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From François Berthout

Captain Cecil Maitland Foss
28th Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company,
7th Brigade, 2nd Australian Division
 
In the green fields of the Somme, millions of poppies sway under the summer sun, eternal symbols of lives which, more than a hundred years ago, were shattered too soon on the battlefields through which so many men charged bayonets forward alongside their friends and brothers who shared the sufferings, the horrors and the sufferings they bravely endured in the trenches without ever giving up, without ever taking a single step back while they were day and night under the fire of artillery, bombarded by millions of shells without being able to hide or run far from this hell for which they all volunteered, to do what was right, to serve their country with determination and fought with conviction for peace and the freedom of the world, to preserve humanity by being united in the camaraderie and the brotherhood which bound them and gave them the strength to face their destinies on bruised grounds, scarified by the barbed wire in which so many men were caught and in which they paid the supreme sacrifices of their lives that they gave for us, for the tomorrow and the peace in which we live thanks to them and in which I will always watch over them so that they are never forgotten, to bring them back to life so that their memory, like the Somme poppies, never fades.

Today, it is with the utmost respect and with the deepest gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these men, of one of my boys of the Somme who gave his today for our tomorrow. I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Captain Cecil Maitland Foss who fought in the 28th Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company, 7th Brigade, 2nd Australian Division, and who died of his wounds 106 years ago, on August 11, 1916 at the age of 25 during the Battle of the Somme.

Cecil Maitland Foss was born on February 10, 1891 in Arrino, Western Australia, and was the son of Cecil Vaughan Foss (1845-1904) and Isabella Mary Foss (née Burges, 1852-1949), of "Hillside", 33 Mount Street ,Perth,Western Australia.He had two sisters, Vittoria (1885-1917), Nora Maria (1889-1982) and two brothers, Ernest Cecil (1884-1918) and Henry Clinton (1889-1917). Cecil was educated in the Perth High School, Western Australia then after graduation, worked as a farmer and lived at 5 Churchill Avenue, Subiaco, Western Australia.

With a deep desire to do his duty, Cecil enlisted on February 1, 1915 in Perth, Western Australia, as a Second Lieutenant in the 28th Australian Infantry Battalion, D Company, a battalion which was nicknamed "The Swan Regiment" and whose motto was "Urgens "(Urgent) under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Herbert Collett. After a training period of just over three months at Blackboy Hill Training Camp, Western Australia, Cecil embarked with his unit from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A11 Ascanius on June 29, 1915 and sailed for Egypt where he was appointed Lieutenant on August 27 then for the Gallipoli peninsula.

On September 4, 1915, Cecil was disembarked at Gallipoli whose military campaign was coming to an end but the evacuation was not yet confirmed and the 28th Battalion essentially played a defensive role northeast of ANZAC Cove, on a position called "Cheshire Ridge "until December 19, until the evacuation of the peninsula. Here, many of the 2nd Australian Division casualties were as a result of disease which was at its worst in the hotter months because of unsanitary conditions caused by field burials and in maintaining adequate standards of field hygiene difficulties. "Enteric Fever" is often referred to in soldiers records; it is interchangeable with the far more ominous-sounding "typhoid" and was an ongoing problem.

On December 19, 1915, Cecil and the 28th Battalion were evacuated from Gallipoli on board "Ansonia", were sent to Egypt and arrived in Alexandria on January 10, 1916 where the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) was effectively doubled in size by splitting the original sixteen Battalions, thus creating the 4th and 5th Divisions each of three brigades of four Battalions each rather than the initial structure of four brigades. The 2nd Division was unaffected by the re-structure. It absorbed its reinforcements and on March 1, Cecil was promoted to the rank of Captain then on March 16, the 28th Battalion joined the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) in Alexandria and proceeded overseas the same day for France.

On March 21, 1916, after a short journey on the Mediterranean Sea, Cecil arrived in France and was disembarked in Marseilles then moved by train to Morbecque on March 24 where a few days later, on March 27,the 28th Battalion were inspected by Field Marshall Douglas Haig and stayed here until April 3.

On April 4, 1916, Cecil and the 28th Battalion left Morbecque and marched into Outtersteene then Fort Rompu and on April 8 entered the trenches in the Bois-Grenier sector where the battalion suffered heavy artillery bombardment.A few days later, on April 12, the battalion was relieved and moved into billets at Rue Marle, near Erquinghem-Lys and was mainly employed in fatigue and working parties under particularly humid weather then on April 17, relieved the 26th Australian Infantry Battalion on the front line near Bois-Grenier then in support trenches in the same sector on April 26 but in nine days of fighting under very brutal artillery fire, the 28th lost 62 men and on May 3, took the trenches of Bois-Grenier before moving back for their billets to Rue Marle on May 16.

