Lionel Simpson
Stephen LearmonthLionel Simpson was born on 16th October 1890 in Nariel, Victoria, to Edwin Charles Simpson and Elizabeth, nee Bennetts.
On the 22nd October 1914, he enlisted at Melbourne, Victoria. At the time, he was a single, 24-year-old carpenter living in Alexandra, Victoria. He was allocated Regimental Number 840 and placed in the 4th Reinforcements for the 8th Light Horse Regiment. Lionel gave his next of kin as his mother, Elizabeth Hodson.
After initial training at Broadmeadows, on the outskirts of Melbourne, Lionel and the rest of his unit embarked on HMAT A18 Wiltshire at Port Melbourne on 13th March 1915. He would disembark at Suez on 14th May 1915, and be sent to the Light Horse training camps at Giza, underneath the shadows of the Great Pyramids.
While at Gallipoli, Lionel would take part in the infamous charge of the 8th Light Horse against Turkish Forces holding the Nek on 7th August, 1915. Lionel would become the last survivor of the charge and recalled his part in the action in a television interview in 1988:
"I was holding one end of this plank and my cobber was holding the other end.I pulled away and wondered why it was so heavy. He (my cobber) got shot in the leg; in fact it was the knee. I could see the knee coming out with the machine gun bullets. I was going along when a bullet hit me in the left shoulder - it didn’t stop me, because it went in and bounced out. The men seemed to be falling behind me ... I was in front and I could see a chap about three yards in front of me. He fell down and I thought ‘It’s time to get out”.
The action at the Nek lasted approximately 45 minutes, and in that time, 234 Australian Light Horsemen from Victoria and Western Australia were killed, and a further 138 were wounded.
Two months after the fateful attack at the Nek, Lionel was taken by ship to be admitted to No. 1 Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis, suffering from pleurisy. This, along with a bout of influenza, would see Lionel remain in several hospitals and convalescent camps for the next two months. This would not be the only time that Lionel was admitted to hospital during his time in Egypt. His service records show a number of illnesses, such as influenza and tonsillitis, that would see him confined to hospitals in Egypt.
Lionel would receive several promotions during his enlistment. In June of 1916, he was transferred to the 1st Field Squadron, Anzac Mounted Engineers. Soon after arriving here, he was promoted to Lance Corporal. A few months later, he was promoted to Corporal while serving with the 3rd Field Engineers, and later still, after a transfer to the 1st Field Engineers, he would be promoted to Sergeant.
The Armistice, in November of 1918, would find Lionel once more in hospital, this time in Moascar. He was not discharged until late January of the following year. On the 1st April, 1919, Lionel embarked on the HMAT Caledonia at Port Said bound for leave in the United Kingdom. He would be granted two extensions to his leave. At this time, the AIF was developing an education program for its members to gain experience in skills they would need after discharge from the army, and to provide thousands of soldiers with something to do. It would take some time to procure sufficient transport ships to send all the boys home! Lionel chose to further develop his carpentry skills and enrolled in a joinery and cabinet-making course.
On 25th September 1919, he returned to Australia aboard SS Port Denison. He was discharged on 13th December 1919, being awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal, the 1914/15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal for his service during the war.
The citation for the Distinguished Conduct Medal, dated 24 September 1918, stated “For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. During a period of three months he has performed consistent good work, and has rendered valuable service, especially in connexion [sic] with the development of water supply, a task which was successfully accomplished thanks to his energy and resource.”
It would be September 1919 before Lionel arrived back in Melbourne on the SS Port Denison. Electoral roll information shows that Lionel lived in the Bacchus Marsh area, in Victoria. On 19th October, 1926, Lionel married Enid Eileen Land at Wodonga. They would have two sons during their marriage, the first, John Lionel (1928 to 2011), being born at Corryong, Victoria.
With the advent of the Second World War, Lionel once again enlisted to do his ‘bit’ for King and Country. He joined the Citizen Military Forces at Bacchus Marsh and was given the service number V361208.
Enid would pass away at Bacchus Marsh on 5th May, 1982. Lionel would live for a further nine years, passing away on 25th July, 1991, also at Bacchus Marsh, at the age of 100. He was laid to rest in the Holy Trinity Anglican Church Cemetery, Bacchus Marsh, VIC.
