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COGGER/CAVALIER - Father & son at Gallipoli, 1915.

At the marriage of Evelyn Cavalier to Tom Cogger in 1891 (see wedding photo) the bride was given away by her brother Ernest Sydney Cavalier. Here he is, 24 years later, at the age of 48, in the trenches at Gallipoli with his son Ronald Ernest Cavalier. That's son Ron in front and father Sydney with the beard and pipe rear left. How unusual is this - father and son at Gallipoli together? And how amazing that they both survived. We are extremely grateful to have learned of this from Peter Griffin of Cheltenham, Melbourne, whose father was a mate of Ron's - or 'Cav' as he was known - during WWI. Sydney was a member of the 22nd Battalion, a Victorian Infantry unit in the 2nd Australian Division. His son was a member of the 2nd Field Artillery Battery, rising to the rank of WO1, and went on to serve in WWII as well, as a motor mechanic in the 102nd General Transport Company. This photo can be seen on the Australian War Memorial Photographic Database at http://www.awm.gov.au/database/photo.asp Once on the web-site, go to 'Advanced Search' and key in the neg. no. C00667. It can also be ordered on-line. Ron Cavalier's war service makes impressive reading. Here is an extract from Mr David Horner's book about the FAB, 'The Gunners' in which he relates an incident in the Battle of Ypres: 'the going was extremely hard in the mud and the shell holes' and the unit was 'under intense shell fire'. Battery Sgt Major Norman Ellsworth lost both legs, one just below the hip and the other at the knee, and 'the No. 1 gun sergeant, Ron Cavalier, sprung off his horse and went to Ellsworth's help and was calmly told "Don't worry about me Ronnie, get your gun into action." Sgt Major Ellsworth died shortly after.'

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