Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Francois Somme

Pte 3866 Archibald Munro
6th Australian Infantry Battalion,
2nd Brigade, 1st Australian Division, AIF 
 
On the fields of the Somme, through the eternal poppies, silent witnesses of a distant history and a terrible past, walk forever young with the passing seasons, the solemn ghosts of a generation of young men carrying in their looks, a message, a story that they lived here more than a hundred years ago so here, on these sacred grounds, stop and let yourself be guided by these young boys who, their hands on your shoulders, take you through the time to return to 1916 then in a breath, your thoughts join the trenches of the great war, the battlefields on which the price of freedom and peace was paid under the rain of bullets suffered by men then in prime of their lives. Suddenly, in a brief moment, the silence around you gives way to explosions, to the thunder of artillery, to tremors pounding the mud followed by howls of agonies, of men and horses who, in the blood, in lunar craters, lie next to each other. Walking on the battlefields is a moving journey of every day where you can feel what was endured, the fire, the attacks, the suffering, the sadness but also the fraternity, the courage, the tenacity, the camaraderie of young men who still watch over these fields which are green and peaceful today but on which they experienced a hell never seen before and on which they fell to rise once again in order to help us pass on their stories so that we in turn can perpetuate their memory, to carry with gratitude, humility and care the flame of remembrance so that they are remembered, so that their names live forever in each of us, in our thoughts and in our hearts where they will always be loved.

On this day, it is with the utmost respect and the deepest gratitude in my heart that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young men, one of my boys of the Somme who, for Australia and France, for us and our children, gave his life.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 3866 Archibald Munro who fought in the 6th Australian Infantry Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 1st Australian Division of the Australian Imperial Force, and who was killed in action 108 years ago, on July 23, 1916 at the age of 23 during the Battle of the Somme.

Archibald Munro was born in 1893 in Minyip, Victoria, Australia, and was the son of Allan Munro (1844-1927) and Margaret Stewart Munro (née Macbeth, 1852-1937), of Park Street, Ferntree, Gully Road, Oakleigh, Victoria, Australia. He had eight brothers, Allan Munro (1872-1936), Walter Munro (1873-1945), Robert Stewart Munro (1876-1960), Alexander Munro (1878-1935), Peter Munro (1880-1936), Lachlan Munro (1882-1953), Duncan Munro (1884-1971), William Munro (1885-1946) and a sister, Elilias Jubilee Munro (1887-1971). Archibald was educated at Wycheproof South and Buln Buln State Schools, Victoria, and after graduation worked as a labourer until the outbreak of the war.

The first world war would break out in the second half of 1914, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austria-Hungarian Empire. The assassination did not directly cause the war however, it acted as a spark that ignited existing tensions between European countries. These tensions existed due to imperialistic, nationalistic and militaristic ideologies.

Australians read about the political assassination of Franz Ferdinand in the newspapers published at the end of June, 1914 and would continue to read about the existing tensions and series of events that ultimately led to the outbreak of war. After German troops entered Belgium on 4 August, the United Kingdom declared war on Germany.

Australia, a dominion of the British Empire, willingly joined the war to aid the mother country. Australia pledged an immediate force of 20,000 troops, with more to follow.

The government formed a new army to serve in the war: The Australian Imperial Force (AIF). The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) was also placed under the command of the British Admiralty and Australian ships, submarines and sailors were ready to serve in war overseas. However, they would also need to recruit personnel for active duty.

In mid-1914, Australia's population was just above 4.9 million, of which 52% were men. Each man of military age (19-38 years old) had to decide whether they would volunteer to join the armed forces and go to war. The recruiting offices opened at army barracks throughout Australia on 10 August, only six days after war was officially declared.

Thousands of men joined the AIF in the first few months, willing and keen to support the British Empire.

Like all his friends, Archibald, ready to serve his country, responded to the call and enlisted on July 12, 1915 in Macarthur, Victoria, as a Private in the 6th Australian Infantry Battalion, 12th Reinforcement. The 6th Battalion was raised at Broadmeadows Camp north of Melbourne as the second battalion in the 2nd "Victorian" Brigade of the 1st Division. After a training period of just over four months at Blackboy Hill Camp where he learned the rudiments of modern warfare which was raging on the Western Front, Archibald embarked with his unit from Melbourne, on board HMAT A40 Ceramic on 23 November 1915 and sailed for Egypt where he arrived on 16 February 1916 and was admitted to No 3 Auxiliary Hospital in Heliopolis suffering from PUO (Pyrexia of Unknown Origin), in other words, he has a fever, we still use the term today as FUO, "Fever of unknown origin". Soldiers suffering from PUO included men suffering from Typhus, Malaria, Pneumonia, Trench Fever, and numerous other fevers which affected the troops.Shortly after recovering, he was discharged to duty on February 23 in Cairo and proceeded for France on the troopship "Transylvania" from Alexandria on March 29.