On May 28, 1916, after a few days of rest, Cecil and the 28th Battalion moved back to the trenches they had previously occupied at Bois-Grenier where they again suffered very heavy bombardments by high-explosive shells which caused considerable damage, between 28 and 31 May, the battalion lost 100 men but held its position firmly and the Australian artillery retaliated with force under a deluge of fire which fell this time on the German lines and on 7 June, a courageous raid carried out with courage by Captain Cecil Foss was successfully led into the German trenches and for his bravery under fire, Cecil was awarded the Military Cross with the following citation:
"For conspicuous gallantry when in command of a raid on the enemy's trenches. Considerable loss was inflicted on the enemy, and three prisoners were taken. Captain Foss was the first to enter and the last to leave the enemy's trenches."

Following this successful raid, Cecil received these few words from his commanding officer to congratulate him:
"1st ANZAC Corps, France, 18th June. 1916.
My Dear Foss,this is a line to congratulate you most heartily on the Military Cross, for which I was so pleased to be able to recommend you. I much wished I would be able to see you before you left, to congratulate you most heartily on the very successful raid which you carried out on the German trenches. I was particularly anxious that this, the first raid made by our corps since our arrival in France, should be a complete success, and I was really pleased when it turned out to be so. This was only possible when complete and detailed arrangements of every sort had been made beforehand, and these you made. Again, my heartiest congratulations, and thanks to you for it.Yours sincerely, M. J. Birdwood."

After this successful raid, on June 18, 1916, Cecil and the 28th Battalion were sent to Red Lodge Camp where the men underwent a period of training including bayonet fighting and gas drills with training in the handling of gas masks then on June 28, moved back to the trenches, relieved the 26th Battalion again and fought here until the end of the month. For the month of June 1916, the 28th Battalion lost 129 men.

On July 1, 1916, the British launched the Somme offensive and the 28th Australian Infantry Battalion was sent to the trenches at Messines, in the Ypres salient, Belgium, in the area of a position called "Stinking Farm" then on July 6, moved into billets between Neuve-Eglise and Dranoutre where Cecil was transferred to B Company, 28th Battalion on July 10 and remained there until July 12, marched the next day to Wizernes from where they embarked by train for a new front, for a new hell, for the Somme front.
On July 14, 1916, Cecil and the men of the 28th Battalion arrived in the Somme, in the small village of Saleux, near Amiens then marched through Herissart, Warloy-Baillon, bivouacked at Albert on July 26 and the next day entered the trenches of the Sausage Valley, in the infernal nightmare of the Battle of Pozieres.

At Pozières, the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) lost as many men over a few weeks as it did over 8 months on Gallipoli.The first attack began at 12.30am on Sunday 23 July. 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 28, 1916, Cecil and his men deployed north of Pozieres for a four-wave attack on the German trenches OG1 and OG2 which began the next day at 11:30 a.m. At first, the men of the first wave were pinned down in the lines of enemy barbed wire and most were mown down by machine gun fire, they were followed by three other waves which failed to break through the enemy lines and received the order to withdraw and the losses of the 28th during this attack were catastrophic, in just a few hours they lost 523 men and marched to "Tara Hill" where they built lines of communications and of assembly for a next attack.

Unfortunately, it was a few days later, on August 4, 1916 during an attack on the Windmill, that Cecil met his fate. On that fateful day, he bravely led his men from a position known as the "Tramway Trench." At 4.46 am Captain Foss reported that he was in OG1 trenches and a little to the left and in view of the Windmill. Reinforcements where sent forward arriving about 200 yards to the left of Captain Foss. These reinforcements found a party of men from the 27th Battalion and a Vickers machine gun defending their position against a strong party of Germans who they open fired upon, inflicting a considerable number of casualties. 27 German prisoners where taken from the shell holes and escorted to the rear. Further rifle fire was coming from OG2 trenches, seeing there was no machine gun fire OG2 was charged with a further 100 German prisoners taken. It was during this counter attack on OG1 and OG2 that Captain Foss was severely wounded receiving gunshot wounds to the chest, severe abdominal wounds and to his leg.

