The Miraculous “Lives” of a
Man Called Jack
John Cox
Lime leaf publications, 2017,
205pp
John Cox has written a
touching biography of his father, Regimental Sergeant-Major Arthur John (Jack)
Cox, DCM, who served in action in the Boer War, the 1907 Zulu Rebellion and the
First World War. He also served in the Australian Militia from 1938 until 1942,
when he was discharged as unfit for overseas service before his unit sailed for
New Guinea.
The author follows his
father’s early life including his time on a fishing boat as a teenager and
service in the Hampshire Yeomanry. On the outbreak of the Boer War, Jack
transferred to the Imperial Yeomanry. He served in South Africa with his twin
brother Herbert, who was taller than Jack. This contributed to Herbert’s death
in action. He was tall enough to be incompletely concealed in a gully after a
Boer ambush, and was shot through the head by Jack’s side.
The author recounts Jack’s
later life in South Africa when he took his discharge there after the war
ended. While working with explosives with de Beers, Jack extinguished a fire
next to an explosive store, saving the facility from a possible disaster.
Later, Jack joined a contingent to help suppress a Zulu uprising in 1907.
Service as a patrol officer in the Transvaal followed. This ended when a
trainee patrol officer under Jack’s supervision disregarded orders and was
taken by a lion. Enough of Africa!
After a short interlude in
New Zealand culminating in an earthquake, Jack moved to Australia, ending up in
Lithgow. There he worked in the small arms factory, and met his future wife at
the boarding house where he stayed. Jack later moved to Bendigo and worked in
the gold mines until the outbreak of the First World War.
Jack soon enlisted as Number
85 in the 4th Light Horse Regiment.
He married his fiancée on the morning the unit embarked, and did not see
his wife again for more than four years.
When the Light Horse units
were required as reinforcements on Gallipoli, Jack went with his Regiment,
landing on 5 May. On Gallipoli Jack had a number of close escapes, including
from shell bursts and a faulty Turkish bomb that landed beside him as he slept.
He was also commended orally for staying in a trench while wounded, until
reinforcements could arrive.
After the evacuation of
Gallipoli, Jack spent some time with the newly raised Imperial Camel Corps
Brigade, including at the Battles of Romani, Magdhaba and Rafa, before
returning to his Regiment late in 1916. Jack rode with the 4th Light Horse at
Beersheba. During the charge he captured a Turkish machine gun post on the
flank. He was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for this action, although
he was told by his commanding officer that he had been recommended for the
Victoria Cross.
During the Es Salt raid,
Jack had another narrow escape, when his horse took the force of a shell burst
that killed three other men (and the horse). During the final offensive Jack’s
Regiment advanced to Damascus. Soon after, he and other ‘originals’ of the unit
embarked for Australia.
After working a soldiers’
settlement farm in northern New South Wales, where his six children were born,
Jack moved to Sydney in 1935. He joined the 36th Battalion of the Militia when
aged almost 60. After being discharged in 1942 as unfit for overseas service at
the age of 63, he worked in the Naval Armoury Stores until after the War. Jack
died in 1958 from the effects of a stroke he suffered in 1951.
Jack Cox, DCM, lived almost
80 years, many of which were spent serving the countries in which he lived. He
was an exemplar of a society that has now almost passed from the scene. In some
ways his story is reminiscent of another Australian soldier of the First World
War, Bert Facey.
The author expresses
disappointment that his father did not receive the VC that he probably earned.
This disappointment is understandable, but there were undoubtedly many men who
did not receive the recognition they deserved. For better or for worse, Jack
did receive the second highest award available to him. That award, this book, and
his many descendants, will ensure that he is not forgotten.
JOHN DONOVAN