After an uneventful journey on the peaceful waves of the Mediterranean Sea, Archibald finally arrived in France and was disembarked in Marseilles on April 4, 1916 then marched to Etaples which he reached on April 27 and was admitted to Isolation Hospital suffering from mumps. Later the same day, he joined the 1st Australian Divisional Base Depot, was transferred to the 24th General Hospital on May 19 then, after having recovered, marched out to unit on June 10 then taken on strength the next day in the 6th Battalion at Bulford Camp, near Messines, in Belgium where the battalion remained until July 8.
On July 9, 1916, Archibald and the men of the 6th Battalion left Bulford Camp and marched to Bailleul in northern France and from there embarked by train en route to the battlefields of the Somme where the greatest offensive of the the war, led by the British began a few days earlier, on July 1st and suffered catastrophic losses. In a single day of fury and horrors, they suffered 57,470 casualties of which 19,240 men were killed in action marking the deadliest day in the entire history of the British army which now, on this front, desperately needed any help, any possible reinforcements and the Australians, ready to fight, answered the call.

On July 11, 1916, the troops of the 6th Battalion arrived in the Somme, in the town of Doullens then from there, marched through Candas, Berteaucourt, Flesselles, Cardonette, Lealvillers, arrived in Senlis on July 21 then bivouacked outside the town of Albert. From there, the front line was only a few kilometers away and in the ranks of the 6th, tension and apprehension began to be felt because they knew that a big battle was approaching and in the night, outside their tents, they could see, amazed, the fires of the Australian and British artillery which began to heavily shell the village and the enemy lines of Pozieres which was completely destroyed, leaving only red bricks smoking of what was once a very charming French village. Later in the night, new orders were received and the officers of the battalion gathered their men to whom it was said "It is our turn to show our courage, on July 23 , in two days, we will attack, we will take and hold the village of Pozieres". However, the young Australian soldiers were far from suspecting the hell on earth that Pozieres would be, not only for their battalions but also for the entire Australian Imperial Strength in the Somme.

On July 22, 1916, Archibald and his unit moved forward and took up position near Albert, in an old line of British trenches and consolidated their positions in anticipation of the imminent attack on Pozieres which began the following day and which was one of the deadliest battles for the young Australian soldiers on this front.

At Pozières, the Australian Imperial Force lost as many men over a few weeks as it did over 8 months on Gallipoli.The first attack on the village began at 12.30am on Sunday July 23,1916. The Australian 1st Division seized the German front and reached the main road through Pozières an hour later. The Germans counter-attacked at dawn, but the Australians fought them off. The rest of Pozières fell between 23 and 25 July.

In response, the Germans concentrated their artillery fire on the Australians. They directed constant bombardments onto the village and the narrow approaches.The Australian 2nd Division took over Pozières village by 27 July and was ordered to capture Pozières heights. The attack started at 12:15am on 29 July, but the Germans were ready. The attack failed, with 3500 Australian casualties.

The Australian commander of the 2nd Division, Major General James Legge, asked if his men could attack again rather than be withdrawn. After an intense artillery bombardment of German positions on 4 August 1916, the Australians seized Pozières heights. The exhausted 2nd Division was relieved by the Australian 4th Division. After another 10 days of continuous action, the Australians moved north along the Pozières ridge. When they reached Mouquet Farm, the 4th Division was withdrawn and rested.

The Germans at Mouquet Farm held the position until 26 September 1916.In less than 7 weeks fighting at Pozières and Mouquet Farm, three AIF divisions suffered 23,000 casualties. Of these, 6800 were killed or died of wounds.

On July 23, 1916, Archibald's battalion was committed to the attack on Pozieres village, involving the reduction of the "Gibraltar" blockhouse among other tasks. The enemy shelling was relentless and casualties mounted at a horrifying rate. Unfortunately, it was during this courageous attack that Archibald was seriously wounded and was immediately evacuated to a Casualty Clearing Station but died a few hours later. He was 23 years old.

