Rothwell Alexander Gordon:

  An Officer of the 1 ^st and 2^nd AIF

By Marjorie Conning

My uncle, Rothwell Gordon, was born on 20 October 1889, the fifth child of Adam Wilson Gordon and Mary Davidson Grant (Margaret Jean). The family lived at 66 Nicholson St, Essendon. All the seven children – Florence, b1882; William (my father) b1884; Lydia b1886; Catherine (Kitty) b1888; Adam Wilson b1892 and Margaret (Launcie) b1895, were educated at Raleigh St State School.

Rothwell's parents and sisters in the front garden of Ellerslie in Nicholson Street, Essendon.  Courtesy of Marjorie Conning.

The Essendon house was called Ellerslie after the family home in Scotland. My grandfather Adam Wilson Gordon was born at sea on The Lighting in 1855 as his parents returned from a trip home to Aberdeen after their Melbourne marriage in 1854. The family were Presbyterian and attended St John’s. It is not surprising then that Rothwell served four years with the militia unit, the Victorian Scottish regiment, achieving the rank of Colour Sergeant. This unit was only for men of Scottish descent and they wore a special tartan similar to the Gordon plaid with the yellow stripes replaced by red. Soldiers had to pay for the cost of the uniform,  £11, as well as provide equipment for camps.

By the time war was declared in 1914 Rothwell was nearing 25 years and was a salesman with paper merchants Spicer & Detmold’s  of Flinders Lane. He was a striking figure, over six feet in height, 12-15 stone, with a dark complexion, hazel eyes and reddish hair. He was well known in the area as a cricket, football and tennis player. Family responsibilities may have prevented immediate enlistment as his youngest sister had died in 1913 aged 17.  He may also have been waiting for officers he had known in the militia to get a command. In February 1915 control of the new 6 Brigade was given to Colonel Richard Linton from the Victorian Scots Regiment, and in March 1915 Rothwell enlisted in the AIF and was allocated to B Coy, 23 Battalion. Training was at Broadmeadows. The influence of his militia training and ability showed in his promotion to Corporal on 30 April.

Although Essendon did not give a farewell banquet for this contingent the Mayor and other dignitaries did visit the camp and made formal presentations of gifts and souvenirs to the Essendonians who were to depart. Although the 23 Bn had been mainly raised in Ballarat, at least fifteen local men sailed with Rothwell. These included Lt Ernest King, a motor mechanic of Buckley St; Fred Melrose of the Melford Inn in Essendon and John Herweg whose father was blacksmith at the Puckle St junction. The last two both died overseas. The 1,261 strong Battalion embarked for the Middle East on the Euripides on 10 May 1915.  News of the Gallipoli Landing and its cost had arrived in Australia on 8 May so Rothwell would have known something of the task ahead and the family all the more anxious.

On the embarkation list his rank was Sergeant and this was confirmed in June. The voyage of the Euripides was a fraught one. At Colombo the men were refused permission to go ashore, unlike comrades from other ships. The troops, angered by this, stormed the armed gangway guard. Shots were fired and blows exchanged. During the voyage there were also eight deaths from disease. The Battalion trained in Egypt and it was there that Rothwell wrote to twelve year old Patsy Kenny praising her and her sister Kathleen as,

"clever little girls for working very hard on Empire Day selling more than £10 worth of buttons. It is grand to think that I have little cousins who are working so hard to bring us victorious and I will do my best to keep the flag flying". 

In August he embarked as reinforcements for Gallipoli. Rothwell’s B Co were allocated to the Southland, sailing ahead of the convoy. A torpedo hit this ship and thirty-two men drowned, the rest being rescued by other ships that came across the disaster. My uncle spent three hours in the water before being picked up. As they had lost all their equipment B Co were sent into the Peninsula several weeks later after having been rekitted. At Gallipoli the Battalion held Lone Pine and Brown’s Dip enduring battle, disease, privations and the winter conditions. In November the Company Sgt Major Alfred Loveridge (a sugar refiner of Ascot Vale Rd) was evacuated badly wounded, and Rothwell was promoted in his place.

