ALTHOUGH Anzac Day will be commemorated in low-key fashion due to the coronavirus-enforced ban on public gatherings, remembrance is still the central focus.
Gannawarra Times staff member Greg Miles will reflect on the World War I service of his grandfather Walter Miles who grew up on a farm near Mitiamo.
Walter had the good fortune to survive the war, returning to civilian life after seeing action in Gallipoli, France and Belgium.
When the war broke out Walter was around 30 years of age, by then overseeing 1,600 acres of land he had purchased with a mate in Brigalow, west of Kingaroy in Queensland.
He initially enlisted in the Royal Australian Naval Bridging Train (RANBT), departing Australia on the HMAT Port Macquarie in early June 1915.
Walter arrived on the Greek island of Lemnos, near Turkey on July 21, 1915.
After preparation in the port of Mudros the men of the RANBT were sent to Suvla Bay Gallipoli, where they landed, under enemy fire, on August 8, 1915.
The RANBT was responsible for providing ammunition to the front lines and for a range of engineering and logistical duties.
At Suvla Bay, opposing trenches were just yards apart, with homemade grenades flung at the enemy and sometimes returned before detonation.
Conditions were wretched and during a period of intense heat, a temporary truce was called to bury the festering remains of the dead.
Walter later headed for the horrors of the Somme and Ypres, having by then transferred to the 4th Field Artillery Brigade (FAB) and later the 11th FAB.
There, roads were so muddy it was necessary to drive on duckboards, with any vehicles or animals straying off the boards often lost to the mud.
During his war service, Walter earned a reputation for his ability to manage and relate to animals, be they horses or mules.
After the war he returned to Brigalow, but chose to sell his share of the property and purchased a farm at Calivil North.
The move was prompted by a severe drought in Queensland.
However, it also enabled Walter to move close to his brothers’ Yarrawalla farm.
By Andrew Paloczi.
