Captain Randall Lance Rhodes, MC & Bar

Captain Randall Lance Rhodes, MC & Bar

Male 1893 - 1959  (65 years)

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Generation: 1

  1. 1.  Captain Randall Lance Rhodes, MC & BarCaptain Randall Lance Rhodes, MC & Bar was born 3 Aug 1893, Norwood, South Australia; died 15 Jun 1959.

    Other Events:

    • WW1 Enlistment: 19 Aug 1914, Morphettville, South Australia; 'Lance, as he was known, left Australia on the HMAT Ascanius on Tuesday 20 October 1914 (*). Born in 1893 on August 3, to parents Edward Henry Rhodes and Annie Eliza Kelly in Norwood, South Australia. He was a bank clerk before he enlisted for the army in August 1914, where he joined the 10th battalion Australian Imperial Forces (AIF). He departed Australia in October of that year aboard HMAT Ascanius to go to Egypt for field training. Lance fought in Turkey, Greece and France throughout the first world war with periods of training and convalescence in Egypt and England. He also served during the second world war and after its conclusion, until May 1949. August 1914: enlisted at Morphettville Service number 148, Private, 10th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ascanius A11 October 1914: departed Australia for Egypt December 6 1914-February 23 1915: training in Egypt March 5 1915: arrived at Lemnos Island, Greece April 25 1915: Gallipoli landing, Turkey September 6 1915: Valetta, Malta November 23 1915: Lemnos Island, Greece December 29 1915: various locations, Egypt March 21 1916: promoted to Second Lieutenant June 12 1916: arrived in Marseille, France Second Lieutenant, 50th Infantry Battalion 19 August 1916: nominated to receive Military Cross 24 April 1918: wounded, evacuated to England and later Australia (shrapnel wound to shoulder?)' [from https://captainlancerhodes.wordpress.com/] * From Adelaide - see https://birtwistlewiki.com.au/wiki/HMAT_A11_Ascanius#Fremantle_to_Alexandria_31_October_-_5_December_1914
    • Awards: 14 Nov 1916; Military Cross. (As a lieutenant in 50 Battalion): 'Near Mouquet Farm on the 12th, 13th and 14th August he displayed great bravery and coolness under heavy fire. Although buried four times by H.E. shells he continued to lead his men until finally, badly wounded, he was taken to the rear.' 'For conspicuous gallantry during operations. Though buried four times by high explosive shells, he continued to lead his men until he was badly wounded.'
    • WW1 Service: 1914-1918; 'PRIVATE Randall Lance Rhodes did not feel brave when he left Australia heading for Egypt in October 1914, but by the end of World War I he had been awarded the Military Cross and been promoted to captain. His family is chronicling his service with a blog of his letters home 100 years to the day they were written. Leaving Port Adelaide, he wrote: "I don't know what I looked like last Tuesday, I know I didn't feel very brave, far from it... It is very hard leaving home I can tell you, but everything goes alright here as long as one refrains from thinking too long, and drawing comparisons." After training in Egypt, the 21-year-old bank clerk from Gilberton landed at Gallipoli with the 10th Battalion on April 25, 1915. He survived the landing but was wounded two weeks later and evacuated to Egypt. His best friend Frank Crowhurst died on the same day, for which Rhodes' daughter Elizabeth Miller, now 88, of Fullarton, said he never forgave himself. "That lived with him forever," Mrs Miller said. "That gave him hell." Rhodes rejoined his unit at Gallipoli and was promoted to sergeant and then second lieutenant before the battalion went to France in 1916. He was wounded in the Battle of Mouquet Farm on August 15, 1916. Despite being buried at least four times by shellbursts, he continued to lead his men and for his gallantry was awarded the Military Cross. He suffered a broken arm and had a bullet lodged in it, from which Mrs Miller said he never fully recovered. "The wound was horrible to look at," Mrs Miller said. "The scarring was horrible." An x-ray of his arm at the time revealed he still had a Turkish bullet in his elbow. He returned to France after recuperating in England, where he was promoted to captain. He was again wounded, at Villers Bretonneux on April 24, 1918, this time by shrapnel to his shoulder. He had to be evacuated to England and then Australia. After the war he joined the RSL and was a member of the Renmark sub-branch.' [From The Advertiser https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/anzac-centenary/private-randall-lance-rhodes-earns-military-cross-for-his-gallantry-in-the-battle-of-mouquet-farm/news-story/a79d93cb65a9aabbe655153382fcf389 ]

    Notes:

    Died:
    From https://captainlancerhodes.wordpress.com

    Randall married Hazel Anne Lofty Tamblyn 16 Jan 1923, St Augustine's Church, Renmark, South Australia. Hazel (daughter of William Gill Tamblyn and Adeline Amelia Gubbin Nichols) was born 4 Nov 1898, Woodside, South Australia; died 19 Mar 1929, Renmark Hospital, Renmark, South Australia. [Group Sheet]

    Children:
    1. Elizabeth Rhodes was born 1926-1927.

Generation: 2


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