On 18 December Rothwell with his men left Gallipoli with a commendation for the work he had done. They returned to Egypt in mid January 1916 and moved to defend the Suez Canal in February. In late March the men were shipped to Marseilles and were trained via Paris to the northern French-Belgium border. At home his brother Wilson joined up in March 1916; however my father was prevented from enlisting by hearing problems.

Rothwell moved to trenches near Armentieres in April. Again there were short rations, rats and rain, but periods behind the lines such as in June when Billy Hughes, the Australian Prime Minister, addressed the troops. It was in the midst of the Battle for Pozieres July 1916 that Rothwell won his Military Cross:

"for conspicuous gallantry during operations notably when securing bombs and ammunition which had been buried by shell fire and when reorganising his defences under trying conditions".

This prestigious decoration was awarded to only 25 members of his Battalion during the course of the war.

He was recommended for officer training and in August joined No 9 officer cadet course at Gailes, Ayrshire in Scotland. He was appointed 2^nd Lieutenant in October and after furlong proceeded to France in December.  By now Wilson was in France where he had been wounded in November, but stayed on duty. Although they do not appear to have met up, Rothwell’s letters home indicate they kept in touch. Rothwell was taken on strength, on the front line near Amiens. Conditions were freezing. Wilson told me that the mud froze to their boots so that they felt they were walking on high heels.

In April 1917 Rothwell was promoted full Lieutenant; however he developed influenza and was evacuated to London. In July he returned to his unit now at Arques.  By now Wilson had been invalided home.  In early October Rothwell was wounded during the Third Battle of Ypres. On 2 October Australian barrages resulted in a retaliatory German bombardment. This resulted in 36 casualties in the Anzac Ridge area. All four officers in the company were buried in the trenches but only Lt Gordon survived. He suffered head wounds, later having a silver plate inserted, and chest injuries. From Abbeville Hospital he was invalided to 3 London General Hospital. In January 1918 he was transferred to Cobham Hall, Kent. This sixteenth century estate with its renowned gardens was used as an Anzac Hospital during the war. During this time Rothwell was awarded his medal by King George at Buckingham Palace. In March he was transported home on the Kenilworth Castle arriving in May and being discharged in the July. He had an unblemished record apart from having to pay for the  loss of a gas mask and a great coat.  He stayed on the inactive list retaining his rank. 

In 1923 Rothwell was one of the ex officers called into the Town Hall by General Monash during the police strike. My father also enlisted as a special constable during this time and was brought home on a cart injured.

My grandfather died in 1924 and my grandmother in 1926.   In 1927 Rothie married Rose Evelyn Glide, b 1895. Aunt Rose’s father ran Glide’s real estate in Kensington. They lived in Richardson Street, Essendon and also attended St John’s Presbyterian Church. The Love Never Faileth memorial window at this church was donated by the Glides in memory of two daughters;  Ethel May who died aged five in 1896 and Beatrice Victoria (Judd) who died aged 27 years. Rose and Rothwell had a son and daughter, Graham and Jean.  In these years he started his own printing company The Gordon Press that was a casualty of the Depression.

Lt Rothwell Gordon volunteered for service in the 2^nd AIF enlisting in Sept 1940. He, and the family, were posted to 17 Garrison Battalion, Tatura.

Major Rothwell Alexander Gordon MC, 23rd Australian

Garrison Battalion, No. 13 Prisoner of War Group.

http://cas.awm.gov.au/item/028661

This was part of a complex of seven camps in the district accommodating 13,000 Jewish, European and Japanese civilian internees including the Dunera boys, Vienna Boys choir, enemy aliens and Prisoners of War. In  1941 he transferred to 13 POW group. Camp 13 was constructed in 1941 near Murchison, 20 kms south of Tatura, to accommodate 4,000 prisoners of war. These included members of the German Afrika Korps and Luftwaffe crews captured in North Africa, also crew members of enemy merchant ships captured in various locations throughout the World, and over 300 of the German Raider, HSK Kormoran, who had been responsible for the sinking of the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney off the Western Australia coast in 1941. In 1942  he was promoted Captain and transferred to the 50 Australian Garrison Company, Dhurringile. This historic mansion was used to house Commissioned Officers from the German Army, Navy and Air Force, including the notorious Captain Dettmers who lived in the top tower room.

