Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

HANDLEY William John                      Captain 2nd Light Horse Regiment
 
William Handley was born to John and Mary Handley of Ipswich on 20th April 1882. The Handley family home was at Harlin Road in the Ipswich suburb of Woodend. The family were prominent in the Queensland Grazing industry. Young William attended Ipswich Grammar School and then perhaps worked in the family business. In 1911, William’s father died leaving a grazing property at Esk, “Sunnyside”, to William. Two of his brothers also owned grazing properties in the Maranoa district and in the Brisbane Valley. William lived at “Sunnyside” managing the business while also serving as a Lieutenant in the Queensland Mounted Infantry, a citizens forces unit. The death of his father resulted in William taking over the care of his mother and perhaps the making of arrangements for Mary Handley delayed his decision to enlist.
 
William completed his application for a commission on 14th July 1915. He stated his age as 33 years and occupation as grazier. William stated his address as “Sunnyside”, Esk. He was granted a commission as a Lieutenant in the 2nd Light Horse Regiment. William took charge of the 10th reinforcements for the 2nd LHR. The reinforcements boarded the “Warilda” on 5th October 1915 and disembarked at Suez one month later. The embarkation roll shows that Lt William Handley was being paid 15/- a day, 10/- of which presumably was allocated for the upkeep of his mother.
 
After the Gallipoli evacuation, the Light Horse regiments were reacquainted with their horses and proceeded to adjust to the role of mounted infantry. In the early months of 1916, there was mounting concern about an Ottoman threat being launched at the Suez Canal from Turkish bases in Southern Palestine. The Light Horse, due to their mobility, became the scouting and intelligence gatherers of the Canal Defence garrison. William probably spent most of this time engaged in staff work at Brigade HQ as the Anzac Mounted Division was being formed by combining two Light Horse Brigades and the New Zealand Mounted Rifles. A large force of Turkish infantry, supported by German forces, began moving across the narrow strip of land between the desert and the sea in the Sinai Peninsula. The Ottomans and the Anzac Mounted Division, supported by British infantry met near the wells at Romani. The Turks were eventually beaten and retreated over the next few weeks with the British in pursuit as far as El Arish. Once El Arish fell, the freshwater pipeline and rail line from the Canal were extended east to El Arish which became a major supply point being resupplied via rail and also by ship. In December 1916, the forces of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force had reached the border with Palestine. The Ottoman forces had established a strong defensive line that stretched from Rafa on the Mediterranean coast south east to Beersheba. Rafa occupied a strategic position on the route from Egypt to the Levant and Jerusalem and no progress could be made by the EEF without taking Rafa.
 
While important victories had been taking place, William continued to work at HQ. On 3rd February 1917, William was promoted to Captain and sent to the school of instruction at Moascar to attend a course on the Hotchkiss machine gun. At its creation in 1914, the Light Horse was equipped with the standard machine gun used in all British and Dominion forces; the Vickers heavy machine gun. During the Sinai campaign, it was clear that the Vickers was unsuitable for the Light Horse in that the gun was extremely heavy. The gun and tripod weighed 40 kgs and every 250 round canvas ammunition belt weighed 10 kgs; the water reservoir 10kgs. In the desert conditions, the mechanism was prone to clogging from sand or dust. The Hotchkiss, used extensively by the French forces, was lighter (22kgs), air cooled and with very few parts. It could be broken down quickly and carried by pack animals. The only drawback was that it was chambered for 8mm ammunition, while all other small arms in the British arsenal were standard .303 in. William became proficient in the weapon and went on to be an instructor as the gun was gradually issued to the Anzac Mounted units.
 
On 3rd June 1917, William was placed in charge of the 1st Light Horse Training Battalion at Moascar and then on 30thSeptember was posted to an active role with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment. The British advance of 1916 had stalled on the Gaza Line with two attempts to break through failing. At the third battle of Gaza the Egyptian Expeditionary Force had a new commander, Allenby. At the end of October 1917 (where the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments charged at Beersheba), the township of Rafa capitulated and Gaza itself surrendered on 7th November. William and his men in the 2nd Light Horse had a supporting role at Beersheba. Allenby marched at the head of a column of soldiers on foot into the city of Jerusalem on 9th December which the Turks had relinquished without a fight. The Anzac Mounted Division spent several months in rest camps in Gaza before preparing for the final campaign of 1918.
 
Allenby’s plan for the advance on the Levant and Damascus was to split his forces. The more agile and mobile mounted units were to cross the Jordan River and proceed up the eastern bank to Damascus while the British infantry would march along the coast from Tel Aviv north to Haifa and into the Levant (Lebanon). Just as preparations were being made, William was posted a gas school. By the time he rejoined his regiment, the mounted troops had taken Jericho and crossed the Jordan. The heights above the east bank of the river gave the Turkish and German defenders a distinct advantage. The war diary of the 2ndLHR records that during for six weeks during June and July 1918, the regiment encampment was subjected to almost daily bombardment by 77mm and 5.2 artillery. The Turks launched a number of raiding parties against the Australian outposts which were successfully repulsed. On 16th July 1918, during an artillery barrage, Captain William Handley, aged 36, and four other ranks were killed in the bivouac area. William’s body was transported back to Jericho where he was given a temporary grave. Mary Handley, in a very shaky hand, signed for a metal trunk which contained her son’s personal belongings, which in the case of officers included all uniform items. Also in the trunk was William’s sword and scabbard, two Turkish sabres, a revolver (not military issue) and a range finder.
 
When William's estate was settled, his two brothers were the beneficiaries. At war’s end, William’s remains were exhumed and he was reinterred in the Jerusalem War Cemetery. The family chose the following inscription for his headstone: STRIVE FOR THE TRUTH TO THE DEATH AND THE LORD SHALL FIGHT FOR THEE.
 
“Sunnyside” continued to be held by the Handley family for the next 100 years. It was sold in 2018 for $10 million.