Horace LAMBLEY – A Forgotten Victim of War

HORACE LAMBLEY: –  It is not know why Horace Lambley came to Kalgoorlie and was buried here in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery, alone, and a long way from his family.  His life after the was was a sad one and is testament to possible mental problems arising from his service as was the case for many men.

The family should all have the greatest pride in the deeds of Mary Jane Lambley’s illegitimate son Horace.    Horace Lambley enlisted in the 7^th Light Horse on 16 November 1914, in Sydney. He was 34 years and 5 months old at this time. He was 5 feet 9½ inches tall and weighed 154 pounds. His complexion was ruddy brown with brown eyes. Hair was dark brown. His calling was listed as “labourer”.  Horace embarked on the HMT Lutzow on 19 December 1914, proceeding to join Gallipoli Force. After signing his attestation papers at Abassia in Egypt on 2 April 1915, he was drafted to “B” Squadron ANZAC Force on 22 April at Maadi. He became sick at Gallipoli and was shipped to the Military Hospital at Lewisham in England on 1 September 1915.  He rejoined his unit on 15 January 1916 in Egypt.

Horace LAMBLEY

Regt. No. 605 Private Horace Lambley     7th Light Horse

He was redrafted to Tekebir in Turkey on 26 March 1916. The next move was to Alexandria to join the HMT Oriana on its run to Marseilles, in France to join the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front. Horace was assigned as a wagon driver carrying loads of artillery shells forward to the batteries. After a number of episodes of Trench Feet and influenza he was hospitalised at Etreat on 18 December 1916, and on-shipped by the Glenart Castle from Le Havre for admission to the General Hospital in Bristol, England on 6 January 1917. There were many similar casualties the result of this bitter winter on the Western Front. He was discharged from hospital on 18 January 1917, and allowed furlough until 2 February when he reported to Perham Downs Military Establishment for reassignment on 31 March 1917, to the Front at Etaples, France. On 12 August 1917 he returned to England for leave until the 24 August.

His records make no further mention of him during some of bloodiest campaigns that took place over the next 12 months in France as The Great War drew to a close. On 12 October 1918, Horace returned to Southampton on 23 October 1918, for transhipping to Australia on the Troop Ship “D30”. He was discharged in Sydney on 29 March 1919. Horace had been away from Australia on War Service for just over 4 years. He was now nearly 39 years old. Many ANZACs experienced the horrors of Gallipoli in addition to that of the Western Front. As a Commonwealth serviceman Horace earned the 1914/15 Star (No. 14595), the British War Medal (No. 8009), and the Victory Medal (No. 7811)  Horace Lambley never married. He moved from New South Wales to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia where he died and was buried in the Anglican Section on 17 January 1961, (Grave 12533, Block 221, Plot 20).

Horace Lambley

One can only imagine the effect the war had on him. However, the Department of Veterans’ Affairs claim that he never registered with them. Maybe he had a lifelong contempt for things Government after his return and his pride probably encouraged him to tell them to “get lost” in no uncertain terms. Oral history tells that Horace would often visit his uncles and became “a bit of a pest”, that he was always broke, he drank and he was always seeking lengthy comfort and care. However, I do remember as a child that my Pop Theo and nan Mabel received letters from him from time to time. These long letters were always read to the whole family. I gathered from this and from things said that Theo and Mabel had quite a soft spot for our Horace, and quite possibly that he was very lonely. He was after all the same age as Theo, and it is suspected that they were raised as brothers rather than nephew and uncle. It is odd that the subsequent generation attributed a stigma to him. Whether it was because he was an illegitimate or a serviceman or that his war stress resulted in him having a drinking problem we may never find out. Whatever, it was, it could be nothing less than a contemptible attitude.

Ref:   WW1 Personnel Records Service, Canberra 20 July 1998

The following was sent to me by a relative of Horace Lambley,  Des Lambly. He and another relative arranged for a grave marker to be placed on his grave in the Kalgoorlie Cemetery:-

‘A photograph is more than a flat plane representation of the subject matter. It captures the physical appearance of a person (and objects) at a given moment and can be interpreted to tell many stories. When coupled with known information or that gleaned from primary or secondary material it can reveal much. The context of the artist’s subject must be considered along with the image’s presentation and its technical sophistication. All photographs tell various aspects of gender, class and role expectations of the culture at the time the photograph was taken. Regrettably, so many photographs are inadequately documented causing consternation for subsequent generations. But to the historian’s eye a photograph can be a portable and a telling window on the past.

