Volunteers of Essendon and Flemington, 1914-1918

 

Lieutenant Chapman in a pre-war dress uniform.  Courtesy of the North Essendon Methodist Church.

 

Chapman E H S  2nd Lt   Earl Haddon Simpson      7 Inf Bn    20    Clerk    Single    Meth        

Address: Essendon, Lincoln Rd    

Next of kin: Chapman, Douglas C, "Waubuno", Lincoln Rd, Essendon  

Enlisted: 24 Aug 1914

Embarked: A20 Hororata 19 Oct 1914                                                                                                           

Prior service CMF 58 Inf Regt

 

Date of Death: 27/04/1915

LONE PINE MEMORIAL

 

 

Second Lieutenant Earl Haddon Simpson Chapman

 

Rod Martin

 

Twenty year-old Earl Chapman obviously had the military in his blood.  He enlisted as a second lieutenant in Pompey Elliott's 58 militia Battalion in 1912 and then enlisted in the newly formed 7 Australian Infantry Battalion, also commanded by Pompey, shortly after war broke out in August 1914.  Hailing from 30 Lincoln Road in Essendon, Earl was a clerk by trade during the day, but probably a soldier at nights and weekends.  When he embarked with his comrades at Port Melbourne on 19 October 1914 he was, like most others in this the earliest cohort of the AIF, in all probability very excited to be sailing off to fight for a noble and just cause.

 

 

Troops on board HMAT Hororata, 19 October 1914                 (AWM PB0448)

 

The ship sailed across the Great Australian Bight to Albany on the southern coast of Western Australia, where it joined other vessels from all parts of the continent as well as New Zealand and became part of the first convoy of Australian troops sent off to war.

 

Albany today, showing the mooring spots of the convoy     (Rod Martin)

 

Ostensibly on the way to Europe via Egypt, the troops were informed as they drew close to the Red Sea that they were to stay in Egypt to be part of a new offensive in the eastern Mediterranean.  The British government, spurred on by First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, had decided to attack German ally Turkey, capture Constantinople and the Dardanelles, and open the way to the Black Sea, whence they could supply their ally, Russia.

 

On 6 December, 7 Battalion, comprising thirty-two officers and 991 other ranks (including one stowaway!), arrived in Cairo and moved to the nearby camp at Mena, close to the Pyramids.

 

7 Battalion men disembarking at Alexandria, December 1914   (AWM H15574)

 

In February 1915, the battalion was ordered to move to Ismailia on the Suez Canal.  There was a fear that the Turks based in Palestine would attempt to capture the canal, so the troops of the AIF were sent to occupy defensive trenches there.

 

Annotated on the back: 'Sakkara Trip. From right Lt. Scanlan, De Ravin, Capt McCrae, Lt Chapman,

Capt McKenna, " Mason  + Donkeys boys'.  Sakkara is outside Alexandria.  Source: Museums Victoria Collections https://collections.museumvictoria.com.au/items/1561809

 

How long the battalion stayed at Ismailia we do not know, as no war diary for March 1915 survived.  However, we do know that it was back at Mena by the start of April.  1130 members moved to Alexandria on 5 April and embarked for the Greek island of Lemnos.  There they trained until 24 April (there are no diary entries between 5 and 24 April) when they embarked and sailed for the Gallipoli Peninsula. 

 

7 Battalion and 2 Brigade, of which it was part, were scheduled to be towed ashore to the left of 3 Brigade, which was the first unit to go in on 25 April.   The landing spot was to be a point between a promontory called Gaba Tepe and the so-called 'Fisherman's Hut', about a mile to the north.  2 Brigade was to land to the left of 3 Brigade.  At least, that was the plan.  However, things quickly began to go awry.  The towed boats of 3 Brigade were caught in a current and carried north.  When 7 Battalion's ship, the Galeka, reached its designated spot, the expected tow boats had not arrived.  As the ship came under fire from a cannon on Gaba Tepe, the captain ordered Pompey to put his men in the ship's lifeboats without further ado and get the men to row them ashore - a distance of almost 1 200 metres.  D Company, Earl's unit, was in the first four boats sent off.

 

7 Battalion landing spot, Anzac Cove   (AWM P00229.001)

 

Although they had been trained to row while at Lemnos, the men did not expect to have to row so far - and under a hail of bullets and shrapnel shells.  A number of them were wounded or killed before they had even reached the shore.  Moreover, theirs and 3 Brigade's boats drifted together into what is now known as Anzac Cove.  As a result, when the troops did get out of their boats, they were mixed up, different units supposedly having different targets.  Graeme Davison tells us that D Company, mostly made up of Essendon men, was supposed to land on a sandy beach near the Fisherman's Hut.  Instead, it faced the steep ridges and ravines of the spot called Ari Burnu, and the withering fire of the Turkish defenders.  All mixed together, the men of 2 and 3 Brigades headed for the nearby slopes and then scrambled upwards, aiming for the first ridge. 

