Red Shield Appeal Hunter and Central Coast Launch

Address given by Mr Matt Anderson PSM, Director, Australian War Memorial for the Red Shield Appeal Hunter and Central Coast Launch, 2 May 2023.

I would like to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet and pay my respects elders, past, present and emerging.

And, as we do every night at the Australian War Memorial’s Last Post Ceremony, I would also like to acknowledge those who have served, those still serving and the families who love and support them.

Thank you for inviting me to speak today. 

I am honoured to be here at the launch of the Newcastle and Hunter Red Shield Appeal 2023. 

According to the Salvation Army statistics, the Salvos help 1 person every 17 seconds; over 1 million bed nights to those in need of accommodation; more than 1.52 million meals.

The Salvos have always had a special hold on me.

As my wife will attest, I can’t walk past the Salvos stand in the Canberra Centre without donating.

For me, it was a simple cup of hot chocolate.

It was a freezing day at Puckapunyal.  I was a Staff Cadet at the Royal Military College, Duntroon and I had just led what was a rather shambolic infantry/armour attack on a bald, windswept feature in the middle of winter.

Once the debrief had concluded, I remember, clearly, a sweet smell of hot chocolate drifting across the landscape on the back of that arctic wind. The contrast of a rather pointed and personal analysis of my military prowess and the discovery of an old olive drab Series IIA Land Rover sticks with me to this day. That someone I had never met had prepared a cup of hot morale, just when it was needed most. 

The Salvos have been doing this, in support of our service personnel, in some of the most desolate and desperate landscapes for more than 140 years.

Established in 1880, the Salvation Army had been at work in Australia for 34 years when the First World War broke out. 

In every conflict since, the army that went with the boys, has been providing comfort and practical assistance.

Bandmaster William Arthur Gullidge, known by Arthur, his middle name, was born on 9 April 1909.  He displayed an early passion for music, becoming an accomplished conductor and composer.  He published his first work at the tender age of 17.  He won 4 music competitions; 2 ABC national and 2 international.  

Gullidge was appointed as bandmaster at Collingwood Corps and shortly after, Brunswick Corps.^[1]

I must declare here my passion for the Collingwood Football Club. From that point on in my research for this address, Arthur could do no wrong.

In 1940, Arthur and 23 other members of the Salvation Army bands marched to the Royal Park Military Depot in Melbourne and enlisted as a group.  The group was assigned to the 2/22nd Battalion and began training shortly afterwards. 

During this time, in keeping with his early success, Gullidge was commissioned to write band music to be use on ceremonial occasions.

In April 1941, Gullidge and the rest of 2/22nd Battalion arrived in Rabaul and became part of Lark Force.  Preparing as best they could, Lark Force constructed basic defences around the airfields and trained for jungle operations.  When not required for band duty, Gullidge and the band members worked as stretcher bearers. 

Numbering approximately 1,300, Lark Force faced a well-equipped, well supported invasion force of over 5,300 Japanese in January, 1942. They were supported by battleships and aircraft carriers and were impossible odds.

Rabaul was to be the first Australian territory attacked by the Japanese in the Second World War, preceding Darwin by three weeks. 

Wing Commander John Lerew assumed command of No. 24 Squadron when it arrived at Rabaul in early December 1941. Equipped with one Hudson bomber and eight Wirraway fighters^[1], the squadron was entirely inapt at defending the island from the imminent onslaught of Japanese forces. Alas, on 20 January 1942, after enduring weeks of enemy raids, Lerew’s greatest fear was confirmed. Just after midday, twenty Japanese aircraft were sighted on approach to Rabaul.

Twenty soon became fifty, and fifty, over one hundred. As the first bombs began to fall, Lerew deployed the flight of Wirraways to engage the formidable air armada.

Completely outclassed in speed, manoeuvrability and fire-power, the plight of the Wirraways’ aircrew was, in many ways, predetermined. Within minutes, the air battle was over. Six airmen were killed and five wounded. Only two of the eight Wirraways survived.

Exasperated, Lerew sent a message to Headquarters: “Sending A16-38 (the Hudson bomber) to Moresby with casualties. Two Wirraways useless defence. Will you now please send some fighters?”^[2][3][4]

When his request was denied, he sent his famous message  'Those who are about to die salute you'.

At 1:00 am on 23 January 1942, 5,000 Japanese troops came ashore at Blanche Bay, vastly outnumbering the 1,396 soldiers of Lark Force awaiting them. Resistance lasted only a few hours before Lark Force commander, Colonel John Scanlan, ordered the men to disperse. His order, ‘Every man for himself'

During the Japanese landing, 2 band members were killed and 4 more died in the retreat. In all, 836 members of Lark Force were interned as prisoners of war.

On 22 June 1942 were ordered to board the Japanese Montevideo Maru. 

Gullidge and the remaining band members were among them.

Only one member of the 2/22 Band, Private Frederick William Kollmorgen would survive the New Britain campaign. 

On 1 July 1942, the Montevideo Maru was torpedoed by an American submarine and sank in only 11 minutes. 208 civilians from at least 10 different countries, and an estimated 845 military personnel were lost. 

William Arthur Gullidge was among them. 

It is the worst maritime disaster in Australian history, in peace or wartime. 

But of all the harrowing tales of life on these Hellships, what struck me most was the testimony of one of the Japanese crew. He recalled that, as the Montevideo sank below the waves, with the Australians still locked in the hold, he could hear the men singing Auld Lang Syne.

I have no way of knowing, but there is every chance it was Arthur and his bandsmen who led the singing.

Doing what the Salvos have always done; bringing some measure of comfort to those who needed it most. 

In 2012, on the 70th anniversary of the disaster, the Australian War Memorial dedicated a Memorial sculpture to those who died defending Rabaul, and those who were lost with the Montevideo Maru. 

