Francis Horatio Appleyard
The ninth of Arthur and Mary Appleyard's ten children, Francis was the first of
the Appleyard boys to sign up to the Great War, signing his enlistment papers
of August 18, 1914, two weeks after Australia entered the war.
Known to his family as Frank, he was only 5 when his father, Arthur Horatio, son of convict Peter died. Arthur had held numerous positions in the Alberton Shire from 1870 to 1898 and was the Shire Engineer when he caught the measles, leading to his early death at only 47.
Three of his brothers had died as children during a diphtheria epidemic in 1891 and the family had moved from Gelliondale to Alberton to escape the sadness of the home. Following the death of Arthur, Frank’s mother Mary, would lease out the rooms of her Alberton home to boarders to make money and ensure her children could continue their schooling.
In 1903 Frank was registered as living in Won Wron and working as a labourer. With his family well regarded in the area, and education in the region only accessible to Grade 6, it can be assumed that Frank would have quickly gained work as an 11 year old as soon as he had finished his schooling.
At the time of his enlistment, Frank 22 and was working as a painter and, following his enlistment in Alberton, was quickly assigned to the 2nd Field Company of Royal Engineers, leaving Australia on October 21.
Also known as sappers, engineers were vital to war operations, constructing lines of defence, bridges, tunnels and defences. In the muddy and shell ravaged ground of the Western Front, their work would prove invaluable.
One would imagine the closeness and respect the children had for their mother and the letters written to Mary from both Frank and Edgar show their desire to not have her worry about her boys fighting a war a long way from home with the letters focussing on the sights and the people and ensuring her that he was ok.
On the 17th of July, 1915, whilst convalescing in hospital in Alexandria, Frank would write to Mary, filling her in on his adventures.
“I will now take the opportunity of letting you know how I have been faring since leaving Australia on 21st October, 1914. We had a splendid trip over, and a bit of excitement was caused while passing Cocos Islands where Sydney sank the Emden. We did not see that action. We were too far away for that. We had the Captain and some of the officers and the crew of the Emden transferred to our boat where they were kept until we reached Port Said.
Our first port of call was Colombo where we took on a large supply of fruit and vegetables etc. We stayed there 48 hours. This was my first glimpse of an Oriental town and I was not impressed much by it. Of course, I never had time to go about the place very much but I think I would prefer the South Gippsland climate to the Colombo climate.
Our next port of call after leaving there was Aden which is a small place and very barren. The only things of any interest are the forts and the big wells that are there. There were a good number of troops stationed there. They were the Lancastershire Fusilier’s on their way home from India. They were patiently waiting for boats to take them home.
Up to this time we did not know where we were going but thought it was England although rumours got about that we were to train in Egypt. Our next stop after leaving Aden was Port Suez. We were not there for long. It was a rather pretty place. We took in a fresh supply of water there. We left the port at 4am and entered the canal. It was a very pretty sight there. We had to go through the canal at about 5 knots an hour.
We reached Port Said at daybreak the next morning, after having had a very interesting trip through the Suez Canal. There were a large number of troops stationed all along its banks preparing defence work. Coming into Port Said it is a peculiar sight. It is a dirty looking place but everybody appears to be working very hard. We had hardly stopped when a coal boat was alongside and the natives had gangways down and were pouring coal in the bunkers at a great rate. It is supposed to be one of the fastest coaling stations in the world. We unloaded about 300 tonnes of frozen meat here.
An Advance Guard went off here to go on by train to Cairo. This was our first official information that we were to land in Egypt. Our boat was to go on ahead of the rest of the transports.
After leaving Port Said we travelled at about 19knots to Alexandria where we were to disembark. We were all very glad to get off and on terra firma again. We had two days work unloading our boat. Then 20 of us went into a rest camp to wait for our horses which were in the Anglo Egyptian. We had to wait for eight days for the boat and in that time we saw all there was to be seen in that town.
Our horses turned up at last. We had to unload them and put them straight on a train. They were in grand fettle considering they had been eight weeks on a boat. We left for Cairo about 6pm, arriving there at 1am. We had unloaded our horses and gear and took them down to square in the barracks and stood by them until 6am when we started to walk to the camp, a distance of 9 miles. It was a good block road out to camp but of course, we were very soft and soon got wary. We had to lead four horses a piece and we used to get mixed up occasionally when we met a camel. The horses were very frightened of them.
