Uncle Wick
The
story of Arthur Edward Dowsett of Wandering begins with his grandfather, Samuel
Dowsett, who was baptized on 16 May 1830 in Berkshire, England. Samuel was one of
the older children of the dozen or so children born to Francis and Catherine
Dowsett. Not long before his 20th birthday Samuel and another lad Elijah
Ramsey, were found guilty of burglary in the house of Charles Bones, at Woodham
Ferris. Both were given prison sentences - Elijah 15 years, Samuel 10 years - and
marked for transportation.[1] After
languishing in a convict prison for almost four years Samuel Dowsett was transported,
with another 300 convicts, on the convict ship “Sea Park.” After three
months at sea the ship arrived in Fremantle on 5 April 1854.
Within two years Samuel married an Irish lass
Eliza Guerin in Perth, and they took up land in the Wandering district soon
after. Samuel and Eliza had seven children. Samuel died in 1893 leaving Eliza the
matriarch of the very large Dowsett/O’Rourke family.
During
Eliza’s very long life she experienced pain and trauma with the death of her
first child and husband but nothing could have prepared her for the death of
two of her young grandsons. In the last two years of her life Eliza watched as five
grandsons enlisted in the Australian Infantry Force - Private Samuel O’Rourke (18
years) died at Gallipoli less than three months after enlistment and his
brother Private William O’Rourke (23 years) was killed in action within the
first month of the five-month bloodshed that was the Battle of the Somme. Another
three of Eliza’s grandsons enlisted during 1916 - Private Thomas O’Rourke, Private
Louis Samuel Dowsett and Private John Henry Dowsett - and they all served on
the Western Front.[2]
When Eliza died in 1918 she left behind 3 sons, 2 daughters, 40 grandchildren
and 12 great grandchildren.
In
the middle of the collective trauma of WWI a bonnie baby boy was born to Elizabeth
(O’Rourke) and William John Dowsett. Arthur Edward Dowsett, born 16 November
1916, was the baby of the massive Dowsett/O’Rourke family of Wandering. As the
youngest child and grandchild, he grew up surrounded by the love of a great
clan of siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, as well as his parents.
An
important occasion on the annual calendar was the ‘Wandering Agricultural Show’.
Young and old from around the district entered livestock, farm produce, vegetables,
cut flowers, cookery and educational items. The 1925 Show was a good year for the
young Arthur and his mum. Arthur won two firsts in the Educational Section - Page
of Transcription Standard II, and the Pastel section for under 9 years with two
different specimens of fruit. The most coveted prizes were for the Overall
Section winners. In the Educational Section Arthur came second while his mum was
also runner-up for both the Mrs Clark’s Cup in the Cookery Section and the Mr
EH Watts' Trophy, embracing Dairy Produce, Flowers, Fancy Work and Cookery.[3]
By
the time Wick, as Arthur was known, turned 18 years of age he enjoyed partaking
in the many Dowsett parties. It sounds like the 21st celebration of Wick’s
cousin Matthew was an absolute hoot. More than 200 people attended the party held
at Mr and Mrs John Dowsett’s farm “For the festivities the poultry yard had
suffered greatly, and the cake WAS UNIQUE. At the foot of 21 steps lay a dummy.
There was a school bag half way up, and at the top the figure of a modern young
man, cigarette and all.”[4] The
guest of honour may have imbibed one too many of the amber liquid as he had to
be “held in position by two solid back stops” while the speeches were
given and responded to.[5]
There was always a Dowsett celebration of one kind or another and Wickie loved
being in the centre of it. On 20 November 1937 he was groomsman at his sister
Martha’s wedding[6]
and on 26 February 1938 he was groomsman at his sister Katie’s wedding.[7]
Wick
was also athletic and in 1938 he entered the most prestigious, and arguably
toughest, cycling event in WA at the time - the 116 mile ‘Beverley to Perth’
cycle race. In 1938 of the 98 nominations received, 18 failed to show up on the
line, leaving a field of 80 cyclists to battle out the race. The ‘Beverley to
Perth’ is a handicapped race and the veteran HE Matthews (70 min) was the first
rider away, followed by SJ Holroyd, TE Spice and C Hodgkison (53 min). JH Hall (42
min) and AE Dowsett (39 min) set off in hot pursuit. It was a dramatic race
with thrills and spills as described in the ‘West Australian’.
