Second Lieutenant (later Captain) Hugo Vivian Hope Throssell
Second Lieutenant Hugo Throssell was initiated into Bulwer Lodge of Cairo on 15th June 1917.
Second Lieutenant Throssell was born at Fermoy, north east of Perth in Western Australia on 26th October 1884. He was one of fourteen children! Being from a family of some standing - his father was a storekeeper and later Premier of Western Australia - he was sent to Prince Alfred College, Adelaide to be educated, after which he engaged in agricultural pursuits in the outback. He was also an all round athlete and was keen on football and boxing.
On the outbreak of the First World War, he and his brother, Frank Erick (Ric) joined the 10th Light Horse Regiment, was promoted to Sergeant and was commissioned before the Regiment left for Egypt. The Regiment later went to Gallipoli without its horses and Throssell was left in Cairo to look after them. However, he re-joined the Regiment in time to take part in the famous Charge of the Light Horse Brigade at Walker’s Ridge on 7th August 1915.
He survived this unscathed but, three weeks later, was involved in the battle for Hill 60 where he was seriously wounded and, for his services, received the Victoria Cross. The battle for Hill 60 involved many Regiments of British, Irish, Australian and New Zealand troops and was a long and bloody affair with many casualties.
Throssell was in charge of a digging party and was building a sandbag barrier near to a right-angle turn in the trench. He guarded his men single-handed, shooting any Turkish soldier who came around the corner. The Turks responded with hand grenades and he was wounded three times.
When reinforcements finally arrived, Throssell was persuaded to have his wounds dressed but insisted on returning to the trench, which was then held, giving the British and Empire troops possession of Hill 60.
He was invalided to England and then to Australia after catching meningitis but later re-joined his Regiment in Egypt and Palestine where he was promoted to Captain. Sadly, his brother, Ric, who he was very close to, was killed in action on 19th April 1917 at the Second Battle of Gaza where Hugo himself was wounded. He returned to his regiment for the final offensives in Palestine and led the 10th Light Horse guard of honour at the fall of Jerusalem.
On his return to Australia he became one of the leaders of the Discharged Soldiers Association in Western Australia. He married Katherine Pritchard, author of the prize winning novel “The Pioneers”, dealing with Australian life. He died at Perth on 19th November 1933 shortly after his 49th birthday. He shot himself, believing that he could better provide for his family if he left them a war pension. Friends blamed his suicide on an attack of melancholy brought on by the Meningitis he caught at Gallipoli. He was buried with full military honours at Karrakatta Cemetery in Perth. There is a memorial to him at Greenmount, Western Australia, opposite his home. His son, Ric, presented his Victoria Cross to the People for Nuclear Disarmament. The Returned Services League of Australia bought the medal and presented it to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.