A Lithgow resident’s stolen flag took prime position in commemorations in Canberra for the 100th anniversary of the Charge of the Light Horse at Beersheba.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Union Jack flag has been passed down to Gary Johnson from his grandfather Alfred, who was part of the historic Beersheba charge.
The flag was raised at the Beersheba Post Office by the British Allied Army on 31 October 1917.
“Alfred though the it would look good hanging from the wall on his parents pub in Creswick, Victoria,” Mr Johnson said.
“That night it turned up in his saddle bag! It returned to Australia in 1918 with Alfred and did indeed hang on the wall of the pub for many years.”
Mr Johnson travelled to Canberra with Hartley Vale resident Greg Noble to participate in the Beersheba Day Service on October 31 held at the Desert Mounted Corps Memorial to commemorate the charge of made by the Australian Light Horse in Israel on that day 100 years ago.
“The flag was very, very special being there on the day, because the last time it flew up a flag pole was 100 years to the day.
“When 800 light horseman charged that day, it went into newspapers all over the world and was the last cavalry charge in history. It went into the pages of Australian folk law and will never be forgotten.”
“The head of the army came over and he touched it and said to me, ‘this is one of the proudest moments of my life’.”
In Canberra Gary Johnson was able to meet for the first the grandson of another horseman who was in Alfred’s regiment during the Beersheba charge. Jack Canning’s grandfather also trained with Alfred in Victoria and fought with him in the Gallipoli campaign.
Alfred passed away before Gary was born but Mr Johnson said he learnt a lot about his grandfather through his father.
“The townsfolk gave him a gold chain and fob watch when he came home, the inscription on the back reads, ‘presented to trooper Alfred Johnson AIF returned soldier from Mernda friends’. Now I have that watch and I use it everyday.”
"He hung the flag at the pub and he would tell the patrons about the charge, it became part of the town’s folk law and a bit of a local talking point.”
Now the flag belongs in Lithgow.
“The army, the London War Memorial, the Australian Memorial all want it to display, but it will remain in Lithgow,” Mr Johnson said.
He will bring the flag to the Remembrance Day ceremony to be held at Queen Elizabeth Park on Saturday, November 11.