Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

FROM SAILOR BOY TO SOLDIER MAN

EDMUND JOHN LUCAS was born in the Victorian country town of Bridgewater in 1878.  The third born of eleven children, he lived with his family on the North side of the Loddon River and each day crossed the bridge to school.  One morning his mother sent him off in a sailor's suit, complete with cap.  The cap was lettered H.M.S. HECTOR and he was teased so mercilessly that on the way home from school he threw the cap from the bridge into the river.  This resulted in a 'hiding' and the nickname of 'Hector' (or Hec), which he took to the grave.  Other than this, he was known as Jack.

Following his father and along with some of his brothers, Jack did some time in the local institution – The Bridgewater Flour Mill:  “A valued and reliable employee of the local Flour Mill for many years, in his early career he was one of a special gang chosen to lump 4 bushel bagged wheat to the height of 30 bags without the aid of elevators.”

When the war broke out in 1914 Jack was about to turn 36.  By the February of 1915 the cut-off age had risen from 35 to 45, but by this time Jack had already put his age back two years, and so had joined the A.I.F. as a Private [1980] on the 4th of January 1915.  The first of four brothers to enlist, following 3 months training, he embarked at Melbourne on the 17th of April travelling on the A20 Hororata for Egypt.  There he underwent more training and finally departed, along with the 5th Reinforcements, on the Scotian on the 3rd of July, joining the 7th Battalion at the Gallipoli Peninsula on the 10th of that month.

Interestingly, in the same month of Jack’s arrival, his namesake the H.M.S. Hector along with another ship, Manica, set anchor in the Dardanelles, where they were used as mooring points for kite balloons from which observation work was carried out.

In early August the 7th Battalion took part in the huge offensive at Lone Pine.  Jack and his comrades joined the fray on the 8th, when they relieved the 1st and 2nd Battalions who were holding the captured enemy trenches in the southern sector.  Here they came under repeated counter attacks by the Turks, and it was late that day, perhaps early the next, that Jack took a bullet in his left forearm.  He was transported on the hospital ship Devanha back to Alexandria along with another member of his battalion who was also from his hometown, Andrew Cumming, who, if he'd survived would have eventually become Jack's brother-in-law.  Andrew and Jack had earlier shared another ship, though at different times, as on their separate departures from Australia both of them had travelled on the Hororata.

The family was advised of Jack’s wound, and as a result it was noted in the local paper, The Inglewood Advertiser, and he was wished a 'speedy recovery' by his friends back home.  He was admitted to the Ghezireh General Hospital in Cairo on the 12th of August and released 2 weeks later to convalesce at Mena House.  The last day of August saw him discharged to duty on Base details.

Jack finally returned to Gallipoli on the 29th of November, where he found his battalion camped at a muddy Victoria Gully on fatigues.  From here they moved up to Silt Spur on the 11th of December, but luckily for Jack, the enemy were fairly quiet, and he survived to take part in the historic evacuation a week later.  After spending Christmas and New Year at Lemnos, the Empress of Britain deposited Jack and his mates back in Alexandria on the 7th of January 1916.

In March, Jack and two of his home-town mates, Ted ‘Butty’ Butterworth and Martin Barry (along with 33 others), were transferred from the 7th Battalion to the newly formed 2nd Machine Gun Company.  Still a part of the 2nd Brigade, they would shadow their old battalion, supporting them through the battles ahead.  Travelling a day before the 7th Bn, they departed Alexandria on the Briton on the 25th of that month and landed at Marseilles, France on the 30th.

Although in May the machine gunners were kept fairly active near Fleurbaix, the first major fighting they saw in France was at the Battle of the Somme in July 1916, in the hell they called Pozieres.

Towards the end of 1916 another Bridgewater boy, Robert Perks (6th Bn), sent a letter home in which he stated:  "I see Jack Lucas, Ted Butterworth and Mart Barry every day.  ……………….  They all look well.  We are having snow over here; it is up to the soles of your boots, and you can walk on the ice and it won’t break."

