Solomon, Valentine Henry
868 Private Valentine Henry Solomon - 12th Battalion AIF
Valentine Henry Solomon was born in Fremantle Western Australia in 1894 to Elias and Elizabeth Solomon. He was one of eleven siblings in the family. Sadly, Elizabeth Solomon died when Valentine was just four years old.
Valentine's father Elias was well known in Fremantle. He had been a town councillor and also Mayor of Fremantle in 1881. From 1892 to 1901 Elias was a member of the Legislative Assembly for South Fremantle and from 1901 to 1903 he was the first Federal Member for Fremantle. In 1909 Elias Solomon died in Beaconsfield.
Valentine had been educated locally after leaving school he took up employment as a wool classer. Though he was based in Fremantle the wool classing work took Valentine to all parts of the state. Prior to his enlistment he was in Port Headland in Northern WA.
When news of the war came Valentine travelled down to Geraldton to enlist. On the 14th September 1914 he was given a medical examination at Blackboy Hill Camp and was found to be fit for service. The medical examiner recorded Valentine's physical attributes as;
Height - 5 feet 6 inches;
Weight - 142lbs;
Chest Measurement - 37 inches;
Complexion - Fair;
Eyes - Blue-Grey;
Hair - Light Brown.
After his successful enlistment Valentine was sent to Blackboy Hill Camp where he was assigned to the 12th Battalion AIF. The 12th Battalion was a mixed State unit with half coming from Tasmania and the other half split between Western and South Australia.
Valentine trained in WA until the end of October 1914. Their embarkation orders had arrived and on the 31st October 1914 the WA section of the 12th Battalion boarded the transport ship HMAT Medic and after the boarding the ship moved out into Gage Roads and departed for Egypt on the 2nd November 1914.
Valentine wrote in his diary;
We embarked on the “Medic” at Fremantle on 31st October 1914 and proceeded to Gage Roads where we remained at anchor until the Morning of 2nd November. About 4am we put out to sea and joined the fleet on Tuesday morning about 11 o’clock. The fleet consisted of 38 troopships conveyed by six warships – It was a magnificent sight. We fell into our position and proceeded uneventfully until off Cocos Island when we saw the Australian Cruiser “Sydney” darting off towards Cocos in a north easterly direction – She passed within half a mile of our vessel coming from astern. This was in the morning about 9 o’clock, and that evening the wireless message was posted up in our troopship that the “Sydney” had engaged and sunk the “Emden” – There was great excitement on board at the news which was eagerly by the troops in small groups until the sounding of the Last Post at 9-30 when we retire for the night.
The convoy made their way to Egypt where the men were then disembarked and sent into camp at Mena near Cairo. Valentine wrote;
We disembarked at Alexandria in the early part of December. We had one hour’s leave which we spent in looking around Alexandria before being entrained for Cairo a hundred miles distant. We arrived at Cairo about 1.a.m.next day where we were served with hot coffee and a biscuit. We then boarded trains and arrived at Mena at 3.a.m. We found some difficulty in finding our lines. No one seemed to know where the 11th and 12th Battalions were, but we ultimately succeeded in reaching our destination. When marching from the train terminus to the camp we saw the pyramids for the first time. The moon was just setting and in the fading light the pyramids loomed up dark and majestic mystifying the brain of the spectator with thoughts of the countless ages that those oriental statues stood for and the many scenes of victory and defeat, abundance and famine, grandeur and poverty they had been the silent witnesses of. We had barely got to sleep as it seemed then we were aroused by the reveille and gazed on a scene which was to be our daily outlook for 12 weary weeks to come. We were kept at work until 12 o’clock when we were given leave until 10 p.m. We all went off to make a closer inspection of the Pyramids. It took a half hour to reach them. We entered the largest, Cheops in which several Kings and Queens are supposed to have been buried. After climbing up about 20 or 30 feet one enters the main chamber which is about 15 feet square, and 8 feet high. Here natives take charge and guide you through the corridors to two large chambers where the Kings had been buried and exhumed in later years. We climbed to the top of Cheops about 400 feet and obtained a splendid view of the Nile and it’s delta on one side and the desert on the other.
The 12th Battalion trained in Egypt through the first few months of 1915. In March 1915 the decision was made to send the 3rd Australian Brigade (which included the 12th battalion) to Lemnos, a Greek Island off the Turkish coast. Valentine wrote;
We sailed on 2nd March and arrived three days later at Lemnos Island. Here we remained until 24th April. The island is a beautiful place with a magnificent land locked harbour. We covered the whole of the island during our training. There are a number of villages scattered about. The population in all is about 6000, mostly Greeks. The women work in the fields and spin wool. Boys and girls shepherd the sheep. Everything is very old fashioned and must have remained in the same condition for thousands of years past. Wooden ploughs drawn by oxen are used in the fields and the windmills of olden days are much in evidence. During our stay we practiced landing operations in the early morning.
