Caleb Shang
(1884 - 1953)
Born in Brisbane, Caleb Shang lived most of his life in Cairns. He enlisted in the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) during WWI, demonstrating continuous gallantry throughout his service on the Western Front. During WWII, Shang was active in Cairns’ Volunteer Defence Corps and in recruitment drives. During peace time, he worked as a herbalist, a tally clerk, a taxi driver and a bookmaker.
Private Caleb James (Charlie) Shang was born in Brisbane on 4 August 1884, the eldest of thirteen children, to Cantonese cabinet maker Lee Wah Shang and Mary Jane (nee Noon) from Gayndah in Queensland. The family ventured into corn farming in southern Queensland and prospecting near Rockhampton, prior to moving to Cairns in 1906. Living in Babinda, near Cairns, Shang enlisted in the AIF as a clerk on 5 June 1916, and embarked for England from Brisbane on 19 September 1916, aged 32.
Caleb Shang出生于布里斯班，大部分时间都在凯恩斯度过。他在第一次世界大战期间加入了 AIF (澳大利亚帝国军)，他在西线服役期间表现持续的英勇。二战期间，Shang活跃于凯恩斯志愿防卫队和招募活动。在和平时期，他做过草药师、理货员、出租车司机和记账员。
二等兵Caleb James (Charlie) Shang于 1884 年 8 月 4 日出生于布里斯班，是昆士兰Gayndah广东橱柜制造商Lee Wah Shang和Mary Jane（原姓 Noon）的十三个孩子中的老大。在 1906 年搬到凯恩斯之前，他们一家在昆士兰南部从事玉米种植，并扩张到Rockhampton罗克汉普顿附近。住在凯恩斯附近的Babinda，Shang于 1916 年 6 月 5 日加入 AIF 担任文员，并于1916 年32 岁時在 9 月19 日从布里斯班启程前往英格兰 。
Shang served with the 47th Battalion from 7 March 1917 until its dissolution in May 1918. Shang spent two weeks detachment to the 48th Battalion in June 1918, and then served with the 45th Battalion until 16 August 1918, when shell-fire wounds left him unfit for duty.
In June 1917, Shang received his first Distinguished Conduct Medal for conspicuous gallantry running water, food and ammunitions to the front line for four days through enemy barrages and fire-swept areas on the Messines Ridge (Belgium) in May 1917. During this time he was noted for attacking and accounting for enemy snipers in broad daylight, and constantly volunteering to scout into enemy territory, gaining valuable information, and demonstrating remarkable improvisation in maintaining lamp signals.
In May 1918, Lieutenant-Colonel AP Imlay complained that his recommendations for Shang to receive the Victoria Cross were being ignored. Imlay described Shang as 'quite fearless' and having 'a habit of performing gallant deeds as a matter of course'. He is recorded as displaying 'utter contempt for danger' and showing 'amazing powers of endurance and great boldness'.
Shang received the bar for his DCM in September 1918 for actions near Dernancourt on the Somme battlefield (France) during March-April 1918. At the onset of the battle, Shang volunteered to hold an advanced operation post, remaining there as an effective sniper until the post was destroyed. Shang then ran ammunitions through intense enemy barrages. At the end of the battle Shang enabled his company's withdrawal by holding the enemy advance at bay with a Lewis-gun.
At the battle of Villers Bretonneaux in May 1918, Shang was awarded the Military Medal for his bravery and initiative during daylight reconnaissance under heavy machine gun and sniper fire. Later that year, Shang was severely wounded in his right leg and hospitalised in England until being sent home.
Shang从 1917 年 3 月 7 日起在第 47 营服役，直到 1918 年 5 月解散。Shang在 1918 年 6 月在第 48 营的小分队度过了两个星期，然后在第 45 营服役直到 1918 年 8 月 16 日，当时炮火伤患使他无法继续服役。
1917 年 5 月Shang在Messines Ridge（比利时）穿越敌人的防御及火力扫射英勇地为前线提供了四天的食水、食物和弹药，从而在1917 年 6 月获得了他的第一枚殊功勋章 (DCM)。在此期间，他以在强日光下攻击和消灭敌方狙击手而闻名，并经常自愿到敌方营地侦察，获得有价值的信息，并在保持灯光信号方面表现出非凡的随机应变。
1918 年 5 月，AP Imlay 中校抱怨说，他提议Shang 获得维多利亚十字勋章的建议被忽视了。Imlay 中校描述Shang为 “相当无所畏惧”，并且“习惯于理所当然地表现出英勇行为”。据记载，他表现出“对危险的完全蔑视”，并表现出“惊人的忍耐力和极大的勇气”。
1918 年 9 月，Shang因在 1918 年 3 月至 4 月期间在Somme战场（法国）在Dernancourt附近的行动而获得了他的 DCM Bar的资格。在战斗开始时，Shang自愿留守一个前线作战岗位，作为一名有效的狙击手，直至岗位被毁。Shang随后在枪林弹雨下运送弹药。在战斗结束时，Shang用Lewis枪阻止了敌人的前进，从而让他的连队撤退。
在 1918 年 5 月的Villers Bretonneaux战役中，Shang因在重机枪和狙击火力下的白天侦察中表现出英勇和主动性而被授予军事勋章。那年晚些时候，Shang的右腿受了重伤，在英国住院直到被送回家。
Upon leaving England, Shang received a personal letter of gratitude from King George V. Shang returned to Cairns in March 1919, to a mayoral welcome before 3000 guests and received funds raised by public subscription. He was discharged from the AIF on 9 April 1919, remaining the highest decorated Chinese-Australia soldier in Australian military history, and one of the Australia’s highest decorated soldiers.
