Brothers In Arms

Brothers In Arms

The soldier shifted nervously as the small landing craft made its agonisingly slow passage towards the steep and rugged coastline. With the sun yet to rise, he squinted his eyes and peered through the darkness at the shadowed horizon. With his heart pounding, the Lance Corporal gripped his rifle firmly, double checking that his bayonet was in place, as the lifeboat was rowed closer to shore, the first crackles of gunfire audible from the towering ridges ahead.

These mist covered mountains
Are a home now for me
But my home is the lowlands
And always will be

Charles Savory was never far from controversy. Born in Auckland in 1899, the keen sportsman initially picked up rugby union as his sport of choice. After allegedly kicking an opposition player in a club match in 1910, and receiving a two year ban as a result, Savory switched to rugby league, where he earned a reputation as a fearless and rugged prop forward.

He represented New Zealand in the thirteen man game against Australia in 1911, and played to such a high level that he was invited to join the Kangaroos on their tour of Great Britain, not unlike what Dally Messenger had done for the All Golds only four years earlier.

Some day you’ll return to
Your valley and your farms
And you’ll no longer burn
To be brothers in arms

Letting out a battle cry, the non-commissioned officer leapt from the boat and into the cold water of the Dardanelles, running as fast as he could, desperately trying to find safe ground amidst the fury of gunfire. As sunlight began to gently creep over the rugged terrain above them, the invading soldiers managed to dig themselves into positions in the side of the cliff.

Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
I’ve witnessed your suffering
As the battle raged higher

During a 1912 match against Auckland club side Newton, Savory first found himself on the wrong side of the judiciary. Having been sent off during the game, and after a failed appeal, the burly prop was suspended for the rest of the season, costing him the opportunity to take part in a second tour of Australia.

The following year, just days after having been selected in the national side, Savory was caught in what he forever labelled a case of mistaken identity. At an inquiry held by the Auckland Rugby League, the Kiwi forward was found guilty of kicking and banned for life.

The New Zealand Rugby League’s reaction was swift, and although they selected another player to take Savory’s place in the tour, they allowed an appeal to be heard. After finding there was no case to answer, they allowed the former rugby union player to return to the playing field.

And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me
My brothers in arms

The Lance Corporal took a deep breath as he looked over his equipment, making sure there was nothing missing and that he was ready for battle. The word had just come through: they were to advance on the enemy’s position. The soldier had encountered battle before, albeit on a rugby league field. The countrymen of his former opposition were now his comrades, fighting somebody else’s war in a far off land.

There’s so many different worlds
So many different suns
And we have just one world
But we live in different ones

In the aftermath of Savory’s disqualification and reinstatement, a split formed between the Auckland Rugby League and the New Zealand Rugby League that still exists to this day. After earning another international cap in 1914, the man whom the controversy surrounded became the New Zealand amateur heavyweight boxing champion, before signing up to perform his duty after the outbreak of World War One.

Now the sun’s gone to hell
With the moon riding high
Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die

Yelling out “I’m going to fight for my country”, Lance Corporal Charles Savory charged the enemy positions in an ill-fated attack. He was killed by Turkish artillery fire, and was later credited for his bravery during the battle. Despite what some league officials had thought two years earlier, Savory proved in death that he had been a worthy representative of New Zealand.

But it’s written in the starlight
And every line on your palm
We’re fools to make war
On our brothers in arms

Lest we forget.

Sources:
www.cwgc.org
www.lighthorse.org.au
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Battle_of_Krithia
www.letssingit.com - song lyrics - 'Brothers In Arms' by Dire Straits, 1985
Wanganui Herald, 26th July 1915, Page 5
'The Kiwis: 100 Years Of International Rugby League' by John Coffey and Bernie Wood