Who is this Light Horseman?

[Jeff Pickerd]

The Australian War Memorial has this photograph under the following caption.

 

“Description

Informal portrait of Norm Paterson, 8th Light Horse Regiment, with his horse. He was killed in Egypt in 1917.”

The photograph was also put up on Facebook, 28th September, but no one has challenged the accuracy of the caption, or made a comment to the true identity of the Trooper.

The problem is, there was no Trooper with the name of Paterson Norman (Norm) in the 8th Australian Light Horse Regiment, 1914 to 1918. The same applies to the 3rd Light Horse Brigade. There is a Harold Paterson No. 466, ‘C’ Sqdn, 9th LH Regt, but it was not him. Nor can I find a Light Horseman from any other unit of that name who was killed in action, Egypt, 1917.

I have seen this photograph before, but cannot recall just where, or when. It was obviously taken in the Sinai at one of the desert oasis, or possibly later in Palestine, but was it the 8th LH or another LH Regt? There are many 8th Light Horse photographs of very similar palm oasis from 1916 through to 1917, but in many respects they all look very similar, so could have been any one of them.

Anyone have any idea who he was?

 

Jeff

[Andrew Upton]

7 hours ago, Jeff Pickerd said:

Anyone have any idea who he was?

Have you tried other variations of the surname? A brief search of WW1 casualties from Australia using Patterson instead of Paterson on the CWGC for example throws up the following man who differs in many respects from the photo description but does match the unit:

Casualty Details | CWGC

TROOPER RAYMOND WALTER PATTERSON

Service Number: 910

Regiment & Unit/Ship Australian Light Horse 8th

Date of Death Died 07 August 1915

Buried or commemorated at

LONE PINE MEMORIAL

8.

Turkey (including Gallipoli)

 

• Country of Service Australian

Edited 30 October , 2021 by Andrew Upton

[Guest]

Mates,

 

There are a number of veriations of the name Pat--------

PATTERSON    Hector Alexander    295    Pte    8 LHR     B Sqn (30) WIA 23-6-15 face/eye & L/arm shrapnel at Walkers Ridge rtn 7-15 to Sgt 8-15 evac to St Johns hosp Malta (debility) 9-15 to hosp UK 10-15 (G) rtn 3 LHTR 3-16 rtn to C Sqn 2-17 prom 2/Lt B Sqn? ? Troop 30-10-17 WIA 10-11-17 R/hand shrapnel at Arak el Menshiyeh att rest camp 2-18 rtn 6-18 to hosp (malaria) 8-18 rtn 11-18 att Transport officer 37Co AASC AMDT 12-18 rtn 5-19 

PATTERSON    Reginald Roy Wright    747    Pte    8 LHR    3R (705) toS C Sqn 5-15 (G) to 3 LH MGS 9-16 to Sig/Cpl 4-17 to L/Sgt 7-17 MM - reason not stated possibly at Rafa? to cadet OCS Zeitoun 12-17 prom 2/Lt 9-3-18 rtn A Troop 4-18 att school of Instruction (range finding course) Zeitoun 4-18 MC & MID - for his actions at Jenin 20-9-18 to hosp (malaria) 10-18 RTA MU Later WWII Capt 8 Div PoW 15-2-42 Singapore AKA Reginald Roy Wright Paterson

PATTERSON    Raymond Walter     910    Pte    8 LHR    5R tos B Sqn 8-15 (G) reported MIA killed in charge at the Nek NKG listed on Lone Pine Memorial Gallipoli (CSqn/15 LH (2044) CMF) 

PATERSON    Albert    1059    Pte    8 LHR    7R tos B Sqn 12-15 to HQ ATC&DC 8-16 disch 18-4-17 MU (Boer War 5 VMR (878) 

PATTERSON    Robert Gramal    1870    Pte    8 LHR    13R tos AIF Canteen 5-16 disch 11-4-18 MU
 

9 LHR

 

PATTERSON    Fred Adrean    564    Pte    11 LHR    C Sqn att DSqn/9 LHR 8-15 (G) rtn C Sqn 2-16 disch 13-4-17 MU Ex 3 DAC (2239) disemb Hobart VD disch 16-10-14 MU VD 1R/3 LHR (628) disemb Albany disch 29-12-14 refused vaccinated (Boer War 4 WAMI (84) (18 LH WAMI to ASqn/23 LH CMF) AKA Frederick Patterson or Frederick Adrian Patterson 

PATTERSON    Henry Scott     5661    Dvr    3 LH Bde Trn    1R (12Co AASC) to 9 LHR 3-16 to 11 LHR 5-17 RTA on "HMAS Australia" AKA Harry Patterson (Boer War 2nd Scottish Horse (41110) and Natal Mounted Police)

PATTERSON    James Andrew    64895    Pte    7 GSR SA    tos 9 LHR 12-18 (22 LH CMF 6 months)
 

S.B

[Fedelmar]

This photograph has been recaptioned.

https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1139565

Edited 23 May , 2022 by Fedelmar

[Jeff Pickerd]

Thank you Sandra, well spotted, he has his proper name to his photograph at last. I wonder who made the identification for the AWM to change the title from Patterson to Bethune?

Jeff

[tankengine888]

21 hours ago, Jeff Pickerd said:

Thank you Sandra, well spotted, he has his proper name to his photograph at last. I wonder who made the identification for the AWM to change the title from Patterson to Bethune?

Jeff

Probably a researcher or someone evaluating 'unknown photos' with something similar to the original caption. I did see this at the bottom [which you no doubt have seen]
 

This image was copied from an album belonging to 583 Second Air Mechanic (later Lieutenant) Alan Hamilton McLeod Paterson, Australian Flying Corps, and was originally captioned “Brother Norm who was killed in the 8th Light Horse in Egyt [sic] 1917”. “Brother Norm” is 341 Trooper (Tpr) Norman McLeod Bethune, a cousin of Alan Paterson. A farmer from Swan Hill, Victoria, prior to enlistment, Tpr Bethune embarked from Melbourne with C Squadron, 8th Light Horse aboard HMAT Star of Victoria (A16) on 25 February 1915. He served at Gallipoli, where his brother 234A Tpr Alexander Douglas Bethune, also of the 8th Light Horse, was killed in action on 7 August 1915. Tpr Norman Bethune died of wounds on 19 April 1917 in Palestine.


I can see how the said Norm Patterson now. But yeah, pointing that out.
ttfn.

 

Edited 24 May , 2022 by tankengine888