Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Story 1: WW1


Herbert ‘Abbey’ Kause (Abdul Ahad Kaus) (4112) of ‘dark complexion’ was the eldest son of Abdul Kaus born in 29 January 1891 in Toowoomba, Queensland, and worked as a grocer. He was interested in sport, and especially was a keen cyclist with the Amateur Wheelers’ Association, a keen roller-skater and football spectator. He played the piano and was a member of the Toowoomba Philharmonic Society; he was also an avid reader. On 28 April 1915, he enlisted as a twenty-four-year-old, giving his next of kin as his mother, Emi-ly Kause. He enlisted in the AIF in the 3rd Field Ambulance as a stretcher bearer.

In the attestation paper Ahad Kaus gave his name as Herbert and surname Kause, the same surname for the next of kin, and for his religious denomination he gave Roman Catholic. He would also serve in the Second World War under the same name and surname although he then described himself to be a Methodist. His well-formed handwriting is evident in the correspondence retained in the Military Base Records, suggesting him to be a man of educa-tion. However, he signed the letters under a different name and surname, ‘Abbey Kause’. He enlisted as Herbert Kause rather than his given name. However, in some records or newspa-per articles his surname appeared as Kaus as can be noted at other places in his letter rec-ords. His granddaughter recalled that she has no idea as to the reason for his change of name and surname; at times he also called himself ‘Herbert’ for ‘some reason that remains un-known’, perhaps ‘to avoid prejudice among his fellow serving soldiers’. Evidently, the ex-ample of Herbert ‘Abbey’ Kause illustrates difficulties of locating definitive details.

Abbey Kause served at Gallipoli, in Egypt at Tel El Kebir and on the western front in France and was promoted to Corporal. On 19 October 1915 he embarked to Alexandria, on the troop ship Franconia where a week later he left as part of the reinforcement draft for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force on Gallipoli. On 18 December he detached from the 3rd Field Ambulance to 1st Field Ambulance and left for duty at Gallipoli. Upon arrival at the battlefield in Gallipoli, there were also greetings to Australian soldiers, such as those from Toowoomba. Darling Downs Gazette reported that in Toowoomba the younger boys from one of its schools gave a military salute in front of the camera for photos from the students in appreciation for several soldiers who had been sent to the Gallipoli battle, including Ab-bey Kause. At the school assembly, the soldiers’ photos were displayed draped in the col-ours of gold and white for triumph, and the flags of the Allies amidst the bracken collected by the younger boys from Toowoomba. The pupils of the school sang a verse of the tradi-tional song acknowledging absence, ‘Auld Lang Syne’, followed by the musical pro-gramme.

Far from his hometown, on the ‘inflamed’ strait of the Dardanelles (Canakkale Bogazi), Abbey fought with his Anzac comrades against the Turkish Ottoman forces in the historic battle of the Gallipoli Peninsula which would subsequently resonate in the emergence of the Australian national spirit. At that time, John Monash, Commander of the AIF 4th Infantry Brigade, foresighted that great events in Gallipoli, ‘which would stir the whole world and go down in history, will have happened, to the eternal glory of Australia and all those who par-ticipated’. ‘Wherever and whenever’ in the battle Abbey heard a call for help, he believed that he must respond to his duty with no exceptions – duty was ‘always first with him’. Un-der fire from the Turkish shrapnel and rifle, even as a stretcher-bearer, Abbey persisted such brave conduct on that battle-ground. He pushed medicine towards the front line, carried the wounded soldiers, those often stained with blood or bleeding to death, down a path away from Gallipoli’s firing-line to ensure the safety of the sick and injured comrades. He was possibly among the last group to leave among Australian soldiers evacuated from Gallipoli.

Abbey performed an honourable duty in serving his country on the battlegrounds wherever his infantry fought. On 4 January 1916 he was firstly attached to 1st Field Artillery Brigade headquarters at Tel El Kebir in Egypt. On 21 March, he embarked from Alexandria to join the British Expeditionary Force, and disembarked at Marseilles, France. He was transferred back to the 1st Field Ambulance, but still on attachment to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade headquarters. While in France, in 1917 one of his comrades sent a report to Toowoomba, writing that there were a ‘number of Toowoomba boys in the battlefield in France who served near the firing line’. The weather, he noted, was awful, but ‘despite the rain and the mud the lads have done everything asked of them’. This Toowoomba soldier also met Ab-bey Kause in the trenches and referred to him as ‘a former well known Toowoomba cyclist, who was a Corporal in the Australian Army Medical Corps’.

On 20 March 1918, Abbey as a medical orderly re-joined the 1st Field Ambulance in France and was attached to the artillery in France. Under intense fire, his duty was performed con-tinually but its stresses and irritations left their marks upon his health. It was because of tachycardia and a skin rash, that Abbey would be admitted to 3 General Hospital in Abbe-ville, a village on the Somme River, where an Australian hospital was situated. Afterwards, he was detached to the Australian General Base Depot at Le Havre and re-joined the 1st Field Ambulance. In October, 1918, Abbey was evacuated for medical reasons and admitted to the Pavilion General Hospital in Brighton, England. In Australia, the Toowoomba Chroni-cle reported that ‘his crowd of friends in Toowoomba wished him a speedy recovery after being sick’. He was granted furlough, and on 18 December 1918 he embarked on the Ae-neas for Australia, where he returned on 5 February 1919.

