ASK people today about the highest medal for bravery in this country, the Victoria Cross of Australia and most will be able to name Ben Roberts Smith or Mark Donaldson from recent times as recipient and rightly so.
Since 1991 the Victoria Cross of Australia has been awarded, but between 1901 and 1991 Australians were eligible for the Victoria Cross in its original form, as initiated by Queen Victoria in 1856. To win either Victoria Cross has involved actions of superb bravery.
Former Ingham and now Mackay resident Keith Payne is the only surviving Victoria Cross winner in Australia from the pre-1991 era.
The World War I 1914-1918 involved 330,000 Australians from all walks of life who volunteering to serve this country overseas, and 66 of them were awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery. (Two were actually won after the war officially ended as some Australians volunteered to fight in Russia in 1919).
Many people may not realise today that Queensland and in particular North Queensland has a home grown Victoria Cross winner from the World War I who had what seems like an incredible and eventful life, his name was Henry Dalziel.
Henry joined the ranks of Victoria Cross winners in 1918, after having already fought for three long years as a member of the 15th Battalion (which was mainly comprised of Queenslanders), part of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF).
Born in 1883, at Irvinebank, young Henry was educated there and joined the Queensland Railway as an apprentice where he often worked on the Cairns-Atherton route.
When war came in August 1914 many people’s lives were changed forever. Henry volunteered for military service in January 1915, just before his 22nd birthday and served at Gallipoli as a reinforcement.
Surviving the horrors of Gallipoli, Henry’s unit went to France with the AIF in 1916 after a period of rest and recovery in Egypt. He fought in many battles and was wounded in October 1917. After recovering from wounds he rejoined his unit in June 1918 and it was in the battle for a village called Hamel, on July 4 1918, that he performed the deeds that won him the Victoria Cross. He was severely wounded in the head during this battle.
The official citation for his Victoria Cross award reads as follows:
“For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty when in action with a Lewis gun section. His company met with determined resistance from a strong point which was strongly garrisoned, manned by numerous machine-guns and, undamaged by our artillery fire, was also protected by strong wire entanglements. A heavy concentration of machine-gun fire caused many casualties, and held up our advance. His Lewis gun having come into action and silenced enemy guns in one direction, an enemy gun opened fire from another direction. Private Dalzell dashed at it and with his revolver, killed or captured the entire crew and gun, and allowed our advance to continue. He was severely wounded in the hand, but carried on and took part in the capture of the final objective. He twice went over open ground under heavy enemy artillery and machine-gun fire to secure ammunition, and though suffering from considerable loss of blood, he filled magazines and served his gun until severely wounded through the head. His magnificent bravery and devotion to duty was an inspiring example to all his comrades and his dash and unselfish courage at a critical time undoubtedly saved many lives and turned what would have been a serious check into a splendid success”
—the London Gazette, 17 August 1918
Henry’s wound was so great that little hope was given for his survival but somehow he did recover and was able to return to Australia after the war ended in 1919.
He returned to North Queensland to a hero’s welcome and was greeted at every railway station between Townsville and Atherton on the way home! He married in 1920 and for a time became a farmer near Atherton.
When the depression years hit, Henry travelled south for work and spent some time as a miner near Bathurst NSW.
In 1933 he enlisted in the Citizen Military Forces (similar to the Army reserve) and was part of the guard of honour at the opening of Queensland Parliament in Brisbane.
At some stage, possibly while recovering in hospital from wounds, he developed a love of song writing. One of this songs “A Song for the Tablelands” was published in the UK and USA. He also became a noted poet, artist and potter.
During World War II he served his country again, volunteering for the army and working in support roles until 1943, within Australia.
Henry lived the remainder of his life in Brisbane and died of a stroke at 72, in 1965.
Reading about his life, it would be great to hear from any of his descendants as his story is so unique and represents a generation of people who gave so much to this country.
Henry’s legacy lives on in several ways today, a sporting oval is named after him in Irvinebank, and the “Henry Dalziel” Dialysis centre is part of Greenslopes Repatriation Hospital in Brisbane, He also has a street in Nundah, Brisbane, named after him.
What makes his story even more unique is that up until 1991 only 1357 Victoria Crosses have been awarded with Henry’s being the 1000th.
Henry Dalziel- local and Australian hero. Lest we forget.
