Private Stanley Paul Vaughan

Rod Martin

The date of 8 August, and the days immediately before and after it, are significant in

Australian military history. In 1918, 8 August signified the beginning of the Allies'

big push against the Germans. It was so successful that German general Eric

Ludendorff described it as the 'Black Day' for the German Army. Three years earlier,

this particular period in the northern summer was punctuated by the Allies' greatest

offensive at Gallipoli since the 25 April landings. Actually designed as feints to draw

the Turks away from a planned British landing at Suvla Bay, the attacks by the

Anzacs at a number of points on the peninsula would, it was hoped, result in a

breakthrough towards the shores of the Dardanelles. Sadly, most of them were abject

failures, and have been symbolised by the disastrous charge of the light horsemen at

The Nek. Even the one success, at Lone Pine, was only won after a long and bitter

struggle that resulted in the deaths of many on each side. One of the many Australian

deaths, on 8 August, was Private Stanley Vaughan of Mangalore Street in Flemington.

Stan was among the multitude of men who rushed to the recruiting offices on the

outbreak of war in August 1914. A twenty year-old, he stood five feet six inches

(sixty-six centimetres), just making the cut. He must have been quite stocky because

he weighed sixty-seven kilos and he had quite a large chest measurement of ninety-

one to ninety-seven centimetres. Stan was an engineer with the Victorian Railways,

so he probably knew that his job would be held for him if and when he returned from

the war. And that would probably be quite soon, according to the propaganda being

spread in the newspapers. Many of the men besieging the recruiting offices were

probably keen to be involved before Christmas came and it was all over.

Stan was allocated to 6 Infantry Battalion. He trained at Broadmeadows and sailed on

A20 HMAT Hororata on 19 October 1914. The ship then joined a convoy at Albany

on 1 November and, together, the transports and their escorts headed for the Suez

Canal and, presumably, the conflict in France and Belgium.

Troops boarding HMAT Benalla (right) and HMAT Hororata at Port

Melbourne, 19 October 1914. (AWM C02793)

We now know, of course, that the troops were actually destined to land in Egypt,

defend the canal from possible Turkish attacks, and then prepare to land at Gallipoli

in an attempt to capture the Dardanelles Straits and knock Turkey out of the war.

This idea, championed by British First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill, had

been adopted by the British war cabinet while the troops were at sea, and it was

decided to send a combined force of British, French, Australian and New Zealand

troops to take the Gallipoli Peninsula and allow naval forces to sail through the

Bosporus and capture Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul).

Unfortunately, the war diary for 6 Battalion only begins in May 1915, so we have to

presume that its activities were much like those of similarly numbered battalions, such

as 'Pompey' Elliott's seventh. The men were based at the Mena camp, just outside

Cairo and near the pyramids, and were involved in route marches, patrols in the

desert, trench duty along the canal, and high jinks in the streets of Cairo. Just what

part Stan played in the latter we do not know. The fact that he was not accused of any

misdemeanour may mean that he behaved himself. However, he may have just been

lucky!

Mena Camp. 6 Battalion's tents are in the centre (AWM P06424.013)

7 Battalion landed at Gaba Tepe on the Gallipoli Peninsula some time in the morning

of 25 April, under heavy fire from the Turks. Also being a unit of 2 Australian

Brigade, 6 Battalion probably landed alongside it. The fact that some of the troops

were able to move successfully up the valleys and gullies and establish positions on

the ridges was an amazing achievement. Posts like Steele's, Courtney's and Quinn's

were taken and successfully held against severe Turkish opposition for the duration of

the campaign.

Quinn's Post (AWM A02009)

Like 2 Brigade's, 6 Battalion's surviving war diary does not begin until May 1915.

The reason for the former's lost materials is noted at the start of the diary: a

bombardment of the brigade's headquarters on 8 May injured or killed all of the

brigade's staff, and all documents 'appeared to have gone astray.' Perhaps 6

Battalion's completed diaries were among them. As for the men of the battalion, its

diary tells us that they were sent south early in the month to participate in one of the

saddest events in the generally sad Gallipoli story: the attacks at Krithia.

Being spurred on by commanding general Sir Ian Hamilton, the allied forces decided

to stage an attack on the village of Krithia, near Cape Helles, the southern tip of the

peninsula. The terrain there was much flatter than at the already named Anzac Cove,

and the capture of Krithia would provide the allies with a real chance of moving on to

the Dardanelles Straits. To bolster the British and French forces already at Helles,

2 Australian Brigade and a New Zealand one were transported south on 5 May.

6 Battalion's manpower stood at twenty-two officers and 703 other ranks.

Unfortunately for these men and their British, French and New Zealand counterparts,

the attack was commanded by an incompetent British major-general named Aylmer

Hunter-Weston. This man, described by Ross McMullin as 'inflexible, reckless and

tactically inept', asked his troops to attack uphill across a broad meadow, at the top of

which were reinforced Turkish trenches, replete with machine gun posts. The first

attack ended in a slaughter, none of the allied troops reaching their objective. Hunter-

Weston was not deterred by this, however. He ordered a second attack in the same

place, ignoring Hamilton's suggestion that it may be better to do it at night. The result

was the same: more allied troops killed. So what did Hunter-Weston do then? He

ordered a third attack across the same land! This time the Australians and New

Zealanders were involved. Stan and the rest of 6 Battalion advanced and dug in on 8

May, acting as support to the firing line. They had already suffered some casualties

as a result of stray bullets. At 5.20pm they were ordered to attack in ten minutes'

time, in company with 5 and 7 Battalions and a New Zealand unit. Their objective

was a hill at the rear of Krithia. The men advanced under very heavy shrapnel, rifle

and machine gun fire. Major Gordon Bennett described it as a 'screaming hurricane

of bullets.' A British major commented that

They were disembowelled. Their clothing caught fire, and their flesh hissed and

cooked before the burning rags could be torn off or beaten out . . .