For
several miles on the way to Northam the road was in bad condition where it was
being repaired, and many riders punctured or were left by their markmates, the
bunches quickly becoming strung out. Through Northam and on to Lloyd's
Crossing, Matthews still led, while further back in the field, Martin, Connery,
C. Ball and Snelgar had broken away from their bunch and were picking up a
number of stragglers from the front marks. The road was very corrugated in
parts, and Finn was the next to drop off the scratch bunch. Turning south at
Lloyd's Crossing on the 12-mile run to Clackline, the early portion of the
nine-mile hill, which has not all been eliminated through the change of course,
troubled a number of the riders, and near the Corinji vineyards, JH Hall got
away from his bunch, and about a mile further on passed Matthews to take the
lead. At the top of the divide between Lloyd's Crossing and Clackline he was
two minutes ahead of Matthews, who was now dropping back, and he rode on
strongly to the feeding station at Baker's Hill (76 miles).
At
this point JH Hall was 6½ half minutes ahead of A Dowsett (39.0), then at
intervals coming WJ Robinson (46.0) and Matthews together, AL Chitty (39.0) and
A Douglas (49.0) together, and SC Marsden (42.0) and SJ Holroyd (53.0). In a
bunch of nine riders 13 minutes from the leader were T McBride and D Hayes,
while behind them was R Morton (27.0), who had fallen on the big hill coming
into Northam and who was endeavouring to make up lost ground. Martin, C Hall,
Connery and Snelgar came through in a bunch 17 minutes behind the leader and
were holding time by nearly three minutes on Hebbard and Haupt. Haupt retired,
leaving Hebbard alone, and soon afterwards the Boulder rider realised his task
was nearly hopeless and also withdrew.
JH
Hall continued on in front at an even pace, with Dowsett, who was pushing a 95
gear on a fixed wheel, chasing him. Robinson was in third place, with McBride
and Hayes in the bunch following, which was, however, being steadily overtaken
by C Hall, Martin, Snelgar and Connery. These two divisions closed up and on
the long climb over the tarred road before Sawyer's Valley, Connery jumped and
got away to chase the runaways. For a time he was actually holding time on C
Hall and Martin, but lost his advantage at Greenmount.
Untroubled,
JH Hall carried along in front, and as he crossed the finishing line at the
Peninsula Hotel, Maylands, the large crowd gave him a flattering reception;
over six minutes later, Dowsett came in alone, and was followed by Connery,
with Martin, Snelgar and C Hall some distance back, Martin gaining fastest
time. The others came in at intervals for over an hour afterwards.[8]
%20is%20shown%20beating%20F.%20Winston%20(Maylands).jpg)
Finishing
line of the Beverley to Perth cycle race, 1933.
©SLWA
The locals were extremely proud of their lad
Arthur Dowsett “who put Wandering on the map by his splendid ride in the Beverley
to Perth race.” Arthur was the guest of honour when the Wandering Road
Board Chairman Mr EH Watts presented him with “a handsome case of cutlery, a
new bicycle and a cheque for twelve guineas.”[9] Wick
continued racing and in 1939 he raced in the Collie to Donnybrook race with a
handicap of 16 minutes[10] and
the Beverley to Perth race with a handicap of 21 minutes.[11]
Wick
may have continued racing but life changed dramatically for everyone when on 3
September 1939 Prime Minister Robert Menzies announced the beginning of
Australia's involvement in the Second World War.[12] The
first Western Australian battalion raised for service overseas was the 2/11 Bn.
