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20.01.2022 In an effort to rebuild the 3rd Light Horse Brigade after the withdrawal from Gallipoli in December 1915, the GOC, Brigadier General Antill turned to music to assist in the bonding process. Selecting the music to the popular American Civil War tune, "Marching through Georgia", was the easy part. To play the tune, the 8th Light Horse Regiment band was reconstituted and began rehearsing on 12 January 1916. Within in two days, the band gave their first performance. To generate additional enthusiasm, on 16 January 1916, Antill announced a competition for an aspiring poet within the Brigade to put words to the tune which were distinctly Australian. As an added incentive, a prize of one guinea [1/1/- or in 2008 AUD, about $420] was offered for the best entry. The prize was claimed a week later.

19.01.2022 Horses used in the First World War (Walers) Walers were the type of horse used by light horsemen in the campaign in the Middle East during the First World War. The light horse combined the mobility of cavalry with the fighting skills of infantry. They fought dismounted, with rifles and bayonets. However, sometimes they charged on horseback, notably at Magdhaba and Beersheba. The smallest unit of a light horse regiment was the four-man section: one holding the horses while the... other three fought. The horses were called Walers because, although they came from all parts of Australia, they were originally sold through New South Wales. They were sturdy, hardy horses, able to travel long distances in hot weather with little water. Horses usually need to drink about 30 litres of water a day. However, during the campaign they often went for up to 60 hours without water, while carrying a load of almost 130 kilograms, comprising rider, saddle, equipment, food, and water. At the end of the First World War Australians had 13,000 surplus horses which could not be returned home for quarantine reasons. Of these, 11,000 were sold, the majority as remounts for the British Army in India (as was the case with this horse) and two thousand were cast for age or infirmity.

17.01.2022 'Sandy's Head' - General Bridges' Charger Sandy, the only horse to return of those that left Australia for active service with the AIF. This display case shows its original installation at the Australian War Museum. Courtesy Australian War Memorial

16.01.2022 Only one came back Just one horse out of approx. 130,000 sent away to the First World War returned to Australia. According to Professor Ernest Scott, author of the volume of the official history dealing with the Australian home front, the sole exception was said to have been the charger of General Bridges, a horse known as Sandy.

14.01.2022 Three or four incidents took place where surrendered Turks changed their minds. One rolled a grenade at Lieutenant Ben Meredith of C Squadron and 'blew him to bits'. The Turkish soldier was immediately bayoneted. In one incident, Armourer Staff-Sergeant Arthur Cox of Bendigo saw a machine-gun being hurriedly dismounted from a mule by its crew. 'In a minute it would have been in action at close range'. Cox dashed at the party alone, bluffed them into surrender, and took forty ...prisoners. Altogether 738 prisoners were taken. Trooper S. Bolton of Geelong single-handedly captured a gun and its crew including a German officer. A wounded trooper revealed: 'All I could do was ride my horse, wave my bayonet round my head and yell. But we were lucky. No barbed wire and none of those horse pits too wide to jump'. Another wounded man said: 'As soon as we cleared the trenches and dismounted, the Turks threw down their rifles and offered money to save their lives'.