Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout

Gnr Charles Noel Barton

On the old battlefields of the Somme, poppies grow, red as the blood that so many men shed, these flowers of Remembrance remind us that more than a hundred years ago, a whole generation of men came here and fought with admirable courage, with unfailing determination they did their duty with bravery and devotion, they were young and brought hope to the hearts of the French people who admired them and who had for them, as today, A deep respect and a great admiration. Gone but not and never forgotten, they rest in peace on these sacred lands, in the silence and in the peace for which they gave their lives and their today to offer us a tomorrow in a peaceful world. poppies grow between the rows of their graves, in serene and silent cemeteries but sometimes a light breeze is felt, bringing into our hearts the murmurs and voices of the past, the voices of these men, of these young boys, who ask us that we do not forget them and that we remember them with the respect and love that they deserve, with the love with which they fought and today,it is the memory of one of these men whom I would like to honor with deep gratitude.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Gunner number 2004 Charles Noel Barton who fought courageously in the 11th Brigade of the Australian Field Artillery, 4th Australian Division, and who was killed in action 104 years ago, on January 14, 1917 at the age of 40 on the Somme front.

Charles Noel Barton was born in 1877 in Bundaberg, Queensland, Australia, and was the son of Robert Crofts Barton and Anna Barton, of Toweran, Marion Street, Killara, New South wales. Charles was educated at Maryborough Grammar School, Queensland and before the outbreak of the war, he lived in Enoggera, Queensland, was single and worked as a grazier.

Enlisted on August 30, 1915 in Brisbane, Queensland, in the 2nd Light Horse Regiment, 14th Reinforcement, he embarked with his unit from Brisbane, on board HMAT A62 Wandilla on January 31, 1916 and sailed for Heliopolis, Egypt, where he arrived on March 7, 1916.A month later, on April 16, he was transferred to the 4th Artillery Division in Serapeum, Egypt then on March 21, he was posted to the 43rd Battery of the 11th Brigade of the Australian Field Artillery with which he courageously served in Egypt until May 13, 1916. A month later, on June 1, 1916, Charles joined the British Expeditionary Force in Alexandria and embarked for France where he was disembarked in Marseille on June 10 and was sent on the Somme front and fought with bravery and coolness with the 11th Howitzer Battery in the area of Flers and Gueudecourt.

Unfortunately, seven months later, on January 14, 1917, it was in the area of Gueudecourt, in the Somme, that Charles met his fate and was killed in action, he was 40 years old.

Today,Charles Noel Barton rests in peace with his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Bulls Road Cemetery, Flers, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription "Much loved son of Mrs. Barton, Toweran, Queensland".

Charles, you who fought bravely alongside your comrades and brothers in arms on these soils of France, I would like, from the bottom of my heart, to say thank you for all that you have done.Under the Australian sun, you have without hesitation answered the call of duty and joined the ranks of courageous young men who walked with heads held high and hearts full of hope to do their duty with pride for their country and for humanity, all united, they joined with confidence and determination the battlefields of France and fought like lions in the muddy trenches of the Somme in which so much blood flowed under storms of fire and steel that mowed down the ranks of a whole generation of men.in the mud, in the cold, all endured the same horrors of war, holding on with energy under the roar of the cannons which rained down the fires of hell in terrible explosions which forever bruised the once peaceful landscapes.Valiant and brave, they showed extraordinary courage and never backed down despite the violence and the fury of the enemy fire that poured on them, with an infernal rhythm, machine guns which stopped so many young lives in the cold steel of the barbed wire.All, soldiers and officers, all fought together for the same causes, for freedom, for peace and gave their youth, their courage in the hell of the battlefields and faced the death that surrounded them in the shell holes in which their comrades drowned.Under hailstones of burning lead and steel they moved forward, eyes turned to their fates, fingers tight and hearts heavy but determined, the Australian soldiers were deeply admired and respected and suffered immense losses in battles that were among the most murderous of the Somme, names which today inspire in our hearts, an immense respect and a very great admiration like Villers-Bretonneux, Amiens, Pozieres.They were also, just as they are today, deeply admired and loved by the French people for whom they did absolutely everything they could and together forged a friendship which today unites our two countries in a very strong bond of respect which unites us around the Grateful Remembrance of these men who fought and who gave their lives, we will always be extremely honored and happy to welcome the australians, to share with them and I am sure that all these men who rest in peace in these peaceful cemeteries would be happy to see that thanks to them, people who did not know each other before become friends and gather around them holding high and proud the flame of Remembrance which we will pass on to the next generations for may their names and their stories live on forever, not only in the stone of their graves and memorials but also in our hearts and thoughts so that they will live forever in the love we have for them.I would like, to finish these few lines, to express my deepest love and my most sincere respect for the Australian people and for Australia which has a very big place in my heart, my ancestors affectionately called "Diggers" the Australian soldiers whom they admired, today, I call them, with great tenderness and affection "my boys of the Somme" and to watch over them, to be present for the families who cannot come here, is for me, more that a privilege,it is a pride and the greatest honor of my life and I would always do my best to protect and honor their memory with all my heart, with energy and with devotion so that they are never forgotten.Thank you Charles,we will never forget you.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.