By early November the 2/11 Bn was assembling at the newly built Northam Camp to
begin training. Late 1939 the 2/11 Bn left Northam and joined the 18th Brigade
of the 6th Australian Division at Greta in NSW.[13]
Private
Arthur Edward Dowsett WX1869 enlisted in Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 4
March 1940 and he was originally assigned to General Reinforcements. Later that
month he was transferred to the 2/11 Bn when it returned to WA from NSW. In
full parade uniform Private Dowsett proudly marched with the 1,300 men of the
AIF and Army Nurses through the streets of Perth on 18 April. It must have been
a real spectacle as 80,000 people, the largest crowd Perth had ever seen, lined
the streets.[14]
As
the parade turned from Barrack St into Hay St it was greeted with showers of
streamers and confetti. The confetti shimmered down in the golden sunlight and
the streamers were entwined around the shining bayonets and the shoulders of
the troops, and hung over the tramway wires and posts and even round the necks
of Sergeant Allen and the rest of the police escort. It was a stirring
spectacle of changing facets. There was cheering and clapping and at times the
troops marched through lanes of quiet men and women, who eagerly scanned every
passing face. The silence was broken when one recognised a son or a brother and
shouted his name. There was the flutter of a handkerchief; occasionally it was
used to wipe away a tear.
Perhaps the least interested person of all during the parade was a "Dinkum Aussie," an Aboriginal from the South West, who nonchalantly reclined against the Commonwealth Bank in Murray St and quietly watched the dense crowd. Asked what he thought of the troops, he only grinned and appeared to be not at all enthusiastic about modern warfare.[15]
Within days of the Perth March, the 2/11 Bn and Nurses from the 2nd Australian General Hospital (AGH) boarded the British Naval Troopship, the Nevasa, at Fremantle Harbour and a large crowd of well-wishers were at the Port to farewell them. Anecdotes about the trip on the Nevasa (or the 'Never-Wasser' as the troops called it) give details of the lack of space, foul air, inadequate food, little water, poor hygiene facilities and shortage of supplies - particularly beer. Notwithstanding numerous difficulties encountered during the voyage and the fear that Italy could enter the war at any time, the Master and Colonel Louch managed to bring the passengers safely through the Suez Canal to El Kantara where on 17 May 1940 they landed and entrained for Camp Kilo 89 in Palestine to begin their desert training.[16]
HMT Nevasa with 2/11 Bn AIF aboard leaving
Fremantle Harbour 20 April 1940[17]
It’s
hard to envisage what it must have been like for Arthur to receive the news from
home that his eldest brother had died. John Thomas (JT) passed away in hospital
on 8 July several weeks after a dreadful farming accident. The grave was
covered in a mountain of wreaths including the main wreath from ‘His loving
Mother and Father, Bill, Pat, Reg, Bob and Arthur.’[18]
No doubt Arthur’s absence was keenly felt that day. Arthur was another world
away - somewhere in the Middle East with the 2/11 Bn. The mail to and from home
sometimes went missing but the family received a treasured postcard from Wick
dated 16 October 1940. “I received your most welcome letter today when I arrived
back from leave at Cairo in Egypt… I will wish you all a Merry Xmas and happy
new year, hoping it finds you all as it leaves me so cheerio for this time with
love to all from your loving brother Wick xxx.”
By
late December 1940 the 2/11 Bn was waiting for battle orders at a campsite 40
miles from Alexandria. Colonel Louch decided Christmas dinner would be served
early on 21 December and, if necessary, again on the actual day. To pass the
time before dinner a cross-country run, won by Private 'Popeye' Hull, was held
and in the evening a carol party of New Zealanders visited. While their singing
did not particularly please Louch, Private Rex Clegg wrote “Xmas at
Burg-el-Arab was made successful by Lieutenant Peter Webster's choir rendering
of carols.”[19]
Colonel
Louch received orders on New Years Eve for the 2/11 Bn to move to the front at Bardia.
