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ALBERT REUNION DINNER 7 July 1917

ALBERT REUNION DINNER 7 July 1917


In his World War I diary, Gerald James Douglas wrote of the Old Geelong Collegians’ and Grammarians' Reunion Dinner at Albert, France on 7 July 1917. This dinner was held at the Officers Club in Albert, France and was attended by about 35 World War servicemen mainly Old Geelong Collegians and Old Geelong Grammarians.

All attendees were serving members of the AIF on the Western Front, some were to live for only a few months following the dinner.

Three menus survived the war, one from Old Geelong Grammarian, Rupert Chomley (OS'11) was given to the Geelong Grammar Archives by his grandson, Peter Chomley (Ge'63); another from Alexander James Sloane was made available to the Geelong College archives by the Sloane family; and a third menu was provided by Old Geelong Collegian, Tony Douglas. Many of the attendees at the dinner had signed the backs of the menus.

The Dinner was presumed to have been in celebration of the day of founding of Geelong College which was opened for its first day of operation on Monday 8 July 1861 at Knowle House, Skene St, Geelong. Geelong Grammar School had previously also occupied Knowle House.

During World War I, Albert was the main town behind the Allied lines nearest to the 1916 Somme battlefields. It lies on the main road that runs east to Bapaume across the Somme battlefields, and west to Amiens in the other direction. The town of Albert was briefly occupied by the Germans in 1918. The Australian National Memorial at Villers Brettonneux is about 22km from Albert.

On 7 July 2017, The Old Geelong Collegians and The Old Geelong Grammarians re-enacted this dinner in Albert, France with 65 descendants of the original attendees. To retain authenticity the dinner was held in almost the same place with a similar menu. That same day the attendees held a memorial service in honour of the Australian servicemen at the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Brettoneux. Fourteen Old Collegians with no known burial place are listed on the Villers Brettonneux Memorial. Many of these soldiers had been killed at Pozieres about 8km north-east of Albert.

Gerald James Douglas in his wartime diary named the following as attending the Old Geelong Collegians’ and Grammarians' reunion dinner at Albert on 7 July 1917. These were: Cavanagh, 'Paddy' Fenton, 'Joe' Porter, Keith Doig, 'Jim' Kininmonth, 'Rowley Hope', 'Flo' Pearson, 'Tod' Sloane, 'Broncho' Hearne, 'Hal' Sewell, 'Jugger' Simson, F G Herman, W O McPherson, 'Nonnie' Thomson, 'Cockie' McLennan, 'Jack' Rogers, 'Yabby' Gadd, Peter (sic Percy) Campbell and Selwyn Scott. Some of these soldiers as well as others in attendance signed the surviving menus.


Pegasus Magazine in December 1917 also provided the following account:
'At Albert, in France, on 7th July, a Re-union Dinner of Old Geelong Collegians and Old Geelong Grammarians was held. On R. W. Hope's menu card appear these names of Old Collegians :—R. W. Hope, W. O. McPherson, C. K. Pearson, A. J. Sloane, G. L. Walker, E. T. Hearne, E. R. Cavanagh, G. J. Douglas, J. W. Fenton, J. R. Porter, Selwyn Scott.

In a letter from Dr. J. R. Porter, the names of the other Old
Collegians present are given. They are :—Dr. Keith Doig (chairman), J. Kininmonth, T. Kerr, F. Snow, R. J. Hurst, W. W. Leggatt, H. Sewell, P. Campbell, R. B. Gadd, A. N. McLennan, R. Buchanan, M. Simson, J. Rogers, N. A. Thomson, F. Herman.
There were eight Old Grammarians, and two visitors present as well.'





The following soldiers were known to be attendees at the Dinner.:
The source of their names or signatures is given at the end of each name in the list

Briggs, Stanley Holmes (1892-c1945), 2nd Div Sig 60th Battalion, OGG. Sloane Menu
Buchanan, Robert MM (1892-1969), OGC 1906- . Chomley Menu
Campbell, Percy Stewart Carrington (1895-1960), 21st Battalion, OGC 1905-1913. Sloane Menu
Cavanagh, Eric Richard (1891-1976), 23 Battalion, OGC 1908-. Sloane Menu
Chomley, Rupert Rutherford (1893-1922), 10th Battery 4th Field Artillery Brigade, OGG (Transferred as Lt R R Chomley to AFC) Sloane Menu
Doig, Keith McKeddie MC (1891-1949), OGC 1905- . Sloane Menu
Douglas, Gerald James (1894-1989), 59th Battalion, OGC 1908-1910. Sloane Menu
Fetherstonhaugh, Francis Talbot (1894-1977), 4th Field Artillery Brigade, OGG. Sloane Menu
Fenton, John Wilfred ‘Paddy’ MM (1893-1917), 11th Battalion, OGC 1909-1910 (Died of Wounds 19 June 1918). Sloane Menu
Gadd, Richard Burton 'Yabby' (1892-1956), 6th MMC, OGC 1904-1910. Sloane Menu
Gayer, William Ventrey (1882-1917), 11th Battery, 4th Field Artillery Division, OGG (Died of Wounds 1 Nov 1917). Sloane Menu
Haines, William Clarke (1891-), 4th Field Artillery Brigade, OGG. Sloane Menu
Hearne, Ernest Tasman 'Broncho' (1892-1956), 4th Field Artillery Brigade, OGC 1907-1910. Sloane Menu
Herman, Frank Gabriel (1894-1976), OGC 1907-1911. Douglas Diary
Hope, Rowland Wallace (1896-1970) 'Rowley', OGC 1910-1914. Douglas Diary
Howe, Keith Thomas (1890-1968), 4th Field Artillery Brigade, OGG. Sloane Menu
Kerr, Thomas MC (1888-1967), OGC 1905- . Chomley Menu
Kininmonth, James Carstairs 'Jim' DSO (1891-1954), OGC 1905-1910. Douglas Diary
Leggat, William Watt, MC DSO (1894-1968), OGC 1909-1912. Chomley Menu
McLennan, Allan Neil 'Cockie' MC (1889-1968), OGC 1906- . Douglas Diary
McPherson, William Ogilvy (1895-1980), OGC 1910-1914. Douglas Diary
Pearson, Charles William Kelvey 'Flo' (1893-1960), OGC 1910-1913. Sloane Menu
Porter, John Rees (1890-1969), 2nd Aust Div Train, OGC 1906-1910. Sloane Menu
Rogers, John David 'Jack' OBE CBE MC (1895-1978), OGC 1909-1913. Douglas Diary
Scott, Frederick Eaden Selwyn (1894-1982), OGC 1905-1911. Douglas Diary
Sewell, Henry Edward 'Hal' (1892-1959), OGC 1907-1910. Sloane Menu
Simson, Murray 'Jugger' (1891-1946), OGC 1903-1908. Douglas Diary
Sloane, Alexander James (1886-1971) 'Tod', OGC 1901- . Sloane Menu
Snow, Frank Noel MC (1891-1970), OGC 1905- . Chomley Menu
Thomson, Ninian Alan 'Nonnie' (1893-1952), 1st King Edward's Horse, OGC 1906-1909. Douglas Diary
Geoffrey Selwyn Walker AFC (1897-1932), 5th Army Division, OGC 1912-1912. Sloane Menu
Ware, Ernest Ivan (1894-1919), 11th Battery, 4th Field Artillery Brigade, OGG (Died of Influenza 13 Feb 1919). Sloane Menu












































































Sources: Pegasus December 1917 p25.