LT Reginald Black MC

6^th Light Horse Regiment AIF

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Reginald Black was born in Double Bay on 4^th July 1885 to The Hon. Reginald James Black MLC and Mrs Eleanor Black. He was educated at the Church of England Grammar School (Churchie), North Sydney, and at the time of his enlistment listed his occupation as a grazier operating the property “Jerralong Station” near Boggabri in the Liverpool Plains region between Gunnedah and Narrabri.[1] Despite the location of his property, he was a highly regarded member of the Gordon Cricket Club and was recognized as the first member of the club to enlist in World War One.[2]

By Robert Thomas

His time at Churchie was prior to the establishment of the school’s Cadet Unit and according to his attestation form, he had no formal Military training. The form described him as a single natural-born man, 28 years and 5 months old, 178cm tall and weighing 76kg. Although reasonably light his 40” chest measurement was large for the period. His outdoor work may have contributed to the description of his complexion being “Brown” with dark hair and blue eyes.

According to a photograph taken at Holdsworthy, Black enlisted in November and went into camp at Holdsworthy on 4^th December 1914 and on the 19^th December boarded HMAT Suevic (A29) and sailed for Egypt the next afternoon. The ship had brief stays at Aden, Suez, Ismailia, and Suez before docking in Alexandria on 1^st February 1915.

After disembarking the Regiment proceeded to Maadi where it took over part of the camp previously occupied by the 1^st Light Horse Brigade. Training continued, interspersed with leave enabling officers and men to partake of the “joys” of Cairo.

In May the 6^th Light Horse Regiment proceeded to Gallipoli on HMT Lutzow and they were allocated to positions to the right of Chatham’s Post with the 7^th Light Horse Regiment on their right. Black served as a member of C Squadron and on 12^th July this Squadron conducted what the Unit Diary calls a “demonstration”. Berrie[3]provides a little more detail;

“Thirty men from C Squadron under the command of Lieut. Ferguson, advanced across the dip in front of Holly Spur, and taking up a line on the succeeding ridge, opened fire on the Turkish Positions in front. Immediately heavy shrapnel enfiladed them from the direction of the Olive grove; rifle and machine gun fire replied from the Brown trenches, and by the time the withdrawal was ordered, thirteen of the little force had become casualties. Three – Kidman, O’Brien and L/Sgt Ellis – were killed outright; K Ronald and Creer died of wounds shortly afterwards, and among the wounded were the brothers Body, the brothers Capel, McCarthy, McKeown, Rodd and Walker.”

Six days after this action Black was provisionally promoted to Corporal. Barrie glosses over the events of August and September, commenting only about the drudgery and boredom of trench life. However, on 9^th September the Regiment took part in a demonstration that involved “the whole line”[4] Three days after this activity Black was promoted to Lance Sergeant – an indication of the losses involved in any aggressive activity. Similarly, on 16^th September there was another demonstration “with heavy shelling”[5]. For several days there was a continuation of attack and counterattack with substantial losses. On 28^th September, Black was promoted to the rank of 2^nd Lieutenant. According to Barrie, 12 NCO’s were commissioned as officers between September and November.

November brought the colder weather and the beginnings of the “Silent Stunts”. There were several cases of frostbite reported but a reduction in the discomfort caused by flies and lice and an associated improvement in the spirits of the men.

Much has been written about the withdrawal from Gallipoli and its success (which Barrie attributes to good planning and luck). Letters written by the Black family after the war indicate that Black was part of the final party of the 6^th Light Horse to leave, however, there is no indication in the Unit Diary of those involved and Barrie also leaves the party unnamed.

Christmas Day 1915 saw the 6^th Light Horse Regiment disembark from HMT Beltana and march out for Maadi with a strength of 26 Officers and 257 other ranks (Nominal Complement for a Light Horse Regiment in 1914 was a total of 551). Reinforcements arrived, including some sick and injured soldiers who had returned from hospitals in Britain, Malta, and more locally. At one stage the regiment had swollen to almost 1000 men so reorganisation and training took priority. Many men chose to transfer to new units being assembled to move onto the Western Front and those deemed “undesirable” were moved onto other units.

