Dr David Holloway on the 4th Light Horse Regiment
'Pause for a moment and contemplate going to war on a bicycle - quite a number of them did.'
– Dr David Holloway
About this video
In this 2015 Family History Feast presentation, Dr David Holloway shares his passion for studying, researching and writing Australian military history. In particular, he focuses on the unique experiences of the 4th Light Horse Regiment during WWI.
The regiment was the only AIF unit to serve on each of WWI's three major fronts: Gallipoli, Egypt and Palestine, and the Western Front in France and Belgium.
David traces the unit's history, from its formation in August 1914 to training in Cairo and arrival at Gallipoli. He goes on to describe how the regiment's squadrons fought in the battles of Messines, Ypres, Marne and Passchendaele on the Western Front, and against the Ottoman Empire in the battles of Beersheba and Gaza in the Middle East.
David brings the regiment's experiences alive by sharing some of the soldiers' individual wartime stories. He also shares his favourite resources for researching military and family history, including the National Archives, Australian War Memorial, published unit histories and the Australian Dictionary of Biography.
Hear more from Family History Feast 2015
- Don Grant Lecture: Bruce Scates on WWI repatriation records
- Steven Kafkarisos on the Library's WWI collection
- Daniel Wilksch on soldier settlement in Victoria
- Grace Baliviera on WWI records at the National Archives of Australia
- Kirsty Harris on finding information about Australian nurses in WWI
Speakers
Dr David Holloway is a former officer of the 4/19 Prince of Wales Light Horse Regiment and the regiment's historian. He is the president of the regimental association and patron of the 4th Light Horse Regiment Memorial Association. His books Hooves, wheels and tracks and Endure and fight explore the history of the 4th Light Horse Regiment.