Lieutenant Colonel William McKenzie, MC, OBE - Diary - 1914 - 1917 - Part 1

JOURNAL —
of —
William McKenzie
Chaplain Expeditionary Forces
1^st Australian Contingents
 

Sydney
1-10-14   If found
To be forwarded to 
69 Bourke Street
Melbourne
Victoria Australia

1
I arrived home from the I.C.C. on friday
night 11/9/14 spent the weekend at Bendigo
I was hurriedly summoned to N.H.Q
to interview the C.O. on the matter
of becoming Chaplain to the Expeditionary
Forces going to Europe.
Fortunately, I had just arrived in
Melbourne from axx nine days 
tour in the Nth East of Vic.
I therefore had only to rush
home to Bendigo, which I did

by the Express had tea at 9 pm
Informed my wife at 9 15, who
took the matter in a very fine
soldierly way & said “If you feel
it is the right thing to do, I have
no objections to raise & may God

go with & take care of you."
We had to work all night getting ready
she in darning & getting clothing
ready & I in doing needful office
work & packing up.
I left Bendigo by the 11.50am special
train on Friday Sept 25^th 1914
reached Melbourne at 3.50pm.
Had to undergo a medical exam
sign various documents and
rush off to Rly Station to proceed
to Sydney by the 5 p.m. express.
Journeyed over in the Express
with Sir Albert Jones (Senator)
Had a long chat with him.
Mr Benatnell also on the train.
The Cadets Band & N.H.Q. staff gave me
a very fine send off at Melbourne
Rly Station.

2
Had a "Sleeper" from Albury, and
slept fairly comfortable on the whole.
Was met at Sydney in the D.C.
D.A. Brigadier Williams, Adjt Slattey & others
Rushed off to visit the Commdt ([[l.o.n.?]])
(Col Mallack) informed that boat not
departing for some time yet.  So front
up at the People's Palace.
Conducted the Sunday's meetings at 
Sydney Congress Hall. A fine day, good
end on disinteresting meetings, 4 forward
spent Monday in getting things together
Met Coman & Mrs Hay on Tuesday
Had lengthy conference with him.
Then spent the aft'n in Col McMillan's
xxxx com purchasing outfit etc.
Went with Coman & Mrs Hay in the 
evening to New Town, where he delivered
a magnificent talk on "The Empire's
Salv^tn ally" The Mayor presided.
The stall was a little over ½ full.
Visited the ship "Miltiades" on
Wedy morning _∧also saw Col Lee & the Comnd
Also visited 2 Military Camps
Looked up the Imperial Reserve force
on friday & satdy aftns
[*1914*] Sunday. Oct 4^th Journeyed in Convoy
with Adjt McKinnon up to Rose
Hill Racecourse Military Camp to 
inaugurate the religious services
in the tent at 3 p.m. much curious
interest manifested by men, 300
present, Marquee full at night
Pleasing facilities granted by Army
to men. Give great pleasure and 
surprise, officers also delighted
3 

Visited Mrs Adjt Gore in private Hospital
Old soul very weak, she was pleased.
Conducted a meeting at Rochdales
on Tuesday evening. Had a helpful
time. The whole Hoepper family present.
Conducted the Sunday night meeting
at Newtown, Had a helpful &
inspirational season with two penitents
at the close & a real good
'windup'.
On Sunday Oct 11^th was present
all day at Waterloo, a wet day
Had 3 Oh-be-joyful meetings &
met the band for an informal
talk. Band greatly improved and
certainly does credit to their young
Bandmaster. The finish of 
the day was a lively march round
the Building. I did no good!
Mrs M^cKenzie & Mavis came
over from Bendigo to Sydney and
stayed a couple of days & nights
at the P.P. I was powerfully glad
to see them again. They left by the 
express for home on Thursday evening.
Conducted the Sunday meetings 15/10/14
at Petersham It rained in torrents 
all day. The services were real
good. The band lovely & the
fine finish to it all was mood
affecting.  I had tea with Mrs
Birkenshaw, who is an enforced
'confine' to her house thro her
affliction, but  remaining remarkably
cheerful thro' it all. 

