Great gallantry from the Be’er-Sheva ANZAC Light horse charge

Great gallantry from the Be’er-Sheva ANZAC Light horse charge

Great gallantry from the Be’er-Sheva ANZAC Light horse charge

Warrant Officer Sergeant Arthur John ‘Jack’ Cox from Bendigo saw a group of Turks setting up a machine gun to fire at the advancing Light Horsemen. Cox saw the carnage this gun could cause, veered his horse around and headed straight for the gunners yelling at them bluffing them into surrendering. He’d opened himself up to Turkish snipers but only saw the danger to others if he had not acted immediately. Jack single-handedly took 40 prisoners and saved many lives from a barrage of machine gun fire.

He was recommended for a Victoria Cross but was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal.
Trooper Sloan ‘Scotty’ Bolton from Geelong, acting alone, chased down a gun pulled by six horses led by an escaping German officer. Bolton lost his rifle, picked up a revolver but found it was empty. Undeterred, he knocked the officer out of the saddle with the butt of the revolver and forced the group to return with the gun. Scotty was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal. 1945.