Coming home to be greeted within a local community was a unique experience regardless of his Muslim heritage. After serving four years at the front and going ‘through practically all the big fighting on the Western front’, Abbey Kaus was discharged in Brisbane on 11 April 1919, and returned to Toowoomba, looking ‘remarkably well’. His brother, James Kaus had given his life for his country in France. Upon arrival, Abbey was welcomed home in the Alexandra Hall in Toowoomba and in honour of his return he was entertained. The function was attended by over 100 people including the principals of the grocery firm in which he had been employed before his war service and also Captain Kimber, President of the Too-woomba sub-branch of the Returned Soldiers’ Association.

When the whole assembly had sat down to supper, there was a short toast list to commence the meal. Proposing the toast to Corporal Kaus, they welcomed him back to Toowoomba, acknowledging his contribution to the Australian Army. The toast to Abbey was then ‘quaffed with musical honours, followed with hearty cheers’. He briefly responded, thank-ing them all for their good wishes and speaking of his services abroad. The toast to the ‘Re-turned Soldiers’ was proposed by Mr. O. Booth [principal of the firm] ... Abbey received an assurance from the firm that his position would be kept open for him and the returned man was now anxious to get into harness again ...This event was followed by the audience’s loud applause. There were men who went out into the streets and cheered the boys [Abbey Kaus and his mates] and afterwards they said to themselves, ‘Thank God, that is done’. Shortly after, Abbey resumed work with the firm.

Abbey Kaus was issued the 1914/15 Star (Gallipoli), British War Medal, and the Victory Medal. He had lived through a gas attack during his service in France and suffered from the effects of mustard gas for the rest of his life. After the war, he worked as a shop assistant for a local business. He spoke very little about his ethnic background. Throughout his life he was known as Abbey. He was a member of Loyal Darling Downs Lodge (MUIOOF), Too-woomba Masonic Lodge, and the Returned Services’ League (RSL), Toowoomba Sub-Branch.

From the book:

Dzavid Haveric, 'A History of Muslims in the Australian Military from 1885 to 1945: Loyalty, Patriotism, Contribution’, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, London, 2024


Story 2: WW2


Herbert ‘Abbey’ Kause (Abdul Ahad ‘Khad’ Kaus) (Q50777), born in 1897 in Toowoomba, Queensland, was married and worked as a shop assistant. Abbey was a war veteran from the Great War with service number 4112, as a Corporal in the 1st Australian Field Ambulance attached to the 1st Field Artillery Brigade at the battlefields of Gallipoli, Egypt and France.

As a war veteran, Abbey Kause enlisted again on 17 March 1941 in Brisbane, for service in the Australian Army. He gave his age as 44 years and his year of birth as 1897, rather than 1891. As his date of birth was not shown on his previous service record, ‘it is possible that he lowered his age for enlistment purposes’, said his granddaughter, Barbara Bill. This time, his religion was recorded as a ‘Methodist’. He initially served in the 1st Garrison Battalion in Brisbane where on 28 March 1942 he was promoted to Lance Corporal, then he was transferred to the 32nd Garrison Battalion in Brisbane and was promoted to Acting Corporal. On 7 August he was attached for duty with 7th Garrison Battalion in Brisbane, where on 1 January 1943 his rank of Corporal was confirmed. On 22 June 1943 he was transferred back to the 1st Garrison Battalion in Stanthorpe.

In 1941, in Truth Abbey Kaus’s daughter, Nola Kaus (102383) also wrote about her father, saying when the call for service came again, Abbey quit naturally, ‘offered his services’ and was attached to the Garrison Battalion. She also wrote that the Garrison Battalion’s symbol is ‘a small black square inside a larger green square’. The black colour is ‘the symbol of mourning for the departed soldiers’, while the green colour is ‘to keep the memory of those brave soldiers fresh in the thoughts of those who again serve their King and Country’.

On 9 November 1944, Abbey Kause was discharged and was issued with the War Medial and the Australian Service Medal. The reason for his discharge may have been due to ‘ongoing debilitating effects he suffered from being gassed during the previous war’. His granddaughter also said, ‘Our grandfather never spoke about his time in the army’, and during the occasional times our family saw him, he preferred ‘to confide in our father’. He was, for all the time, ‘quiet and retiring and kept very much in the background’. On 12 December 1966, Herbert Kause passed away and was buried in the war cemetery at the Drayton and Toowoomba cemetery, ‘with his [real] name on the marble headstone being recorded as Abdul Kaus’. A memorial plaque was also placed on the Cross of Sacrifice adjoining the war cemetery, and a seat under nearby trees was donated on behalf of his family.


From the book:

Dzavid Haveric, 'A History of Muslims in the Australian Military from 1885 to 1945: Loyalty, Patriotism, Contribution’, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, London, 2024