10th Battalion casualties 29 April 1915

After four days of continuous fighting following the Gallipoli dawn landing, the 10th Battalion was relieved during the night of April 28th 1915.  In the book 'The Fighting 10th' Cecil B. Lock wrote "The men of the 10th were utterly exhausted, and required proper food and rest". 

In the early hours of the morning of the 29th the 10th Battalion bivouacked at Shell Green. Close to half the men were listed as casualties.  

Lest We Forget.

The Morphettville Racecourse Training Camp

The 10th Battalion was the first infantry battalion raised in South Australian for service during the Great War. On August 19th 1914 the Morphettville Racecourse Training Camp opened. The first recruits of the 10th Battalion arrived that day and the only food available to them was bread and jam. Training was carried out at the camp until the battalion departed for Egypt on 20 October 1914.  The men didn't know where they were headed and most likely many of them would never have heard of Gallipoli.

Known as The Fighting 10th, the 10th battalion was one of the first ashore at Gallipoli and fought in many of the worst battles of the Western Front.  Their story forms part of The First Anzac Day documentary.

One of my goals in making this film was to highlight the efforts of South Australians during World War 1, many of which I was unaware of. When I first started work on the film I had no knowledge of the Morphettville Racecourse Training Camp, I only live a few hundred metres from it.
Thank you for your interest, Ash Starkey.

Free premiere screening of The First Anzac Day

 

Free premiere screening of 'The First Anzac Day' in the historic St Peters Town Hall, 101 Payneham Rd, St Peters at 7.00pm on Thursday 23 April 2015.

This hour long documentary follows the formation of South the 10th Battalion AIF, what became of the Section 1 10th Battalion scouts and explores The First Anzac Day.

For further information or to register to attend the 7.00pm screening please email Ash Starkey ash@starkey.net.au contact  0417 814 521.

This screening is presented by the City of Norwood, Payneham & St Peters Cultural Heritage Program.
 
The First Anzac Day was produced by award winning South Australian filmmaker Ash Starkey of Starkeyz productions with support from the ANZAC Day Commemoration fund.