- per fortnight.
His brothers all enjoyed successful professional lives: James Brook (1877-1966) was a distinguished Adelaide ophthalmologist, Gilbert served as an officer in the Indian Army, Essington (1881-1961) of course perhaps the most prominent and successful of them all. Lancelot too enjoyed a successful career post war, becoming the South Australian manager of Goldsbrough, Mort & Co. Ltd.
He married Grace Margaret Laidlaw in 1921. A son, Tom, became NSW Premier in 1975.
However, Lancelot did not get to enjoy the long lives that his siblings and his father had done. He died at home at his property 'Benacre' at Glen Osmond on the forward slopes of the Adelaide Hills, on 13 June 1938, aged just 52 years old. He was one among many - the nearly 50% of all WW1 returned men who died within 20 years of the end of the war.
Compiled by Steve Larkins - March 2024 from a range of sources
AWM - https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1224565 (www.awm.gov.au)
Norwood Football Club - http://www.redlegsmuseum.com.au/ON_FIELD/PLAYERS/LEWISLancelot.aspx (www.redlegsmuseum.com.au)
VWMA - references to Phil Robin https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/9135 (/explore/people/9135)
Red Cross Bureau correspondence - https://images.slsa.sa.gov.au/sarcib/SRG76_1_1827.pdf (images.slsa.sa.gov.au)
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