Queensland Floods, Lockyer Creek, Toowoomba

This link was sent to me by Stephen Smith who's helped me gaining info on the 9 Para Battalion in Normandy 1944 (see past posts).

As he says, this is "Toowoomba flooding near my folks place."

The Injured at Merville were Under the Care of the German Army

The personal papers of a WW2 Austrian doctor

A great debt of thanks is due to Stephen Smith, who's grandfather was photographed standing next to my uncle in their battalion photograph.

I have been in touch with him and discussed my brief research into my uncle's death, and he came back just the other day with this insight which I quote verbatim:

I was thinking about your question "In what action was Your uncle wounded?".  I think he may have been wounded in an action which took place after the assault on the battery for the following reasons.  If he was wounded at the battery two possibilities come to mind 1- he would have been left in the care of the Germans and later laid to rest by the Germans some where other than Ranville or  2- If you read Fred Glover's story in the appendix of "The Day The Devils Dropped In" all men wounded at the battery during the assault who could not keep up with the march to the battalion's next objective where left either at the battery in the care of a German doctor or they where made comfortable where they fell behind on the roadside and later collected by the Germans.  Either way the burial site for those who died from their wounds received at the battery  would most likely not have been Ranville. As Daniel rests in the Ranville War Cemetery his burial was overseen by allied soldiers which means he was taken to Ranville for burial by the allies.  Those who fell at the battery to my knowledge have no known grave.  Presently I am aware of only one group of casualties who where collected, from a temporary grave near to where they fell, after the breakout from Normandy and later reburied at Ranville. Those men were in Brigadier Hill's group which was bombed by allied planes at about 6am on the 6th of June some where between Gonneville-en-Auge and Varaville.  This group included Emile the A Company dog handler.  Though this is just an idea based on the information I have got from Neil Barber's book.  I hope this is of some help to you.

 

I had completely overlooked the fact that those who died or were seriously injured at the Battery on 6th June were cared for or buried by the Germans. Given that my uncle is buried at Ranville, it seems likely that he was not seriously injured at the Merville Battery.

This does not explain why my nan told my mum that my uncle was injured on the 6th and died of his injuries on the 7th, unless this was misinformation or Chinese whispers... unless of course his injuries weren't deemed serious, but he deteriorated the following day.

Time will tell.

In closing, Stephen's family in Australia suffered badly in the floods we've all been watching on TV. Again to quote him "The place has been devastated, there are over 50 homes and families missing from the local community.  I am extremely lucky that everyone in my family is OK though they will be in camps for the next three weeks or so."

 

I'm sure all our thoughts and prayers are with them and the other victims of the flood who have lost relatives and their homes.

God Bless Denis Donovan - and His Hurley Stick!

Denis Donovan began life in Cork, Ireland and ended up in Australia after moving there in 1958.

Here he is pictured with his Hurley stick which he took all the way to Australia.

In his own words:

"My hurley stick is used in the Irish game of hurling. It is made of wood and is similar to a hockey stick. I brought the stick with me as a reminder of playing sport in Ireland."

The hurley stick is a great sporting and cultural icon to many Irishmen and people of Irish descent.

Denis's Irish grandfather - like mine! - had been in the British Army (remember that this was pre-partition, pre-1916/1921 and Ireland was officially still part of the UK).

To read more of Denis's story go to Belongings - Denis Donovan.

James Francis 'Frank' Hurley - An Heroic Photographer

Has there been an Australian life to equal that of Frank Hurley's for its breadth, its exuberance, its derring-do? Photographer, adventurer, explorer, showman - Hurley was all of these and more.

Thus starts the review for 'Frank Hurley - A Photographer's Life.'

This video on you tube is quite moving, spanning so many momentous events.

Sadly the makers of the video (or montage) have not allowed it to be embedded in other sites [probably at the request of the photo owners... I'm not sure].

If you are a Hurley, interested in exploration, an historian, fascinated by WW1 or WW2, an Australian or a photographer then I would strongly recommend this video.

The commentary is very good and the video is quite moving.


Link:
Frank Hurley's Photography

And a review of the book pictured above is at the website of the Australian newspaper The Age

Frank Hurley, Famous Australian Photographer

Many years ago I was pottering in a charity shop when I came across a book entitled "Victoria, a Camera Study by Frank Hurley." I had to buy it - so I did. I forked over £1 (no doubt tears welling in my eyes).

The book details much of the history and nature of Victoria in Australia, including I was pleasantly surprised the Eureka Stockade, the scene of a heroic rebellion in 1854 from which we get the Eureka banner, similar to Irish banners, based on star constellations. Professor Geoffrey Blainey said the Eureka flag was an "Irish Cross."

Wikipedia says of Frank Hurley:

James Francis "Frank" Hurley, OBE (15 October 1885 – 16 January 1962) was an Australian photographer and adventurer. He participated in a number of expeditions to Antarctica and served as an official photographer with Australian forces during both world wars.

From the same source, re. Shackleton's explorations:

He later compiled his records into the documentary film South in 1919. His footage was also used in the 2001 IMAX film Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure.

Links:
Frank Hurley website
Victoria by Frank Hurley