In May 1917 they took part in the Second Battle of Bullecourt in the Hindenburg Line.  During the 8th and 9th the company came under heavy enemy barrages and entire gun crews were being buried and dug out all along the line.

Next came the Battle of Menin Rd in the Ypres Salient in September.  During the advance on the 20th the company again found themselves under heavy enemy fire, but managed to reach their objectives, set up their guns and consolidate their positions.  Their last major involvement for that year came a couple of weeks later in the Battle for Broodseinde Ridge.

Jack and his two mates survived 1917 without any outward harm.  In 1918 Jack finally received his first lot of leave, nearly two years after his arrival in Europe, and spent two weeks in England between the 22nd January and the 7th February.

Back in Belgium, on the 20th of February Jack’s Company had a group portrait taken at a place called Locre.  This was possibly done knowing that changes were in the wind, because not long after, on April Fools Day, the 2nd MG Coy were incorporated into the newly formed 1st Machine Gun Battalion.

The 1st MG Bn were involved in the defence of Hazebrouck in the April and May of 1918, which included a tour of duty in the line near Meteren from the 19th of April to the 1st of May.  They also took part in the attack at Mont de Merris 2nd/3rd  June.

In August they were in the Amiens area, supporting the advance on Lihons on the 10th, and St Martin’s Wood, near Chuignes on 23rd/24th.  Mid September they were west of Hargicourt, before taking part in their final battle for the war – the Battle of the Hindenburg Line which began on the 29th.

Before this battle, on the 22nd of September 1918 Jack was appointed to the position of Driver.

Once again Jack had survived without any outward appearance of harm, while Mart and Butty had missed some action through a wound and an illness.  Jack’s second lot of leave, another two weeks in England, was granted after the armistice in mid-December, which meant that he spent Christmas there, although it wouldn't have been a happy time for him.  He had requested this leave after hearing that his brother Percy was seriously ill in the Harefield Hospital, but unfortunately didn't arrive in time.  However, both he and another brother, Roy, were able to be there for Percy's funeral on the 18th of December.

Jack rejoined his Battalion before New Year, only to be returned to England a few weeks later, in preparation for his return home.  Travelling on the Kildonian Castle he left England on the 21st of March 1919 and arrived back in Australia on Wednesday the 7th of May.  His brother Bert (whose enlistment had been rejected) along with brother-in-law Syd, went to Melbourne to meet him and escort him by train back to Bridgewater.   They sent a telegram home advising that they wouldn't be returning until the day after expected, but Jack's sister, Mag, sent a return telegram demanding that they returned as planned.  A huge welcome party had been organised – people invited and food prepared – they caught the train.

His arrival was noted in the local paper, along with an account of the Welcome Home held for him by the Bridgewater Flour Mill Company, on the Saturday afternoon after his return to his hometown.  They had cleared and decorated the large grain shed, and amongst food, music and friends, Jack was toasted by a very proud company.  ".....Private Lucas in responding, was given a great reception.  He had, he stated thought that when he got off the boat he could sneak home and meet his friends individually, but had never anticipated a welcome like that given him.  He was very pleased to see so many old faces again.  When he had left he thought he would not be away long, but had found things last a little longer than he expected."

He spoke of his late brother, Percy who he had been able to spend some time with during the war:  "What he had seen they had seen, and they had roughed it together.  They took the good with the bad, but reckoned the average was rough.  He was glad to be home, and would wander no more."

While away at war, it seems that Jack and Percy had become aware of something else they had shared – a Miss Ina Stout.   It's said that she sent them both a photo of the group she hung around with, with her face smudged out.  When they realised they both had a copy of the same photo, they compared notes and got one hell of a shock to discover they'd both been 'doing a line' with Ina.  [pronounced eye-na]

While still in uniform in the June of 1919, Jack was one of the attendants for his mate Butty’s wedding.  Jack's discharge from the A.I.F. was then confirmed on the 6th July 1919 after having completed 1637 days service, 1482 of them abroad.  The Certificate states:  "He is discharged in consequence of being medically unfit not due to misconduct".  Though not severe enough to be hospitalized, he had come in contact with gas on the Western Front and as a result stayed on medication, ‘foul smelling stuff ’ for the remainder of his life.