Louch was not at all pleased about having to accept the New Zealand transport on
account that the 2/11 transport had been given to the 16th and 17th Brigades in
mid-November. “Many of our men had to travel uncomfortably hanging on in
twos and threes to the small platoon trucks.” After an overnight break at Mersa
Matruh the convoy moved on past Sidi Bmani and climbed the
escarpment at Haifa ya Pass near Salum where the 2/11 Bn took up
a position in the desert near Fort Capuzzo just as the attack by the 16th
and 17th Brigades began on 3 January 1941. The Battle was over in a few days
and the Italians were defeated. It was seen as a great victory and the men were
justifiably proud “each in his own way had measured up to the responsibility
in the tradition of the first AIF and was not found wanting.”[20]
The
day after Bardia, the 2/11 Bn was sent to Tobruk to secure the Derna
airfield as part of the Allied advance into Italian-occupied Libya.[21] The
plan was that once the 16th Brigade broke through the defence line, the 2/4, 2/8
and 2/11 Battalions backed by the 17th Brigade were to fan out and advance in
unison until the town was taken. Everything went according to plan although the
2/11th had one scare when a shell landed nearby. Louch proudly stated how "the
men, after shaking off the dirt, went forward as if nothing had happened. Good
battle disciplines.”[22]
Although
Private Dowsett received shrapnel wounds to his back from ‘that shell that
landed nearby’ he remained with his unit. Without a doubt the inclusion of his name
as ‘Wounded in Action’ on the Daily News list of 38 Western Australian casualties
would have worried his family and friends back home in Wandering.[23] On
the 2 February Arthur was promoted to Lance Corporal and five days later the
Italians surrendered. The day after the surrender the 2/11 Bn was moved to Tocra
for 18 days rest and relaxation where the troops were inspected by Prime
Minister Robert Menzies. [24]
..jpg)
Men of the 2/11 Bn resting at Tocra after the
successful Libyan campaign ©AWM
The
victory over the Italians was significant and it buoyed the troops
considerably. Colonel Louch wrote: “In two months the Western Desert Force,
of which we were a part, had advanced 700 miles, captured the whole of Libya
and Cyrenaica, taken 130,000 prisoners and much material, and accounted for the
whole of the Italian army opposed to it. We, for our part, had done everything which
we had been called to do, and I wrote at the time … the way in which everyone
stood up to the hardships and discomfort was magnificent.”[25]
From
6 March to 10 April 1941 convoys of troops embarked from Alexandria for
the front in Greece. The 2/11 Bn arrived at Piraeus on 12 April 1941. Colonel
Louch took his battalion to Larisa by train where they were told to take
up a position on the road west of Kalabaka to cover the withdrawal of
the British Armoured Division. The Allied forces, however, were unable to hold
back the attacking Germans and so the 2/11th withdrew from its initial position
at Kalabaka. During the retreat the troops were incessantly attacked
from the air and truck after truck was knocked over. A 2/11 Bn officer wrote “It
was a glorious relief when the trucks cleared the Plains of Lamia and climbed
into the Thermopylae pass in the early dusk.” But the relief was tempered
at the news that a stray enemy plane scored a direct hit on Colonel Louch’s car.
The driver was killed and Louch was wounded and needed hospital care.[26]
The
2/11 Bn eventually occupied a rear-guard position at Brallos Pass where
it fought and slowed the Germans, and then continued its withdrawal to Megara,
where it was evacuated by sea on the night of 25 April. Captain Shanahan reflected
“The evacuation was, at the time, a thing greeted with mixed feelings. …The
rapid German victory in Greece, coupled with the fact that we knew the new
German general, Rommel, had reached the Egyptian border, made a bad dent in
morale. On the other hand, of course, we were damned grateful that we were
being taken off Greece.”[27]
The
2/11 Bn disembarked at Suda Bay late on the 27 April. The men were
grateful to reach Crete unharmed but they were exhausted and hungry. Provisions
were scarce though and most slept among the olive trees. As Crete was
understood to be a staging post on the way to Alexandria, the 2/11 troops believed
they were just waiting for the “navy to get the rest of the boys off out of
Greece” and then they would be on their way to Egypt. The men were kept
busy running up and down the hills; ostensibly to build up their reserves of
strength, in reality to get to know every hill, valley and tussock around the
area. The troops were eventually paid which meant they could buy fresh goats'
milk, oranges and Cretan wines from the locals which made sleeping amongst the
olive trees more comfortable.[28]
The
Cretan Gendarmes were guarding the towns of Stravromenos and Retimo
while the 2/1, the 2/11 and the Greek battalions watched and waited. The tedium
associated with waiting for something to happen ended abruptly when the troops
were called to ‘battle stations’ following the sighting of the first of the two
groups of German troop carriers.
