Gallipoli dawn service will help West Beach man Alex Wright retrace his father’s steps in WW1

THE Anzac centenary will be profound for Alex Wright who will honour his father and uncle at his first Gallipoli dawn service.

Alex Wright (90yrs) will make the journey to Gallipoli this year to mark the 100th anniversary, with his daughter Trish Milner. Not only did Alex serve in the RAF in WWII, but his dad actually served at Gallipoli. [PIC] Alex & Trish with his dad's war medals in his right hand, and his in his left. NB- daughter would prefer the name Trish published (her name is Mary-Patricia but everyone calls her Trish). pic by Bianca De Marchi- 26.2.15

THE Anzac centenary will be profound for Alex Wright who will honour his father and uncle at his first Gallipoli dawn service.

The West Beach man, 89, received a descendant pass in the Australian ballot and will honour his father John Dixon Wright and uncle Alex Robertson on April 25.

“The ceremony there is quite touching I believe and although my dad and uncle aren’t buried there, I will go just to commemorate both men,” Mr Wright said.

Mr Wright’s daughter Trish Milner, 55, will care for him during the trip and said she was excited to share the special experience with her dad.

“It’s something very special for dad and I to go together and it obviously means a lot to him as he (served) in World War II,” Mrs Milner said.

Mr Wright, formerly of Broken Hill, knows very little about his father’s war service and his uncle died when Mr Wright was two.

Mr Wright’s father, a butcher, died at age 37 from a heart attack on November 6, 1927.

He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force 13 years earlier on October 29, 1914 and his records show he served in the 10th Infantry Battalion.

John, a lance corporal by the time he was discharged in 1919, was among the troops who landed in the first wave at Gallipoli.

After Gallipoli, John was in Egypt in March 1916 when he was transferred to the 3rd Brigade Machine Gun Company.

He sailed to France as part of the unit in April and was promoted to lance corporal in February the following year.

Mr Wright knows little about his uncle’s war record, possessing only a photo of him and his dog tags.

His uncle was a trooper and served in the 3rd Australian Camel Battalion.

He was shot and killed in Palestine on November 6, 1917, aged 25.

The Australian War Memorial indicates the 3rd Battalion suffered many casualties during the second Battle of Gaza on April 19, 1917.

During operations in November that year to destroy the Turkish defensive line between Gaza and Beersheba, the battalion was hit hard.

The battalion was disbanded in June 1918 and its surviving members formed the 15th and 16th Light Horse regiments when generals decided using horses to fight in the desert was more practical.

Alex’s memorial is located at Beersheba Military Cemetery, Beersheba.

Mr Wright carries his own war history with pride, having never missed a memorial march in Broken Hill or Adelaide since 1947.

He marches with the 34th Squadron as a former Royal Australian Air Force mechanic after serving in the Pacific during World War II.

THIS story is part of Messenger’s 100 Years, 100 Days, 100 Stories project, which will profile 100 South Australian World War I heroes as the nation builds up to the centenary of the Allied landing on Gallipoli on April 25, 1915. If you have the details and war record of a family member who served during World War I, let us know. Please go to your local Messenger’s Facebook page and send us the details.

Originally published as Gallipoli dawn service will help West Beach man Alex Wright retrace his father’s steps in WW1