Trp George Gilbert (Yering), 9th Light Horse Regiment: Fails to return from a patrol near Rafa. Is reported missing, believed to be a prisoner of war. In a letter to George’s father in Yering from Trp William Cole (9th Light Horse Regiment) –‘A party of us were sent out on patrol and we met a party from another troop of our squadron making a party of ten men altogether. Our instructions were to travel up a ‘waadi’ and see if we could find the enemy. We were about four miles from the outpost and were looking through an orange grove surrounded by thick hedges when the man whom we had left on the lookout called out ‘Look out, the Turkish cavalry are coming’, and then he galloped off.
We all got out and crossed the waadi in a bunch, and as the cavalry had come down a gully and were evidently trying to head us off, we spread out and raced for it. I was on one end of the line, and the enemy, with lances and carbines, were about five hundred yards off, I looked back once and George seemed to be going well. I fired a couple of shots at two men on my left, and then galloped in towards the others, who were making for a hill in front of us. Just before we reached the hill I saw that the cavalry had stopped and had caught someone.
Imagine my feelings when I noticed that George was not with us. I asked several of the others who were riding near him and they said that his horse galloped well for about half a mile and then appeared to stop. I think it must have been hit. They fired several shots at us and the horse was considered one of the fastest in the troop. One of our chaps said he saw George up his rifle when the lance was only six feet off him.
We dismounted and fired a few shots but they gathered round George and we had to stop for fear of hitting him. We sent back word to the post but before they sent a troop up, the lancers had led George away up their own lines. There was about twenty of them at first but a dozen came to their assistance and it was useless for our party to tackle them with ten men. I hope they have taken George to Constantinople’.
James Clarke (Mt Dandenong): Leaves his job as a clerk and enlists in the AIF, he is 18 years old. He older brother Charles had enlisted in 1914 but had returned to Australia in 1916 suffering from bronchitis and was discharged.