We arrived at camp at 12 noon and fastened our horses to the lines that were ready for them. We were all as hungry as hunters but we could not get anything to eat until tea time at 5.30. We had had nothing to eat since dinner the previous day and as we were working all night you can bet our remarks about the army were not over pleasant. Our first week there was fairly easy. All we had to do was exercise our horses for two hours each morning. But as soon as our horses were fit and we were hard again, the work commenced and continued right through our few months stay at Menn.
It was fairly heavy work training there in the sand, and as the weather got hotter and the flies began to swarm around, you could hear some very strong remarks about Egypt and its surroundings. It is no doubt it is an interesting place for the tourist to visit with its pyramids, sphinx, mosques, buried cities etc but for troops who have been there continually for months and with not much chance of seeing places recognised as the beauty spots of Egypt, such as Assouan, Luxor etc, it gets monotonous.
Well word came around in April that we should soon be on the move. Of course, everybody forgot their troubles and looked forward to the order of the packing. The 3rd Brigade (1st Division) were the first to go and on Easter Sunday we got orders to pack our kits and get ready to move off from camp at 8,30pm. At 9am we left for Cairo, saying goodbye to Mena camp, pyramids, sphinx etc and hoping we would never see them again.
We arrived in Cairo on Easter Monday morning at 1.30am and put our horses, wagons and gear on the train and started for Alexandria, reaching there at 10am. We found our transport was one of the B and I passenger boats. We unloaded our horses and wagons and got them on board by 12 o’clock. We fed our horses and had the afternoon off to get a bit of sleep; but sleep was out of the question.
We all went to have what we thought would be our last look around the town. On the Wednesday we cast off from the pier and headed off for the north.
We arrived in Mudros Harbour on the following Friday. There were a good few transports in the bay, also there was part of the fighting squadron that was operating in the Dardanelles which is only about 60 miles away. This island (Lemnos) was once a Turkish possession but the inhabitants are nearly all Greek. I do not know who the rightful owners of it were. It is a splendid island, very fertile. The were some fine crops on it, mostly barley and herceim (something like lucerne). I got leave and went ashore here and had a good look around.
There was a fine hospital there then, also a French and Australian camp. The Australians that were there were part of the 3rd Brigade that had arrived ahead of us. Transports containing Allied Troops kept coming into the harbour every day.
I went ashore a week later to look for two prisoners, and the harbour viewed from the hill behind the village looked beautiful. All of the transports were in lines, and at the entrance to the harbour, the cruisers, submarines and battleships were lined up (including the Queen Elizabeth). It was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. There were the great Cunard liners, and the other large boats all turned into troop ships.
A boat that interested a great many was the Ark Royal, a boat specially fitted to carry sea planes and we had some very good exhibitions of flying. The seaplane is a wonderful machine and has proved itself a very useful thing for locating batteries etc.
After being in Mudros Harbour for a fortnight we pulled up anchor one afternoon and steamed out of harbour towards Gallipoli. We dropped anchor in a harbour not very far from Gallipoli. All of our transports steamed up and anchored near us. We were all paraded and served out with 100 rounds of ammunition and our OC gave us our final instructions. He pointed out the fact that we would be an allied force, therefore one has to be very careful as regards the giving away of information that may be very useful to the enemy (that is to strangers).
Well, at 4 am the next morning, the 25th of April, we have moved within 500 yards from the shore. The troops on all the transports were on parade, and then the 3rd Brigade were the first to get on a destroyer and in the boats that were to take them ashore.
At 4.30 the first boat landed, and the first lot got ashore without mishap and were fairly ashore before being discovered by the Turks in the trenches on the beach. There, a rapid fire was opened by the Turks but most of their shots went high in the uncertain light. Then some alarm lights were sent up by the Turks. Their fort on the right then opened an incessant shrapnel fire over the land lag parties. In the meantime, our troops at the point of the bayonet had cleared the foremost trenches of the Turks and were chasing them up the hill that rose up from the beach.
This was difficult work, as the hill was about 400ft high, fairly steep, and covered with dense undergrowth which proved a splendid cover for Turkish snipers who accounted for a lot of our casualties.
At 6.45 our troops had gained the second ridge and were still gaining ground. But here was the mistake. Through being too eager, they had advanced too far, and consequently cut off their own supplies, and when the Turks made a counterattack on their flank they were forced to retire with a great many casualties. In the meantime, two of the cruisers that were covering the landing parties opened fire on the fort to the right of us and continued firing heavy salvos until it was demolished.
