Beersheba memorial unveiled in Sydney
Descendants of Australian Light Horsemen who served in Palestine joined NSW Special Minister of State Anthony Roberts, Reserve Forces Day Council (RFDC) members – and even a NSW Mounted Police Unit horse recently renamed "Beersheba" – at the unveiling of a plaque in Sydney on October 31 commemorating the Charge of Beersheba.
DESCENDANTS of Australian Light Horsemen who served in Palestine joined NSW Special Minister of State Anthony Roberts, Reserve Forces Day Council (RFDC) members – and even a NSW Mounted Police Unit horse recently renamed “Beersheba” – at the unveiling of a plaque in Sydney on October 31 commemorating the Charge of Beersheba.
Installed onto the restored Memorial to the Australian Light Horse at the northern corner of the Royal Botanic Garden, the plaque’s inscription is dedicated to the “memory of the gallant men and horses of the 4th and 12th Light Horse regiments that took part in the Charge and those who made the supreme sacrifice”.
A special welcome was made to 89-year-old Sydneysider John Cox, who wore the Distinguished Conduct Medal awarded to his late father, Arthur “Jack” John Cox of the 4th Light Horse regiment, for his brave actions during the Charge.
“I feel very proud to be here,” he told The AJN. “My father was riding at full gallop when he made a sudden right hand towards a group of about 10 Turks he’d spotted trying to set up a machine gun,” Cox said.
“He shot the main [Turkish] officer and the others threw up their hands in surrender.
“What all these blokes had to deal with fighting the Turks in the Sinai-Palestine campaign – 107 degree daytime temperatures, freezing nights, and only a small water bottle to last up to 48 hours – was remarkable.”
Sue Monkhouse was presented at the ceremony with a commemorative medal in honour of her late father Walter Pilton and his brother Percy, who both served in the 12th Light Horse regiment during the Charge of Beersheba.
“I still have my father’s Australian Light Horse badge. He didn’t talk about it much, but used to say when you were given a container full of water, at least half went to your horse and you had what was left.”
Sydney’s Ian Rosenbaum presented a card on behalf of the Slutzkin family, which was recited at the ceremony by RFDC NSW deputy chairman John Moore.
It read “in memory of the horses who never returned, in memory of our great uncle, signalman Morris Israel of the Australian Light Horse who fought in Gallipoli and the Palestine campaign … and in memory of our great uncle and aunt, Lasar and Rose Slutzkin, who provided their home in Rehovot, Israel, to Lieutenant General Harry Chauvel for use by the Anzac forces as headquarters”.
Anthony Roberts MP said “while history records a decisive and compelling victory, we must not forget the incredible challenges these men faced.
“We solemnly remember the 31 Light Horsemen who died in the Charge, the 36 wounded, and we also remember the Ottoman forces who died that day, and at least 70 horses that were killed.”
SHANE DESIATNIK
Full Beersheba coverage is in this week’s AJN commemorative issue
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