4

I stayed at the _∧Sydney Peoples Palace for
24 days & was shown great kindness
by all.
I had been detailed to the "Miltiades"
but orders came cancelling this at
the last minute & transferring me
to the Aust forces again on the
'Euripides' It caused me some

trouble to get my dunnage out

& cost me some money, all told,

from first to last 2 5/-.
The British Reservists embarked on
Satdy morning amid a deluge of
rain thro' which they had marched
from the Ranwick Camp (6 miles out
many of the men were infuriated
We embarked on the 'Euripides' on
Monday Oct 19^th from 9 to 12 am.
The ship being in midstream, we
had to go out on ferry boats
There are 2,500 troops aboard &
300 of a crew. It is a well
appointed ship of 15,000 tons
Never before have so many troops
left Aust in one single ship.
We lay all aft'n & night in the
Harbour & set out at 6-30 a.m.
The sea was fairly rough outside
& so many were sick within a
a short time. I was O.K.

I was given a cabin to myself.
A large roomy state Room, with
a Port Hole, so I am very comfortably
fixed up & have heaps
of room & plenty of quiet.
5

A short praise meeting was held
on Tuesday & Wedy nights from
8-15 to 8-30 p.m.
A sing song on Thursday by the
Medical Corps, which contains
a fine lot of manly fellows, many
of whom are Christians.
No 3 Battalion gave a fine Concert
on Friday night & No 4 Batt
on Satdy night — The Pipe & Brass
Bands took part.
An early morning Service was
held in the library (Communion)
on Sunday Oct 25^th at 7-45
Official Service was held in the
aft well deck at 11 a.m. and as
Bible Class formed in the Medicals
Room at 3 p.m. 25 joined.
A short service was also held for
the hospital patients at 6 p.m.
At 8 p.m. a voluntary Evangelistic

meeting held on fore well deck. A
choir formed for future meetings.

retired at 11-30 p.m. 
26/10/14 — Monday — Commenced 

official prayers at 8-45 a.m.
these to be held each morning,
in the fore & aft well decks.
We have had a remarkably fine
passage across the 'Bight' Every
body in good spirits.

A considerable amounts of gambling
going on - one man won £50 at
Banker & got put in the Gaol for 96

hours as did also another man 
for playing with him. 

6

There are 15 cases of v-l disease
in the infections Hospital & others
ripening for it; 2 cases of measles.
Physical drill indulged in considerably. 

(A fine body of Officers

who are very kind & considerate

We arrived at Albany on Monday

noon & anchored in the outer
Harbour there after saluting the
Flagship "Orvieto" on which is
General Bridges & the H'Qrts
Staff — All troops assembled on
Bridge Decks of ship & remained
so for an hour & a half. We
got lunch at 2 p.m. It was a
most interesting sight to witness
all the Transports in the Harbour
the bulk of which had got in on
Satdy & Sunday before us. They
formed in 3 distinct lines.
Our boat "Euripides" is the flagship
of the 2^nd line & a shire boat is
the flagship of the 3^rd line.
Commander Caley is in charge
of our No 2 section.
I was able to get at ashore on Wedy
morning & spent 4 hours on land

in Albany. Visited the Army Qrts

(Ensign) & had lunch.
Albany a quiet yet picturesque

little town of some 3,000 Inhabts

met devine an old Grandstandsman
& also Smith (Material) made some purchases
& caught the 4 pm tug back, but
had to go right round the fleet
 7

our ship was the last to be visited
we took 3¾ hours to do the round.
I had quite an experience in climbing