Soon after the war he was involved in operating a bus line between Taggerty and Alexandra, in conjunction with a family friend.  He also worked as a shearer's rouseabout and followed the trail between Victoria and N/W Queensland.

Jack was 45 years old when he finally stopped wandering and married a Bridgewater girl, Reta Cumming.  Twenty years his junior, Reta was the best friend of his sister Mag, and the baby sister of the late Andrew Cumming who had been fatally wounded with Jack at Lone Pine.  It was 1923, and they lost both Mag and their first child that same year, but over the next 11 years gained a daughter, and three sons.

In 1927, J.J. Embury, the Manager of the Flour Mill, wrote a couple of letters to the Repatriation Commission, recommending him for financial and medical assistance.      ".........since his return from the War it is very noticeable that he has broken down, and is nothing like he was prior to enlistment; for instance before he went away he was one of [the] best wheat-carriers in the District; since he came back he has not been strong enough for this work, although he has been given trials on different times.  He is gradually growing less able, and hardly fit for even very light jobs.  His breakdown we all reckon is directly attributable to his period of Active Service."

At one stage, as one of the motoring pioneers in the Bridgewater district, Jack owned a 'T' Model Ford, which he used to carry paying customers.  He was a contract rabbiter during the depression, and grew tomatoes for a number of years during W.W.2.  For a short time he was President of the Bridgewater Returned Soldiers League.

In the late 1950's when he was getting close to 80 years of age, Jack was still riding his push bike out to Rothacker's farm, a distance of 4 miles, and putting in a light days work before riding home again.

Like many veterans, Jack preferred not to speak to his family about the war.  Though his eldest son remembers one particular incident that he passed on to him for reasons unknown, and it’s probably fair to assume that it happened quite late in the war:  “They had set up their Vickers gun in the mouth of a cave (?), where they proceeded to mow down the Germans as they advanced their attack.  Later as they picked their way through the pile of bodies, dad [Jack] was deeply sickened to find that most of those they had slaughtered were mere children.”  Hopefully the sharing of this memory held some relief for his conscience.

In his later years, 'while in his cups', Jack often commented that he was dying, and after feeling 'a bit crook' for a few weeks, and ending up in the Inglewood Hospital, he finally did in the September of 1962, when his heart decided to give up on him.

The memorial service for Jack was held at the Holy Trinity Church of England in Bridgewater.  As a mark of respect the flag at the Memorial Hall was flown at half-mast, and returned soldiers formed a guard of honour at the cemetery gates.  Amongst the bearers of the flag-draped casket were his eldest and youngest sons, the middle son being in Thailand with the RAAF at the time.  Pall bearers, included four of Jack’s brothers, various other relations, and of course Jack’s mate ‘Butty’, as well as another mate Bob Pollard (ex 57th Bn), who also read the soldier’s service.

Jack’s 'army age', two years less than actual, is the one recorded on his burial plaque, marking his final resting place in the Bridgewater Cemetery.

My Grandad - by Heather (Frev) Ford, 2006

Endnote: Edmund John Lucas (aka Jack) was born on the 4/11/1878 at Bridgewater, the son of Charles Edward and Sarah (nee ADAIR) LUCAS.  His brothers that served in the war were Percival Cecil (2443), Norman Cyril (1768) and Roy Leslie (13842) LUCAS.  Jack married Lizzie Mary Margaretta CUMMING (aka Reta) on the 2/3/1923 in Bridgewater.  Reta was the baby sister of Andrew Thomas Gordon (898) and William John (5990) CUMMING - both of whom gave their lives in the war.