RAA LIAISON LETTER 2025 – 2026 EDITION CANNONBALL SUPPLEMENT 112 ‘Windy Bill’ Carlin, DCM Loretto Blundell 2025 JOHN COX RHC CHAIR OBSERVATION. THIS ARTICLE IS PARTICULARLY TIMELY FOR 10 BDE AS THE STORY CARLIN’S GREAT WAR SERVICE RELATES TO 55TH (AUST) SIEGE BATTERY AND 36TH HEAVY ARTILLERY GROUP. Let me share the story of my grandfather, Bill Carlin—and why a man I never had the chance to meet has left such a lasting impression on my family. While he accomplished a great deal in his time that is worthy of admiration, it’s actually the quieter, unexpected ways his legacy has trickled down to us. William (Bill) Carlin was born in 1888 to Thomas Carlin and Susan O’Brien. His father worked as the Gatekeeper on the grand Murndal Estate in Tahara, near Merino, west of Hamilton. (I’ve always been tickled by the image of my Great-grandfather Thomas opening gates for the many VIPs who visited the estate’s owner, Samuel Winter Cooke—a famously generous host who welcomed dignitaries and notables and even a Duke! The thought of my greatgrandfather, a humble worker at the bottom of the social ladder, swinging open gates for the upper crust always makes me smile. There’s a lovely irony in it that I can’t help but appreciate...but I digress!) Bill left Tahara State School just before his twelfth birthday and began working as a farm labourer. In March 1912, at age 24 years, he took a bold step and joined the Permanent Military Forces of the Commonwealth of Australia, becoming a gunner in the Royal Australian Garrison Artillery (RAGA). His headquarters was at Fort Queenscliff; however, he was employed in the network of forts providing coast defence for Port Phillip Heads. This studio portrait of Gunner William Carlin depicts him proudly wearing one of the uniforms of the Royal Australian Garrison Artillery (RAGA) approved at the end of 1903. In this form, the uniform could be worn in very warm weather as a full-dress uniform at the discretion of the commanding officer. It was worn up until the Great War. In its detail, it tells a story of the time and organisation in which he served. His head dress is a formal parade helmet as opposed to a working dress cap. The helmet badge is the standard fired grenade with the cypher of His Majesty King Edward VII, along with ROYAL AUSTRALIAN ARTILLERY on the ball. The collar badges were worn by both officers and men from 1903 to 1921 bearing the motto CONSENSU STABILES. The belt buckle is the standard universal locket with a crowned lion and DIEU ET MON DROIT on the circlet. The detachable gorget patches are dark blue with a scarlet centre line; the detachable shoulder straps are blue. The shoulder title is RAGA with the numeral ‘6’, above. The No 6 Company, Royal Australian Garrison Artillery, 3rd Military District, is the Company in which Gunner Carlin served at the time of his direct involvement with the ‘first shot’ of the Great War. Stripped of the belt and the coloured gorgets and shoulder straps, and with the helmet replaced by a peaked forage cap it functioned as the working dress that Gunner Carlin wore while serving the gun on 14 August at the time of the ‘first shot’ (see next photo of gunners in action at the gun emplacement). Bill’s place in history was sealed on August 5th, 1914, when he and his fellow gunners fired, from a gun at Point Nepean, what is recognised as the first Allied shot of World War I. It was a warning shot, fired from one of the powerful coast battery guns of No. 6 Company. War had been declared in London at 11:00 p.m. GMT on August 4th which was 9:00 a.m. August 5th in Melbourne. A short time later, a German cargo steamer SS Pfalz attempted to flee Port Phillip. Having received word that Australia might no longer be a safe harbour, the ship’s captain, Wilhelm Kuhlken, made a run for open waters. When the Pfalz ignored an initial signal from Fort Nepean to ‘heave to’, Bill’s battery was ordered to fire across its bow. The shot found its mark—not on the vessel, but in its intent: the Pfalz turned back, and its crew surrendered. The ship was seized as a prize of war, later repurposed and put into service for the British Empire and later was used to evacuate Australian soldiers from the Gallipoli campaign. What a remarkable moment in history to be a part of!
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