4th Light Horse Regiment Memorial Association

07/11/2026

Annual Dinner - Continuing The Tradition - All are welcome

The Memorial Association carries on the traditions of the returned men of the Regiment. A lot of the gatherings they had were for “the boys” only. This was because there were things they could only talk about with their brothers-in-arms. However the annual Christmas Dinner was always for the families. It is a fun event, however the program will include the traditional toasts, The Ode and the Last Post.
The venue is again the Montmorency/Eltham RSL, 16 Mountain View Rd, Montmorency. There is on-site parking and the RSL is conveniently close to the Montmorency Railway Station.
We gather at 12:30 for a 1:00 sit-down.
The cost is only $55 pp. This includes pre-dinner snacks, a two course meal - main & dessert, plus a complimentary drink from the bar. A vegetarian option is available, please advise us when registering.
Bookings must be finalised by 19 Nov.
The Guest Speakers will be Mr Bruce Whalley will speak on his grandfather, the 4thLHR’s E T Smith and Mr Ash Graham, President of Eltham-Montmorency RSL, will speak on the history of the Victoria Barracks.
Booking via email is preferred but it can be done by post.
The details for booking and paying are on the Memorial Association's website. Follow this link: https://www.4thlighthorse.com/annualdinner.html

31/10/2026

Kyabram RSL Sub Branch is coordinating this event to remember The Charge.
"Happening Saturday, October 31st at 6pm at the Kyabram Cemetery.
LIGHT HORSE COMMEMORATION
A tribute to the 4th Brigade of Australian Light Horsemen who took part in the Charge of Beersheba 107 years ago will be held at the Kyabram Cemetery at the end of the month.
Several horses and their uniformed riders will be the centrepiece of the commemoration, to be held at the Lone Pine / ANZAC Memorial 3rd Avenue at Kyabram Cemetery on Saturday, October 31st, at 6pm.
The charge of the 4th Australian Light Horse at Beersheba late in the afternoon of October 31, 1917, is remembered as the last great cavalry charge. Around 800 Light Horsemen charged across open desert with bayonets in hand and flew over the Turk trenches to capture the town of Beersheba and gain access to much-needed water wells.
The commemoration is being organised jointly by the Kyabram RSL Sub Branch, Kyabram Cemetery Trust, Kyabram Club and the Kyabram Historical Society.
Families are encouraged to mingle with the horsemen and their mounts. There will also be a free sausage sizzle to follow the service. Donations to INDI Lighthorse Regiment and Kyabram Lions Club appreciated. Please bring a chair."
https://www.facebook.com/events/s/light-horse-commemoration/4081511845487253/

Send a message to learn more

30/10/2026

In a letter to the mother of one of the fallen 4th Light Horse Regiment's soldiers the CO of A Squadron, Major James Lawson DSO, explained the Charge this way:

“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑨𝑵𝒁𝑨𝑪𝑺 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝑩𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒃𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝒖𝒑 𝒃𝒚 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒕, 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒅, 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒖𝒔. 𝑨𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝟒 𝒐'𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒂𝒅𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒕, 𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒏 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝒚𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒚 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔. 𝑨𝒕 𝒂 𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒇𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒕𝒘𝒐-𝒎𝒊𝒍𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒑 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏 𝒆𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒂 𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒄 𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒆, 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒏𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒏𝒆𝒍. 𝑨𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉, 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒚, 𝒘𝒆 𝒋𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒈𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝟐𝟎𝟎 𝒚𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕. 𝑯𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒎𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒉𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒕, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒇-𝒂𝒏-𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒆 (𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝟏𝟐𝟎 𝒐𝒇 𝒖𝒔) 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝟓𝟎𝟎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝟔𝟎𝟎 𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔, 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒄𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒓𝒖𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝑩𝒆𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒃𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒉 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒃𝒚 𝟕.𝟑𝟎 𝒑.𝒎. 𝑶𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒎 𝒖𝒑.”

Thirteen members of the 4th Light Horse Regiment died as a result of the Charge at Beersheba. Eleven either during the Charge, on the day or very soon after. Two others were evacuated with serious injuries but did not recover.
Lost at Beersheba were 2Lt Frank Burton*, who had only received his commission in September, 91 Tpr Ben Cleaver*, 1956a Tpr Bill Kerrigan, 124 L/Cpl Walter Kinghorn, 1178 Francis McGrath, Lt Ben Meredith, 147 Cpl Sid Mitchell*, 1501 Tpr Robert Morley, 209 RSM Alexander Wilson, who was found still sitting on his patient horse, 741 Tpr John Reineke and 3650 Tpr Harold Wickham who was then only 16. He gave the recruiter a false surname and lied about his age. Tpr Edward Wormsley was evacuated but died on 2 Nov as was Cpl Cliff Wheelen who passed away on 4 Nov.
Another 17 were wounded, four officers and 13 ORs.
* Web pages - Burton, Cleaver, Mitchell
https://www.4thlighthorse.com/frank_burton_story.html
https://www.4thlighthorse.com/stories_ben_cleaver.html
https://www.4thlighthorse.com/stories_sid_mitchell.html

28/10/2026

Members of the 4th Light Horse Regiment Memorial Association have already been sent their copy of the Oct/Nov 2026 Newsletter.
Included in this edition are all the details for booking places at the Annual Lunch, Sun 29 Nov. There is also an article on the first two 4thLH troopers into Beersheba and another that suggests the possible French origin of the Regiment's motto -"Endure & Fight".
You can read a copy by clicking this safe link:
https://u.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZUujhJZXps0hhxMVYY20L183hHMOSUf0CiV

