Story 1 - WW1 Signal Engineers
By
Denis Hare OAM BEM
Introduction
The Australia Army has the unique
distinction of having the first regularly formed signal unit, in the
late 1800’s, in the whole of the British Empire. After
the inception of the Commonwealth Forces, the “Australian Corps of
Signallers” was formed in 1906. The Corps consisted of
nine companies that were located in or near our major cities.
The Corps remained as a self-contained
unit until the introduction of universal training in 1911, when it
was merged with the Australian Engineers.
The story of the signal engineers in
WW1 is one of striving and achievement, of courage and of sacrifice.
Within visual distance of the Defence Force School of Signals at
Watsonia, the first signal engineer company was assembled and
trained at Broadmeadows at the outbreak of war in 1914.
Gallipoli
There, communications were the simple
forms of line telegraphy and telephony supplemented by visual
telegraphy, runners and pigeons.
Communication diagram for ANZAC
Corps at Gallipoli
As soon as they landed at Gallipoli on
25th April, they established a divisional signal office
and laid wires between the divisional headquarters and the advanced
brigades. By midnight, the Headquarters’ signallers sat with
telephones and message-forms, constantly in touch with the brigades.
The sappers were constantly exposed to
danger as they repaired telephone lines or were forced to show
themselves as they relayed messages manually. This manual signalling
was vital when the army moved too quickly to establish a telephone
network. They were also dispatch messengers and had to ride or run
with messages throughout the trenches.
The immaculate withdrawal from the
Peninsula was made possible by the courage and efficiency of our
signal engineers. The responsibility of the lines covering the
withdrawal on the nights of 18th and 19th
December 1915 was given to Captain Stanley Watson from the 2nd
Divisional Signal Company. Stanley and his men (three
sergeants and seventeen sappers) set to the task and on the 20th
December, Stanley sent the final signal: ‘Evacuation complete 3:45am
– casualties unknown’; he then left by the last lighter. He
was mentioned in dispatches for ‘distinguished and gallant services’
in the evacuation of Gallipoli.
Western Front
Then the inspiring victories of 1918,
when the signal expertise developed under the harsh conditions of
the previous two years fully met the demands of tactical penetration
and rapid movement.
Mesopotamia and Palestine
Nor were conditions in Mesopotamia and
Palestine less exacting, eighteen months in the extreme conditions
of the desert, then, after the battles of Gaza and Beersheba, the
advance on hard ground into Palestine and the ultimate defeat of the
enemy. Again the efficiency developed during the desert
campaign made possible effective communications to satisfy more
mobile operations.
Conclusion
Our signal engineers in WW1 earned a
grand reputation for efficiency and co-operation. They emerged
from the War with a high morale and
espirt de corps
developed during the most exacting type of active service.
All signal units separated from the Australian Corps of Engineers
with the Divisional organization of 1921 and in 1925, the Australian
Corps of Signals came into being.
This painting by Mr Ivor Hele, CBE
"Signals in Action 1914-1918" is dedicated to the Signal Engineers
who served during 1914-1918 War in Egypt, on Gallipoli, in France,
in Palestine and in Mesopotamia. The painting shows a
six-horse cable wagon laiding cable in the open at a hand gallop
near Beugnatre, France in 1917. The painting is located at the
Defence Force School of Signals (DFSS), Watsonia.
Presentation slides based on the above article highlighting the Signal Engineers at Gallipoli with additional information
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 Slide 18 |
