Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Albert Arthur Le Roux, known as Bertie, was born on 28th June 1897 in Lang Lang VIC, the youngest of 4 children born to his parents Prosper and Caroline Le Roux.  His older siblings were Prosper…known as Reg, Henry…known as Harry and Dorothy.  Bertie attended the Lang Lang State School VIC and served 4 years with the Senior Cadets in the 50th Battalion.  His father and brothers worked on the family property at Red Bluff raising prize-winning Clydesdale horses, cattle and sheep.  By 1914 the 3 sons had expanded and modernised the property and “The Le Roux Brothers” name often appeared in prize winning lists of the Royal Melbourne Shows.  Just prior to WW1 Bertie commenced work as a bank clerk and served 9 months with the 4th Field Artillery Brigade at Albert Park VIC. 

On 1st February 1916, aged 18, Bertie enlisted for WW1 in the AIF at Melbourne VIC.  His older brother Reg, aged 31, enlisted a week later and was assigned as a Private to the 23rd Infantry Battalion.  He later transferred to the 24th Infantry Battalion and was promoted to Lance Corporal in August 1916.  His other brother Harry, aged 30, stayed at home to help his father run the property. 

Bertie is described as being 5ft 5ins tall with a fresh complexion, brown eyes and auburn hair.  His service number was 19993, his rank Gunner and he was assigned to the 8th Field Artillery Brigade, part of the 3rd Australian Division.  He commenced training at Maribyrnong Camp VIC then on 20th May 1916 he embarked from Melbourne on HMAT Medic.  Four days later he spent a day in hospital aboard the ship with sea sickness.  He disembarked at Plymouth, England UK on 18th July 1916 and proceeded to Larkhill Camp No. 16 on the Salisbury Plain.  He then proceeded to Hilsea at Portsmouth for further training before returning to Larkhill Camp in early September 1916.  On 20th December 1916 he was admitted to Fargo Military Hospital with pleurisy spending Christmas Day there before rejoining his unit on 28th December.  Just 2 days later the Brigade embarked for France from Southampton.   They disembarked the next day at Le Havre and proceeded to Strazeele and by the 17th January 1917 they had arrived at Armentieres not far from Belgian border in the dead of winter. 

As a gunner Bertie was in a high risk occupation.  If the enemy got a fix on their position they would be shelled mercilessly.  The gunners had 2 jobs…bombarding the enemy’s trenches and…finding and destroying his guns. 

As part of the 3rd Division, the Brigade took part in the Battle of Messines in Belgium in June 1917 and remained in the frontline near Messines till late August when they were withdrawn to rest.  They moved back into the frontline at Ypres on 9th September 1917 and on 20th September they were firing from positions near Hooge on Menin Road towards Zonnebeke.  This was the Battle of Menin Road, part of the 3rd Battle of Ypres or otherwise known as Passchendaele.  They were in the Zillebeke area east of Ypres on 24th September 1917 under a heavy bombardment when a German shell exploded amongst the guns of the 8th Field Artillery wounding 2 Officers, 2 Corporals and 2 Gunners.  Bertie was one of the gunners seriously wounded.  He suffered wounds to both hips that penetrated his abdomen.  He was evacuated to the 8th Field Ambulance at Remy Siding 2 miles south of Poperinge,  This was only a distance of 12 miles but because of the poor condition of the countryside and roads from the bombardment and rain and congestion on the roads, this could take several hours to complete.  Bertie was transferred to the No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station at Remy Siding but succumbed to his wounds dying there at 10.45am on 27th September 1917 aged 20.  He was buried adjacent to the No. 3 CCCS at Remy Siding in what is now known as the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Belgium. 

Just a week later Bertie’s brother Reg moved into the frontline trenches on 4th October 1917 to take part in the Battle of Broodseinde which was part of the 3rd Battle of Ypres.  This day was one of the worst for Australian Forces with 6,500 men killed, wounded or missing.  Reg was one of the 1,279 men who died taking the ridge at Broodseinde.  His body was never recovered.  He was initially listed as missing but that was later changed to killed in action.  He was 33.  He is commemorated on panel 23 of the Menin Gate Memorial which records the names of 55,000 men…6,000 of them Australians…who went missing in Belgium in WW1 and who have no known grave. 

Reg may not have known that just a week earlier Bertie had died.  The brothers lie in the soil of Belgium less than 15 miles apart. 

After the war their parents received a Memorial Scroll, Plaque and Royal Letter from the King for each of them.  These were presented to the next of kin of those who died while serving in the Australian Imperial Force in WW1, acknowledging the soldier’s service and their loss as a family.

An extract from the book “The Lost Boys” sums up the effect on the family back home at Red Bluff. “The news that both sons had died within a week of each other pitched the Le Roux family into unimaginable grief.  Within 2 years they sold Red Bluff, the property they had farmed for 50 years.  Chris Reid, grandson of Dorothy Le Roux, suspects the place had too many memories.  Harry the 3rd son, bought a new property near Albury, separating himself from his parents.  Caroline and Prosper bought a new property in the western districts of Victoria  at Camperdown.  Chris remembers hearing from his father that Caroline’s grief was profound and long-lasting.  She never talked about Reg or Bertie nor permitted discussion of them.  She died in 1925 aged 64.”

Bertie and Reg are both commemorated on the Lang Lang Roll of Honour, Lang Lang State School Roll of Honour and the Lang Lang Memorial Hall Honour Roll.  Both are commemorated on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra ACT…Bertie on panel 15 and Reg on panel 102.   

In 1920 in a touching tribute to both her brothers lost in the war, Dorothy and her husband James named their newborn son Prosper Albert Le Roux Reid.           

Albert Arthur Le Roux was awarded for service in WW1 the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.

Respectfully submitted by Sue Smith 3rd November 2023.

Sources

The Lost Boys written by Paul Byrnes (Book)