Wounded troops were now being taken from the shore to the hospital boats. It was a difficult task at first and every suitable transport that a few hours previous had carried so many men, light-hearted and eager for fight were being rapidly fitted up for receiving wounded men. Our transport was being used for this purpose.
We had about 250 horses on our boat. It was impossible to land them, so they decided to send them back her to Egypt till they were wanted.
A few men that were left in charge went ashore of their own accord but were sent back before the transport left. On the Wednesday they started landing our transport with wounded troops and this continued till Thursday night. On Friday, we who went ashore were sent back to the boat after spending five days on Gallipoli, but we did not see much of the fighting. We were kept busy at headquarters and not allowed to leave there.
On Friday we steamed off and reached Alexandria at 5am Monday morning. The wounded were taken off and some sent to Cairo by hospital train and the rest sent to various hospitals in Alexandria. Our horses and gear were unloaded and taken to the rest camp, yet, I caught a cold on Gallipoli and got bronchitis and enteric fever.
I am in a splendid hospital here. I have been here 11 weeks today and am being transferred to England this week. This hospital is run by the English Government. There are a good number of Australian nurses here who are under the Imperial rule. They landed here from Australia about the 20th June. They really deserve great credit for the work they are doing here.
Well, I have just about run out now and it will take a censor a week to read this so I will close now hoping you are in good health. I have kept a good diary of our doings so if things go alright with me and I get back it may prove of interest to you.”
In November 1915 Frank was invalided to England, George’s Hospital in Stamford and would remain in England for the duration of the war.
Initially assigned to the 2nd field company of engineers reaching the rank of Senior Sargent, by June 1916, Frank was working under the Australian Army Ordnance Corps based at Tidworth in Wiltshire, England. Tidworth was the headquarters for the AIF in the UK from mid-1916 with many Australians based at camps throughout Wiltshire during the war.
In December 1917, almost 12 months before the end of the war, Frank would be discharged for defective vision, returning home in February 1918.
Known to his family as Frank, he was only 5 when his father, Arthur Horatio, son of convict Peter died. Arthur had held numerous positions in the Alberton Shire from 1870 to 1898 and was the Shire Engineer when he caught the measles, leading to his early death at only 47.
Three of his brothers had died as children during a diphtheria epidemic in 1891 and the family had moved from Gelliondale to Alberton to escape the sadness of the home. Following the death of Arthur, Frank’s mother Mary, would lease out the rooms of her Alberton home to boarders to make money and ensure her children could continue their schooling.
In 1903 Frank was registered as living in Won Wron and working as a labourer. With his family well regarded in the area, and education in the region only accessible to Grade 6, it can be assumed that Frank would have quickly gained work as an 11 year old as soon as he had finished his schooling.
At the time of his enlistment, Frank 22 and was working as a painter and, following his enlistment in Alberton, was quickly assigned to the 2nd Field Company of Royal Engineers, leaving Australia on October 21.
Also known as sappers, engineers were vital to war operations, constructing lines of defence, bridges, tunnels and defences. In the muddy and shell ravaged ground of the Western Front, their work would prove invaluable.
One would imagine the closeness and respect the children had for their mother and the letters written to Mary from both Frank and Edgar show their desire to not have her worry about her boys fighting a war a long way from home with the letters focussing on the sights and the people and ensuring her that he was ok.
On the 17th of July, 1915, whilst convalescing in hospital in Alexandria, Frank would write to Mary, filling her in on his adventures.
“I will now take the opportunity of letting you know how I have been faring since leaving Australia on 21st October, 1914. We had a splendid trip over, and a bit of excitement was caused while passing Cocos Islands where Sydney sank the Emden. We did not see that action. We were too far away for that. We had the Captain and some of the officers and the crew of the Emden transferred to our boat where they were kept until we reached Port Said.
Our first port of call was Colombo where we took on a large supply of fruit and vegetables etc. We stayed there 48 hours. This was my first glimpse of an Oriental town and I was not impressed much by it. Of course, I never had time to go about the place very much but I think I would prefer the South Gippsland climate to the Colombo climate.
Our next port of call after leaving there was Aden which is a small place and very barren. The only things of any interest are the forts and the big wells that are there. There were a good number of troops stationed there. They were the Lancastershire Fusilier’s on their way home from India. They were patiently waiting for boats to take them home.