up the rope ladder 38 ft. On getting

on to it the tug steamed off & pulled
away the rope ladder, & had me
swinging in midair, clinging to it
like a monkey & when it let
go I was bumped against the
shipside & the ladder was on the
outside of me, by shear physical
strength I managed to turn
it around & then begin climbing
It was a big effort, making my
heart thump against my ribs
& I was clean done when I reach
the upper deck. However, it was
soon over &  a past experience.
It was dark too which made it
more triping.
We lay at anchor until Sunday
morning Nov 1^st when we set sail
at 6-45 a.m. as good crowd of
people lined the hills at the mouth

of the harbour to see the awe
inspiring sight as the Convoy of
Cruisers with the transports
left the harbour under sealed
orders. The New Zealand Fleet
had come in on Wedy morning
10 transports & one two cruisers
The morning we left was ideal
the atmosphere clear, the sea
calm & the sun fairly warm
what a magnificent sight too 

8

Nov 1^st A powerful cruiser leads
the way - the Minatour" she
has 9.2 in guns & is very speedy
The Melbourne & Sydney are also
with us & several others. The
'Minatour' is followed by three
parrallell lines of troopships,
leads each line led by their
respective flagship, the
"Orvieto" taking the centre line
"Euripides" on her starboard
& the Wiltshire on the Port side
with Cruisers on each flank.
The New Zealand fleet is following
immediately behind our centre

line with their flagship "Mancaniu"
in the lead All the N.Z. ships
are painted a dull grey colour.
Its a sight good to look upon.
The Sunday services were very good
6 30 & 9 15 a.m. Parade 11, Bible
Class 3 p.m. Hospital 5-30 p.m.
Evangelistic Meeting 8 p.m. The
singing of the men splendid
The O.C. issued orders prohibiting
gambling in any form, which has
greatly diminished the practise.
The men were glad to leave the Port
& get on the move again, as some
were becoming restive.
While in Albany Harbour, one man
was drowned off a troopship
Eleven others swam ashore of a
ship to desert, but were recaptured
& brought back & punished.
9

Several were discharged from our
ship owing to sickness — one Officer
(Lt Hind) he was very poorly & felt the
going back very keenly — he wept sorely
on parting with his Officer comrades.
Ordered a set of Band Backs from
Perth Depot while at Albany, had a
letter to say they were dispatched, but
they failed to be delivered, Am sorry
for this. Everything going all right
with us. Concerts taking well.
Had an Officers xxxxx Concert in the
Dining Room on Tuesday evening
Nov 3^rd The Brigadier presided. It passed
off with very fair success.
The 4^th Battalion gave a fine
Concert on Wedy night Nov 4^th.
Caught a dose of the Influenza
& was laid up for two days.
On Thursday evening the R.M.Q.
'Osterley' passed close to our
Starboard having come 50 miles
out of her course to let her passengers
witness the magnificent fleet of
Aust troopships for which the
Commander of same was [[?]]
by the Officer of the fleet &
the Osterley was straight away forbidden
to land any passengers
or mails at Colombox as a penalty
for their animosity. The
passengers shared our ship &
'the boys' returned their [[?]]
The situation came down the lines
This (Thur) aftn & squared up some 

10

of the ship that did not keep
in line. We have entered the
tropics & the weather is fairly warm
everything is going fairly well.
Some of the hospital cases very bad
with Phneumonia (5 such cases)
On Satdy night we were called for
a drill with all life belts on and
positions assigned to us for getting
away on the boats.  I am with
No F. Campy on the main deck.
The supposition was that we
were attacked by the enemy on
a given signal we from the
flagship all lights were turned
off.  The men had to hurry to position
with life belts on & boots off
Officers with revolvers loaded
standing ready, men sat on deck
boat crews stood ready & sentries
with fixed bayonetss & there we
remained for one hour, the

men not being permitted to speak
It was a creditable performance
Sunday Nov 8th One of the hospital
patients (Kendall of O'Connor St Sydney

died at 2-00 a.m. from heart failure
(Pneumonia case) He had been a
policeman, just married a few weeks
he was 22 years of age.  So we had
our first funeral at sea at
10-30 A.M. on Sunday morning.  The
Dean & I conducted the Service
I read the lesson & he prayed
& read the commital
11 

