G'day from Down Under

wtid45 · Nov 16, 2008

Tomcat said:

I wonder if our foreign friends understand the Morant, or the Breaker posts?

Maybe someone should enlighten them[/quote At dawn on 27 febuary 1902 Lieutenant Harry 'BREAKER' Morant was shot by a British military firing squad.That should peak the intrest of those who dont know
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Slipdigit · Nov 16, 2008

wtid45 said:

Tomcat said:

I wonder if our foreign friends understand the Morant, or the Breaker posts?

Maybe someone should enlighten them[/quote At dawn on 27 febuary 1902 Lieutenant Harry 'BREAKER' Morant was shot by a British military firing squad.That should peak the intrest of those who dont know
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I knew who Breaker Morant was. Read about him years ago after the movie of the same name was broadcast here.
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Tomcat · Nov 17, 2008

Slipdigit said:

wtid45 said:

I knew who Breaker Morant was. Read about him years ago after the movie of the same name was broadcast here.
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You know there is a song about him as well?
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P-Popsie · Nov 17, 2008

Ah but did we all know he was actually a son of mother england and that he was a published poet as well as being an advocate of "Rule 303"

Tomcat · Nov 17, 2008

This is form Wiki, and I only use it because it is backed by a wealth of references.

Harry 'Breaker' Harbord Morant (9 December 1864 – 27 February 1902) was an Anglo-Australian drover, horseman, poet, and soldier whose renowned skill with horses earned him the nickname "The Breaker." Articulate, intelligent, and well-educated, he was also a published poet and became one of the better-known "back-block bards" of the 1890s, with the bulk of his work appearing in The Bulletin magazine.
During service in the Second Boer War, Morant was responsible for the summary execution of several Boer (Afrikaner) prisoners and a German missionary, Daniel Heese, who had been a witness to the shootings. His actions led to his controversial court-martial for murder; his death warrant was personally signed by the British commander in South Africa, Lord Kitchener, although Lord Kitchener denied the issuance of it. Morant was executed for murder by a contingent of Cameron Highlanders (a regiment of the British Army) in Pretoria gaol (South Africa) on 27 February 1902.
In the century since his death, Morant has become a folk hero in Australia. His story has been the subject of several books and a major Australian feature film. Even during his lifetime, there was a great deal of conflicting information about this romantic but elusive figure, much of what we 'think' we know about him relies on what he, himself, told people - thus many of the stories about him are undoubtedly apocryphal.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaker_Morant

Some poetry.

This site is even better, I will post the more interesting parts.

Breaker Morant; hero or villain? Probably both.

Harry Harbord Morant,

"The Breaker"

English born Australian. Horse breaker, bushman, poet, soldier and 'murderer'. He was about 40 when he enlisted to serve in the Anglo-Boer war with the South Australian Mounted Rifles in 1900. He served out his 1 year enlistment and was a sergeant when it ended. He went to England to patch up some old family troubles.

He returned to South Africa and accepted a commission as a Lieutenant in the Bushveldt Carbineers (BVC).

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It was an irregular force specially formed to counter the Boer commando tactics of hit and run, live off the land and strike when least expected. The BVC lived the same way. They fought fire with fire. While operating north of Pietersburg the local BVC commander, Capt Frederick Percy Hunt, Morant's best friend, was wounded, captured, tortured, mutilated and then killed by Boers.