The Salvation Army Band were represented at the dedication ceremony by the Melbourne Staff Band, who played at the event. 

This year, on 1 July, we will mark the 81st anniversary of the sinking of the Montevideo Maru.  And, just last month, a search team located the wreck off the coast of the Philippines in over 4000 metres of water. This discovery will hopefully bring some measure of closure and comfort to thousands of families who now know where their loved ones lie.

And we are finally able to say, with certainty, where Arthur and his bandmates rest.

And to me, that speaks volumes about us as a nation. That for 81 years, we never gave up looking. We never forgot them.

William Bramwell Tibbs was born in Armidale on 29 October 1909.  When he was 19, he began serving with the Salvation Army.  He was serving in Newcastle when the Second World War broke out. 

Leaving behind his wife Norah and two young children, he embarked with the 9th Division on the HMAT Aquitania for the Middle East.  

During the siege of Tobruk, he became known as “Bighearted Bill”.  Bill and the other Salvation Representatives worked tirelessly throughout the siege. 

Although not a combatant, Bill and his colleagues experienced the same hardships and dangers. Supplies ran low, illness was common. 

Bill lived for a time in ammunition chambers tunnelled into rock for a small amount of reassurance against the constant barrage.

Bill was present when Red Shield House was bombed on 13 August 1941.  2 batmen were killed, despite efforts by Bill and others to save them. 

He departed Tobruk in September that year and after a brief respite, took over responsibility for the Red Shield rooms in Aleppo, based with the 9th Division.

In June 1942, the 9th Division moved quickly to a defensive position at El Alamein.  In July, after action that saw the capture of 1,150 German prisoners, Tibbs was escorted through a minefield to provide comforts to various companies. 

Their vehicle became bogged and the guide lost their bearings.  They were forced to wait out the night, relatively unprotected, before returning to their own lines.

It was around this time, 23 July 1942 that the two stories I am telling you come back together.  Roy Watson was a Salvationist from the Brunswick Corps, and part of the 2/22 Battalion Band.  He had transferred to the 26th Brigade in 1940, shortly after enlisting.  He was eager to see action and did, in the Middle East.

Watson was killed in action at El Alamein 3 weeks after the loss of the Montevideo Maru and the subsequent loss of 16 of his previous bandmates.

Bill Tibbs is perhaps, best known for the Sermon in the Sandhills.  The service was a commemorative event Bill led in November 1942, shortly after the Battle of El Alamein.  The service was held in the presence of 2 observers and a bren gun for protection from aircraft.  

He was awarded British Empire Medal for devotion to duty during the battle of El Alamein where he carried coffee to advanced troops under fire.^[2][3][4]

But it was the smaller acts that Bill wrote home about.  Bill was a brigade censor, and discovered, to his delight a reference to one of his underground services in a letter one night.  He recorded, in the month of July 1941, that they had served more than 2,000 gallons of coffee.  He said: “It is a great satisfaction to feel that one is doing something that is appreciated” ^[5] 

The Salvos have continued to serve, going forward with Australian troops since the First World War.  We have, in the National Collection at the Australian War Memorial, photographs from every era of Red Shields, makeshift shelters and troops gathered for welcome cups of tea and coffee. 

This year is the 30th anniversary of the Australian mission to Somalia: UNISOM II.  After 30 years of a dictatorship, clan violence took over in the small, east African country, coinciding with poor harvests caused by drought resulting in desperate food shortages. 

In November 1992, the UN gave the Unified Task Force (UNITAF) the mandate to use all necessary means to enable aid agencies to distribute supplies.  Australia contributed 990 personnel. 

Another thread comes back together as the HMAS Tobruk provided support and a much needed respite for troops to rest.  UNITAF provided the stability that allowed relief agencies to distribute aid. In 1993, UNISOM II replaced UNITAF and had a much broader mission of rebuilding the Somali state.  This state building mission clashed with the local militia.  The Australian contingent was withdrawn in November 1994 and the last of the UN troops withdrew in March 1995.  

In our collection, there is a picture of Captain Allan Daly Salvation Army Red Shield Defence Service Representative, sitting above the same iconic “Hop in, you’re welcome” kangaroo sign that has appeared at Salvation Army stations since the Second World War at least.

The same sign, in fact, that Bighearted Bill Tibbs held up from the wreckage of the bombed out Red Shield House in Tobruk. 

I know from my own experience, what it means to be low on reserves, to doubt how much further you can go, only to look up to see that welcome smiling face, the outstretched hand and the Red Shield.  To hold in freezing hands, the best hot chocolate I’ve ever tasted!   

That is why I am here today in support of the Red Shield Appeal.  In order to continue to provide the beds, meals and assistance, they need our support. 

For 143 years, the Salvation Army has provided support wherever it was needed most.

Dig deep today and throughout May, and let’s give some back.

 

References:

• Rabaul and Montevideo Maru memorial (2023) Australian War Memorial. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/visit/visitor-information/sculpture-garden/rabaul-montevideo-mar-memorial (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
• BANDSMEN REMEMBERED IN CEREMONY AT AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL (2012) MySalvos. Available at: https://my.salvos.org.au/news/2012/06/27/bandsmen-remembered-in-ceremony-at-australian-war-memorial/ (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
• The last post ceremony commemorating the service of (VX37499) sergeant William Arthur Gullidge, 2/22nd Australian Infantry Battalion, Second World War. (2018) Australian War Memorial. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2610782 (Accessed: 02 May 2023).
• Captain Allan Daly, Salvation Army Red Shield Defence Service Representative, in a slouch hat, sits in the window frame at the Salvation Army point "Hop In You're Welcome". (1993) Australian War Memorial. Available at: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C266894 (Accessed: 02 May 2023).