Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

A TRIBUTE TO HONOUR PRIVATE ARCHIBALD HAROLD MCLEAN WILLMAN
ON THE CENTENARY OF HIS DEATH ON 7TH MARCH 1917

Written by Karen MacPherson (grand-niece)

Archie Willman was the third son of Thomas Wing Willman and Emily Harriett Willman of Bathurst NSW. He was a 23 year old farmer when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 7th June 1916.  Archie was representative of a generation of young men who wanted to "do their bit" in the War.  He was a keen sportsman, having been one of the best shots at Bathurst Rifle Club, a champion swimmer at Bathurst Superior Public School, and an expert amateur boxer for his weight. Embarking on the "Mashobra" on 14 September 1916, he arrived in England two months later and was greatly excited by the "hedges instead of wire fences", and "small paddocks of one or two acres" that characterised the Devon countryside where their camp was situated - such a contrast to the vast dry paddocks of the Central Tablelands of NSW. He wrote home from camp that when he ran into other young men from Bathurst, they were so delighted to meet him that "they nearly shook his hand off".

Archie  joined the 53rd Battalion in France on 23rd December. A little over two months later he was critically wounded in action whilst taking part in the Bapaume advance, and he died on 7th March 1917 at the South Midland Casualty Clearing Station. Letters to his grieving parents from his Company Commander, one of the doctors at the Clearing Station, and a friend, described Archie's heroic actions in the field. He had been part of a picked section of ANZACS who were forward of the main trenches approaching Bapaume. They had run short of water, and Archie volunteered to run back to the main trenches and carry water forward. He had done this several times under heavy shell fire between the main and the forward trench, a considerable distance, when on his last approach to the forward trench, heavily laden with water, a shell burst at his feet. He was peppered with shrapnel and shell case fragments in his arms and abdomen, and a large fragment entered his right lung. He died some hours later from his wounds.

The Battle of the Somme had commenced on 1st July 1916 with the opening British attack, the objective of which was Bapaume. From July to March, the Australian Imperial Force advanced across the 14 km of gently rolling, hellish farmland from Pozieres north east towards Bapaume. Archie became part of this advance in December during the winter of 1916/17 - the coldest of the War. Conditions were bitter. The ground was frozen, and digging was impossible. Existing trenches were half full of freezing water, while men drowned in shell holes filled with mud. After eight months of grim fighting under these unimaginable conditions, on 17th March 1917 Australian troops occupied Bapaume, which had been abandoned by the Germans as they fell back to the Hindenburg Line. But the cost in human life had been huge. Thousands upon thousands of men lie buried in the Somme Valley - including Private Willman, who is at rest at the Dernancourt Communal Cemetery Extension, 4 km from the town of Albert.

Archie was awarded the Victory Medal posthumously, and it was sent to his parents. He was unmarried. There was no wife, there were no children, to mourn him. But "Uncle Archie" and his tragic death in the War became a foundational family story. His grief-stricken parents commissioned a beautiful altar in his memory, which still stands in the Warriors' Chapel at All Saints' Anglican Cathedral, Bathurst. His mother wore a locket which contained his photo, and a lock of his fair hair. His memory has been kept alive through four generations - his brothers and sister; his nieces and nephews (two of whom were named for him); their children, and grandchildren. His mother's locket is now treasured by one of his many grand-nieces. We know his story.

Perhaps one of the most moving details of Uncle Archie's story is that amongst the few simple possessions returned to his sorrowing parents in 1918 was: a gum leaf. Yes, Uncle Archie's family knows his story. And we won't forget his sacrifice.  

Written on behalf of the descendants of Archie's sister, Harriette Mitchell (nee Willman).

Enlisted and served as Archibald Harold McLean Willman

Birth Registration Details

Name Archibald Harold Maclean Willman
Birth 09 Apr 1893
Birth Date 9 Apr 1893
Baptism 24 May 1893 All Saints Cathedral, Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia
Baptism Date 24 May 1893
Residence Bathurst, New South Wales, Australia
Residence Date 1893