RENOWNED Moree artist Ian Reardon has donated an incredible piece of artwork to the Moree RSL Sub-Branch to display at Moree RSL Regional Military Museum.

Mr Reardon, a well-known Terry Hie Hie philanthropist, has donated several paintings to various local community groups in recent years, and the latest addition to the military museum – The Charge of Beersheba – was gratefully received by sub-branch president, John Williams and his committee.

“I donated it to the boys at the museum because I want to get the message to the younger generation, especially about what our forefathers went through, and to have a better appreciation of what they did,” Mr Reardon said.

“I’ve got a series going at the moment on Bill the Bastard, and I’m getting right into that. I’m about halfway through, and I hope to be finished in another 12 months.”

The story of Bill the Bastard is an epic yarn about a great Australian war horse that served at Gallipoli, as well as the desert campaigns of Egypt and Palestine.

The Australia War Memorial describes Bill as a massive beast no-one could ride – except for one man.

“Bill had power, intelligence and unmatched courage. In performance and character he stood above all the 200,000 Australian horses sent to the Middle East in the Great War.

“But as war horses go he had one serious problem. No-one could ride him but one man – Major Michael Shanahan. Some thought Bill took a sneering pleasure in watching would-be riders hit the dust.

“Bill the Bastard is the remarkable tale of a bond between a determined trooper and his stoic but cantankerous mount. They fought together. They depended on each other for survival. And when the chips were down, Bill’s heroic efforts and exceptional instincts in battle saved the lives of Shanahan and four of his men.

“By September, 1918, Bill the Bastard was known by the entire Light Horse, who used his name not as an insult, but as a term of endearment. Bill had become a legend, a symbol of the courage and unbreakable will of the Anzac mounted force. There was no other horse like Bill the Bastard.”

Ian Reardon and The Charge of Beersheba, a painting he donated to Moree RSL Sub-Branch to to display at Moree RSL Regional Military Museum.

The amazing true story prompted Mr Reardon to apply brush to palette and canvas, and recreate the heroics of Bill the Bastard.

“It’s an incredible story. I’ve read the book (by Roland Perry) and I’m doing a series of paintings about it,” Mr Reardon said.

“I’d really like to see it go to Canberra at the new museum, if they’ve got room for it,” he said.

Sub-branch president, John Williams, said Mr Reardon is a talented, serious artist.

“It was absolutely fantastic for Ian to make a donation like that to the museum,” Mr Williams said.

“Ian puts a lot of work and a lot of detail into his paintings and The Charge of Beersheba reflects that.

“He more than likely could’ve sold this painting for quite a bit of money, but instead chose to donate it to our organisation.

“We are really appreciative of Ian’s generosity. He’s a tremendous man and a very gifted man, and thinks of his community all the time,” Mr Williams said.

Words and Image: Bill Poulos