On February 24th, 1916 the whole regiment entrained at Au-el-Ela for Serapeum and resumed mounted training with Black being promoted to Lieutenant, effective 1^st March 1916. The boredom of training and desert conditions continued until the mounted unit rode out for Salhia on 4^th April.[6] At midday on 23^rd April, they moved out for Kantara and mounted active service. One week later (May 1^st) Reginald Black reported sick and marched out to hospital and was admitted to the 1^st Dermatological Hospital in Deir el Belah (20km south west of Giza) where he remained for forty days, returning to his unit on 11^th June.

The next two weeks were taken up with aggressive patrolling and reconnaissance into the desert trying to assess Turkish strengths and locations with the 6^th Regiment regularly working out to Katia and then returning to Et Maler. On 28^th June D Troop of C Squadron, under the command of Lieut. R Black, was ordered to attack the hod at Um Ugba in conjunction with a squadron of Wellington Mounted Rifles. Moving at speed the Troop was able to avoid the heavy Turkish fire. Their dismount action at the hod, in conjunction with a machine gun section kept the Turkish troops occupied for much of the afternoon. D Troop withdrew early in the evening.

The Battle of Romani truly began for the 6^th Light Horse on 4^th August 1916. At 0030 firing was heard about 2 miles from Et Maler. At 0400 the regiment moved out and made contact with the enemy about 1 mile southeast of their camp. They held this position until 0700 and then began to move back toward Et Maler where the line was held with heavy fighting through the night. On the 5^th August, they moved forward, driving the enemy back to Katia. Heavy action continued until the unit was able to rest and recuperate at Et Maler on 14^th August.

In November Lieut. Black was sent to the Imperial school of Instruction at Zeitoun. He was away from 25^th November until 17^th December. General Murray described the school:

“…the Imperial School of Instruction at Zeitoun (suburb of Cairo). The latter institution, which came under my control after 19th March, has since been increased in size so as to train officers in all branches of warfare. Under its commandant, Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. E. M. Colston, MVO., its work has been most valuable. Besides the ordinary courses for officers and non-commissioned officers, it holds machine-gun, Lewis gun, signal and telephone, artillery, Stokes gun, and grenadier classes. Between 7th January and 31st May, 1,166 officers and 5,512 other ranks attended and passed in the various classes.”[7]

In January 1917, 6^th Light Horse Regiment was involved in active patrolling. Lieut. Black (as part of C Squadron was based at Mageibra where they provided daily patrols and night outposts. The patrols operated back toward Bayud (where the rest of the Regiment was based), making contact with each other in the field. C Squadron also provided a weekly patrol to a location referred to as Prophet’s Grave. On 28^th February the whole regiment was relieved by the Staffordshire Yeomanry Regiment and the 16^th Company of the Imperial Camel Corps. Once relieved they moved back to Hassaniya where they established camp and continued to patrol and provided outposts. It was following this series of action that Lieutenant Black was Mentioned in Despatches[8]

February started out in an extremely busy manner with the regiment relocating and establishing new camps. They left Hassaniya with 22 Officers, 463 Other Ranks and 555 Horses. Over the next 9 days the relocated to Mosefig, Mazar, Bardawill and finally Masaid. Here they patrolled east of El Arish towards Ujret Masaud and El Ugba. On 12^th of February the unit diary records the beginning of a period of training including Artillery Formations, Range Finding, Indicating Targets and repelling cavalry.

In amongst this serious training there must have been some allowance for recreation as on the 21^st February, Lieut Black was admitted to Hospital at Sheikh Zowaiid with a broken collarbone which occurred while playing football. From here he was transferred on 23^rd February to 24^th Stationary Hospital at Kantara and then on 26^th February he was admitted to the Australian General Hospital in Cairo, finally rejoining the regiment at Deir el Belah on 6^th April.

