Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Lionel Simpson was born on the 16 October, 1890, at Nariel, Victoria. At the time of his birth his father, Edwin Charles (1858 to 1911), was 32 and his mother, Elizabeth, nee Bennetts (1865 to 1946), was 25. He would have three known siblings; Sydney Charles (1886 to 1967), Albert Ernest (1888 to 1890) and Mabel (1893 to 1977).

At the time Lionel enlisted on the 22 October, 1914, at Melbourne, he was a 24-year-old, single, carpenter, living in Alexandria in Victoria. Lionel was given the service number 840 and put on strength with the 4th Reinforcements for the 8th Light Horse.

Lionel’s description, as written in his attestation papers, has him standing at 5 feet and 6 inches (168 cm) tall and weighing 10 stone 4 lbs (65 kg). His complexion was given as fresh, eyes hazel and hair black. Lionel gave his religious denomination as Church of England.

After initial training at Broadmeadows, on the outskirts of Melbourne, Lionel and the rest of his unit embarked on HMAT A18 Wiltshire at Port Melbourne on the 13 March, 1915. He would disembark at Suez on the 14 May, 1915, and be sent to the Light Horse training camps at Giza, underneath the shadows of the Great Pyramids.

While at Gallipoli, Lionel would take part in the infamous charge of the 8th Light Horse against Turkish Forces holding the Nek on the 7 August, 1915. Lionel would become the last survivor of the charge and recalled his part in the action in a television interview in 1988:

“I was holding one end of this plank and my cobber was holding the other end. I pulled away and wondered why it was so heavy. He (my cobber) got shot in the leg; in fact, it was the knee. I could see the knee coming out with the machine gun bullets. I was going along when a bullet hit me in the left shoulder - it didn’t stop me, because it went it and bounced out. The men seemed to be falling behind me … I was in front and I could see a chap about three yards in front of me. He fell down and I thought ‘It’s time to get out”.

The action at the Nek lasted approximately 45 minutes and in that time 234 Australian Light Horsemen from Victoria and Western Australia were killed and a further 138 wounded.

Two months after the fateful attack at the Nek, Lionel was taken by ship to be admitted to No. 1 Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis, suffering from pleurisy. This, along with a bout of influenza, would see Lionel remain in a number of hospitals and convalescent camps for the next two months. This would not be the only time that Lionel was admitted to hospital during his time in Egypt. His service records show a number of illnesses, such as influenza and tonsillitis, that would see him confined to hospitals in Egypt.

Lionel would receive a number of promotions during his enlistment. In June of 1916, he was transferred to the 1st Field Squadron, Anzac Mounted Engineers. Soon after arriving here he was promoted to Lance Corporal. A few months later he was promoted to Corporal while being a member of the 3rd Field Engineers and later still, after a transfer to the 1st Field Engineers, he would be promoted to Sergeant.

The Field Squadron Engineers played an integral part in the desert campaign, supporting the Light Horse Brigades in many ways. Tasks included bridge and road construction and repair, repair (or demolition) of railways and the ever-present task of locating water and ensuring that sufficient is supplied to Brigades. The image on the previous page shows a horse saddled with a rack and equipment used by Field Squadron Engineers to establish and maintain water supplies to troops and horses.

During his time in the war he received four medals. The first one was the 1914/15 Star, the second was the British War Medal and the third was the Victory Medal. The last one was the Distinguished Conduct Medal. This last medal was for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. The Official citation for the awarded stated;

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. During a period of three months, he has performed consistent good work and has rendered valuable service, especially in connection with the development of water supply, a task which was successfully accomplished, thanks to his energy and resources.

The Armistice, in November of 1918, would find Lionel once more in hospital, this time in Moascar. He was not discharged until late January of the following year. On the 1 April, 1919, Lionel embarked on the HMAT Caledonia at Port Said bound for leave in the United Kingdom. He would be granted two extensions to his leave. At this time, the AIF was developing an education program for its members to allow them to gain experience in certain skills that they would need once they had been discharged from the army and also to provide thousands of soldiers with something to do. It would take some time to procure sufficient transport ships to send all the boys home! Lionel chose to further develop his carpentry skills and enrolled in a joining and cabinet making course.

It would be September 1919 before Lionel arrived back in Melbourne on the SS Port Denison. Electoral roll information shows that Lionel lived in the Bacchus Marsh area, in Victoria. On the 19 October, 1926, Lionel married Enid Eileen Land at Wodonga. They would have two sons during their marriage, the first, John Lionel (1928 to 2011) being born at Corryong, Victoria.

With the advent of the Second World War, Lionel once again enlisted to do his ‘bit’ for King and Country. He joined the Citizen Military Forces at Bacchus Marsh and was given the service number V361208.

Enid would pass away at Bacchus Marsh on the 5 May, 1982. Lionel would live for a further nine years passing away of the 25 July, 1991, also at Bacchus Marsh, at the age of 100.

Extract from "Light Horsemen of the Upper Murray", Year 5 and 6 Project, Corryong College.