Stirling Fritz BLACKET
Stirling Fritz BLACKET (1895-1993) was the youngest son of local architect, and Clyde Shire Councillor, Cyril BLACKET and Christian Home. Fritz had been born at St George’s Basin (probably Tasman Park House) and had enlisted from Cairns, Queensland to the 4th Reinforcements of the 2nd Light Horse Regiment in 1914. Stirling's older brother, Pendrill Cyril BLACKET, would serve in the British Expeditionary Force in the Durham Light Infantry.
Stirling embarked on the ‘Star of England’ in Brisbane in April and joined his unit in Egypt in May. The 2nd Light Horse Regiment was a member of the 1st Light Horse Brigade. Trooper Stirling Fritz Blacket of the 4th Reinforcements left Alexandria for the Gallipoli Peninsula on 1 August. His unit, the 2nd Light Horse Regiment (LHR) had been on the Peninsula since 12 May; Stirling was posted to C Squadron. He disembarked at Anzac Cove from HS ‘Ascania’ and that same day received a bullet wound to the chest. He was evacuated to the No 3 Australian Auxiliary Hospital at Heliopolis in Egypt and the following week transferred to Zeitoun Camp for convalescence. He returned to Anzac Cove in August and the following month was attached to Brigade Headquarters as a despatch rider. Stirling returned to the 2nd LHR on 22 December as the Gallipoli evacuation commenced. First evacuating to Lemnos, the Regiment spent Christmas at sea before disembarking at Alexandria from the HT ‘Caledonia’ on 27 December.
With the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign those elements of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) that remained in Egypt and didn’t move to the Western Front in France became part of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force (EEF). The first Battle of Gaza commenced on 26 March 1917, the same month that Stirling Blacket was promoted to Lance Corporal at Mazar. After a second battle the EEF had about 10,000 casualties.
A six month stalemate followed with both sides developing and extending their defenses, training, resting, reorganising and reinforcing. The EEF also conducted patrols, reconnaissance and raids. It was in one of these patrols that Stirling Blacket was awarded a Military Medal.
Stirling Fritz Blacket embarked on the HT ‘Malwa’ at Port Said, Egypt on 28 March 1919 for one months leave in England. On 31 May he returned to Australia on the ‘Aeneas’ and disembarked on 12 June. He was discharged on 13 September 1919 and returned to Carpentaria Downs, south west of Cairns, where he had been a Jackaroo in 1914. He purchased a grazing property, ‘Tamanick’, 470km west of Brisbane near St George in 1927. He married Freda Jane Hamilton at Grafton a year later and they raised four children and bred Hereford Cattle. Stirling died in 1993 aged 98 and his active service is commemorated on the Nowra Post Office Shoalhaven Honour Roll and the Nowra Showground Memorial Gates. [1]
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Notes and References
- ↑ Tomerong Anzacs "I've had my fling" : the story of the men who enlisted for World War I associated with the NSW South Coast village of Tomerong (v4.5). R Blair, Tomerong, N.S.W. Tomerong Genealogy Database R1307.
Images
- See images under Cyril BLACKET
- Gallipoli TP4812/4719
- School Certificate TP4828
- Sinai TP4828
- Anzac Story TP4828
Links
- Tomerong Local History Web Page- tomeronghistory.com
- Tomerong Past Facebook Album- Tomerong Past Facebook This site may provide more information relative to this family. Check the 'Families' and 'Monuments' albums and those institutions that the family contributed to e.g. 'School', 'Sawmills', 'Clyde Shire' etcetera.
- Tomerong Anzacs- Tomerong Anzacs
- Stirling Fritz Blacket Wikitree- Stirling Fritz Blacket Wikitree
