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                                                                                    H O N O U R          P R I D E       I N T E G R I T Y

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HISTORY OF THE LEGION

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The Legion of Frontiersmen was established in England in1904 by Roger Pocock (originally a Royal Canadian Mounted Policeman), who came out of the 2nd Boer War (1898 – 1902) with the idea to form a militia which was already trained with allegiance to the monarchy. About 98 per-cent of the original members were members of the same unit that Roger Pocock belonged to being Driscoll Scouts.

 

As time went on members of this command grew and there were men joining from all over England and its Commonwealths including Australia. This occurred even though Australia had formed an Australian contingent in 1906 at Glenelg S.A. To reflect on the Australian members joining the English Command there was an Australian born in Melbourne who decided he wanted to be part of the original Command and moved to England where he joined in 1912 taking his family with him. He would later be awarded the Victoria Cross for Bravery and Gallantry posthumously in W.W.1. East African Campaign.

 

As time went on W.W.1. broke out and with this catastrophe the English Command under Captain Pocock approached King George the 5th and offered the Legion at his disposal. This is where the 25th Royal Frontiersmen Fusiliers Battalion came from. The King gratefully accepted this offer knowing he had a fully trained Battalion ready to embark on a most important engagement in East Africa. This is where the Legion was attached to the East African Mounted Rifles and their main task was to keep the rail lines open for supplies to reach their important destination.

 

During the East African Campaign the Legion gained notoriety with Battle honours at Kilimanjaro, Bukoba, Nyangao and Beho-Beho, (the Legion Cadet Corps honours these important engagements by naming its suburban Parade Camps after them as well as recognition of important Legion dates). There was an important rear guard action during the East African Campaign where Lt William Wilbur Dartnell was posthumously awarded a Victoria Cross for his Bravery and Gallantry. The action took place at Maktau East Africa where the Legion was hugely outnumbered by enemy forces being German and recruited natives. The natives who were recruited were noted as taking no prisoners and this would be the case in this action.

 

Many Frontiersmen were wounded and the remaining able force was unable to evacuate them. It was decided that being hugely outnumbered the wounded would remain and form a rear guard action for the remaining able members of the Legion Command to retreat in safety. Lt Dartnell was wounded in the legs and was picked for evacuation, being an Officer. Lt Dartnell refused to go and stayed with the wounded assisting with the rear guard action. It was thought that if he stayed he would be able to assist the action as well as hoping that the German Officers would see him and the wounded and save them from being killed in battle by the native enemy contingent. Unfortunately this did not occur and all were lost. Lt Dartnell was the kind of person who would have claimed that all of the rear guard deserved V.C’s.

 

The Australian Command of the Legion formed in 1906 did not depart for W.W.1. as a Battalion but members joined other Australian Brigades including the S.A. Light Horse Brigade which departed for Albany Western Australia in 1915 heading for Egypt and Palestine in the middle east. Australian history from there tells the story of the Gallipoli Campaign and then later Beersheba.

 

The Legion lost a total 1500 of its members at Gallipoli who had joined English and Australian Battalions and Brigades. In the last century 9000 Frontiersmen have been killed in action through different campaigns from W.W.1. and W.W.2. and beyond who had joined other battalions. Frontiersmen from the U.K. have been in action as recently as the current middle east crisis who were members of 25th London Reserve and other units. Our current Australian Command have members who have served in overseas campaigns with the ADF and Federal Police such as Timor, Solomon Islands, Fiji and the Middle East. The Australia Command is proud of its members and their achievements whether in Australia or overseas.