On
20 May 1941 more than 9,500 German paratroopers landed on Crete, their main
objectives being the three airfields. They initially suffered heavily at the
hands of the defenders but, although held at bay at Retimo and Heraklion,
they took control of Maleme airfield by the night of 21 May. This
allowed large numbers of German reinforcements to be flown in and begin pushing
the Allied forces back towards Canea.[29]
German paratroopers over Crete 20 May 1941 ©AWM
On
24 May, continuing pressure from the Luftwaffe forced the British naval
forces to withdraw from the waters north of Crete allowing the movement of
German shipping from Greece, which had previously been prevented. On 27 May, Allied
orders were given to evacuate the island and the forces in the Canea-Suda
Bay area commenced a withdrawal across the island to the south-coast
village of Sphakia. More than 12,000 Allied troops were evacuated
from Sphakia over four nights, beginning on 28 May. The withdrawal in
the west sealed the fate of the garrisons at Retimo and Heraklion,
which had both effectively defeated the Germans. The Heraklion force was
evacuated by sea on the night of 28 May, but, surrounded by troops advancing
from Canea, the Retimo force was forced to surrender on 29 May.[30]
On 5 June 1941 the Australian Army reported that Lance Corporal Arthur Edward Dowsett was missing, and by 3 July they reported he was believed Prisoner of War. On 12 July the Daily News headline read ‘600 in WA Casualty List. WA Army Headquarters today issued a casualty list containing 600 names. Most of the men are believed to be prisoners of war. They were previously reported missing.’ Amongst the names was that of L/Cpl Dowsett, Arthur Edward Inf. Wandering.[31] The news was probably one of relief for Arthur’s family – at least he was alive. The relief was short lived however, as in early September the family received the dreaded news that their son and brother was killed while serving with the AIF overseas.[32] Within Arthur’s war record is a card written in German with the date of 27 Mai auf Kreta for Dowsett EA (Australier) WX 1869. This date, 27 May 1941, has been recorded as the date of death. By the time Wick's family was notified he had been dead for more than 3 months. That was not unusual but that doesn't make it any easier for the families worrying about their loved ones.
IN MEMORIAM
DOWSETT
– In fondest memory of our son Arthur ("Wick") Dowsett, killed in
action, 27/5/1941.
Only the memory of his ways,
The sound of his happy laugh,
Lingering for ever in our hearts.
He had a nature you could love,
A big heart, purer than gold,
And to those who knew and loved him
His memory will never grow cold.
Inserted
by his loving Mum and Dad.[33]
Sergeant Illingworth from Narrogin wrote to Wick's mother who sent the letter to the Pingelly-Brookton Leader paper. The letter was a comfort to his family who missed their 'baby' Wick terribly.
Dear
Mrs, Dowsett, - May I introduce myself as the Sgt. of the platoon ‘Wick’ was
in. I came to know him very well and pride myself on being classed one of his
friends. We were all a very happy family together - our platoon I mean -and had
some grand times, even though we had some hard ones too. In a great lot of
chaps, ‘Wick’ was amongst the best and I can honestly say I could not speak too
highly of him. We have had many happy hours together and I sincerely
appreciated his happy disposition and gay outlook on life.[34]
The battle for Crete was a terrible bloodshed that is still talked about. In 2019 a story came to light that tells of Wick’s last moments. Commander Ralph Honner was told a platoon was missing, presumably behind German lines, and a rescue was required. But first a Bren gun was needed some 50m forward of the Australian Line. Corporal Tom Willoughby and eight men of his platoon were given the job.
On the signal,
with the rest of the company firing from the ditch, Willoughby charged. The
German paratroops opened up with withering machine gun fire. Willoughby had
covered more than half the ground to the well before he fell. Then the Bren
gunner went down. The next man, picked up the gun, carried it a few more paces,
until he was cut down. And so the weapon was relayed, man after man falling,
until it had almost reached the well in the hands of the last runner. But he
too was hit. As he went down, he knelt over the gun, guarding it, even in
death.
