This afternoon Dot and went have a look at the 12th/16th Hunter River Lancers and 24th Lighthorse Memorial Museum at 174 Mann Street, Armidale. I might have lived in this town a long time, but this was the first occasion that I had visited this museum. And the passive displays were nevertheless very interesting. So we spent quite a while looking a mass of photographs and maps of various campaigns; swords, guns and other pieces of equipment; lots of medals for this that and the other going back to the 19th century; people (not real) dressed in military uniform ... and even a model horse; and other historical archives.
And all these exhibits gave me a useful insight into the event I'm observing in 11 days time when I witness the centenary re-enactment of the highly successful Australian Lighthorse charge at Beersheba in Israel. The first World War had many disastrous military engagements with huge loss of life, but this one had relatively few participants or causalities and opened the opportunity, soon realised, of removing Turkish rule from Jerusalem in particular and Palestine in general.
And, for someone living in rural Australia, the most interesting aspects of this engagement was the fact that most participants came from places like the New England region in which we reside. Here are some of the many exhibits I took with my mobile phone, though I must admit that the lighting reflecting off the glass surrounding the exhibits made photography difficult
The first picture shows a Waler and presumably a replica of its rider. The horses were called Walers because they were originally sold through the State of New South Wales. These hardy animals were able to travel long distances in hot weather with little water - ideal for the Middle East. Some 13,000 were used in WW1, but only one made it home in what many regard as a tragedy. Although some were dispatched because of wounds or illness, 11,000 went on India to help bolster the Raj.
Some uniforms, excuse the lighting.
A map of the Beersheba district showing the route taken by the troops.
Images of the campaign in Palestine.
Some weapons above the door.
AS
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