Branch of Service

Army

Conflict

World War I (1914-1918)

Date of Enlistment

03/11/1914

Place of Enlistment

Royal Military College, Duntroon ACT

Gender

Male

Date of Birth

21/07/1894

Place of Birth

Melbourne, Victoria

Address (at enlistment)

Royal Military College, Duntroon ACT

School(s) Attended

Junior and Senior Public School, Melbourne University

Occupation

Soldier

Next of Kin

Husband of Sybil Dale and father of Valda Dale of North Carlton, Victoria

Burial Place

No known grave

Final Rank

Lieutenant

Final Unit

8th Light Horse Regiment AIF

Died on 7 August 1915, Gallipoli, Turkey aged 21 years

AWM Roll of Honour Memorial Panel 6, Canberra ACT
Lone Pine Memorial, Gallipoli, Turkey
Large stone tablet on outside of northern wall of St. John's Church, Reid ACT

Dale entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon on 7 March 1912 and he was a member of the guard of honour formed by the cadets at the naming ceremony for Canberra on 12 March 1913. Dale and his class were graduated early, on 2 November 1914, and he enlisted as a Lieutenant with C Squadron of the 8th Light Horse Regiment. He married a week later and embarked for Egypt in February 1915. Dale landed on Gallipoli in May 1915 and was appointed Adjutant of the 8th Light Horse in June 1915. In August 1915 the Anzacs attempted to capture the heights of Sari Bair while the British landed at Suvla Bay. A number of diversions were planned including an attempt to capture The Nek on Walkers Ridge. Charles Bean states that Dale was in the first line of men who charged at The Nek on 7 August 1915. According to a report from the 8th Light Horse, Dale "met his death by his Colonel's side (Lieutenant Colonel A.H. White) leading the charge of the 8th L.H.R. on the Nek at Walkers Ridge", the climax of the movie 'Gallipoli'. The AWM image shows Dale with other officers of the 8th Light Horse at camp at Broadmeadows near Melbourne prior to embarking overseas.

Description - height 5 feet 8½ inches, weight 146 pounds, chest 33½ -36¼, Presbyterian.

Charles Bean, 'Official History of Australia in the War of 1914-18' (Vol. II, p.623n)
Colonel J.E. Lee, 'Duntroon: The Royal Military College of Australia 1911-1946', 1952
NAA RecordSearch - Series B2455 (First Australian Imperial Force Personnel Dossiers, 1914-1920)
AWM Roll of Honour Database
AWM Roll of Honour Circular
AWM Collection Records : DAX0181
Patricia Clarke, ‘War Widows of the ACT’, https://www.womenaustralia.info/exhib/widows/dale.html
Stories from the ACT Memorial, 'The Honour Guard at the Canberra Commencement Ceremony', ACT Heritage Library www.library.act.gov.au/find/history/stories_from_the_act_memorial