CAVE, Torrance
| Service Number: | 50 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 20 August 1914, (Machine Gun Section) Broadmeadows, Vic. |
| Last Rank: | Trooper |
| Last Unit: | 4th Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Squadron |
| Born: | Donald, Victoria, Australia, 1895 |
| Home Town: | Castlemaine, Mount Alexander, Victoria |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Coach Builder |
| Memorials: |
World War 1 Service
| 20 Aug 1914: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 50, 4th Light Horse Regiment, (Machine Gun Section) Broadmeadows, Vic. | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Oct 1914: | Involvement Private, 50, 4th Light Horse Regiment, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '2' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Wiltshire embarkation_ship_number: A18 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Oct 1914: | Embarked Private, 50, 4th Light Horse Regiment, HMAT Wiltshire, Melbourne | |
| 16 May 1915: | Involvement AIF WW1, Trooper, 50, 4th Light Horse Regiment, ANZAC / Gallipoli | |
| 9 Aug 1915: | Wounded AIF WW1, Trooper, 50, 4th Light Horse Regiment, The August Offensive - Lone Pine, Suvla Bay, Sari Bair, The Nek and Hill 60 - Gallipoli, GSW to scalp. Evacuated to Egypt. Rejoined unit 4 April 1916 in Egypt. | |
| 23 Feb 1917: | Transferred AIF WW1, Trooper, 4th Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Squadron, Egypt | |
| 31 Oct 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Trooper, 50, 4th Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Squadron, Battle of Beersheba | |
| 14 Jul 1918: | Wounded AIF WW1, Trooper, 50, 4th Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Squadron, GSW to forearm. Evacuated to Egypt. Rejoined unit 30 August 1918. | |
| 19 Oct 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Trooper, 50, 4th Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Squadron, Megiddo - Syria 1918 | |
| 22 Feb 1919: | Discharged AIF WW1, Trooper, 50, 4th Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Squadron, RTA 15 November 1918 and discharged (TPE). |
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Add my storyBiography contributed by Robert Wight
Torrance Cave was a 19 year-old coach builder living with his parents in Graves Street, Castlemaine when he enlisted in the 4th Light Horse Regiment Machine Gun Section on 20 August 1914, and he departed Australia on 19 October.
After training in Egypt, the AIF landed at Gallipoli on 25 April 1915, however by early May the battle casualties and losses to illness were so great, that the Light Horsemen were sent, without their horses, to reinforce the infantry. Torrance landed on 16 May and later sustained a gunshot wound to his scalp on 9 August 1915 during the fighting around Ryrie’s Post, south of Lone Pine.
After they evacuated from Gallipoli, the 4th LH spent 1916 engaged in security patrols around the Suez Canal zone, a necessary, but hot and monotonous, duty. In late February 1917, the 4th LH Regiment was absorbed into the newly formed 4th LH Brigade, and Torrance’s unit was renamed the 4th Machine Gun Squadron.
In April 1917, the 4th LH moved into the Sinai desert to provide security for the railway lines and water pipes laid by the British as they advanced. The regiment fortunately missed the disastrous battles known as 1st and 2nd Gaza as they were in reserve. The third attempt on Gaza involved a flanking attack through a village called Beersheba, in southern Palestine. While the 4th LH took part in the famous cavalry charge on the town on 31 October 1917, the 4th LH machine gunners provided valuable covering fire against the Ottoman infantry.
In late April 1918, the 4th LH moved into the Jordan Valley, where they spent the northern summer. Many light horsemen regarded it as the worst period of the entire war, and over 200 men died of malaria alone in those months. On 14 July 1918, Torrance received a gunshot wound to his forearm and was evacuated back to Egypt. He returned on 30 August, just in time to take part in the great Megiddo offensive on 19 September 1918.
Only a week later, Torrance was hospitalised with influenza and returned to Egypt. He never rejoined his unit and he embarked for Australia on 15 November 1918, where he was discharged from the AIF on 22 February 1919.
Robert Wight, March 2024
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