Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

"Caleb James Shang (1884-1953), soldier, taxi driver and herbalist, was born on 4 August 1884 at Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, eldest of thirteen children of Cantonese-born Lee Wah Shang, cabinetmaker, and his wife Jane, née Noon, born at Gayndah, Queensland.

Shang left school at 12, the family by this time having moved to Cairns. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 5 June 1916 as a private, giving his occupation as clerk. Embarking for England in September, he joined the 47th Battalion on 7 March 1917 and served with it until May 1918. For the rest of the war, following the dissolution of the 47th, he served with the 45th Battalion, except for a fortnights detachment to the 48th Battalion in June 1918." - READ MORE HERE (adb.anu.edu.au)

Private Caleb James Shang D.C.M. and Bar, M.M., enlisted again during WW2 on 21 June 1942, aged 57, joining the Volunteer Defence Corps for Part Time Duty in Cairns, Qld.

Burial: Cairns Martyn Street Cemetery, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
Section: MON; Area: MES; Row: FF-4; Plot: 6520

"DEATH OF WORLD WAR 1 HERO - MR. CALEB SHANG DISTINGUISHED RECORD IN FRANCE.

A distinguished World War 1 veteran, Caleb James Shang (68), who resided in Cairns for more than 50 years, passed away at his residence in Sheridan-street early yesterday. As a private in the 47th Battalion A.I.F., Mr. Shang won the Distinguished Conduct Medal, a Bar to the D.C.M. and the Military Medal in the fighting in France in 1917. On his discharge he received a personal letter from the late King George V which stated:

"Buckingham Palace 1918, The Queen and I wish you God-speed, a safe return to the happiness and joy of home life with an early restoration to health. A grateful Mother Country thanks you for faithful services." (Sgd. George R.I.)

Mr. Shang was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal when a member of the 52nd Battalion. The citation stated, "His Majesty the King has been graciously pleased to approve of the award of the Distintinguished Conduct Medal to the undermentioned soldier for acts of gallantry and devotion to duty in the field -

"No. 2304 A Private C. J. Shang, for con- spicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on numerous occasions. He acted as a runner continuously for four days through barrages and fire-swept areas, carrying water, food and ammunition to the front line. He attacked enemy snipers in broad daylight and accounted for them. In addition to this he constantly volunteered for dangerous patrols into enemy country, where he gained valuable information as a scout, and also showed skill in improving lamp signals in a very dangerous position whence he could send information to battalion headquarters. His conduct showed a never failing example of fearlessness, resource and initiative."

Pte. Shang's Bar to the D.C.M. was awarded for "conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He volunteered for an observation post at the start of operations and reaped a harvest with his rifle till his post was blown up. He then made several trips as runner through the enemy's barrage and continued to carry ammunition until the withdrawal, which he covered with a Lewis gun."

Bravery in the field brought the award of the Military Medal to the late Mr. Shang, and on his return to Cairns after being discharged as medically unfit on April 8, 1919 the city accorded him a hero's welcome home. The deceased was born in Brisbane and came to Cairns in his early youth. Before a long illness, he was employed as a tally clerk on the Cairns wharves. He leaves a widow, two daughters, Delta and Nancy Shang, both of Cairns, and a son Hilton, of English-street, Cairns. The funeral will move from the Central Methodist Church Cairns, at 11.30 a.m. to-day, and the members of the R.S.S.AI.L.A. are invited." - from the Cairns Post 07 Apr 1953 (nla.gov.au)

"Caleb Shang was one of Australia’s least likely war heroes, but the shy Cairns man returned as Queensland’s most decorated soldier of his time - by Mike Bruce

When Private Caleb Shang returned home to Cairns on March 21, 1919, “at least 3000 souls” turned out on the wharf at dawn to greet the hometown hero. The mayor was there as well as “infants in arms”; the Returned Services League had assembled in the “fullest possible strength”, the Cairns Citizens’ Brass Band played See the Conquering Hero Comes and the town was “astir”, The Cairns Post reported. When the jubilant crowd first spied their war hero on the deck, they possibly wondered what the fuss was about. At 170cm and 51kg, Shang was an unlikely looking hero – more like a jockey than a fearless soldier, a shy, quiet man whose voice was drowned out by the crowd as he tried to speak. Yet Shang had returned from the bloody campaigns of the Western Front with two Distinguished Conduct Medals and a Military Medal, making him not only the first decorated soldier of Chinese descent, but also the then-most decorated Queensland soldier.

“The decorations you have won are the equivalent, in my mind, of the V.C. (Victoria Cross),” gushed Mayor Richard Gelling. Shang’s gallantry, survival and even presence in WWI were remarkable on many fronts. Firstly, Shang was a half-Chinese man in the Australian Imperial Force – a rarity at a time when only Europeans were considered eligible for service. Secondly, he was a runner, signaller, scout and sometime sniper who would not only infiltrate enemy lines but also sketch enemy positions once there. Historian Craig Deayton, author of Battle Scarred –The 47th Battalion in the First World War, says the runner’s job was one of the most perilous in the trench warfare of the Western Front and had an alarming casualty rate. Finally, Shang’s 47th Battalion fought in some of the war’s bloodiest battles – Pozieres, Messines, Passchendaele, Ypres, Bullecourt and the Somme. In all, it lost 661 men and suffered 1564 casualties. Its losses were such that the battalion was disbanded in May 1918. The 47th had one of the war’s highest casualty rates, according to Deayton, losing about 200 men at the battles of Messines and Passchendaele.

When Shang received the DCM in 1917 for bravery at Messines, the citation read: “He acted as a runner continuously for four days through barrages and fire-swept areas, carrying water, food and ammunition to the front line. He attacked enemy snipers in broad daylight and accounted for them. In addition to this, he constantly volunteered for dangerous patrols into enemy country … His conduct showed a never-failing example of fearlessness, resource and initiative.”

He was awarded the Bar of the DCM when defending the pivotal city of Amiens, where his 12th Brigade and the 13th suffered a stunning 1230 casualties. Shang not only ran rifles several times to the front lines through intense enemy barrage, but also volunteered to remain to run ammunition and man a machine gun post to cover for his company as it retired. His brigade commander wrote that Shang had “excelled himself by his wonderful powers of endurance, intrepidity and utter contempt for danger”. - from the Courier Mail 23 Apr 2014 (www.heraldsun.com.au)