Not Forgotten, 147 Trooper William John SNUDDEN, 10 Light Horse, World War 1

On the Dowerin War Memorial and on the Minnivale Roll of Honour there is a W. Sneddon listed, however I cannot find anyone that sensibly fits this name. I have gone with the closest match that makes sense to me. Trooper William John Snudden was born in Melbourne. His next of kin is listed as Mrs. E.J. Snudden of Harvey, Western Australia and his occupation is listed as timber cutter. There is no clear indication of a connection to Dowerin at this stage. He had spent 4 years in the 18th Australian Light Horse in Victoria until he resigned.

William Snudden enlisted in the 10th Light Horse Regiment at Guildford on 10 December 1914 at 24 years of age. The 10th Light Horse was in Egypt at Mena Camp. Due to the terrain and the static nature of the
fighting on the Gallipoli peninsula it was felt that mounted units could not play a part. However a number of light horse units, including the 10th, were deployed without their horses as infantry. The units left 25% of their men in Egypt to care for the horses, and the 10th Light Horse Regiment landed at Gallipoli on 21 May 1915 from the SS Lutzow. Initially they were used in a defensive role, but in August as the Allies attempted to break the stalemate, they were part of the August Offensive.

Trooper Snudden was killed in action at the Nek on 7 August 1915. A board of enquiry was held at Russell’s Top, Gallipoli on 9 August 1915 to enquire into the officers, N.C.O.’s and men of the 10th Light Horse Regiment reported missing since the assault on the Turkish trenches on the Nek on the morning of 7 August. The report of the Board of Enquiry lists 3 officers, 5 N.C.O’s and 29 men as missing after this action. In the report Lieut. Colonel N.M. Brazier stated that he ordered the 10th Regiment under his command to assault in 2 lines the Turkish trenches on the Nek, in an easterly direction from the Australian trenches on Russell’s Top, although at the time there was a murderous hail of shrapnel, machine gun and rifle fire from the enemy and he felt quite convinced few if any would return. Lieutenant Colonel Brazier had seen through a periscope a great number of dead outside the trenches,
and had caused the recovery of all the bodies that he considered wise to risk further loss of life for. He further stated that in his opinion all the mission are dead, and from reports of the wounded whoreturned to the lines and from personal observation with the periscope immediately after the assault, that no single individual of the 10th regiment reached the Turkish trenches. Subsequent to the assault the enemy was seen deliberately firing on the wounded. The board concluded that all the missing were dead.

The Nek is the battle immortalized in the final scenes of the 1981 Peter Weir film Gallipoli. Trooper Snudden was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the memorial to the missing at Lone Pine, Gallipoli.