Dismount!: The World Wars of two Light Horsemen

By Allan A. Murray

The Light Horse was considered by many to be the 'national arm of Australia's defence'. This book in the Series, Their World War , is the story of two Light Horsemen, mounted infantry who travelled to battle mounted but fought dismounted with rifles and bayonets. One served in the Second Boer War. The story then transitions to World War I where the second Light Horseman served in the Gallipoli, Sinai and Palestine Campaigns against the Germans and Turks. Charles 'Chas' Skirving grew up around horses, he trained them and raced them as a jockey in New Zealand and Melbourne. The opportunity to ride horses in war was alluring and he served on two occasions in southern Africa, the latest in the Victorian Wars fought by the British across the world to expand their Empire. He served in Kitchener's Horse and later was an Australian Commonwealth Horse Original. 1904 was a fateful year for Chas - he married Mary May White Lamb; she became pregnant; and Chas, who had returned to being a jockey, was tragically killed in a race fall. His daughter, Rachael Skirving, was born after his death. Alexander 'Alex' Lamb was one of Mary Lamb's younger brothers. Chas and Alex were briefly brothers-in-law. Alex, a stockman working around Townsville, joined the Australian Imperial Force in early 1915 and headed off to World War I as a Light Horseman. After a futile time in the trenches at Gallipoli with the 2nd Light Horse Regiment, he then served in one of the more unusual formations, the Imperial Camel Corps, until he was badly wounded and returned to Australia in the first half of 1918. This book also explores firstly, why men and women from the Australian continent served in southern Africa and secondly, the futility of the 'second ridge' strategy after the August Offensives on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. Partial histories for Kitchener's Horse, the 2nd Light Horse Regiment and the Imperial Camel Corps are also included. The Foreword for this book has been written by Colonel Robbie Van Kampen (Retd), a friend of Allan's from his days at Duntroon. Robbie graduated into the Royal Australian Armoured Corps and in an accomplished career served as the Commanding Officer of the 2nd/14th Light Horse (Queensland Mounted Infantry), an Australian Regular Army unit descendent directly from the 2nd Light Horse Regiment of World War I.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B08VCKKJ5C
• ISBN13: 9798599059684
• Release Date: January 2021
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 104 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"