8. Chaplains in the Military
Chaplains in the Military
Saluting their Service - Grahame Old
WW1
Chaplains have always played an important role in the Australian military services, and they continue to do so to present day. The Royal Australian Army Chaplains Department was first formed in 1913 a year before the outbreak of WW1. Chaplains or ‘Padres’ as they were affectionately known, from the Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist and Roman Catholic faiths were invited to volunteer for service with the AIF. They had no formal training in military life and most of their skills were gained ‘on the job’. The Chaplains enlisted as direct entry officers and held the ranks from Captain through to Lieutenant Colonel. During the course of WW1, 414 clergymen served with the AIF. Chaplains conduct church parades and religious services for the troops and provide spiritual guidance, encouragement and advice to both soldiers and commanders. They also organise sporting and other activities to improve the morale and welfare of the soldiers. Above all they provide a comforting ear to the wounded and dying, administer the ‘Last Rites’ and bury the deceased. This is the story of two Chaplains who served during WW1. A Catholic priest, Father John FAHEY and a Collie Methodist minister the Reverend Milton Reeves Maley.
Chaplain 3rd Class (Major) John Fahey DSO MID
John FAHEY was born on 3 October 1883 at Rossmore, County Tipperary, Ireland. His parents were devout Catholics and John followed in their footsteps and studied for the priesthood. John was subsequently ordained a priest in 1907 and at the age of 24 years set out for Australia to conduct missionary work.
Father FAHEY began his pastoral career in 1908 at York, WA and after one year was appointed to the parish of Yarloop which included the towns of Harvey, Jarrahdale, Pinjarra, Waroona and Yarloop where he worked for the next 5 years. He was renowned as an active sportsman and admired in the Southwest of WA. On 8 September 1914, Father FAHEY aged 30 years enlisted into the AIF for WW1 active service.
The AIF appointed FAHEY as a Chaplain 4th Class (Captain) and he was assigned to WA’s own 11th Infantry Battalion. After training at Blackboy Hill, Greenmount the Battalion sailed from Fremantle in October 1914 aboard the troopship ‘Ascanius’ for overseas service. On the 21 April the 3rd Brigade (included the 11th Battalion) were advised they were to lead the first assault on Gallipoli. Chaplains, who were non-combatants, were expected to remain in relative safety on board ship until the beachhead was cleared but many ignored this protocol to be with their men. A total of 72 honours and bravery awards were made to chaplains on active service during WW1. An example of this gallantry is shown by the actions of Father John FAHEY who ignored the order to remain on ship when the landing barges went ashore at Gallipoli, he stowed away with his ‘WA boys’ of the 11th Infantry Battalion some of whom were ‘Collie Boys’. He was continuously found where the fighting was the thickest.
Father FAHEY was kept very busy on the first day, with 60 members of the 11th Battalion having been killed and several hundred more suffering from wounds. He was there on the blood soaked beach comforting and administering the last rites to his dying soldiers, Catholic, Protestant and non- believers were all blessed by Father FAHEY. He was idolized by the 11th battalion men, who regarded him as inspirational because of his personal bravery in the field. He would carry provisions up to the men and assist the wounded back down to the medics. It was widely known that Father FAHEY was not afraid to go where the bullets fell thickly. He was lucky to survive his Gallipoli service where he had several near misses; bullets pierced his overcoat and haversack on several occasions and he had a book and jam tin shot from his hands on separate occasions.
Father FAHEY became ill in July 1915 and was hospitalised, he re-joined his beloved 11th Battalion before they moved to France and the bloody battlefields of the Western Front, including Pozieres and the battle of the Somme. During these two battles the 11th Battalion lost more than 500 officers and men. In September 1916 Captain FAHEY was promoted to Chaplain 3rd Class (Major). When asked if he would like to return home to Australia Father FAHEY said; “…he would stay with his men for as long as there were any of the Brigade left”. However he was appointed to new roles away from the front and in March 1918 after three years of war he asked to be returned home. Father FAHEY arrived in Fremantle in May 1918 and was officially discharged on the 28 May 1918.
For his actions during the Gallipoli campaign Father FAHEY was recognised with the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for gallantry under fire and Mentioned in Despatches (MID).
Father FAHEY was also a scholar, a prolific writer and speaker his descriptions of actions at Gallipoli and the Western Front are widely acknowledged. Of the landing at Gallipoli he wrote; “There was no cover. We were packed so closely that one bullet would wound or kill three men, and we could not hit back, for the enemy was invisible. There was only one anxiety amongst the men, to reach the shore and rush the Turks with the bayonet”
Of the 11th Battalion baptism of fire on the Western Front he wrote, “Even if censorship allowed me. I shall make no attempt to describe what I have seen at the Somme. It beggars all description. It is appalling, it is diabolical and it is a wonder how anyone escapes”.
A great orator Father FAHEY made many speeches following the war. Of the Australian soldier he said, “ For three and a half years I have been with the Australian troops and no matter how long I live, I will never regret that association. No country can produce a better class of fighting man than ours”.
Perhaps one of his greatest speeches was made when he acknowledged the contribution of the nurses and the women at home during the war; “They bear the great anguish of the war. Their sons, their husbands, and their sweethearts have left them to go the field of battle-perhaps forever. It is the women who bear the great burden of sorrow. They have shown wonderful heroism. The women’s anguish is a mental suffering, and knows no relaxation. Go among the sorrow-stricken women folk and you can see the sadness in their glances-sometimes it is impossible to bear”.
Father John FAHEY was one of the founders of the WA branch of the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League (now known as the RSL). He was elected State president in 1919.
He continued to serve the ministry as the parish priest of the Star of the Sea Catholic church Cottesloe and in Kellerberrin and various other Perth Parishes. He returned to Cottesloe in 1939 where he remained until his death in 1959 at the age of 75 years. He was laid to rest in the Karrakatta General cemetery not far from Martin O’Meara VC.
Chaplain 4th Class (Captain) Milton Reeves MALEY
A Methodist minister from Collie, the reverend Milton Reeves MALEY, was quick to enlist in the AIF at the outbreak of WW1. Reverend MALEY was born in Adelaide in 1880. He moved to WA in 1903 and joined the Methodist ministry two years later. He served on probation as a missionary in WA country towns, Wagin, Kellerberrin, Brookton, Mt Magnet and Meekatharra, before being ordained in 1912. He was then sent to Collie where he served as the Methodist minister for three years. In September1915, he enlisted into the AIF from Collie and was appointed Chaplain 4thClass (Captain).
Chaplain MALEY spent four years abroad with the Australian Light Horse, his military service included;
Chaplain 4th Class: Al Hayat Convalescent depot Helouan Egypt.
Chaplain 4th Class: No 2 Australian Stationary Hospital Tel-el-Kebir Egypt.
Senior Chaplain (Methodist division): 2nd Australian Light Horse Brigade Anzac Mounted Division Egypt.
Senior Chaplain: Regional Headquarters of the 6th Light Horse Regiment Egypt.
In October 1919, he embarked Port Said for England and was granted extended leave before his return to Australia in November 1919.
Reverend MALEY was discharged from the AIF on the 29 December 1919 after four years as a military chaplain. He returned to WA and went to Albany to continue his ministry. In 1938, he moved back to South Australia and on his retirement came back to live at Safety Bay in WA. Rev Maley died in WA on 3 October 1971, age 91.
(Source: Chaplains in WW1).
Chaplains: Remembered forever at the Collie Cardiff RSL Sub Branch
“Lest we Forget”