Our Sunday services were good
6-30 & 7-15 A.M. 10-30 Burial 11 AM
Church Parade.  Bible Class at 3
p.m. held on deck 76 present, 50
of whom gave in names.  I had a
fine 30 minutes or so on "David"
& the men were greatly interested.
The Dean reckoned it a '[[wars?]] treat'
We had a short hospital service at
6 p.m. & a stirring evangelical
service at 8 p.m. I had 20 min
on "This man receiveth sinners"
It was a free enjoyable time.  The
men sang like heroes.  A violin
& Accordian led the singing.
It was a happy 65 minutes.
Monday Nov 9^th was easily the
most exciting & interesting day
we have yet put in on this trip.
It was a clear warm morning
& it was evidently even at
7 a.m. that something was
astir by the movement of the
Convoy Warships.  In response
to an S.O.S. message & then in
formation the "Sydney" set out
for the Cocos Islands.  The first
intimations we received was a
bugle call for all Officers on deck
at 10-15 A.M. when we were informed
that the enemy was in
the vicinity & all were forbidden
to toss anything overboard
that would float & so 

12
thereby indicate our route.
Next at 11-15 a message came
saying "Sydney" engaging the
enemy & 30 minutes later
we heard "Emden beached
& done for" now chasing
Colliers.  We also heard, 3 other
Armed merchantmen escaped
the Emden, two Captured, one
escaped.  Prior to this we were
stirred to see the big Japanese
Warship shoot across our
bows meanwhile getting up
full steam & clearing the decks
for action, up went to big
flags - the Rising sun, over went
all spars & timbers, Guns were
swung out & fully manned &
off she went at a high speed
Also did the "Melbourne" Meanwhile
the good news of the
"Sydney's" work was received on
board with great outbursts
of enthusiastic shouting and
singing "Sons of the Seas" &
"We'll be there".  The Brigadier
announced a half holiday and
also opened the Canteen for an
extra ½ hour.  The Band was
paraded to play the national
anthem & while the strains of
this was floating o'er the waters
the immortal spirit of Private Lowe
of B Compy 3^rd Battln was called
to the presence of his Maker.
13
another victim to "Pneumonia"
He was a fine sweet spirited young
man up^wds 21 years, formerly resident
in Surrey Engld, Brotherin law
a private on board.  The body
was buried at 3-30 p.m. It was
a solemn proceedure.  We marched
with slow stately tread from the
Hospital at the poop deck to
the forard well deck. The Dean
& I alternately reciting the
90 Psalms.  I read the lesson
the the Commital & prayer
& the 20 30 buglers sounded the
last post. It was a solemn
undertaking, the ship Captn
(Douglas) was greatly moved.
Owing to the enemy's ships being
in the vicinity, all hands were
order to sleep on their deck positions
all night, with the exception
of the Officers. I was given a
Revolver & cartridges to stand
guard over the boat to keep it
from being rushed unduly in
case of a sudden call.  All
ship trawelled with lights extinguished
& it was an impressive
experience.  However the morning
broke without anything serious
happening.
News came thro' that the 'Sydney'
lost 2 killed & had 15 wounded
in the battle, a slight loss for
a big victory, the Austns were
beside themselves for joy over the x result