After WWI, Shang worked as a herbalist, a tally clerk, a taxi driver and an illegal bookmaker. On several occasions during the 1920s, Shang and his brothers were investigated for bribing Customs officers to land opium on secluded beaches, but no charges were laid. On numerous occasions from the late-1920s and throughout the 1930s, Shang was raided, charged and convicted for operating gaming houses, and breaching gambling laws.
Shang was a modest man. He only marched in one Anzac Day parade in 1943, where he wore all his medals in response to the racial slurs he had begun receiving during WWII. However, Shang remained a committed member of the RSSAILA (later RSL), and the Returned Soldiers' League Volunteer Defence Corps, and actively participated in recruitment drives during WWII. He suffered poor health from the mid-1930s until his death of a chronic chest complaint on 6 April 1953. He was survived by his wife, Anna Louise (nee) Kassene, son Hilton, and two daughters, Delta and Nancy.
离开英格兰后，Shang收到英皇乔治五世的私人感谢信。Shang于 1919 年 3 月返回凯恩斯，在 3000 名宾客面前受到市长的欢迎，并收到了公众募捐的资金。他于 1919 年 4 月 9 日从 AIF 退伍，仍然是澳大利亚军事史上功勋最高的华裔士兵，也是澳大利亚功勋最高的士兵之一。
第一次世界大战后，Shang曾担任草药师、理货员、出租车司机和记账员。在 1920 年代，Shang和他的兄弟曾多次因贿赂海关官员在僻静的海滩上运送鸦片而受到调查，但没有受到检控。从 1920 年代后期到整个 1930 年代，Shang多次遭到突袭、检控和定罪，罪名是经营赌馆和违反赌博法。
Shang是一个谦虚的人。他只参加了 1943 年的一次澳新军团日游行，在那里他戴上他所有的勋章来回应他在二战期间开始受到的种族诽谤。然而，Shang仍然是 RSSAILA（后来的 RSL）和退伍军人联盟志愿防卫队的忠实成员，并在二战期间积极参与了招募活动。从 1930 年代中期开始，他的健康状况不佳，直到 1953 年 4 月 6 日因慢性胸部不适而去世，留下妻子 Anna Louise (原姓) Kassene、儿子 Hilton 和两个女儿 Delta 和 Nancy。
References 文献
Australian War Memorial. 2013. Australian Imperial Forces - Nominal Roll. .
Australian War Memorial. 2013. First World War Embarkation Rolls - Caleb James Shang. .
Cairns Post. 1919. 'Shang Testimonial'. 14 March, p. 8.
Cairns Post. 1940. 'Volunteer Defence Corps'. 20 July, p. 1.
Cairns Post. 1941. 'Recruiting Rally'. 26 May, p. 4.
Cairns Post. 1945. 'Obituary. Mrs. M. J. Shang'. 25 June, p. 3.
Cairns Post. 1953. 'Death of World War I Hero'. 7 April, p. 3.
Imlay, AP. 2013 (1918). 'Australian Imperial Force War Diary of 47th Battalion A.I.F. for May 1918'. Australian War Memorial. .
John Oxley Library, State Library of Queensland. Neg: 30256. .
Kennedy, A. 'Queensland's 'Assassin of Gallipoli' and other Chinese Australian heroes of World War One', in K Wong Hoy, K Rains (eds.), Rediscovered Past: China in northern Australia. Chinese Heritage in Northern Australia Inc., North Melbourne, 2009.
Millar, D. 2009. 'The Chinese in Australia 1818-1918'. Agora, vol 44, no. 3, pp. 24-28. .
Taplin, H. 1988. 'Shang, Caleb James (1884-1953)'. Australian Dictionary of Biography. .
Worthington, K. 2013. A look at the multicultural ANZACS.
