April 18-21 2012 I was in Albany, Western Australia to undertake my Bottle Overboard Adventure. My bottle was put to sea 60 nautical miles south of West Cape Howe, the most southerly point in Western Australia. The bottle story was You Tubed under Anne’s Adventure in mid- 2013.
Whilst in Albany, I was made aware of the planned Anzac Commemoration from October 31 – November 2 2014. This event, will commemorate a century since the first convoy left Australian shores to transport the Australian Imperial Forces to Gallipoli, and the Western Front, via training in Egypt and the Middle East .
The then Prime Minister, Julia Gillard also arrived in Albany on April 18 2012 to announce the $10million National Anzac Centre. It is being constructed at Mt Adelaide, Albany.
I was fortunate in being able to sail out of King George Sound with Mark and his friend on our way to the Southern Ocean. King George Sound offers protection from the pounding Southern Ocean , so one could understand why it was chosen to allow the convoy ships to safely anchor here.
Albany was the last glimpse of Australian soil that 30,000 young men saw .The first convoy set sail in secrecy on November 1 1914.
My late father’s cousin, Claude John Mc Lean Field, a member of the 7th Battalion AIF was not on these ships. Claude left Melbourne on Monday October 2nd 1916 on the troop ship R.M.S. Nestor. He was killed, aged 24 on 4th October 1917 at Passchendaele, in the Battle of the Somme.
In 1985, with much emotion, I read Claude’s original diary, which is in the Australian War Museum in Canberra. It details his journey from Melbourne via South Africa to a training camp in Salisbury, England . The diary concludes with Claude stating that” they are going to France. “ ( I have a photocopy of this diary ).
Claude’s cousin, Dr Noel McLachlan, now deceased, supervised PHD students in World War 1 History at Melbourne University, before his retirement in the early 1990’s. Noel had in his possession a large photo of Claude, which hung in Claude’s family home at 12 Mangarra Road , Canterbury, Melbourne . The photo was captioned “The Silent Presence.“
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Noel, in the early 1980’s, was Australia’s first professorial appointment in Australian History to University College, Dublin, Ireland. He would have most likely lectured to his students on the topic of Australia’s involvement in World War 1.
On January 2nd 1984, I travelled from Lille, France to Ypres in Belgium to visit Menin Gate. I had sought help from the Australian War Museum, Canberra to the location of Claude’s name on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres. Menin Gate is dedicated to British and Commonwealth soldiers, who were killed in the Ypres Salient, and whose graves are unknown.
I was pleased to locate Claude’s name, which is just one of the 55, 000 Australian and British names on the memorial. A number of Field family members have, over the years, also made the journey to Ypres to pay tribute to Claude’s memory.
To me, Ypres will always have a “Silent Presence” as I remember the thousands who lost their lives in what can only be described as a “dreadful slaughter.”
November 1 1914 is the start of the story of Australia’s involvement in World War 1. The new National Anzac Centre in Albany will become a valuable interpretative centre for Anzac history, and ensure that Albany becomes part of the Anzac pilgrimage trail.
Anne Field
Kogarah .
