ANZAC DAY - a family history

[Ken Gargett]

i see rob has posted about anzac day - a sacred day for aussies and kiwis.

i know that a great many of our members have either served or are serving or have friends or family that have.

apols for the personal note to this but i thought that i might post a copy of an article that i believe was in the bundaberg press (city north of brizzy for those not familiar). it relates to my grandfather (on mum's side) and his brothers. four of them all off to WWI.

BUNDABERG'SFOUR TOFT BROTHERS

Cecil,Percy, Arthur and Clarence Toft were born and educated in Bundaberg.Their father, John, was a local Bundaberg businessman. Allvolunteered to serve in World War One.

Clarenceserved with the Royal Australian Navy aboard the HMAS MELBOURNE,patrolling the seas around England.

Histhree older brothers served with the local Fouth Militia Battalion,while Percy was a senior cadet for four years.

Percyenlisted in October 1914, Cecil in June 1915 and Arthur in June 1916.Arthur had defective eyesight, but, by his turn in the queue, withhelp from his mates,he could recite them from memory.

Theywere all privates on enlistment. Percy rose to be a Captain in 1917,and Cecil Lieutenant in 1918.

Percylanded with 15^thBattalion at Gallipoli onthe night of 25 April. His battalion occupied the most dangerous partof the front line, Quinn's Post, vital ground for both sides. Bothsides were ordered to hold it at all cost, and occupied trenches upto 25 yards apart for the whole of the campaign! The Turks alwaysheld the dominating high ground, and could snipe at any time fromdifferent directions.For the Anzacs, it was, literally, a death trap.

Percywas a Platoon runner for 2^ndLieutenant Fred Youden, alsofrom Bundaberg. Their Regimental Medical Officer was Captain GuyLuther, a well-respected doctor from West Bundaberg. Percy was shotby a sniper in May, and evacuated from Gallipoli for hospitalisation.He returned in October and was promoted Platoon Sergeant.

BothYouden and Luther were killed by snipers in the planned Augustoffensive, Luther, while recovering some of his wounded men.

Cecil,served at Gallipoli from September, and he and Percy were evacuatedto Egypt in December. Both arrived in France in April 1916. Cecil waspromoted to Platoon Sergeant.

Duringthe horrific fighting on the Somme in 1916, Percy was awarded aMilitary Medal for outstanding bravery, and promoted to Lieutenant,Platoon Commander.

Duringthe 1917 Allied Advance in August, 1917, Percy was awarded theMilitary Cross for his great dash and enterprise in capturing anenemy advanced post causing casualties to our front line troops.

Duringthat Advance, Arthur was wounded and evacuated to England forrecovery. By early 1918, Cecil was promoted Second Lieutenant,Platoon Commander, while Percy was given command of a company inFrance.

InApril 1918, Percy was awarded a Bar to his Military Cross for beatingoff an enemy raid of considerable strength, and driving them from thefront before they could establish machine guns. He did this underheavy bombardmant at times and caused heavy enemy casualties.

InJuly 1918 the three brothers were together for the first time andfought in the battle of Le Hamel. Unfortunately Cecil was killedinstantly, by a sniper's bullet, on the morning of the attack. Hiscompany commander wrote to his father:

"Cecilwas in charge of two platoons, and was to capture an enemy strongpoint, which he did successfully, but your son had fallen almost onthe strong point itself. He was as ever, cheery and confident, and weknew with him in charge, there could be no doubt about the issue. Hewas a man in every sense of the word, and his fine personality andgentlemanly qualities were acknowledged by all. He was generallyrecognised as one of the best soldiers in the Battalion. He wasburied on the spot where he fell, just on the outskirts ofVilliers-Bretonneux."

InAugust 1918, Arthur was awarded a Military Medal. "Duringoperations, while clearing several German dug-outs, he rushed onedug-out, killed two of the occupants, and took the remaining sixprisoners. Hehas always displayed remarkable courage and coolness."

Arthurwas certainly not a bragger. In his diary, he wrote "we had a steephill to climb, then a big wood to go through. A few Huns in the woodstarted firing at us. They were soon dispensed with."

Theirdevotion to duty and outstanding bravery, under the most horrendousconditions of World War One, were outstanding.

Theirstory illustrates the wisdom of promoting soldiers who displayedbravery under fire, knowing that their men would be confident intheir leadership. No doubt Arthur would have also been promoted hadthe war not ended so soon.

BothPercy and Arthur volunteered to serve during World War Two. Percy waspromoted to Major, and Arthur to Lieutenant.