Up to this time we did not know where we were going but thought it was England although rumours got about that we were to train in Egypt. Our next stop after leaving Aden was Port Suez. We were not there for long. It was a rather pretty place. We took in a fresh supply of water there. We left the port at 4am and entered the canal. It was a very pretty sight there. We had to go through the canal at about 5 knots an hour.
We reached Port Said at daybreak the next morning, after having had a very interesting trip through the Suez Canal. There were a large number of troops stationed all along its banks preparing defence work. Coming into Port Said it is a peculiar sight. It is a dirty looking place but everybody appears to be working very hard. We had hardly stopped when a coal boat was alongside and the natives had gangways down and were pouring coal in the bunkers at a great rate. It is supposed to be one of the fastest coaling stations in the world. We unloaded about 300 tonnes of frozen meat here.
An Advance Guard went off here to go on by train to Cairo. This was our first official information that we were to land in Egypt. Our boat was to go on ahead of the rest of the transports.
After leaving Port Said we travelled at about 19knots to Alexandria where we were to disembark. We were all very glad to get off and on terra firma again. We had two days work unloading our boat. Then 20 of us went into a rest camp to wait for our horses which were in the Anglo Egyptian. We had to wait for eight days for the boat and in that time we saw all there was to be seen in that town.
Our horses turned up at last. We had to unload them and put them straight on a train. They were in grand fettle considering they had been eight weeks on a boat. We left for Cairo about 6pm, arriving there at 1am. We had unloaded our horses and gear and took them down to square in the barracks and stood by them until 6am when we started to walk to the camp, a distance of 9 miles. It was a good block road out to camp but of course, we were very soft and soon got wary. We had to lead four horses a piece and we used to get mixed up occasionally when we met a camel. The horses were very frightened of them.
We arrived at camp at 12 noon and fastened our horses to the lines that were ready for them. We were all as hungry as hunters but we could not get anything to eat until tea time at 5.30. We had had nothing to eat since dinner the previous day and as we were working all night you can bet our remarks about the army were not over pleasant. Our first week there was fairly easy. All we had to do was exercise our horses for two hours each morning. But as soon as our horses were fit and we were hard again, the work commenced and continued right through our few months stay at Menn.
It was fairly heavy work training there in the sand, and as the weather got hotter and the flies began to swarm around, you could hear some very strong remarks about Egypt and its surroundings. It is no doubt it is an interesting place for the tourist to visit with its pyramids, sphinx, mosques, buried cities etc but for troops who have been there continually for months and with not much chance of seeing places recognised as the beauty spots of Egypt, such as Assouan, Luxor etc, it gets monotonous.
Well word came around in April that we should soon be on the move. Of course, everybody forgot their troubles and looked forward to the order of the packing. The 3rd Brigade (1st Division) were the first to go and on Easter Sunday we got orders to pack our kits and get ready to move off from camp at 8,30pm. At 9am we left for Cairo, saying goodbye to Mena camp, pyramids, sphinx etc and hoping we would never see them again.
We arrived in Cairo on Easter Monday morning at 1.30am and put our horses, wagons and gear on the train and started for Alexandria, reaching there at 10am. We found our transport was one of the B and I passenger boats. We unloaded our horses and wagons and got them on board by 12 o’clock. We fed our horses and had the afternoon off to get a bit of sleep; but sleep was out of the question.
We all went to have what we thought would be our last look around the town. On the Wednesday we cast off from the pier and headed off for the north.
We arrived in Mudros Harbour on the following Friday. There were a good few transports in the bay, also there was part of the fighting squadron that was operating in the Dardanelles which is only about 60 miles away. This island (Lemnos) was once a Turkish possession but the inhabitants are nearly all Greek. I do not know who the rightful owners of it were. It is a splendid island, very fertile. The were some fine crops on it, mostly barley and herceim (something like lucerne). I got leave and went ashore here and had a good look around.
There was a fine hospital there then, also a French and Australian camp. The Australians that were there were part of the 3rd Brigade that had arrived ahead of us. Transports containing Allied Troops kept coming into the harbour every day.
I went ashore a week later to look for two prisoners, and the harbour viewed from the hill behind the village looked beautiful. All of the transports were in lines, and at the entrance to the harbour, the cruisers, submarines and battleships were lined up (including the Queen Elizabeth). It was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. There were the great Cunard liners, and the other large boats all turned into troop ships.
A boat that interested a great many was the Ark Royal, a boat specially fitted to carry sea planes and we had some very good exhibitions of flying. The seaplane is a wonderful machine and has proved itself a very useful thing for locating batteries etc.
