Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Joseph Thompson Hely
Enlisted 21 September 1915 – 14th Australian Field Ambulance – No 9604

Joe was barely 21 when he enlisted at Sydney Town Hall in September 1915 but he had plenty of experience having been in the cadets and in a local militia for 5 years. As he was a motor mechanic and driver for the Acme Motor Engineering Works at Drummoyne, he was taken on as a Driver and assigned to the 3rd Reinforcement of the 20th Company of the Army Service Corps (5th Motor Transport Company). He was a slight 5 foot 4 inches tall with brown hair and blue eyes. His nominated next of kin was his married sister, Lily Allerdice.
His unit left Sydney on 17 December 1915 on board the troopship Berrima. He arrived in Egypt in March 1916 and spent some time there, often transferring between Service Companies as the need arose. After he arrived in France in June 1916 he was transferred between the 14th, 24th and 27th Service Companies and then on 24 September 1916 he was placed with the 13th Australian Field Ambulance.
In February 1917, Joe was transferred to the 14th Australian Field Ambulance which operated under the 5th Division and he would stay there for the rest of the war. After leave in England for a month in September 1917 he spent some time on loan to the 8th Australian Field Ambulance before returning to the 14th. He was given another two weeks leave in March 1918 to visit Paris.
On 21 April 1918 a distinctive German triplane flying above the Somme engaged in a dogfight with a Canadian plane. As the German plane came close to the ground it was met by blasts of gunfire from the Australian soldiers on the ground. One bullet caught the pilot who had only enough time to crash land his plane before dying. Thus ended the life of Manfred von Richthofen, otherwise known as the Red Baron. It may be uncertain exactly which Australian fired the fatal shot but Joe was later acknowledged by some comrades as being the driver of the ambulance that took the body to the hospital. Joe was presented with a model of the Red Baron’s plane when he retired.
On 21 May 1918 during the Second Battle of Bullecourt Joe was caught in the open by an exploding gas shell and was poisoned by the gas but after a short recuperation he was soon back at the front.
When the Battle of Amiens commenced on 8 August 1918 with the push by the 2nd and 5th Divisions against the German line, Joe and his ambulance were in the thick of it. Later that month it was reported that:
“On the morning of 9th August 1918 during operations carried out by 5th and 2nd Aus. Divn’s East of Villers-Bretonneux, this soldier (ie Joe Hely) was evacuating wounded in a motor Ambulance car from the loading post East of Harbonnieres to the A.D.S. at Lamotte-en-Santerre. Although this village was being heavily shelled and two ambulance cars had been put out of action by enemy shell fire, he cheerfully continued his evacuation of the wounded under the most trying conditions until a safer route had been established. His conduct was gallant and he set a very fine example to his fellow drivers.
Again on the night 9/10th August 1918 he volunteered to assist in the evacuation of cases from the 1st Aus. Divn’l. Loading Posts, his own post being clear of wounded. He continued on duty in the forward area for 24 hours, continuously evacuating wounded through shelled areas, East of Harbonnieres to the 1st Aus. Divn’l. A.D.S. at Bayonvillers. Throughout the operations he has shown great coolness and devotion to duty”.
For these actions, Joe was recommended by his Colonel and the 5th Division’s commanding officer, Major General Hobbs, for the Military Medal. The award of the medal was formally gazetted in January 1919.
He was granted leave to England two days before the war ended on 11 November 1918 but while on leave he was admitted to the 3rd Scottish General Hospital at Glasgow suffering from influenza. He was then transferred to the 1st Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Harefield House (a former stately home near London taken over as a hospital). He was discharged on 23 December 1918 and continued his leave.
Joe had to wait his turn to return to Australia. He finally arrived home on 10 May 1919 and was formally discharged on 1 February 1920, the last of our family ANZACS to be discharged.
Many years later Joe contacted the Army to say that Sydney newspapers had reported he had been awarded the bar to the Military Medal (ie a second medal). The Army could find no paperwork to support Joe’s claim. Being awarded a bar was not uncommon - a stretcher bearer in the same 55th Battalion became the only person ever to be awarded the Military Medal and four bars.
Joe married Elsie in 1921 and had four children, including my mother. He died in 1984 at the age of 89, making him the longest living of all of our family ANZACS.

Glendon O'Connor 2015