Today, Archibald Munro rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at the Pozieres British Cemetery, Ovillers-La-Boisselle, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription: "The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away."

One of Archibald Munro's brothers, William Munro also served bravely during the Great War and fought in the 1st Australian Infantry Battalion. William survived the war and returned to Australia on August 25, 1917. He died peacefully on February 27, 1946 at the age of 61 in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia. He was married to Isabella Munro (née Donohoe) and is now resting peacefully in Wagga Wagga General (Monumental) Cemetery.

Archibald, on this day of remembrance, the poppies bow and, carrying on them the blood of thousands of men, stand silently as eternal witnesses to the courage and sacrifices of an entire generation of young boys who, so far from their homes, together, fought and fell to protect these sacred grounds of northern France on which so many souls and lives were lost through battles which were so murderous and which, in a furrow of tears and blood, left so many families broken by the grief caused by the loss of their men and whose houses were filled with pain, sadness, a mourning that nothing could console, that nothing could repair and after the fury of fierce battles like those of Pozieres, had to live with the only memory of their sons, of their husbands, just a portrait for which so much love was given in desperate tears. In these moments of suffering, children had to learn to live without their fathers, without their brothers whom they continued to love so tenderly because they were told how brave they were in the trenches until their last breath and that in the mud, in the barbed wire, their last words were for their loved ones, for their country in whose name they gave their all in a hell never seen before. They were young, proud and brave Australians from Minyip, Bendigo, Adelaide, Launceston, Ballarat, Warrnambool, Sydney and when the time came for them to answer the call, not a single one looked away, all together took a step forward without hesitation and, under the southern cross, marched towards the training camps where they were told that the war would be over for Christmas, that it would be for them a great adventure that they could tell later then, under their slouch hat, with hearts filled with the love of their country, with pride, with a deep desire to fight the good fight, embarked alongside their friends on slow steamboats, letting themselves be lulled by the lapping of the waves which, on the hull of these steel giants, came crashing into foam whose spray soothed the thoughts of these young men so courageous and determined who asked themselves "would I be alive tomorrow?", "would I be brave" then, silently, on the wooden bridges, prayed asking God "would I have the courage to lead my men, my friends into battle? ","Will I return home covered in glory or covered in wounds?","will I one day see those I love again?".These questions haunted these men who, a few months before, were so happy and enjoying the joys of life but they knew that whatever happened, no matter where they went to fight, they would not be alone and it is this deep camaraderie, this brotherhood, this faith and this absolute confidence in each other which gave them the strength and the courage to stand tall on the front line which they joined with an invincible ardor and which they held with the bravery of lions under rains of bullets and hurricanes of shells that they faced days and nights in the mud, their feet frozen in the clay around rats and lice which added to their suffering but they never complained because they knew that their efforts and their courage was worth fighting and that together, no matter how long it took, they would make peace prevail so they gritted their teeth, and to the sound of the whistles, in long echoes which broke a long wait,climbed the wooden ladders and went over the top in tight lines, bayonets forward, slowed down by the weight of their haversacks, by the weight of the war which they carried with resolution on their shoulders and marched towards their destinies feeling their hearts beating to the sound of a thousand drums, breathing at a frantic rhythm, lowering their heads under the fire of machine guns, with nowhere to hide from the lead and the flames they charged with heroism towards the enemy lines and towards death which began its funeral work.

Meter by meter, step by step, friends who had grown up together, who had lived so much without ever being separated from each other, fell side by side, riddled with bullets, crushed under shells, asphyxiated under poisonous gas and poured out their blood side by side forever united in eternity which welcomed the souls of so many young boys who in the Somme, in the north of France, gave their lives and who, after so much torment, unspeakable horror, chaos terrible, found behind their wooden crosses, their white tombs, rest and eternal peace, a peace for which they sacrificed so much and in which they still live alongside us who will watch over these exceptional men forever with dignity, with love and gratitude in order to perpetuate their memory by telling who they were and what they did for us. They are Australians but also the sons of France in front of whom I feel proud to stand every day because today, if I am there, it's thanks to them.Thank you so much Archibald, for everything you and all your brothers in arms did for us under the banner of the great and beautiful Australian nation whose spirit of courage, in the Somme, will live forever.At the going down of the sun and in the Morning,we will remember him, we will remember them.