Theirrelatives, loved ones, the Bundaberg community, and Australia, can bejustly proud to have been represented by such noble men as these Toftbrothers.

arthur was my grandfather. he died when i was quite young but i do remember him. a lovely old man, almost completely bald, always very patient. my grandmother outlived him by many years and i remember her telling me that he had actually been offered promotion on several occasions during WWI but always knocked it back. he had come into the war with his mates and would stick with them.

anyone from that region, or involved with the sugar industry around the globe, would recognise the name, toft. it was two of the toft brothers (not any of these i believe) who invented the harvesters used around the world.

on dad's side, my grandfather would have only been 17 or 18 by the end of the war. i have no idea if he was involved. by WWII, he was one of brizzy's leading architects and was co-opted as a "consultant" to general macarthur, who had his HQ in brizzy. no idea exactly what role he played (we recently found old plans turning one of the brizzy schools into a hospital so i guess that is a clue). i believe he was most grumpy at not being able to fight. i do remember being told about a jeep that overturned in an accident with him in it. never found out if macarthur was with them. i suspect not, but apparently he spent quite a bit of time with him when he was here.

dad was hugely frustrated that he could not join the navy but he was only about 15 when the war finished.

he lost two uncles in fighting and was very close to both. one was the rear gunner in a lancaster or wellington?? and shot down over the bering straights, i think. i do remember when i was much younger that we visited the war memorials in copenhagen on a family holiday and found his grave. apparently, very few of the planes shot down were recovered but this one was.

his other uncle was ken, after whom i was named. he was killed on the kokoda trail in PNG. as far as the family knew, he was simply buried by the side of the track. a decade or so ago, when i was still a lawyer, i was in port moresby on work and one of the lawyers i was dealing with asked if i'd like to see the start of the kokoda trail. i'd always thought it was something that was way up in the highlands but it actually starts at the very edge of moresby. and that is where the famed aussie war cemetry is. when there, i actually did some research and discovered his grave. which was incredibly emotional for me but nothing like the reaction i got when i brought back photos for dad, his brother and their aunt.

to all who've served, and especially those who've made the ultimate sacrifice, the most grateful thanks. lest we forget.

[El Presidente]

Kudos Ken. A wonderful reflection.

Lest we forget.

[Munts]

Aye. Lest we forget.

I have quite a few Diggers in the family. From a great grandfather who was a Gallipoli as well (he survived the campaign) through to a cousin who has just finished his fourth tour of Afghanistan.

[Ken Gargett]

i should add that the article was not written by myself but one of their reporters.

[assassin]

That's quite special Ken, thanks for sharing.

[celtmick1984]

Ken, you have a very proud legacy.

Though not an Aussie or Kiwi, but a rebel colonist, I want to extend my regards to those who memorialize the memory of their forebears this day. It is the brave sacrifice of our fathers (and mothers) that built the world we all enjoy. May we honor their sacrifice by living lives they would be proud of and be tireless in preserving their legacy to us all, civilization. In that vein, I recommend this read. http://www.city-journal.org/html/11_4_what_we_have.html.

[AverageJoe83]

What a great read, thanks for sharing that.

[Chaki]

Very moving, thanks Ken for sharing

[braveheart655]

Us Turks have always held a high regard for Anzacs for commemorating and not forgetting their past. Although we were in opposite sides, every year Anzacs and Turks stay side by side watching the sun rise in Gelibolu. It's a special day for us as well since it also makes us remember how both sides suffered and how we're so different yet so alike...

The war took a lot out of both sides, but I'd like to believe that it also helped to bring us together.

[mazolaman]

That's a good sentiment Braveheart.

Interesting stuff Ken, and moving.

I guess most of us have family tales of relatives who left for an adventure, and if they came back, they were changed men.

Always worth remembering, shame we keep repeating.

Thanks Ken.

[frenchkiwi]

Always worth remembering, shame we keep repeating.

aye. me great grandfathers, uncles etc they all enjoyed the camaraderie and sometimes the travel but they wouldn't talk about the fighting. which is what it comes down to. the pox on all wars and those who start them. god save those who fight to defend and protect, wherever they are. The stupidity of Passchendaele, Gallipoli and the "world wars" is maddening. Mix it up with the courage of those who fought or healed in them, the naivety or idiocy of those who just wanted to play with guns and cruelty of torturers and mass murderers, the callousness of some generals, politicians, and corporations, the cruelty of others... and there you have it, a right tragic mess and parable of the human condition.

reminds me of a poem by rimbaud we did at primary school "le dormeur du val". and this one:

Dulce Et Decorum Est - Wilfred Owen

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,

Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,

Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs

And towards our distant rest began to trudge.

Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots

But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;

Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots

Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.

GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,

Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;

But someone still was yelling out and stumbling

And floundering like a man in fire or lime.--

Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light

As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,

He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace

Behind the wagon that we flung him in,

And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,

His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;

If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood

Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,

Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud

Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,--

My friend, you would not tell with such high zest

To children ardent for some desperate glory,

The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est

Pro patria mori.

[mazolaman]

There's nothing sadder than that.

It is recited most years on Armistice day, and it will always make me think, or realise the horror of it all.

[madandana]

Congrats.You must be very proud!