Mike Kell y (and his Dad)
their injuries were trained out to
hospitals and those who died, like
our uncle, were buried at the nearby
cemetery.”
After paying their respects, the
Kellys then returned to Paris for
a flight to Istanbul, arriving in old
Constantinople on April 24 to join a
coach to take them to Gallipoli.
“We arrived late at night and had
to pass through seven lots of Turkish
security to get to our positions for
the Dawn Service which was attend
by 8000 New Zealanders and a
similar number of Turks,” Mike said.
“After the Dawn Service we
Australians then attended another
service at the Lone Pine Cemetery
and Memorial before stopping for the
afternoon and night at a nearby city
where we watched a soccer game
between a local Turkish side and a
team comprising Aussies and Kiwis.
“We were taken back to Gallipoli
the following day and given a tour of
So sad. The rows of headstones at Heilly
Station War Cemetery.
the Anzac Cove Beach, the trenches
and the battle sites.
“It was extremely emotional –
thinking back to when dad and his
fellow diggers came ashore that
day a century before – many giving
their lives and those, like dad, who
survived.”
The Kellys travelled back to
Istanbul for a tour of the city’s
historic sites such as the Topkapi
Palace and the magnificent Blue
Mosque and returned to Sydney last
Thursday.
Now, let’s return to that “lucky
man” – Charles Henry Kelly.
Charles was a 21-year-old bush
carpenter from Eugowra who made
his way to Peak Hill and signed up
with the Australian Infantry Forces in
late 1914, becoming a member of the
13th Battalion 4th Division
The 13th Battalion sailed aboard
the HMAT (Transport) Ulysses to
Egypt for training before again
boarding ship and arriving off Anzac
Cove on April 25.
“Dad wasn’t in the first couple of
waves which landed on Anzac Cove,
getting to the beachhead at 7.30pm
that evening,” Mike explained.
“Dad spent his time at Gallipoli as
a sniper-scout for the Australians and
British.
“He was wounded on April 21, 1915
and shipped out to Lemos (Greece)
and later to Mena in Egypt.
“After recovering, Dad was posted
to France where he and other battlehardened officers and men from the
Gallipoli campaign linked with the
raw recruits from Australia in the
newly formed 45th Battalion.”
Charles, still operating as a sniper
and scout, and his fellow Australians
did battle in trench warfare on the
Western Front, serving on such
renowned battlefields as Pozieres
and Messines.
At both places, Charles’ gallantry
under fire was recognised with the
awarding of medals.
He received the Serbian Gold
Medal – many allied nations provided
medals to be awarded during
that war – for his “outstanding
achievements at Pozieres on 6th
August, 1916 and for his service at
Gallipoli with the 13th Battalion”.
Let’s read the citation for what
occurred on August 6, 1916.
“On the morning .. .. after a German
counter attack had failed, Pte Kelly,
who is an excellent rifle shot and a
very cool and daring sniper, killed
about a dozen Germans. He was
at Gallipoli from the landing until
wounded on August 21, 1915. During
that period he did excellent work as a
sniper and scout”.
Charles, by now a sergeant,
received the Military Medal for
bravery under fire on June 7, 1917,
taking charge after the death of his
commander in laying tapes on No
Man’s Land to give the 45th Battalion
direction in an assault at Messines.
Charles was again wounded
in August, 1917 and repatriated
to England where, after again
recovering from his injuries, he took
on a training role.
But he was off to France again
in August, 1918, to command a small
prisoner of war camp at Le Havre.
Where a few days after his arrival
he had to face a court martial for
“without reasonable excuse allowing
A sombre Mike Kelly
at the Anzac Dawn
Service at Gallipoli.
to escape three persons committed
to his charge”.
Yep, twice decorated, twice
wounded and forced to front a court
martial over something so trivial!
The laughable charges were
quickly dismissed but it wasn’t until
December, 1919 that Charles was
able to return home.
His first wife, who bore him two
children, died in 1938 but he married
Margaret the following year and the
couple had three children – Margaret,
Mike, now 72, and Maureen.
Charles spent the rest of his
working life with the Post Master
General Department, passing away
on June 26, 1989.
Yes, Audentes