Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Frederick James Archibald (Archie) Richards #8 11th Light Horse

Archie Richards reported he had been born in Townsville. Correspondence in his file from his mother states that Archie’s father had left the family when Archie was young. There was a falling out between Archie and his mother, who remarried, and Archie went to live with his father’s brother Alfred Richards and his wife Cecilia.

When Archie presented himself for enlistment in Brisbane on 28th October 1914, he stated he was 19 years and 10 months old and was employed as a biograph operator, presumably at one of the city’s theatres. Perhaps to avoid having to provide permission to enlist as he was under 21, Archie claimed his parents were both deceased and he nominated his elder brother William as his next of kin. Archie also stated that he had 4 years service with the Naval Reserve Cadets. On the strength of his answers, Archie was accepted into the 5th Light Horse with a regimental number of 334 and directed to report to Enoggera.

Archie’s enlistment papers bears the notation “Did not report” and a pencilled note states “Father refuses permission.” It is difficult to speculate on the meaning of these notes but it is likely that either his uncle or his elder brother, William, who lived at Boonah had interceded on the basis of his age. Who provided the information about Archie’s father is unknown.

Not to be dissuaded from enlisting, Archie caught a steamer to Cairns, where his aunt and uncle lived. He presented himself for enlistment again, in Cairns, on 30th December 1914. Having learnt his lesson two months previously, Archie on this occasion gave his age as 21 years and 9 months, thereby avoiding the need for parental permission. He named his aunt, Cecilia Richards of the Criterion Hotel Cairns as his next of kin. Archie was passed fit and attached to the unallocated Light Horse. He was given a travel warrant to return to Brisbane where he reported to Enoggera. In March 1915 Archie was allocated to the 11th Light Horse, a newly raised regiment made up of men from Queensland and Northern NSW.

On 1st May 1915, while still in camp at Enoggera, Archie was promoted directly to the rank of Signal Sergeant. Light Horse units , by their very nature, were mobile forces. As such the conventional communication methods employed by the infantry, such as telegraph and telephone were not suitable. Flag semaphore and Morse by heliograph were the preferred method of signalling. Archie’s time in the Naval Reserve no doubt introduced him to these systems and as a sergeant, he would have been responsible for training men under him. Nevertheless a promotion direct to sergeant, with a daily pay rate of 10 shillings, was a remarkable achievement.

The 11th Light Horse finally embarked for overseas on 2nd June 1915 and upon arrival in Egypt spent July and most of August training as infantry before arriving on Gallipoli on 29th August. The month of August had seen the final attempt at a breakout from the ANZAC beach head by the Australians with attacks at Lone Pine, The Nek and Ari Bruna. These assaults coincided with a British landing at Suvla Bay and an heroic but futile attempt by the New Zealanders to capture the heights above Rhododendron Ridge. The August offensives failed at a considerable cost in casualties.The 11th Light Horse, when they landed at 1:50 am were divided up to reinforce three regiments of Light Horse already in place. Archie, as part of Regimental Headquarters, was allocated to the 9th Light Horse.

The regimental war diary of the 9th Light Horse records that on 16th September 1915 “Signal Sergeant Richards F.J.A. killed by a bullet from Sniper’s Ridge whilst standing near the Field Ambulance.” A subsequent report to the Red Cross by an eye witness stated that Archie was shot through the abdomen. He died while being carried to the beach and was buried at North Beach by the 3rd Light Horse Brigade. Archie had been on Gallipoli barely two weeks.

When it came time to distribute Archie’s service medals, the authorities spent some time diligently tracing Archie’s nearest blood relative. Arthur and Cecilia had moved to the White Horse Hotel in Toowoomba sometime after Archie’s death and requests were made via the Police to determine the current whereabouts of both. Cecelia had died by this time and Arthur was apparently living in Manly Q.

In response to advertisements in newspapers, Base Records received a letter from a Mrs Wells, Archie’s mother, who was living at Coochin Station near Boonah where she was employed as a cook. Archie’s elder brother Lieutenant William Richards MC, also lived in the Boonah area. Mrs Wells was finally provided with Archie’s medals, which included the 1914/15 Star, a memorial plaque and scroll as well as Archie’s deferred pay.

As for Archie’s grave, the Anzac trenches were never disturbed by the Turks after the Australians left but four years of exposure meant that many of the wooden grave markers were lost. #8 Signal Sergeant Frederick James Archibald Richards is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial along with 5,000 other Australian and New Zealand servicemen who lost their lives at Gallipoli but have no known grave.

In addition to being listed on the Boonah War Memorial, Archie is also listed on the Cairns Roll of Honour.

https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=253841

William Archie's Brother is also listed on the Honour Roll for Logan Village. which is in the Lions Hall at Logan Village. It is unknown why Frederick was not also listed.