The 12th Battalion remained on Lemnos Island for several weeks while they trained in preparation of a landing on the Turkish coast. The landing was to take place in the early morning of April 25th 1915 with the British and French landing at Cape Helles and the Anzac forces to land at what would later be known as Anzac Cove. Valentine wrote about the preparation;
At midnight we were served with a hot meal of stew and potatoes before being transferred to a destroyer. The transport was in darkness from sunset and the destroyer was likewise. On board the destroyer we were very cold and we got as near the engine room as possible to keep warm. We were in full marching order, our overcoats being in the packs which we carried on our shoulders. The destroyer towed a number of rowing boats in which we were to land, then the destroyer stopped we could see the land ahead of us and we quickly slipped into the boats and were towed by pinnaces towards the shore. I was on one of the oars. Before we reached the shore the bullets were flying around us…Several in our boat were hit, we were now beginning to realise that we were tasting war, but had no time to think of what it meant. I jumped into the water up to my waist.
The 9th, 10th and 11th Battalions were the first units to land and the 12th Battalion were split up to support these other units so the 12th battalion landed all the way from Anzac Cove to North Beach. Valentine wrote;
When we reached the shore we were ordered to charge and went inland like demons with bayonets fixed – The Turks were running for all they were worth. I went for one with a bayonet but he was too fast for me. It was now quite light – we quickly got inland about 2 miles and then encountered the Turks in great force. Our Company was sent out as a covering party while the main line was being dug in on the ridge behind us.
The Australians including Valentine were under increasing pressure from the Turkish army who were pouring rifle, machine gun and artillery fire into the Australian positions. Valentine was in the forefront of the Australian advance;
About 3pm I was lying in a cart track having occasional shots at the enemy when we saw them advancing. The bullets were spluttering and shells were bursting all around. Presently a machine gun got to work and I heard it spraying it’s deadly lead along our firing line finding its mark here and there. I stopped one of the bullets which entered my head behind the left ear coming through my neck on the left side and into the shoulder. I was also hit immediately afterwards in the right hand. I managed to get my equipment off and dropped everything. I struggled into a disused Turkish trench where the bullets were still flying around. I must have become delirious as I remembered in a vague way staggering about between the firing lines. A comrade got hold of me and helped me to the dressing station where my wound was dressed with the field dressing.
After receiving medical attention Valentine was evacuated to a hospital ship which took him to Egypt. Due to the serious nature of his head wound, Valentine was kept in hospital for nearly four months. The decision was then made by the medical authorities to send Valentine back to Australia to complete his recovery.
On the 15th August 1915 Valentine boarded the transport ship HMAT Themistocles and returned to Western Australia. After arriving back in Fremantle Valentine underwent more medical attention at No.8 Australian general Hospital in South Terrace Fremantle. He was discharged from the AIF on the 2nd March 1916.
Despite being discharged due to his wound, Valentine must have felt that he still had more to offer and so re-enlisted into the AIF. Amazingly, despite his head wound, and reported defective vision, he was accepted once again for service.
Valentine was assigned to the 18th Reinforcements to the 11th Battalion AIF with the new regimental number 5654. He trained with this group in WA until the 18th July 1916 when they boarded the transport ship HMAT Ajana in Fremantle Harbour and set sail for England, reaching Plymouth on the 1st September 1916.
After being disembarked Valentine and his group were sent to the 3rd Training Battalion on the Salisbury Plains. They had a few more weeks of training here and on the 23rd October 1916 Valentine reached France and was sent to the 1st Australian Division Base Depot at Etaples. He was then taken on strength of the 11th Battalion on the 14th November 1916.
The 11th Battalion were then serving on the Somme front near Delville Wood. Valentine only had a short time with the 11th Battalion as on the 9th December 1916 hew as evacuated ill. After treatment in France he was returned to England where he had a further stay in hospital.
Due to his Gallipoli wound causing defective vision in his left eye it was decided to send Valentine back home.
On the 4th May 1917 Valentine boarded the transport ship HMAT Runic and set sail for home, reaching Fremantle on the 26th June 1917. On his arrival Valentine was sent to No.8 AGH and was given a full medical exam. Valentine was discharged from the AIF for a second time on the 3rd August 1917.
After his service was over, Valentine went to the country in 1918, becoming a grazier at Windong Station near Peak Hill. By 1925 Valentine had moved to Ranfurly Park Barberton WA where he was working as a farm manager.
He soon moved to Lawson in the Macquarie district of NSW where he continued to be a farm manager/accountant at Hazelbrook, in the late 1930's he moved to Darlinghurst, though his occupation was still listed as a Station Manager. In the 1940's he was living at Woollahra.
Valentine died on the 8th July 1959 in Sydney NSW.