14
Wedy Nov 11th 1914 !
Latest information re the
"Sydney" & Emden" Duet is asunder in
In response to a [[?]] assigned
& other information the "Sydney"

which guarded the starboard
flank of our fleet set out for
the Cocos islands at 7 A.M. (I saw
her depart) This was some 50
miles distant - The Sydney sighted
the enemy at 9 30 AM, & set after
the "Emden" at full speed which
made off in a Northerly direction
The Sydney got into firing range
at 10-30 & 20 minutes later was
closely engaged.  The 'Emden' speedily
lost her foremast & all three
funnells besides receiving vital
damage, to save themselves, the
Germans beached the Emden, tho
they kept their flag flying, the
'Sydney then made off after the
collier speedily captured her
took off the crew & sank the
ship & then returned to the Cocos
Islands when the Emden surrendered
In the absence of the "Sydney"
while after the Collier, The Officer
& crew attacked the wireless
station & destroyed it, all save
one instrument which the
wireless men had planted & this
is now in use, they also cut
one of the Cables, but left two
intact.  It is as yet unknown how
many casualties the Germans

15
suffered but they must be very
considerable, the Sydney's were
comparatively slight, Hospital accomodation
is being provided on
the Island & the Sydney is bringing
all the prisoners on to Colombo.
I was innoculated against
Typhoid this aftn at 2 30 p.m.
The pain was considerable at night
making me feel Bilious & sick & my
arm stiff & sore, Had a much
worse day following.
Thursday Nov 12^th!
A powerfully armed
Merchantman Cruiser passed us
en route to the Cocos Islands
to fix up the wireless station
she carried 8 - 9.2 Guns besides
smaller weapons.  The Jap Cruiser
"Ibuki" cut off at full speed to
meet her as soon as she appeared
on the horizon at 1 p.m. thinking
it might be an enemy, as she
had not heralded her approach.
It was the C.P.R. ship Star of Asia
or "Hampshire"
The "Melbourne" left us this morning
for Colombo to join the Sydney.
The Jap ship took the lead.
Friday Nov 12^th
The New Zealand fleet
of twelve ships left us this morning
making for Colombo for Water, Coal
& other goods.  They looked a
fine lot as they passed our
flagship.  These ships were

16
still in sight at 6-30 pm some
7 miles ahead of us, going a
little more than one Knot
per hour more than our fleet.
We crossed the line about 6
a.m. this morning.  We had a
very heavy rain storm for
5 hours which has cooled things
considerably.
We celebrated the "Crossing" today
with great gusto - the Brass
Band was in evidence.  Father
Neptune, Mrs Neptune and a
great retinue were present
hundreds were present. It
got too rough at last & had to
be stopped. Indeed they [[?]]
the Sergts Mess & ill treated some
of the sergts as a result three
men got 28 days each in the
Guardroom, one was tried by
Court-martial, the other two elected
to be left in the A.V.s hands the
C.M. verdict was 21 days, this with
the week awaiting made up 22.
We arrived in Colomb on Sunday
at midday, anchored outside &
then went in to the harbour on
Tuesday morning at 6 A.M.
for stores & water.  We loaded
with longing eyes at the shore but
were not permitted to land.
We were thus glad to leave which we
did on Tuesday evening at 7 pm
While in Colombo we saw the
17
"Sydney"? learned that she had only
 been hit once, with a shell.
which splintered one of her
spans & killed 3 men & wounding
10 others.  We also learned that
the Emden's losses were 148
Killed, & 80 wounded, some of
the Sydney's shells doing deadly
execution & shattering the
men the to human fragments
The Emden was run ashore on
an island that had no water
& the men were without water
for 50 hours, a Doctor & several
others drank sea water & died.
This occured while the "Sydney"
was chasing the "Collier" & returning
The Germans did not at first wish
to surrender but kept their flag
flying, the Sydney Commander
informed them that they could
only thus stand by & let them
perish with thirst as he would
shoot no more, on hearing
this they hauled down their
flag, & surrendered, some 240
prisoners taken, in addition to
the wounded. Forty men who had
landed with 4 Machine Guns
in the morning to destroy the
Wireless station, which they almost
succeeded in doing & cut one
cables, After seeing the inevitable
result of the fight, shipped their
Guns on a small schooner ([[?]])