WW1 William Sing Chinese ANZACS
Themainlong-termcausesofWW1werefirstly,MilitarismbecausebeforeWW1European nationscompetedbyexpandingtheirmilitarymight.Secondly,Allianceswasthesystem ofagreementsthatexitedintheyearsbeforeWW1whichobligatednationstodefendone another Anexampleofthisisthatinthewarthereweretwoalliances,therewasthetriple alliance,whichwasFrance,Britain,andRussia ThesecondwasGermany,Italy,and Austria-Hungary.ThirdlyImperialismhappenedinthe1800s,whentheEuropeannations competedforcoloniesinAfricawhichwascalledthe‘scrambleforAfrica’.Lastlythe nationalismofcountriesbeforeWW1causedtensionstogrowbetweendifferentpeople inEurope.ThelastreasontowhyWW1becauseoftheassassinationofFranzFerdinand onJunethe281914.Hewasassassinatedbyagroupcalled‘theblackhand’.Australia firstgotinvolvedwhenBritainandGermanyfirstwenttowar,andtheoutbreakofwar wasgreetedwithgreatenthusiasminAustralia.ThefirstsignificantmoveAustraliamade inWW1,happenedin191525ofApril ThefirsttroopsfromAustraliaarrivedatGallipoli, 8700Australianslosttheirlivesandtherewere18,000casualties Thearmyhadmany waystoforcesoldierstoenlist Theyusedpersuasivedevicestomakecitizensfeltguilty aboutnotdefendingtheircountry.Menhadenlistedbecausetheywereservingtheir countrywithhonourandbravery,andsomejustfeltforthesenseofadventureand excitement.BothprimeministerjosephcooksandoppositionleaderAndrewfisher supportedAustralia’sinvolvementinwar.Theystatedthat“whentheempireisatwar, Australiaisatwar”.Forhispart,OppositionleaderAndrewFishergaveafamouselection speechonJuly31stof1914whereheannouncedthat"shouldtheworsthappen,after everythinghasbeendonethathonourwillpermit,Australianswillstandbesidethe mothercountrytohelpanddefendhertoourlastmanandourlastshilling" Assuch,this displaysthecommitmentfromtheAustraliangovernmentanditspeopletowardsthe overallwareffort”Posterswereputuptoconvincepeopletodowhattheyaskedsuchas conscription indigenoussoldiersvolunteeredsomeaswellforthepay,andsomeforjust thefactofearningrespectforthemselves.
introduction
Chinese soldiers
SeveralChinesesoldierswhohaveservedinWW1 Havecarriedlegaciessostrongthattheyareeven rememberedtoday.InWW1therewereover200 Chinesesoldiersinthe(AIF) Soldiersoftheirrace wereoriginallynotallowedtoenlistinthearmy becauseoftheirculturalbackgroundChinese.One examplewastheDefenceAct1909,whichdeclared thatpeople‘notsubstantiallyofEuropeanoriginor descent’wereunabletoenlistinthearmedforces.
BeforetheWW1Chinesepeoplesstillwere experiencingracismandothersocietieswould notspeaktothem Theirrightswerelimited,and theywereunderalotofpressure Despitethe racialdiscriminationthatprevailed,Chinese Australiansstillenlistedand19ofthemreceived medalsforbravery WhentheChinesesoldiers camebackfromthewar,theyreceivedalmostno recognition,eventhoughtheyhadservedtheir country 46ChineseAnzacsdiedintheirservice inWW1,andtherewereunknowncasualties
in the words in Benjamin Moy lingChinese Anzac. 'If Australia is good enough to live in then it is good enough to fight for '
WilliamSingisanexampleofoneoftheseChinesesoldiers.Thisspecialsoldier was28whenheenlisted,andhisoccupationwasahorsedriver.Becauseofhis occupation,hewasassignedtothe5thlighthorse.Hewasthensentto Gallipoliandwasoneoftheselectedmenthatwerechosenforthesniperrole, becauseofhisshootingskills.Billyreceivedamedallionforhisachievementat Gallipoliandhad150confirmedkills,and119casualties.
Inaugustbillywasslightlywoundedbutdidnotrequire hospitalisationbutwaslaterevacuatedduetomore illnesses.Laterbillywentunderfurthertraining.inMarch 1917hereceivedagunshotwoundtotheleg Billytravelled toEdinburghandmetand21-year-oldScottishwomanand marriedher whenbillyreturned,thebattalionmadeits waytopolygonwoodinBelgiumandwereexposedto heavyartilleryfire theywerealsoexposedtomustardgas andtheeffectswerenotpleasant.billywentinandoutof thehospitalfortheremainderofthewarandwas medicallydischargedafter.Afterthisbillyreceivedmany woundsandwenttohospitalmanytimes Whenhecame backtoProserpine,hewasgivenahero’swelcome.Hehad triedotherjobs,butitputstrainonhisalreadyweakened body.LaterhemovedtoBrisbaneanddiedofheartfailure astheworldwasinthegripofanotherwar.
AmedallionpresentedtoBillySingforhiswork onGallipoliAsniperhasbeenengravedinthe middle
Lee enfield, 303 rifle was th egun billy used while at gallipolli peninsula
What were some of the challengers that Chinese australians faced before and during WW1?
thechinesehadalreadyexperienced racialtensionsonthegoldfieldbefore thewargavethechineseahardtimeas thereweresomanyofthem Thisled thegovernmenttopasslegislationthat discriminatedagainstChinesepeople wantingtomigrateandthosealready livinginAustralia Whenthewarstarted poeplenotofeuropeanorigincouldnot enlistinthearmedforces inthewar theyweretreatedasequals.Afterthe warthechinesewerestilltradedpretty muchtheexactsameasbefore.
An article of williams sings death named 'cracked sniper dies in Brisbane'
Auther Quong tart was another well known chinese anzac that served in WW1
numberofchineseaustraliansthatenlistedin WW1 scantoseemoreofWilliamsingslife.
Ablul the terrible, Billy Sings number one rival After months of fighting Abduil the terrible was orded to locate and kill billy sing. In the end Billy shot Abdul in the head.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/anzac-100-sniper-duelbetween-australias-billy-sing-and-abdul-the-terrible20150416-1mmvsn.html
Whole story between Billy Sing and Abdul the terrible
William Sings final resting place, lutwyche cemetary brisbane
https://www.historycrunch.com/apps/search?
q=william+sing#/ https://www.awm.gov.au/articles/atwar/firstworld-war
https://www.historyforkids.net/world-war-onetimeline.html
https://www.naa.gov.au/learn/learningresources/learning-resource-themes/war/worldwar-i/world-war-i-chinese-anzacs
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