25/10/2026

Frank Burton worked his way up through the ranks in the 4th Light Horse Regiment while serving at Gallipoli and then in the Middle East. From being A Squadron’s SSM he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. That was on 20 Sep 1917. On 29 October A Squadron was selected to head the action now remembered as The Charge. Frank led his troop over the Turkish trenches at Beersheba and was shot before he could dismount. He was aged 22.
2Lt Francis James Burton is now commemorated with his own webpage in the “Pictures & Stories” section of the 4th Light Horse Regiment Memorial Association’s website. He is the first officer to have a page. Follow this link - https://www.4thlighthorse.com/frank_burton_story.html
Two members of Frank’s troop were caught by machine gun fire almost as soon as they did dismount.
Click the links to read about Cpl Sid Mitchell and Tpr Ben Cleaver:
https://www.4thlighthorse.com/stories_sid_mitchell.html
https://www.4thlighthorse.com/stories_ben_cleaver.html
Do you have a soldier from the 4th Light Horse in your family’s history? Do they have a webpage in “Pictures & Stories”? No? How to turn that around is explained here: https://www.4thlighthorse.com/pics_stories.html

19/10/2026

Cpl Sid Mitchell is the latest member of the 4th Light Horse Regiment to be remembered with his own webpage. Sadly Sid was one of four members of the same troop, all Gallipoli "originals" that died together as they reached the Turkish trenches at Beersheba. Click the link to read his story:
https://www.4thlighthorse.com/stories_sid_mitchell.html
Now, how about a page for your family's Light Horseman? Send in copies of recollections, photos and whatever bits & pieces still survive. It is also good to hear about what happened with those who made it safely home.
See how to start the process here: https://www.4thlighthorse.com/pics_stories.html

01/10/2026

Lighthorse - Troopers not Privates!
Australians always think of WW1 Light Horsemen as being Troopers. Yet, it seems that the Australian Army went through a time of denying the existence of this designation.
The evidence of this is quite clear in the records of 335 Gordon Story that are stored in the National Archives of Australia.
(His full name was actually General Gordon Butler Story, known in the family as “Gen” and to his friends and colleagues as Gordon. Sort of makes you think of Major Major in “Catch 22”.)
Gordon joined the 4th Light Horse and saw service on Gallipoli where he contracted a serious illness and as a despatch rider in France where he was wounded in action. Along with his comrades Gordon was awarded the Victory Medal, the 1914/1915 Star and the British War Medal.
In Gordon’s records from Jan 1919 is a note from the Officer In Charge Base Records that clearly explains about Gordon only being made up to Provisional Sergeant for a while and then returned to the rank of Trooper.
Back in Australia he returned to work as a Primary School teacher. Gordon received his medals in the mail in mid-July 1923. He wrote to the Australian Army asking to have the wording on his 1914/1915 Star changed from Pte (Private) to Tpr (Trooper) as a “matter of sentiment”.
The reply turning down this request, dated 7 Aug 1923, and signed for the Officer In Charge Base Records, states “ … the rank of Trooper was not given to the mounted men of the Australian Imperial Forces as they were not regular cavalry.”
(It might be particularly unkind but it is not hard to picture the letter author as some pedantic clerical seat-warmer who never heard an angry shot or had to fight on the burning sand or in the freezing mud.)
We know that the surviving old boys of the Regiment referred to their comrades as Troopers when talking about the 4th Light Horse to their grandchildren. We also know that modern “tankies” are Troopers and can be Cavalry.
So what happened after 1919, after the boys had been demobbed, and around 1923 for the Army to want to split hairs about mounted infantry not being cavalry?
See Gordon's webpage - https://www.4thlighthorse.com/stories_gordon_story.html

21/09/2026

Here is one for the military history buffs. Another question we might have asked our grandfathers, if only we had thought about it back then.
In a chat between 4th Light Horse Regiment Memorial Association members the question came up, “Is there a meaning behind which way the animal or character in a WW1 Australian military unit’s emblem is facing?”
We know that with equestrian statues, at least in the 1800s, the fate of the rider was suggested by the position of the hooves. The horse rearing, with both front legs raised, meant the rider died in battle. One hoof lifted, implies that rider was wounded in battle. All four hooves on the ground means that the rider was never injured in battle.
A very quick web search of Australian WW1 military emblems turned up a swan and also a lion facing right along with any number of kangaroos facing either way.
The 4th Light Horse “Endure and Fight” kangaroo seems to be having a bob each way. It has its body turned to its right but the head is facing around to its left.
So, is there a hidden message behind the way an emblem is facing or is it just that the direction was a random pick because the choices were quite limited?

13/09/2026

The latest member of the 4th Light Horse Regiment to have his own webpage is Tpr Ben Cleaver, said to be the first man from Sale to sign up. Sadly Ben died at Beersheba. Included in Ben's story is an extract from his CO's letter to Ben's sister. Interesting to read a first hand account of their part of "The Charge".
https://www.4thlighthorse.com/stories_ben_cleaver.html

Isn't it time for you to help create a page to honour your Light Horseman?

05/09/2026

Well, Light Horse buffs, here is another photo to ponder.
Allison, a keen 4thLHRMA member, was looking for pics of her Light Horseman and found this group photo. It is just labelled “4th Light Horse”. Her great uncle, Arthur Stevens, volunteered for the 4th Light Horse in November 1915 and was sent to Egypt in January 1916, part of the 14th Reinforcements .
She is pretty confident that Arthur is at the viewer’s right hand end of the third-up row of standing soldiers. He seems to be leaning out to see past the slouch hat in front. (The “x” marks someone else. As yet unidentified.)
There were around 160 in the 14th reinforcements and there are around 160 soldiers in this pic. Some look disturbingly young. They are wearing a mix of outfits, headwear, accoutrements and footwear.
Can anyone shed any light on the who, what and why of this group?