 

And they did amazingly well on that first day, capturing spots on three successive and increasingly higher ridges before the sun set.  However, the fourth ridge, the highest of all, remained in Turkish hands - and was never captured during the eight-month campaign.

 

The battalion's war diary for 25 April notes that, after an attempted head count, the approximate number of casualties was 400 killed, wounded or missing. This was the greatest number of casualties suffered by any of the battalions.  And D Company suffered most of all.  Pompey wrote a few days later that only about half of the Essendon boys were left and only a little over a hundred of the recruits he had initially gathered together at the Broadmeadows training camp. The 'poor old 7th Battalion', as he described it, was decimated.

 

Among the wounded on that first day were Pompey and Earl.  Pompey was hit in the ankle at about 9.30 am and had to go to the temporary dressing station after giving orders regarding the supply of ammunition and contacting the brigade commander to inform him of the injury.  What happened to Earl we do not know.  He may not have even made it out of the boat unscathed.  All we know is that he was wounded and evacuated offshore to the hospital ship Seang Choon.

 

His wound was obviously very serious, as he died on the ship some time between 27 and 30 April.

 

First 7 Battalion dressing station, Gallipoli 25 April 1915     (AWM H15233)

 

Earl was buried at sea.  Because he had no known grave, his details were recorded on the Lone Pine Memorial after the war.

 

His mother was granted a pension of thirteen pounds per annum.

 

Lone Pine Memorial 1936      (AWM P02768.007)

 

 

Sources

 

Australian War Memorial

Davison, Graeme: Lost relations, Sydney, Allen and Unwin, 2015

McMullin, Ross: Pompey Elliott, Melbourne, Scribe, 2nd edition 2008

National Archives of Australia

 

Mentioned in this correspondence:

Elliott H E Lieut Col "Beach like Sandringham" The Argus 9 June 1915 

Bone A W Pte 501  Essendon Gazette 17 June 1915 

Elliott H E Lieut Col  Essendon Gazette 24 June 1915

Heighway-A-R-2nd-Lt  Letter about Heighway from Lt E E Spargo 11 Jun 1915

 

A portrait of the CMF unit Essendon Rifles before the war.  Lieutenant Chapman is in the back row, fourth

from the left.

 

Essendon Gazette, 6 May 1915

Killed

Second Lieutenant E S H Chapman, 7th

Battalion.  The deceased was a member

of the 58th Infantry (Essendon Rifles)

and residing at Essendon.

 

LIEUTENANT CHAPMAN  

 

Lieutenant E H S Chapman went to                 

Egypt in a junior capacity but was pro-  

moted to full lieutenant on the field. He

was a platoon commander in Lieut- 

Colonel Elliott's 7th Batalion. In the Aus-      

tralian citizen forces he was a provisional

lieutenant in the 58th Essendon Rifles. 

The Argus 3 May 1915                                                                                                                                       

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1514145

 

The Adelaide Advertiser 4 May 1915  Courtesy of

Kim Phillips, Spirits of Gallipoli website

 

Lieutenant E. H. S. Chapman, who is among

the number of those who are reported as

killed in action at the Dardanelles, was a

member of the Young People's Guild, at our

church at North Essendon. In the Australian

citizen forces he was a provisional lieutenant

in the 58th Essendon Rifles. He went with the

first contingent in a junior capacity, but was

promoted a full lieutenant on the field.

 

Personal. (1915, May 21). Spectator and Methodist

Chronicle (Melbourne, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 742.

Retrieved September 28, 2015, from

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article154170566 

 

 

I sent you a photo, from Lemnos, but as I have been given another copy of it I am enclosing it. The captain of the Galeka is in the foreground with my self sitting just behind, and Lieutenant Chapman (since reported killed) in the background.   LETTERS FROM THE FRONT. LETTER FROM LIEUT. E. CONNELLY. (1915, June 10). Bendigo Advertiser (Vic. : 1855 - 1918), p. 5. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article89968341

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mentioned in this publication:

 

 

 

CHAPMAN, E. H. S., Lieut., "B" Coy., 7th Batt.; s. of Douglas and Clara Chapman, Lincoln-rd., Essendon;

b. at Latrobe (Tas), Feb. 12. 1894; educ. M  Ponds SS.; clerk; enl. Melb., Aug., 1914. War service: Egypt (ptd. Lieut.); Gallipoli. Lieut. Chapman was mortally wounded at the Landing. He died on the hosp. ship "Seeang Choon," and was buried at sea. Lieut.-Col. Elliott, O.C. 7th Batt., wrote: "Lieut. Chapman was all than an officer could be, and his loss will be greatly felt by us." Lieut. Chapman was a keen student, a good cricketer, and was among the first to volunteer.

