Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

John Cavanagh was born 2 Nov 1897 near Kempsey, NSW and came to Wooroolin with his father, John Snr, and siblings in 1912 when he was 15 years old. The Cavanagh family had a farm at the end of what is now known as Quarry Rd – Lot 170v. His siblings were Mary, Catherine, Thomas, Annie, Peter, Elizabeth and Thomas.
The first photo found of young John Cavanagh was shared by Joyce Horne of the Wooroolin Town Band in 1913 where John is identified as Jim.
The Cavanagh family men were involved in the Wooroolin Football Club. John Cavanagh Snr was involved in the Football Committee whilst John Jnr was a player along with his brother Thomas and his Uncle Bernard Cavanagh. The 1918 photo also includes my grandfather Alf Jones.
John Cavanagh, 18 years old, enlisted in the 11th Light Horse Regiment, 11th Reinforcement on 24 Mar 1916 and on 22 Jul 1915 his unit embarked from Sydney, New South Wales, on board RMS Malwa. He was transferred to the 4th Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Squadron on 4 Mar 1917
The 11th Light Horse joined the forces defending the Suez Canal in July 1916. In ensuing months it conducted patrols and participated in several forays out into the Sinai Desert. In April 1917 the regiment moved into Palestine to join the main British and dominion advance. It joined its first major battle on 19 April when it attacked, dismounted, as part of the ill-fated second battle of Gaza.
With two frontal attacks on Gaza having failed, the next attempt to capture the Turkish bastion was a wide outflanking move via the town of Beersheba, launched on 31 October 1917. A deteriorating tactical situation late on the first day of the operation caused the 11th's sister regiments - the 4th and the 12th - to be unleashed on Beersheba at the gallop, an action which has gone down in history as the charge of Beersheba. The 11th, engaged on flank protection duties was too widely scattered to take part. Another charge was mounted by the 11th and 12th regiments against Turkish positions at Sheria on 7 November, but, confronted with heavy fire, the troopers were forced to dismount and eventually withdraw.
John received a Distinguished Conduct Medal in Apr 1918, Croix de Virtute Militara 1st Class, for distinguished and gallant services and devotion to duty.
Semakh was the regiment's last major operation of the war; the Turks surrendered on 30 October 1918. While awaiting to embark for home, the 11th Light Horse were called back to operational duty to quell the Egyptian revolt that erupted in March 1919; order was restored in little over a month. The Regiment sailed for home on 20 July 1919.
John Cavanagh returned to Australia 24 July 1919. He lived at Wooroolin where he worked as a farm labourer until sometime between 1930 and 1936 when John and his father and brother Peter moved to Mackay area where they had a cane farm. His nephew, Des Cumming, told me that Jack was a returned soldier from WW 1 (or the Great War 1914-1918, the war to end all wars) and was gassed during the war and died tragically on the farm on 10 Jul 1938 and is buried at Mackay Cemetery.
Lest We Forget