Light Horseman withstood wave of bombing
Hugo Throssell was born on October 27, 1884, at Northam, the son of George (the second premier of WA) and Annie Throssell.
Throssell was one of 14 children and was educated in Adelaide. He subsequently returned to WA and farmed with his brother Ric until the outbreak of the Great War, at which point they enlisted in the 10th Light Horse Regiment.
He arrived at Gallipoli a few days before the disastrous charge at The Nek, in which he “went over the top” with the fourth wave on August 7, 1915.
The fighting at Gallipoli continued relentlessly and, on August 21, British and Anzac troops attempted to capture the strategically important hills near Anafarta.
One of these, Hill 60, was attacked by Australian troops, who managed to gain a tentative foothold despite a hail of Turkish fire.
The 10th Light Horse was ordered to seize Turkish positions on Hill 60 and they deployed and attacked at 1am on August 29.
The Light Horsemen leapt into the Turkish positions and overran them in a desperate hand-to-hand battle. Lieutenant Throssell killed five Turks in the clash, during which a vicious bomb fight ensued for possession of the trench.
Throughout the night the belligerents hurled an estimated 3000 bombs, but the Light Horsemen were able to withstand the barrage by either smothering the bombs thrown at them with folded blankets or catching and tossing them back.
Before first light the Turks launched three assaults on the beleaguered Australians, but were driven off by bombs and rifle fire. Throssell was wounded twice and with his face covered in blood from bomb splinters in his forehead, constantly yelled encouragement to his men.
He refused to leave the trench until the enemy attacks abated and, after treatment, returned to the front line. Throssell won the Victoria Cross, the only one ever won by an Australian Light Horseman.
After recuperation in England, Throssell returned to Australia for a sojourn and assisted in a recruiting drive.
He rejoined the 10th Light Horse in Egypt the following year and was wounded again in April 1917 during the second battle of Gaza in which his brother Ric was killed.
When he heard that Ric was missing, Throssell crawled across the bullet-swept battlefield and searched in vain for his brother.
He rejoined the 10th Light Horse for the final offensive in Palestine and led the Honour Guard into Jerusalem.
After the war he married novelist Katharine Susannah Prichard, who became a prominent figure in the socialist movement in WA. Affected by his war experiences, Throssell became a socialist and an outspoken opponent of war and subsequently acted as a representative on the Returned Soldiers Land Settlement Board.
Although he tried to resume his life on the land, he never recovered and committed suicide in 1933. He was buried with full military honours in Karrakatta Cemetery.