"Captain Hunt's body was struck by a bullet at close range. It passed through his right shoulder. This was a simple wound and did not cause his death. When found the body was stripped naked. The sinews at the backs of both knees and ankles had been severed. The fore head was bruised and the right cheekbone was crushed. Captain Hunt had been castrated". from 'The Breaker" by Kit Denton
Morant, Lt Peter Handcock. Lt George Witton and Harry Picton shot a Boer prisoner called Visser, claiming that he was wearing Hunt's clothing. They later executed other Boer prisoners claiming that they had been placed under verbal orders to "take no prisoners". Later a Boer sympathizer, a German missionary was shot while on his way to complain about the killings. Handcock, Witton and Morant were charged with murder on several counts. They were acquitted on the count of killing the missionary but convicted on the other charges.
They were sentenced to death by firing squad. Witton had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment (he was released after 2 years) but Morant and Handcock were shot by a firing party of Cameron Highlanders. Morant is reputed to have called out, "Shoot straight, you bastards. Don't make a mess of it".
There was huge outcry in Australia and they were the last Australians ever executed. Their case and 1 other were responsible for the Australian Government decision never to place Australians under total foreign legal command ever again. In WW1 although over 150 Australians were sentenced to death by British courts-martial not one was executed as the Australian Governor General always refused to sign the order.
The shame did not stop with the execution. When Kitchener, who signed the execution orders and who is held responsible for the politics behind the original charges, toured Australia he was asked to officiate at a War memorial honouring the dead. As Peter Handcock's name was on it he refused. Handcock 's name was removed, the ceremony was held and Handcock' s name was replaced. It was towards the end of the time that Australia and Australians felt a need to kow-tow to anything British.
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http://www.middlemiss.org/lit/authors/moranth/poetrybulletin.html

Morant exacted his revenge by executing Visser, a Boer found wearing Hunt's clothes(Hunt was the english officer killed by the Boer's.)
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Kitchener later admitted, in writing, that he had issued orders to kill Boers wearing English uniforms!
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So was he a villain or a Hero? Revenge our Murder?

Django · Nov 17, 2008

Harry, welcome to a great forum!

Enjoy,
Django

Harry Morant · Nov 17, 2008

Thats a very good question - villain or hero. I'm sticking with hero along the same line that one of our National heros Ned Kelly was a bushranger (outlaw) that killed troopers (police). I think someone becomes a National Hero when a few years pass and they have done something which aligns with the National thinking at the time. For Australians I think it struck accord in that an Australian was tried and shot by a British court when we had become a independant nation in 1901. It really didn't matter as much what crimes he had (or hadn't) done but it was what the subsequent turn of events meant to us - those damm English shooting one of our boys

texson66 · Nov 17, 2008

Harry Morant said:

Hi from Australia - I've been collecting since I was five although it has waxed and waned over the years. I spent 17 years in the Australian Army and enjoy research, collecting, buying and selling (the stuff that helps me buy the stuff I really want) and metal detecting. I find the occasional military item although this is a bit limited in this country but I'm heading to Europe next year and will be detecting at least one battlefield (from the 1700s).

I came across this forum when researching an item that I'd found and recognised that there was some in-depth knowledge amongst the sites members.
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You, Sir, are a very discerning person! (I don't count myself in that elite group of the WW2F veterans, but they are superb in their knowledge of WWII and are eager to share it with others!)Welcome! And enjoy the forum.

Sentinel · Nov 17, 2008

G'day from another new Aussie member!

I have had a life-long interest in WWII history, especially the technology. Though I've never served in the military, I respect all who have.

I'll leave it up to Aussie military history buffs to guess the origin of my name.

P-Popsie · Nov 18, 2008

I can think of a number of possible sentinels most current is a prototype unmaned self tasking weapons platform in development in the United States.

Herr · Nov 18, 2008

welcome aboard !

Regards from an eastern neighbour

Cheers

Herr

Harry Morant · Nov 18, 2008

Sentinel said:

G'day from another new Aussie member!

I have had a life-long interest in WWII history, especially the technology. Though I've never served in the military, I respect all who have.

I'll leave it up to Aussie military history buffs to guess the origin of my name.
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First tank built by Australian industry in WWII

Sentinel · Nov 18, 2008

That's the one I was thinking of, Harry. P-Popsie, as far as I know the WWII tank is the "Sentinel" with the greatest significance to Australian military history -- but it's not well known outside Australia!

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G'day from Down Under

wtid45 Ace

Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

Tomcat The One From Down Under

P-Popsie Member

Tomcat The One From Down Under

Django Member

Harry Morant Member

texson66 Ace

Sentinel Member

P-Popsie Member

Herr Member

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