Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout

Today it is with deep respect and gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of a son of Australia and one of my boys who rest in peace here in the Somme, I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 1203/A, Arthur Henry William Howes who fought in the 2nd Pioneer Battalion and who died of his wounds 104 years ago on August 4, 1916 at the age of 21 on the Somme front.

Arthur Henry William Howes was born in September 1893 in Mount Egerton, Victoria, Australia and was the son of Arthur Charles and Emma Jane Howes, of 262, Bulwer Street, North Perth, Western Australia, native of Mount Egerton.Before the war , Arthur was in the Salvation Army and worked as a trucker, he was single and lived at 71 King Street, Boulder, Western Australia.

Enlisted on March 25, 1915 in the 28th Australian Infantry Battalion,C Company, he embarked with his unit from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT Ivernia on June 29, 1915 to the Gallipoli Peninsula where he was disembarked on September 4, 1915 and was wounded in the neck at ANZAC on September 25, 1915 and was evacuated to the 16th Casualty Clearing Station then was evacuated to England at 4th Southern General Hospital in Plymouth. after recovering from his wounds received in action, Arthur embarked for Egypt on board the Oriana and arrived in Alexandria on January 13, 1916.Arthur served at Tel El Kebir then was transferred to the 2nd Pioneer Battalion in Ismailia, Egypt on March 11, 1916 and joined the British Expeditionary Force in Alexandria on March 19 where he embarked with his unit for France and arrived in Marseilles on March 26 , seven days later, Arthur was admitted to the 18th Ambulance Train suffering from appendicitis and on July 31, 1916 he joined his battalion in the Somme.

Unfortunately, seven days later, while at the front, in the trenches in the Corbie sector,Somme, Arthur was gassed and evacuated to the 38th Casualty Clearing Station where he died a few hours later at the age of 21.

Today, Arthur Henry William Howes rests in peace with his comrades at Heilly Station Cemetery and his grave bears the following inscription "In memory of the beloved son and brother of Mr. and Mrs. Howes and family".During the war this cemetery was called "Cimetiere Du Bois Hareng", "Hareng Wood Cemetery".

Arthur had a brother, Private number 2399 Frederick Walter Parker Howes who fought in the 48th Australian Infantry Battalion which survived the war and returned to Australia on March 17, 1917.
Arthur, today the sun rises on the Somme, on these battlefields which were covered by the darkness and the violence of the war, ravaged by destruction and death.Today these sacred lands are peaceful and silent, it is here that you fought and served with your brothers in arms with the greatest bravery, facing the horrors of war, under the bullets which mowed down so many young and brave lives, in the trenches, in a rain of shells breaking the spirit and the soul, holding on under clouds of gas, deadly fog burning the lungs, you faced hell, united with your comrades on this land of France who saw so many lives lost, so many broken hopes but also so much bravery, courage, heroic acts, through this hell you fought, for your country, for France which saw in you the hope of a better world, the hope of a world in peace.you who lived your youth in the mud of the trenches and the battlefields, in the blood shed by so many of your comrades, of your friends who did not have the chance to return home, until your last breath you fought with the greatest of courage and today, our generation is united around yours to honor your memory with the greatest respect, on your graves we bow with gratitude to say thank you, we owe you so much, we who are lucky to live in a world at peace, we do not forget what so many young men like you have done for us.walking through the battlefields and the cemeteries of the Somme, I think of you Arthur, I think of all your comrades who gave their lives, their everything and it is with a lot of emotions and with pride that I stand in front of you, with you to tell you all, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. with devotion I would always watch over you, I would give my heart and my energy to make each of you live again through our hearts and in the flame of Remembrance so that your names live forever, to be with you in these peaceful cemeteries is more than an honor, it is the greatest privilege of my life. Thank you Arthur.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.🌺