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 出生於布里斯班，大部分時間都在凱恩斯度過。 他在第一次世界大戰期間加入了 AIF (澳大利亞帝國軍)，他在西線服役期間表現持續的英勇。 二戰期間，Shang活躍於凱恩斯志願防衛隊和招募活動。 在和平時期，他做過草藥師、理貨員、出租車司機和記帳員。
二等兵Caleb James (Charlie) Shang於 1884 年 8 月 4 日出生於布里斯班，是昆士蘭Gayndah的廣東櫥櫃製造商Lee Wah Shang和Mary Jane（原姓 Noon）的十三個孩子中的老大。 在 1906 年搬到凱恩斯之前，他們一家在昆士蘭南部從事玉米種植，並擴張到 Rockhampton 羅克漢普頓附近尋金。住在凱恩斯附近的Babinda，Shang於 1916 年 6 月 5 日加入 AIF 擔任文員，並於 1916 年32 歲時在9 月19 日從布里斯班啟程前往英格蘭。
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從 1917 年 3 月 7 日起在第 47 營服役，直到 1918 年 5 月解散。Shang在 1918 年 6 月在第 48 營度的小分隊過了兩個星期，然後在第 45 營服役直到 1918 年 8 月 16 日，當時炮火傷患使他無法繼續服役。
1917 年 5 月Shang在Messines Ridge（比利時）穿越通過敵人的防禦及火力掃射英勇地為前線提供了四天的食水、食物和彈藥，從而在1917 年 6 月獲得了他的第一枚殊功勳章 (DCM)。在此期間，他以在强日光下攻擊和消滅敵方狙擊手而聞名，並經常自願偵察到敵方營地，獲得有價值的信息，並在保持燈光信號方面表現出非凡的隨機應變。
1918 年 5 月，AP Imlay 中校抱怨說，他提議Shang 獲得維多利亞十字勳章的建議被忽視了。Imlay 中校描述Shang為“相當無所畏懼”，並且“習慣於理所當然地表現出英勇行為”。據記載，他表現出“對危險的完全蔑視”，並表現出“驚人的忍耐力和極大的勇氣”。
1918 年 9 月，Shang因在 1918 年 3 月至 4 月期間在Somme戰場（法國）在Dernancourt附近的行動而獲得了他的 DCM Bar 的資格。在戰鬥開始時，Shang自願留守一個前線作戰崗位，作為一名有效的狙擊手，直至崗位被毀。Shang隨後在槍林彈雨下運送彈藥。在戰鬥結束時，Shang用Lewis槍阻止了敵人的前進，從而讓他的連隊撤退。
在 1918 年 5 月的Villers Bretonneaux戰役中，Shang因在重機槍和狙擊火力下的白天偵察中表現出英勇和主動性而被授予軍事勳章。那年晚些時候，Shang的右腿受了重傷，在英國住院直到被送回家。
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.
離開英格蘭後，Shang收到英皇喬治五世的私人感謝信。Shang於 1919 年 3 月返回凱恩斯，在 3000 名賓客面前受到市長的歡迎，並收到了公眾募捐的資金。他於 1919 年 4 月 9 日從 AIF 退伍，仍然是澳大利亞軍事史上功勳最高的華裔士兵，也是澳大利亞功勳最高的士兵之一。
第一次世界大戰後，Shang曾擔任草藥師、理貨員、出租車司機和非法賭注和記帳員。在 1920 年代，Shang和他的兄弟曾多次因賄賂海關官員在僻靜的海灘上運送鴉片而受到調查，但沒有受到檢控。從 1920 年代後期到整個 1930 年代，Shang多次遭到突襲、檢控和定罪，罪名是經營賭館和違反賭博法。
Shang是一個謙虛的人。他只參加了 1943 年的一次澳新軍團日遊行，在那裡他戴上他所有的勳章來回應他在二戰期間開始受到的種族誹謗。然而，Shang仍然是 RSSAILA（後來的 RSL）和退伍軍人聯盟志願防衛隊的忠實成員，並在二戰期間積極參與了招募活動。從 1930 年代中期開始，他的健康狀況不佳，直到 1953 年 4 月 6 日因慢性胸部不適而去世，留下妻子 Anna Louise (原姓) Kassene、兒子 Hilton 和兩個女兒 Delta 和 Nancy。
References 文獻
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.