After being in Mudros Harbour for a fortnight we pulled up anchor one afternoon and steamed out of harbour towards Gallipoli. We dropped anchor in a harbour not very far from Gallipoli. All of our transports steamed up and anchored near us. We were all paraded and served out with 100 rounds of ammunition and our OC gave us our final instructions. He pointed out the fact that we would be an allied force, therefore one has to be very careful as regards the giving away of information that may be very useful to the enemy (that is to strangers).
Well, at 4 am the next morning, the 25th of April, we have moved within 500 yards from the shore. The troops on all the transports were on parade, and then the 3rd Brigade were the first to get on a destroyer and in the boats that were to take them ashore.
At 4.30 the first boat landed, and the first lot got ashore without mishap and were fairly ashore before being discovered by the Turks in the trenches on the beach. There, a rapid fire was opened by the Turks but most of their shots went high in the uncertain light. Then some alarm lights were sent up by the Turks. Their fort on the right then opened an incessant shrapnel fire over the land lag parties. In the meantime, our troops at the point of the bayonet had cleared the foremost trenches of the Turks and were chasing them up the hill that rose up from the beach.
This was difficult work, as the hill was about 400ft high, fairly steep, and covered with dense undergrowth which proved a splendid cover for Turkish snipers who accounted for a lot of our casualties.
At 6.45 our troops had gained the second ridge and were still gaining ground. But here was the mistake. Through being too eager, they had advanced too far, and consequently cut off their own supplies, and when the Turks made a counterattack on their flank they were forced to retire with a great many casualties. In the meantime, two of the cruisers that were covering the landing parties opened fire on the fort to the right of us and continued firing heavy salvos until it was demolished.
Wounded troops were now being taken from the shore to the hospital boats. It was a difficult task at first and every suitable transport that a few hours previous had carried so many men, light-hearted and eager for fight were being rapidly fitted up for receiving wounded men. Our transport was being used for this purpose.
We had about 250 horses on our boat. It was impossible to land them, so they decided to send them back her to Egypt till they were wanted.
A few men that were left in charge went ashore of their own accord but were sent back before the transport left. On the Wednesday they started landing our transport with wounded troops and this continued till Thursday night. On Friday, we who went ashore were sent back to the boat after spending five days on Gallipoli, but we did not see much of the fighting. We were kept busy at headquarters and not allowed to leave there.
On Friday we steamed off and reached Alexandria at 5am Monday morning. The wounded were taken off and some sent to Cairo by hospital train and the rest sent to various hospitals in Alexandria. Our horses and gear were unloaded and taken to the rest camp, yet, I caught a cold on Gallipoli and got bronchitis and enteric fever.
I am in a splendid hospital here. I have been here 11 weeks today and am being transferred to England this week. This hospital is run by the English Government. There are a good number of Australian nurses here who are under the Imperial rule. They landed here from Australia about the 20th June. They really deserve great credit for the work they are doing here.
Well, I have just about run out now and it will take a censor a week to read this so I will close now hoping you are in good health. I have kept a good diary of our doings so if things go alright with me and I get back it may prove of interest to you.”
In November 1915 Frank was invalided to England, George’s Hospital in Stamford and would remain in England for the duration of the war.
Initially assigned to the 2nd field company of engineers reaching the rank of Senior Sargent, by June 1916, Frank was working under the Australian Army Ordnance Corps based at Tidworth in Wiltshire, England. Tidworth was the headquarters for the AIF in the UK from mid-1916 with many Australians based at camps throughout Wiltshire during the war.
In December 1917, almost 12 months before the end of the war, Frank would be discharged for defective vision, returning home in February 1918.
Francis Horatio Appleyard
Born: December 4, 1892, Alberton, Victoria
Died: December, 1962, Heidelberg, Victoria
Relationship with Peter: Grandson
Born: December 4, 1892, Alberton, Victoria
Died: December, 1962, Heidelberg, Victoria
Relationship with Peter: Grandson
Image: Members of No. 2 Field Company, Royal Australian Engineers, land on the beach at 6.30am. Most are waiting to disembark from the ship's boats, while the first troops jump onto the beach and make their way towards the remainder of the landing party seen in the background. Reflections from the bayonets of men of the recently landed 7th Battalion can be seen in the distant left as they advance up a gully .
Photographer: Cyril Oscar Lawrence
Date: 25 April 1915
Source: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C300808?image=1
Date: 25 April 1915
Source: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C300808?image=1
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