The Second Battle of Gaza began on 19^th April and General Chaytor kept 6^th Light Horse in reserve where they were heavily shelled, losing 7 horses killed and 3 men wounded. Taubes (German aircraft) constantly harassed them and bombs wounded 3 horses. Late in the day, they withdrew to outposts on the east of Wadi Ghuzzi[9]

On 20^th April, Lieutenant Black and C Squadron dug in further to the east, then for the rest of the month were rotated between Weli Sheikh Noran, outpost duty and manning redoubts. They then moved to a camp one-mile northwest of Fara, from whence they were relieved and moved to Tel el Marakeb.[10]

May brought a total change. Berrie waxes lyrical about the three weeks rest and recovery in sun, surf and clean sand.[11] Unfortunately, that had to end and reality in the form of Divisional Reserve at El Fukhar reminded everyone that there was a war on even though time was found to play (and defeat) 1^st Light Horse Regiment at football.

By the end of June, 6^th LH had established itself at Um Urgan where they aggressively patrolled “No Mans Land” and conducted reconnaissances of enemy strongholds across Wadi Imleh. While here Major H D White led A Squadron on foot into the desert. One Troop of C Squadron under Lieutenant Black accompanied them and this Troop established a listening post overlooking the Beersheba Road. Telephone communications had been established and after being in position for two hours, Black reported that an enemy column was moving between his position and Regimental Headquarters. In the words of his Military Cross citation;

“ …. The situation was very grave, for, if the enemy had discovered the presence of our troops, it meant the loss of and advanced Squadron and this officer’s troop. Although the enemy were pressing for two hours, and soon went within fifteen yards of his post, he kept his men under complete control, and sent back full information of the new enemy movement, which enabled the advance Squadron to be recalled. By his extreme coolness and control over his men, and his continued attention to communications, this officer without doubt saved a critical situation.”[12]

On 16^th August, C Squadron was tasked with forming outposts along the line between Hills 510, 550 and 630, north of the Abu Shawish Road overlooking the Wadi Imleh.[13] According to Berrie, Black had seen that;

“…. the Section was correctly posted and returned to the main body of his Troop. But a burst of fire from a Turkish post concealed in the wadi made him return to the post. After satisfying himself that all was well, he crawled away down the hillside, and well below the skyline stood up to return to the horses, when an “over” wounded him fatally in the back.”[14]

Lieutenant Black was evacuated to 65^th Casualty Clearing Station at Rafa with a serious gunshot wound to the chest where he died shortly after he was admitted. He was initially buried at Rafa Military Cemetery with the service conducted by Chaplain O H Knight. His grave was marked by a bronze plaque which was provided by his parents. When those interred at Rafa were relocated at the end of the war the plaque was not relocated, much to the consternation of his family.

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[1] “Death of Lieutenant Reginald Black.” Sydney Morning Herald, 22 Aug. 1917, p. 10, nla.news-article15750135.

[2] Stephenson, Paul. “News of Military Cross was well received.” CricConnect, Gordon Cricket Club, 23 Aug. 2024, www.cricconnect.com/question/3065/the-news-of-a-military-cross-was-usually-received-with-great-pride-by-the-anzac-mounted-division-however-on-august-19-1917-the-despatch-was-received-one-hour-.

[3] Geo, Berrie L. Under Furred Hats. 1st ed., W.C.Penfold & Co Ltd, 1919, pp. 38-39.

[4] Unit Diary 10pm, 9^th September

[5] Geo, Berrie L. Under Furred Hats. 1st ed., W.C.Penfold & Co Ltd, 1919, pp. 44 – 45.

[6] Geo, Berrie L. Under Furred Hats. 1st ed., W.C.Penfold & Co Ltd, 1919, p. 62

[7] From Sir Archibald Murray’s Despatches First Despatch, 1st June 1917

[8]Casualty Form, Black files National Archives Australia 18 March 1917.

[9] 6^th Light Horse Regiment Diary, AWM, April 1917.

[10] ibid

[11] Geo, Berrie L. Under Furred Hats. 1st ed., W.C.Penfold & Co Ltd, 1919, pp. 104-105

[12] Base Records letter 10^th June 1918, Extract from Supplement No. 30466 to the London Gazette, 8^th January 1918.

[13] 6^th Light Horse Regiment Diary, AWM, August 1917.

[14] Geo, Berrie L. Under Furred Hats. 1st ed., W.C.Penfold & Co Ltd, 1919, pp. 106 – 107

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