Orders, Decorations & Medals - Gallipoli

Lot 3636    Session 12 (11.30am Thursday 26 March)    Orders, Decorations & Medals - Gallipoli

Estimate $15,000
Bid at live.noble.com.au

GALLIPOLI BUGLE AND DIARY TO AUSTRALIAN, Pte J. Darby, 19 Bn, copper and brass bugle with silver mouthpiece and green cord lanyard, on the side of the bugle's main body is a trench art inscription, 'J.Darby 1173/D. Coy 19 Batt' and also scratched further below, 'J.Darby/1173', stored in a calico bag marked, 'J.Darby/1302 D Coy 19th Batt', also a Wood's Australian Diary for 1915, inside marked, 'Bugler Darby/13 PLT D Coy 19th Bat/5 Brigade/Australia'. Battered from action and the edge wrap on the horn has come loose and needs re-fitting, the diary has one page missing and instead the period covered by the page has been hand entered, otherwise good and an extremely rare and historic record of an Australian bugler at Gallipoli.

Together with King's Silver War badge, reverse numbered A44293; glossy b&w studio photo over tin frame (20x35.5cm) of Pte Darby in full uniform with bugle at his side and wearing bugler badge on right sleeve; Pay Book No.157991 (2); moth eaten, original unit colour patch; The Australia Comforts Fund Gift Diary 1919 with Rising Sun badge image on back cover, this diary with various addresses and notations throughout.

John Raymond Swain Darby, groom and coachman, age 19, born at Glebe, Sydney, NSW; Enl.23Mar1915 at Liverpool, NSW - physical description states Ht 5 feet 4 inches, Wt 110 lbs, eyes good blue - beside this is written 'Suitable for Bugler'; previous service 3 years in Senior Cadets and 9 months in 5th AFA; Emb.25Jun1915 on A40 Ceramic; 16Aug1915 proceeded to join MEF Alexandria; 21Aug1915 landed at Gallipoli; 19Dec1915 departed Gallipoli and then to France; WIA 26Jul1916, GSW hand and gassed (mild), the wounding being recieved during the Battle of Pozieres and it was during this battle that historian Charles Bean wrote that the German shelling was the heaviest and fiercest of all the campaigns (co-incidentally John's brother Herbert Darby, who was WIA twice, had first been wounded only seven days earlier on 19Jul1916); 30Jul1916 sent from France to England to No.1 Convalescent Depot; 30Aug1916 admitted to Norfolk War Hospital with GSW finger; 26May1917 to 71 Sqn AFC and cookery course, instruction at CFC Uphaven; 22Jun1917 TOS 71st Sqn AFC Sqn from 19 Bn as Cook; 20Jul1917 on command at Cookery School at Tidworth for 71st Sqn AFC; 23Mar1918 married Nellie Larette, age 21, at St Margaret's Church, Ward End; 09Aug1919 RTA on Ceramic; 03Oct1919 disembarked Sydney; Disch.04Jan1920 as Medically Unfit; died 1930 as a result of injuries received in war service.

In Pte Darby's diary at the back is recorded, 'Bugler/1173 Darby J R S/No 13 Platoon/D Company/19 Battalion/5 Brigade/AIEF/Rifle No 2734/Bayonet No 2734'. The diary begins, 'I was 19 had my b'day at Liverpool in X Company Depot - Bugle'. He describes the voyage from Australia and on 4 July 1915 writes, 'on ship was Orderly Bugler' and then on 25 July 'Went to Cairo - Guard Bugler'. Over the course of the next several days Pte Darby makes the following entries, '31/7/15 Riot in Cairo & shops burnt by Australians the wassar (sic). 1/8/15 Riot in Heliopolis & at Les pymids (sic) Hotel by Melbourne 24th. 2/8/15 Brigade Bugler. 11/8/15 told to get ready to go to the front'.

From his arrival at Gallipoli until his departure, some of the entries in Bugler Darby's diary include (shown as written without punctuation),

21/8/15 arrived at Anzac at 3.30. In the firing line for first time all well.

16/9/15 took over firing line from 17th Batt.

19/9/15 Church Service - Pasis Gully things rather quite (sic).

26/9/15 Issue of tobacco & papers first gift of Comforts Fund arrives & packet of cigarettes.

28/9/15 Issue of two eggs.

19/10/15 Turk snipers at Hintons Post.

25/10/15 Enemy sending 18" Bombs over Monash Gully.

13/11/15 Went to Anzac to see Lord Kitchener - He arrived here at about 2pm.

30/11/15 Rather cold snow still on ground.

6/12/15 Mail arrived airplane dropped a bomb in the gully in front of our trenches.

10/12/15 Catholic Chaplain arrived in place of Father Murphy.

12/12/15 Church went to Beach all packing up down there A move of some kind no idea what it is.

At this date a Diary page for the period Dec 13-26 removed and the entries for these days are written in on next page. Some of these are,

Wed 15 enemy Airplanes flying over our line.

16 Waiting anxiously for the word of what we are going to do.

Sun 19 All ready packed up to leave left Popes Post at 5.15am left Anzac at 6.30 All quite (sic) punt Bumped a trawler Arrived on HMS Mairs (sic Mars) at 7pm all well

Mon 20 Woke at 4am in Lemnos Harbour landed at 5pm on lighter got of (sic) at 7pm shifted to our camp 3 miles walk - everything alright.

An entry on 31 December 1915 reads, 'Very foggy early morning. Had a drink of Whisky Blew the last post at 12 o clock & Bugle Marches.'

Another entry near the back of Pte Darby's diary and dated, December 17th 15, makes a request to the effect, 'If Anything Should Happen to me during the Evacuation I want the Book sent to Leo McGroder, 32 Bourne, Enmore, Sydney, NSW Signed 1173 J Darby Headquarters 19th Batt'. From this entry it appears that Pte Darby knew on the 17th that his unit would be evacuating on the 19th.

All of the diary entries for Pte Darby's service on Gallipoli have not been listed but from reading them it becomes obvious that war is marked by periods of intense boredom and deprivations of even the most common day things. For example Darby makes a big deal out of the 'Issue of 2 eggs'. Then there are the weather conditions that have to be endured, from stifling heat through to freezing cold, all with basic clothing and little adequate shelter. Another regular feature of his diary notes is the ongoing shelling from both allied ships in the harbour at the enemy and the Turks firing on the trenches. The latter usually just passing overhead or around the general area, with most recorded in his dairy as 'all's well'. For many soldiers these are the stark realities of war that are occasionally broken by an assault on or by the enemy.

During his time at Gallipoli, Pte Darby was the bugler for Catholic masses and burials. After the successful evacuation from there he served in France until wounded. He received appropriate medical treatment and following a period of convalescence he was posted to the fledgling Australian Flying Corps as a cook until war's end. Due to the gassing injury he received whilst serving on the Western Front his life post war was relatively short as he died in 1930. His wife Nellie raised their children on her own. One of Nanna Darby's grandchildren, Peter Clarke then aged 11, wanted to be in a school band so she kindly gave him her 'treasured bugle' that she had kept stored in a trunk, a link to the grandfather he had heard so much about but never knew. He took it to school for 'show and tell' and regularly played it at home, a reminder of his grandfather's wartime experience and hardship. Until recently, the bugle has been on loan to the ANZAC Memorial in Sydney. It is now being offered for sale nearly 100 years to the day since John Darby enlisted in the AIF on 23 March 1915.

With full service file.