Along with Tom
Willoughby, the men who fell that morning, were Arthur Dowsett, age 24, a
farmer and outstanding race cyclist from Wandering; Charles Brown, age 36, a
builder from Perth; Colin Elvy, age 24, a farm labourer from Narlingup; Francis
Green, age 33, a miner from North Perth; George McDermid, age 27, a fireman
from East Fremantle; Ron White, age 29, from Pinjarra; and John Fraser, a
plasterer, age 19.[36]
Of the total Commonwealth land force of 32,000 men - 18,000 were evacuated, 12,000 were taken prisoner and 2,000 were killed in Crete. The site of Suda Bay War Cemetery was chosen after the war and graves were moved there by 21st and 22nd Australian War Graves Units from the four burial grounds that had been established by the German occupying forces at Chania, Iraklion, Rethymnon and Galata, and from isolated sites and civilian cemeteries. There are now 1,500 Commonwealth servicemen of the WWII buried or commemorated in the Suda Bay War Cemetery. Amongst them is Lance Corporal Arthur Edward Dowsett (Plot 5A 20) Requiesce in Pace.
For a time a ‘Wicky Dowsett Memorial Race’ of 25 miles was held by the Boddington Cycle Club. In 1948 the race was won by Ted Haendel in fastest time with Syd King 2nd and Don Hudson 3rd.[35]
References:
[1] Chelmsford
Chronicle, 15 March 1850, ‘Burglary at Woodham Ferris’
[2] AWM,
Australians on the Western Front, www.awm.gov.au/articles/blog/australians-western-front-1916-100-years-ago
[3] Pingelly-Brookton
Leader, 19 Nov 1925, ‘The Wandering Show, The Award List’
[4]
Mirror, 11 May 1935, ‘Wandering Clans Foregather. Big Party at Dowsett
Homestead’
[5]
Pingelly-Brookton Leader, 9 May 1935, ‘Wandering Notes’
[6]
Pingelly-Brookton Leader, 25 Nov 1937, ‘Wedding Bells. Stevens – Dowsett’
[7]
Pingelly-Brookton Leader, 3 March 1938, ‘Wedding Bells. White – Dowsett’
[8] West
Australian, 26 September 1938, ‘Cycling. Beverley to Perth Race’
[9] Pingelly-Brookton
Leader, 10 November 1938, ‘Presentation to Arthur Dowsett’
[10]
Sunday Times, 20 August 1939, ‘Handicaps for Collie to Donnybrook’
[11] West
Australian, 23 September 1939, ‘Cycling Beverley to Perth Race’
[12]
AWM, Second World War 1939-45, www.awm.gov.au/articles/second-world-war
[13]
AWM, 2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion, www.awm.gov.au/collection/U56054
[14] West
Australian, 18 April 1940, ‘The AIF Marches Again’
[15] ibid
[16]
Watt, MR 1996, The 'stunned' and the 'stymied' The P.O.W. experience in the
history of the 2/11th Infantry Battalion, 1939-1945,
https://ro.ecu.edu.au/theses/966
[17] Australian
Army Museum of WA, HMT Nevassa, https://collectionswa.net.au/items/bf682552-c61f-4a8e-8115-1b42925a61f3
[18] Pingelly-Brookton
Leader, 11 July 1940, ‘Obituary. JT Dowsett of Wandering’
[19] Watt,
MR 1996, The 'stunned' and the 'stymied'
[20] ibid
[21]
AWM, 2/11th Australian Infantry Battalion, www.awm.gov.au/collection/U56054
[22] Watt,
MR 1996, The 'stunned' and the 'stymied'
[23] Daily
News, 14 February 1941, 38 Names in List
[24] Watt,
MR 1996, The 'stunned' and the 'stymied'
[25] ibid
[26] ibid
[27] ibid
[28]
ibid
[29] AWM, Crete Campaign, www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84659
[30] ibid
[31] Daily
News, 12 July 1941, ‘600 in WA Casualty List’
[32]
Pingelly-Brookton Leader, 11 Sep 1941, ‘West Pingelly’
[33]
Pingelly-Brookton Leader, 11 Sep 1941, ‘In Memoriam’
[34]
Pingelly-Brookton Leader, 2 Oct 1941, ‘Social, Personal and General’
[35]
South Western Advertiser, 25 November 1948, ‘Boddington Cycle Club’
[36] Sweet,
M. 2019, Revealing Rethymnos Sacred Anzac Ground, https://neoskosmos.com/en/2019/04/22/features/revealing-rethymnos-sacred-anzac-ground/
Comments
Post a Comment