Pierre Bourdieu said that a photograph is not only evidence of a subject challenging the photographer’s technical ability and artistic flair but also of the context of awareness, beliefs and approval common to the culture of that contemporary age (Pierre Bourdieu, ‘Photography, A Middle-brow Art’, Stanford University Press, 1990). While an examination of the theoretical background to the history of photography is itself an interesting subject, the crude interepretation of historical images sometimes almost seem an intrusion of privacy, even though the people are long deceased. There are many traps in interpreting a photograph. For example, there is a bias imparted when a photograph is posed simply because people become embarrassed when asked to do this. Cost would have filtered out those less affluent. Special occasions, like deaths, weddings and christenings were the most common reason why people commissioned a photograph. That Horace was still alive on the Western Front was probably a special occasion, and the photo could be be regarded perhaps as his lasting melancholy memorial should he not survive the war.

For the historian, the relationship between a photograph as an account of the past and its interpretation is critical however contestable or distant from the objective truth might be. The photograph of 605 Private Horace Lambley, 7th Light Horse was included in estate papers handed down from my grandfather (Theodore). It was obviously sent as a greeting and as a comfort to his proud uncle Theo and an indication that he was still alive (at that time). Horace was Theo’s best man at his wedding in 1906. It is a post card size, three and a half by five and a quarter inches with the size of the photo three and a quarter by four and three quarters of an inch. The Post card has rounded corners and the print is not matched squarely with the edges of the card. This suggests the processes were done at speed and the sloppiness in the contact printing frame suggests the equipment had seen much use. It is sepia tinted with a gloss finish. The rear is imprinted with ‘Post Card’ a space for ‘Stamp Here’, and an apparent print code ‘P-AN 569’. Further instructions are printed, ‘This space for communication (and) Address to be written here’. The reverse also has a pencil code probably the identifier written on by the studio, ‘Eo G7’. The ‘E’ is a highly styalised, accentuated epsilon. A studio name or location does not appear. Then a pen and ink endorsement, ‘To Theo, with love from Horace’. The date of the photo is interepreted from the period 1917-18 because his military service is known and the time-frame places him on the Western Front. As it is without an address or stamp it seems that the photo was included in an envelope with a letter.

His uniform appears to be that required on the Western Front. Here the outer garment is a khaki woollen thigh-length tunic over which a cloth belt was worn. Regimental dress rules said that it was to be buttoned to the neck. There were button-though fastenings, large pockets, and epaulettes on the shoulders. Collars carried a small Corps badge or the stylised Rising Sun badge. Khaki woollen trousers with tapered legs were worn above leather ankle boots. Puttees, worn on the lower legs were made of a long narrow heavy cloth and wound from the boots up to near the knee. The Slouch Hat had a pleated cloth band called a puggaree on which a Rising Sun Badge was sometimes fixed at the front, and sometimes the unit colour patch was also highlighted on the side. Gradually it became custom for the badge to be worn on the underside of the turned up brim of the hat on the left side.

There is a distinct change on his face between that of the vibrant civilian and that of the soldier. Here his face is thin, his working uniform is baggy suggesting that he had lost weight and his eyes project the horrors of war. He is wearing spurs and carrying gloves. This would have been part of his attire for daily work as a driver hauling ammunitions forward. The boots and the leather stirrup protectors at the ankle can be seen to be well worn. This all suggests that the studio was set up in a town probably near the railhead from where he would have hauled ammunitions forward. The simple props and a carpeted floor may have been set up in an empty home or shop, and the soldiers were given some time to have their photos taken to send home to their loved ones. For those who did not write often this process helped maintain morale for the men at the front, and their folk at home during the long years of separation. The Light Horse units did not take their horses with them to Gallipoli and fought there as infantry. Horace would not have dressed in spurs while there or on leave or sick in England. The photo was most likely taken in France towards the end of the war.

He can be seen wearing a plain band on his ring finger left hand. Oral family history tells that he never married and this is reinforced by absence of a Marriage Registration in NSW, and by his signed declaration on the enlistment papers. Why he would be wearing a wedding ring is unknown. However, being seen to be apparently married might have made it easier for him to resist joining others in having fun, for he never contracted the dreaded venereal disease. It is also possible that the ring was handed down from his grandmother after she had died in 1906. (His grandmother, Ann Lambley, had raised him as one of her own because the illegitimate Horace was the same age as her son Theo).

We must regard Horace as an ordinary Australian who volunteered to serve and do an extraordinary job as a component part of the huge machine of war that our government had mobilised to help defend democracy and freedoms from tyrants. It is for these reasons that the deeds of men like Horace 100 years ago cannot be forgotten. History cannot be changed by ignoring evidence from the past.

– Des Lambley’

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Moya Sharp

Owner at Outback Family History

My name is Moya Sharp, I live in Kalgoorlie Western Australia and have worked most of my adult life in the history/museum industry. I have been passionate about history for as long as I can remember and in particular the history of my adopted home the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. Through my website I am committed to providing as many records and photographs free to any one who is interested in the family and local history of the region.

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