All Australian Memorial Victoria - Australia's Fighting Families.  p 61

 

For Empire: Australia's Rally to the dear old flag.

Lieutenants. No 24 E H Chapman.

 

Lost Relations: fortunes of my family in Australia's Golden Age, by Graeme Davison, p 186. Allen and Unwin: digital format, 2015. pp 186, 187.

 

BULLET THROUGH CHEEK [Letter from Colonel Elliott]
"Sergeant Kenneth Walker and Corporal Charles Cowan have

recovered from their wounds, and are impatient to get back

to the front. Cowan had a miraculous escape. His tunic was

shot almost to ribbons by a machine gun, and he received a bullet
through the right check and another through the left ear. Walker

was struck on the top of the head with a shrapnel bullet, but it did

not penetrate the skull. Both are brave lads, and if they survive,

they will do well.

Lieutenant Chapman was shot, through the groin, and died on the

ship on his way here. He was buried at sea. He was all that an officer

could be, and his loss will be greatly felt among us. Of our ultimate

victory I entertain no doubt, though It will be dearly bought. "
"WHEN SHALL THEIR GLORY FADE?" (1915, June 26). The Herald

(Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 1. http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article242359515

 

War Service Commemorated

“Send off to the Essendon Boys”

Essendon Town Hall A-F

North Essendon Methodist Church

Ascot Vale Methodists*

Moonee Ponds West State School

Essendon Gazette Roll of Honour killed

Patriotic Concert, Essendon Town Hall, 1914

 

 

In Memorium

 

CHAPMAN In loving memory of our dear brother          

Haddon, Lieut E H S Chapman, who died    

from wounds received at Gallipoli, April 27, 1915  

Silence is no certain token  

That no hidden grief is there,

Sorrow that is seldom spoken  

is the hardest grief to bear.  

(Inserted by his sorrowing sister and brother,  

Netta and Douglas.)  

 

CHAPMAN - In loving memory of my friend,

Lieutenant E H Chapman, who died of wounds  

received at the landing at Gallipoli, on April

27, 1915.

Those who knew him best miss him most.  

(Inserted by his friend, A Gray.)

 

The Argus, 27 April 1916

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article2112016

 

CHAPMAN - In affectionate remembrance of my

friend Lieutenant E H S Chapman 7th Bat-  

talion who died of wounds received in the land-  

ing at Gallipoli. (Inserted by E W, South Yarra)

The Argus, 27 April 1917

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1613608

 

CHAPMAN -In loving memory of my friend,

Lieut, E H S Chapman, who died of wounds

received at the landing at Gallipoli April 25,

1915.

Those who knew him best miss him the most.

-(Inserted by his friend, Pte A Gray, on active service.)

 

CHAPMAN - A tribute to Lieutenant E H T

Chapman, died of wounds on the 27th April,

1915.

Noble was he, condemning all things mean,  

His truth unquestioned his soul serene.

Shame knew him not, he dreaded no disgrace,

Truth, simple truth, was written in his face. (ED)  

 

CHAPMAN In loving memory of our dear soldier  

brother, Haddon, who died of wounds received in

action at Gallipoli, April 25, 1915.

And how can man die better

Than facing fearful odds,

For the ashes of his fathers,  

And the temples of his gods.

(Inserted by his sorrowing sister and brother,  

Netta and Douglas.)  

 

CHAPMAN -In sad and loving memory of our

dear son Lieut E H S Chapman, who died  

of wounds received in action at Gallipoli, April 25, 1915.

And with the morn his angel face will smile,  

The face we loved so well and lost awhile  

My dear boy (mother)  

(Inserted by his sorrowing father and mother.)

 

The Argus, 27 April 1918

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1655447

 

 

CHAPMAN -In loving memory of our dear son,

Lieut E H S Chapman who died April 26, 1915 of

wounds received at the landing at Gallipoli.  

Our Anzac The war is really over,

To some the words sound nice

But oh the sad, sad hearts of those

Whose loved ones paid the price.

-(Inserted by his loving mother and father)

 

CHAPMAN - A tribute of love to the memory of

our brave soldier brother, Lieut EH S Chap-  

man who died of wounds received at the landing

at Gallipoli.

He lived and died for others.

-(Inserted by his loving sister and brother)

 

CHAPMAN -In loving memory of my friend  

Lieut E H S Chapman (Haddon), who died of

wounds on Gallipoli April 26, 1915.

One of the best

-(lnserted by A Gray, late AIF. )

 

The Argus 26 April 1919

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1461426