"Our fallen comrades" memorial built by prisoners in Prisoner of War Camp 13,

Murchison, during the Second World War.  (Photo:  Lenore Frost, 2011)

Dhurringile was the scene of many escape attempts. My uncle would speak of hearing the tunnelling at night and the officers singing the German anthem before the evening meal. Rothwell was promoted Major and Camp Commandant in 1943. 

Health problem caused him to leave the Army in 1944. He Joined the RSL acting as an advocate for returned servicemen at entitlement tribunal hearings. I remember him as a charming, confident, friendly man. He died in 1947 aged 57. His name appears on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial and he was granted a Commonwealth war grave as his premature death was attributed to the wounds he suffered in the Great War some thirty years before.

Additional material proved by Major Graham Gordon. Written in conjunction with Marilyn Kenny. Thanks to Bob Chalmers for the St John’s reference.

Originally published in The Newsletter, Essendon Historical Society Inc, No 188, ....

References

Austin Ron.  Forward Undeterred History of the 23rd Battalion 1915-1918, Slouch Hat Publications: Rosebud, 1998

Essendon Gazette

Hammond J.  Walls of Wire,  the author: Tatura, 1990

National Archives of Australia WW1 service records B2455, Ships files Euripides, Internment camps in Australia during WW I and WW II

Speed F (ed).   Esprit De Corps: The history of the Victorian Scottish Regiment, Allen and Unwin:  Melbourne, 1988

A Letter from an ANZAC

By Marjorie Conning

One of the best ways of discovering more about a topic is to publish.  As well as the feedback received from readers, new material inevitably comes to light. Not long after completing the article on the service career of my uncle Rothwell Gordon, (Newsletter No 188),  we came across a letter from him published in the Essendon Gazette, and appears to have been written to one of his brothers,  The letter was written from Tel-el-Kebir, Egypt on 17 January 1916 where he was encamped after the Gallipoli evacuation in December 1915.  This reflects the feelings of our ANZACS at this time:

"Your very welcome letter to hand.  You do not know how pleased I am to get it as I am always thinking of the boys and longing for some news of their doings. It was with a sad heart that I spent Xmas, my mind being far away from this place and life. I was thinking of you all at Dromana and the good times I could have had if the world was in a normal state. I pictured the old camp and the boys sitting around cracking jokes. You do not know how I used to enjoy myself at camp especially the last couple of times I was down but I shall not worry as I know the good times will come again and you can bet I will be right in the middle of it again.  

I wish you were here and yet I do not at times. I have had some good fun and with your company it would double it. I would given anything to have you with me in Cairo. I have seen some funny things and they would have tickled your fancy. I have put in some trying times and stood more than I ever thought was in me to do but it is marvellous what a man can put up with. I am standing it very well. I am putting on weight gradually until I can pull the good weight of 14 stone 2 lbs and when I enlisted I was 12.8 so you can see it has not done me any harm. Most of the boys have lost weight but I am afraid that they worry too much. I often get that way but I am content to stay till the bitter end which I hope will be soon.

The military authorities have made a certainty of putting us out of harm's way. We are right on the desert 60 miles from Cairo and I think that is the nearest place for fun. We are granted 24 hours leave to go to Cairo at a rate of 2.5 per day. That means that 5 men can get away every other day; that is, if the other men come back to time which does not always happen. Some men have no consideration for their mates and spoil the whole show, preventing others from getting away. We were having a spell on Lemnos Island at Xmas and the billies and boxes were handed out. Well I think the sick parade for those few days was larger than at any other time. Men absolutely ate for the sake of eating and yours truly had his cut, as you would imagine knowing the capacity he has. You can imagine the treat it was after living on hard tack and not too much of that for four months to get a box with luxuries inside such as were sent, cakes, chocolates, puddings etc.

