Description
The Military Medal, George V, edge officially impressed “1906 TPR: G.L.W. MANCE. I/ANZAC L. HORSE R.”.
An exceedingly special Military Medal awarded to George Leslie William Mance, 1st ANZAC Mounted Regiment, a sub-division of the 13th Light Horse Regiment, and very possibly the only M.M. gallantry awarded as named to this unit – the M.M. action, although not combat oriented, is still quite impressive given that he managed to control four horses amongst heavy enemy shelling at a small statured height of 5 foot 3 ½ inches. The medal is loose and unmounted, seen some wearing and has been lightly polished in the past, Very Fine, rare.
The Military Medal, promulgated by the London Gazette supplement 30095, page 5196, dated 25th May 1917. The original recommendation reads:
“At Langatte on 20/3/1917, Trooper Mance whilst acting as horseholder to a patrol showed great courage in holding 4 horses under heavy shell fire until his comrades could return and get away with the information gained. Most of the shells burst near the horses, some of them being wounded. The horses were badly frightened and dragged Trooper Mance for a considerable distance in their endeavour to stampede, and had it not been for his tenacity in sticking to them, the patrol would probably not have got away.”
George Leslie William Mance, born in Fitzroy, Victoria on the 2nd of September 1896, was the son of Mr Arthur Mance and Mrs Frances Harriet Mance (nee Lee). As a young man, George was a Labourer and Hatter by trade and served with the Australian Citizen Militia as a Senior Cadet for 12 months, specifically with A Company, 63rd Battalion.
- Attested for the A.I.F. on 14th August 1915 in Melbourne, posted to “B” Company, 21st Depot Battalion as Private 8278
- Reallotted as Trooper 1906 of the 18th reinforcements to the 4th Light Horse regiment on the 21st August 1915
- 12th November posted to 2nd Light Horse Depot at Seymour, Victoria
Although intending to embark from Melbourne on the 20th June 1916, he went missing from Camp Seymour from the 22nd March until his arrest on the 3rd July. He was found guilty of desertion and was fined 6 Pounds 3 shilling 8 pence for the kit he stole and was quickly returned to A.I.F. service, now part of the 11th reinforcements to the 13th Light Horse regiment. Despite his efforts, George was amongst the 11th reinforcements that departed Melbourne aboard HMAT ‘Pera’ on the 23rd of September 1916, bound for overseas service.
It must be noted that in April 1916, the ‘I ANZAC Mounted Regiment’ was formed as the mounted unit of the ‘I ANZAC Corps’, taking troopers from the B Squadron, 4th L.H.R. and A Squadron, 13th L.H.R., and performed tasks such as reconnaissance, traffic control, rear-area security, prisoner escorts, and occasional probing of enemy lines. The unit only lasted several months before disbanding in June 1916 and many of its members transferred back to the 13th L.H.R. or to the newly formed ‘II ANZAC Corps Mounted Regiment’. The 13th L.H.R. had squadrons that operated in a similar corps-mounted capacity and maintained the ‘I ANZAC Light Horse Regiment’ designation, therefore despite departing Australia well after the unit’s official ‘disbandment’, George’s medal being named to the ‘I/ANZAC L. HORSE R.” (as well as action being related to reconnaissance) is accurate as a mounted reconnaissance division of the 13th Light Horse Regiment.
- HMAT ‘Para’ disembarked at Devonport on the 14th November 1916 and George proceeded to France aboard SS ‘Princess Clementine’ on the 24th January 1917
- He joined his unit and officially taken on strength to the I ANZAC Light Horse/mounted Regiment on the 9th February 1917
On the 20th March 1917, whilst around the town of Langatte on the Western Front, George, as horse holder, stayed by his section’s four horses whilst his three comrades went off to do reconnaissance. Heavy enemy shell fire began whilst he was alone, forcing George to maintain control of each mount; many shells burst near the horses, wounding some and startling them into a frantic stampede. Without his effort, the rest of the patrol would not have returned to their mounts and escaped the area with the information they gathered. When considering George’s height of 5 foot 3 ½ inches, handling all four horses amidst enemy shell bombardment is certainly a remarkable feat. For his bravery George was recommended the Military Medal, which was officially awarded on the 8th April 1917.
- 28th November 1917 George transferred from the 1st Anzac Light Horse Regiment to 5th Divisional Artillery and T.O.S. to the 13th Field Artillery brigade, 49th Battery and re-mustered as a Gunner.
George returned to Australia on 15th May 1919, leaving England aboard SS ‘Orontes’, and later discharged from the Australian Imperial Forces on the 15th December 1919. After returning home, he married Miss Daisy Beaumont Halliday and had four children, George, John, Sybil, and Sydney. George later passed away on the 31st of July 1976 and is memorialized in The Victorian Garden of Remembrance, Springvale, Victoria.
George Leslie William Mance is one of 30 men to have received the Military Medal as a member of the 13th Light Horse Regiment – it is unconfirmed if his medal is included in the 30 as it isn’t named to the 13th, rather to a sub-division of the regiment. It is very possible that this military medal impressed with the unit “I/ANZAC L. HORSE R.” is a unique issue – due to the short ‘official’ lifespan of the 1st ANZAC mounted regiment from April to June 1916, as well as the nature of its non-action-based duties (reconnaissance, security, and support in a largely static trench environment), the unit itself accumulated very few independent gallantry awards. The latter point remains true for the 1st ANZAC mounted regiment following June 1916 as part of the 13th Light Horse Regiment, making this exceedingly scarce if not unique.