Their pluck was titanic. They were not men but gods, demons infuriated. We

saw them fall by the score [but] not for one breath did the great line waver or

break . . . Our men . . . poured cheer after cheer after those wonderful Anzacs.

Charles Wheeler: Attack of the 2 Infantry Brigade at Krithia

(AWM ART 09558)

Losses were heavy, especially among officers. Nevertheless, they were able to

establish a new firing line about 600 metres in front of the original one. The men then

had to dig in, create dugouts and latrines, and search for water.

6 Battalion was finally relieved on the evening of 11 May by the Lancashire Fusiliers,

and it bivouacked behind the lines. Along with the other units involved, it had been

savagely mauled. Its strength was seven officers and 481 other ranks. It had lost

eighty-four killed and 122 wounded. 131 men were missing.

Fortunately for those still standing, no more attacks were ordered. 6 Battalion was

returned to Anzac Cove on 17 May, disembarking under a hail of shrapnel. The men

then spent the rest of the month standing to when a Turkish attack was suspected (it

did not happen) and then bivouacking and licking their wounds. 122 reinforcements

arrived on 28 May, but even they enjoyed a baptism of fire. While landing on the

beach, one man was killed by shrapnel and eight others wounded.

Being some 500 men below establishment, and many of those left standing being

ravaged by diseases such as dysentery, 6 Battalion, led by newly promoted

Lieutenant-Colonel Bennett (who was to become infamous as a general for escaping

to Australia from Singapore just before it fell to the Japanese in February 1942 and

leaving his troops behind), stayed in reserve for the whole of the month of June 1915

and much of July. Even so, the unit lost twenty killed and sixty-four wounded

before the end of the month. Everywhere was dangerous at Gallipoli.

The end of German Officers' Trench, looking towards Quinn's and Pope's Posts

(AWM G01919)

At the beginning of August, 6 Battalion received orders to move in preparation for an

assault on what was known as German Officers' Trench. British command had

decided to revitalise what was turning into a stalemate at Gallipoli. The idea was to

stage assaults at different points in the front line, hopefully capturing the high ground

at Chunuk Bair and hill 971. At the same time, the British would land a large force at

Suvla Bay, to the north. All the assaults would begin on 7 August, except two

diversionary ones at Lone Pine and German Officers' Trench, which would begin a

day earlier and hopefully draw off Turkish defenders from the high points directly

opposite the Australian posts. 6 Battalion was ordered to stage the attack at German

Officers' Trench. In preparation, a number of tunnels had been dug under the Turkish

trenches, and mines planted in three of them. The idea was that the mines would be

detonated, destroying some of the Turkish lines. Troops would then pour through the

other tunnels and race across No Man's Land, overwhelming the shell-shocked

Turkish survivors.

Well, it was good in theory. Unfortunately, the mines did little real damage, and the

Turks responded with a barrage that damaged some of the tunnels, making at least one

impassable because of the debris in it. Given that the attack was scheduled to begin at

midnight, the men needed to be able to see where they were going. As it was, because

of the darkness, most of the men were not in position by the required time, so the

Turks had even more time to consolidate their defences.

The attack finally began at half past twelve. Bennett describes what happened.

Immediately our men emerged from the tunnel enemy opened a heavy rifle

and machine gun fire on us. The wounded men attempted to return through

the openings they had just left thus causing a very serious block . . .

Communication along this forward firing line was impossible owing to the

darkness and to the block caused by wounded and dying men coming back

from the front. I found that to rush sufficient men in the hopes of getting

enough to capture THE GERMAN OFFICERS TRENCH was impossible -

there being practically no recesses clear for the men to set out from . . . the

attack [had] already stopped automatically.

Despite this chaos, Bennett was ordered to mount another attack. He gathered his

depleted forces together and cleared the way for another advance. The result was the

same as for the first effort. 'Bombs, rifle and machine gun fire made the ground

between the enemy and our trench impassable.' A number of men fell before they

even had a chance to get out of their tunnel.

Surely some of the men thought of Hunter-Weston when a ridiculous third order to

attack arrived. Bennett did his best to reorganise once again, but the order was

rescinded at the last moment. Common sense finally prevailed. Sadly, the lesson was

not repeated a few hours later when the Light Horse were sent over the top four times

at the Nek.

Aerial view of part of the Gallipoli Peninsula. German Officer's Trench is in the

middle of the photograph. (AWM RC04318)

The casualty list for 6 Battalion was eighteen killed, sixty-six wounded and sixty-two

missing. It is likely that Stan was included among the dead, as the next two days - 7-8

August - were spent in clearing up the broken trenches and removing the bodies.

Once found, he was probably recorded as dying on the eighth - and perhaps he did,

after laying wounded in a tunnel or beyond the trench for several hours. We do not

know for sure, as there are no Red Cross reports available.

Still only twenty-one years old, Stan was buried in Shrapnel Valley Cemetery.

(Commonwealth War Graves Commission)

Sources

Australian War Memorial

McMullin, Ross: Farewell, dear people, Melbourne, Scribe, 2012

National Archives Australia

Pedersen, Peter: The Anzacs: Gallipoli to the Western Front, Melbourne, Penguin,

2007