One of Trundle's forgotten hero's is 489 Lieutenant Frederick Sydney Cornett who was awarded the Military Cross, was 23 years of age.
James and Harriett Cornett and family moved to Trundle in 1912 from Gundagai and purchased “Claris Park”. They had five children Frederick, Edith (Mrs H. Gibson - Trundle), Gordon (Cowra), Arthur (Rose Bay), Doris (Mrs G. Dent - Orange). In 1914, James Cornett was appointed the coroner of Trundle and was President of the Trundle Jockey Club and was on the Government Assistance Board during the 1919-1920 draught when trundle ran out of water and it was bought in by train.
Fred Cornett was 20 years old and employed as a station hand when he enlisted on 12 September 1914 with his comrade Scott Beuzeville. They were selected for the elite of the Australian Forces, the 6th Light Horse Regiment. He was later transferred to the 2nd Australian Light Horse Machine Gun Regiment as a trooper in the machine-gun section, attached to the Light Horse, and sailed in December, under General Ryrie.
What makes Fred Cornett special, he served in Gallipoli was wounded at Lone Pine, taken to Malta Hospital with severe concussion. After three months' treatment in hospital he returned to Egypt, and resumed duty with his regiment. Fred Cornett went through the Palestine campaign, during which be gained his rank as a corporal then sergeant and commissioned to the rank of lieutenant in the field.
In a letter Fred wrote from Palestine to his parents in March 1917 he said
“The boys are living high, on the strength of the advance in Mesopotamia. Purchased two chooks in the holy land. The fighting is heavy. Still going strong – SGT Cornett”
Lieutenant Cornett subsequently returned to Australia, 26 December 1918 and was awarded the Military Cross, 1914/15 Star, British War Medal, Victory Medal and ANZAC Commemorative Medal for his war services and was also mentioned in dispatches.
Fred Cornett was one of Trundle most decorated soldiers and was honored by the Trundle Community with a plaque in the Avenue of Remembrance located near the Memorial Hall.
After the war he returned to Trundle and in 1919 was the first President of the Trundle Returned Soldiers and Sailors Imperial League of Australia. He married Madge and had two children, Frederick and Roslyn (deceased) and father-in-law of Helen and one grandchild.
Fred opened a business as a Machinery Agent in Albert, and then later in Tullamore where he lived for many years.
On 9th September 1953 he died in Concord Military Hospital at the age of 59.
The British (Imperial) Military Cross
The Military Cross is awarded to commissioned officers of the substantive rank of Captain or below or Warrant Officers for distinguished and meritorious services in battle. The MC was established in December, 1915. In 1920, the terms were altered to clearly state the award was for gallant and distinguished services in action and that naval and air force officers could be awarded the cross for gallant and distinguished services on the ground.
There was no gallantry award, lesser than the VC and DSO, for junior officers and warrant officers until shortly after the outbreak of the First World War when the MC was instituted. Originally awarded to captains, lieutentants and warrant officers of the Army (including the RFC), it was subsequently extended to include equivalent ranks of the RAF when performing acts of bravery on the ground and there was even provision for the Royal Naval Division and the Royal Marines during the First World War.
Awards were extended to majors by an amending warrant of 1931.
It was during the in Palestine campaign that a prominent hill eighteen kilometers north of Beersheba became the scene of an unexpected fight on 1-8 November 1917, initially between Australian Light Horsemen and Turkish forces. The action was triggered when a small detachment of 70 men, pressed ahead of the Desert Mounted Corps in the wake of the fall of Beersheba to search for water, in the hill country beside the road to Hebron. Detecting this movement and concluding that the British were aiming to thrust north to Jerusalem via Hebron, where the headquarters of the Turkish 7th Army was located. The enemy quickly committed six battalions in this area and began transferring some reserve units from Gaza
The commander of Desert Mounted Corps, Lieut.-General Harry Chauvel, for five days used his light horsemen, British yeomanry and New Zealanders, along with infantry from the British 53rd Division and men of the Camel Brigade, in attempts to push the Turks off the dominating ridge. The fighting in the waterless and rocky country was extremely difficult, and at times the attackers found themselves under immense pressure. The enemy-held hill was finally taken two days later.
Official documentation on Lieutenant Frederick Sydney Cornet, 2nd Machine Gun Squadron, Australian Machine Gun Corps reads:
On the 6th November, 1917, this officer showed conspicuous bravery in handling the machine guns at Khweilfeh. Very early in the day, four machine guns officers became casualties and he took over command. Lieutenant Cornett worked and directed the guns until the danger of attack was over. During the action two gun crews were killed or wounded and the guns had to be temporarily abandoned, but were successfully withdrawn by Lieutenant Cornet later in the day. The personnel gallantry and devotion to duty displayed by this officer throughout the day was of the highest character.
Military Cross: 'For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He took command when four machine gun officers became casualties during an engagement and handled the guns with great skill in spite of several casualties among his men. He displayed great courage and resource throughout the day.'
Source: 'Commonwealth Gazette' No. 191
Date: 12 December 1918