I am always wanted for something or other now.  I suppose you know I have been promoted to Sgt Major. I have to know all concerning the company and it is SM this and that, and by the time lights out sounds I am pretty tired and will flop into bed and sleep the sleep of the just. I have several papers from home with accounts of cricket. The old team appears to be strong this season especially in the batting. Mayne struck form straight away and should make some of the bowlers heads ache. I was glad to see you  have struck form with the bat, as a matter of fact they are a fairly even side and I hope to hear some good results this season - perhaps finish on top.

We are having some lovely weather here at present and some of the sights are beautiful. This is a purely artificial country.  The desert has irrigation channels from the Nile and there are some fine crops and orchards to be seen. I have often seen that picture of Cooks which is posted on all the stations. I have seen it in reality. I used to think it was faked to suit themselves but they are quite natural.  Sailing boats with their huge curved sails going along narrow canal about half as wide as Little Bourke St,  and camels trudging along over the desert with their big legs. It looks all right. I had a ride on a camel before I went to the front and of all the awkward animals I know they are the worst. It started to trot with me and I began to bump all over the place and I was yelling to stop and he thought I wanted him to go faster. As I was hanging on with both hands I could not signal to him what I wanted so I had to stick on as best I could. After that I found it hard to sit down.

My supply of news has run out so I will close. Hoping you and all the boys are well.  Remember me to any of the Essendon cricket boys and tell them I am OK". [1]

Rothwell was a noted cricketer with the Essendon Club where his name was to appear on the Roll of Honour.

The reference to Dromana is to The Women Haters Club. This was a social club associated with St Johns Presbyterian Church.  It had been formed in 1902 by a group of young men who spent their holidays  bush camping. As they were spending time away from the usual haunts of young men they called themselves The Women Haters. By 1904 the regular Christmas camp was at Dromana where the camp supplies were transported from Essendon in a two day journey by horse drag. The members followed, traveling down by bay steamer. There were Ladies days, pier concerts, tennis tournaments and picnics to other parts of the Peninsula.  Rothwell had joined the club at this time and it would have been memories of these camps that helped sustain him and thirty two other members who enlisted in the AI.F.  In 1917 the club sent all serving members a Christmas cake and card. This contained a poem to Absent Pals by The Mob. One of its seven verses was devoted to Rothwell who by this time had won his Military Cross.

We saw it in the papers

But we don’t quite believe all they say

That Roth had been up to some capers

Had won a tin cross by the way

Tho' his fame we’ve no wish for defeating

There’s something we’d just like to know

Did he get that there medal for eating?

In that line he wasn’t too slow

This reinforces Rothwell's own comments about his appetite! My father Bill Gordon also joined the Women Haters in 1904 and was a long term member. He was credited with saving the club in the 1940s. Membership was declining and my father’s successful recruiting effort revived it.  Rothwell returned in July 1918 and was well enough to be lead singer at the Essendon Welcome Home banquet in the November. He performed The Troubadour’s Song and The Floral Dance. I knew he had been musical but not realized that his was a performing voice. My cousin Joan confirmed this and added that the Floral Dance was one of his favorites and he frequently sang it around the house. It was also interesting to note that at the Farewell Dinner in 1914 performers on the programme included Miss Grace Evans and Mr. W Park.  It was very gratifying to reflect that more than ninety years after that dinner family connections of these folk still meet regularly at the EHS.

Originally published in The Newsletter, Essendon Historical Society Inc.

[1] Essendon Gazette 16 Mar 1916 p4.

Acknowledgments

Prepared with the assistance of Marilyn Kenny. Thanks also for his help to Bob Chalmers.

References

Essendon Gazette

Essendon Historical Society holdings

Women Haters Club Essendon - Dromana 1902-2002

Lieut. Rothwell Gordon, M.C., son of Mr. and Mrs. A. W. Gordon, Nicholson street, Essendon, is now in London having been slightly wounded in the head.

ROLL OF HONOUR. (1917, October 25). The Essendon Gazette and Keilor, Bulla and Broadmeadows Reporter (Moonee Ponds, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 2 Edition: Morning. Retrieved May 25, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74604095