HOPE, Rowland Wallace (1896-1970)Rowland Hope, later known as 'Rowlie', the son of George Hope and Agnes Gray nee Wallace of ‘Gnotuk’, Camperdown was born on 2 January 1896. He was educated at Camperdown and entered Geelong College as a boarder in February 1910. He remained a student of the College until December 1914 becoming a member of the 1st Football XVIII and a School Prefect in 1914.
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R W Hope (Prefect 1914).
On 9 March 1915 he embarked on
RMS Medina for England where he enlisted as 1048 Private R W Hope, 1st Battalion King Edward’s horse, with which he served until the end of the war. He left Twiseldown Camp, Farnham on 2 June 1915, and wrote to his parents,
‘We are leaving here tomorrow at 8 o’clock and are going straight to Southampton to ship to France’ . On 5 October 1915 he was back at Hare Park Camp, The Curragh, County Kildare, for further training until late in 1916.
The Regiment was commonly referred to by the initials KODR, King’s (Own) Overseas Dominions Regiment. A new badge was issued in white metal depicting wreaths of oak and laurel carrying the scrolls; Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India above a title belt inscribed ‘KODR’ 1914-1918 (as many of the rankers came from these countries). During the Great War, the regiment served in France, Italy and Ireland, but sad to relate, due to the increasing mechanisation of wardare, were often relegated to the role of mounted divisional messengers. So the infantry soldiers, always ready to take the ‘mickey’ out of the mounted regiments, insisted that KODR stood for ‘King’s Own Despatch Riders’. King Edward's Horse battle honours were Loos, Lys, Ypres 1917, Estaires, Pilckem, Hazebrouck, Cambrai 1917, the Pursuit to Mons, France and Flanders 1915-17, 1918, Italy 1917-18.
Rowland was promoted to lieutenant and
Pegasus of May 1918 reported:
‘Lieutenant Rowland Hope gained his first lieutenancy in King Edward’s Horse about November of last year (1917), while he was in France, and after that got a few weeks leave in England. From France he was sent to Italy for a while, where he had a comparatively quiet time. The last we have heard of him is that he received severe gunshot wounds in the neck and shoulder, and is now in hospital in England, progressing favourably.’ His family received the following telegram:
'Lt R W Hope, King Edward’s Horse, admitted 14th General Hospital, Wimereux, with gunshot wounds neck severe visit not possible. Secretary War Office’ .
Lionel James wrote in
'The History of King Edward’s Horse' :
‘It was during Captain Ritsom’s brief command of the Reserve Squadron that many of the young subalterns who did such excellent service later in the war were gazetted. These additions to the officers’ ranks were 2nd lieutenants Twopenny, Northcote, Girvan, Harrison, Montgomery, Hope, Ham, Thomson, Law and the brothers N L and W E Watt. … In view of the length of Major Furse’s front (at Vielle Chapelle during the Battle of Lys, 9 April 1918) he had been reinforced from the reserve by one troop and two Hotchkiss guns under Lt Moffat from the C Squadron. To add to the complications, patrols now stated that the enemy were actually in Bout Deville, and at the same time a message came from Major MacDonald reporting that he himself, Lt Hope and Lt Patell, had been wounded by a shell and that he was handing the command over to Lt Stein.' The total casualties amounted to 60 per cent, including ten officers and 130 other ranks from the regiment's strength of 250 men.
Pegasus of December 1918 reported Hope's recovery from his wounding:
‘Since he recovered from his wounds in August, Rowland Hope has been training recruits in Ireland, and having an easy time. He has been having plenty of golf, tennis, and dancing. Jim (his brother, James Wallace Hope), did not reach the Front. He had been training at Uxbridge for a pilot, and has passed some of the necessary exams.' During World War II Rowland Hope served in Australia with the Volunteer Defence Corps (VDC). Rowland Hope died on 9 November 1970.
His brothers: James Wallace Hope (1898-1960); Douglas Wallace Hope (1902-1977); and George Wallace Hope (1905-1978) also attended Geelong College. All four brothers attended Camperdown Grammar School before becoming boarders at College.
Sources: Based on an edited extract from Geelong Collegians at the Great War compiled by James Affleck. pp 218-219 (citing Lieutenant-Colonel Lionel James, DS0, The History of King Edward's Horse (The King's Overseas Dominion Regiment) 1921; The Pegasus.)