Cecil was immediately evacuated to the 3rd Casualty Clearing Station located in Puchevillers, where his leg was amputated and where unfortunately he died of his injuries a few days later,on August 11,1916, he was 25 years old.

Today, Captain Cecil Maitland Foss rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Puchevillers British Cemetery, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription: "In loving memory of my dear son."

With the same courage, the two brothers of Cecil Maitland Foss served and fought with great bravery on the battlefields of the great war. The first of them was Corporal number 5969 Ernest Cecil Foss who fought in the 11th Australian Infantry Battalion. Unfortunately, Ernest was killed in action on June 3,1918 at the age of 33 at Mont-De-Merris and his body was never found. His name is now remembered and honored with respect on the walls of the Australian National Memorial of Villers-Bretonneux, Somme.

Cecil Maitland Foss'second brother was Second Lieutenant Henry Clinton Foss who fought in the 28th Australian Infantry Battalion. Sadly, Henry was killed in action on May 3, 1917 at the age of 30 at Bullecourt and his body was never found. His name is today honored and remembered with gratitude and respect at the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, Somme.

In 1938, a memorial window was unveiled in the soldier’s memorial chapel in the St George’s Cathedral Perth to the Foss brothers who were killed in the Great War by Reverend Dean Moore. The window was provide by the late Miss Maria Burgess an Aunt of the 3 brothers.

On January 31, 1918, was published in the "West Australian" these few words:
"The brothers Foss have left behind a fragrant memory and a noble example of service for the human race which would be handed down to generations to come."

Cecil, Ernest, Henry, it is together, united in a bond of fraternity that at the call of duty, you answered by taking a step forward, wearing the colors of Australia high and proud and that you joined your comrades in the trenches of northern France where each of you three did your duty with honor and bravery under the fire of machine guns and artillery which set the world on fire and blood and which slowly fell into the abyss of the madness of an insane war which caused millions of men to kill each other in murderous charges, in hand-to-hand combat, friends and enemies throwing themselves on each other with extreme ferocity and who, in this fury, bayonets forward fell into the mud and the shell holes.Far from home, bravely and with determination, these young men marched side by side with a sense of pride in their hearts, and straight ahead, through the poppies, with a deep desire to do what was right, they gave their today for peace and freedom and made their country proud on these devastated fields of the Somme where in Pozieres, at the Mouquet Farm, their blood and their tears were shed at the gates of hell for which they all volunteered without never retreat in spite of the horrors they suffered under an onslaught of brutality, under the terrible murderous symphony of artillery which sent upon them death and destruction and which, under the bites of steel, pulverized and mutilated men and horses that lay in howls and pain in those infamous quagmires that were once peaceful and silent valleys that became infamous fields of death, abominable butcheries that sent to death a whole generation of heroes.Under hurricanes of fire and howling storms of steel, these brave young men nevertheless held their positions firmly, they fought day and night despite the fatigue, the hunger, the cold, tormented by fear and the rats, their young faces blackened through filth and blood, they showed the bravery of a whole generation, they showed the determination and the conviction of the young and strong Australian nation, in this hell on earth the Diggers fought fiercely, with the determination and the courage of true lions who never gave up a single inch of ground, who, for France, a country they knew little, fought and fell. Without them, our old country would have been lost and in the trenches, their French brothers in arms admired and deeply loved these young men who came from so far and with whom was born an eternal and fraternal friendship that nothing will ever break.More than a hundred years have passed, the fields of barbed wire have disappeared in the rust, the artillery, the machine guns have fallen silent but among the poppies, solemn and proud, the ghosts still walk, the souls of thousands of young men who stand behind their white tombs whose memory will never fade and over which I will always watch with respect so that they are never forgotten, to maintain strong and alive the unbreakable link which unites Australia and France in remembrance, so that the names of these young men, of my boys of the Somme live forever. Thank you so much Cecil, Ernest, Henry, for everything. In the Somme the name of the Foss family, of three brothers united in peace, will live forever.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember them. 

Cecil Maitland Foss of Babakin West Australia a farmer, joined the AIF on the 1st February 1915 age 23 years. He embarked from Fremantle in June 1915 attached to 28th Battalion “D” Company. He arrived in Alexandria in September 1915 and was appointed Lieutenant.

He March 1916 he proceeded for the Western Front and on arrival was appointed to the rank of Captain with the battalion moving into Pozieres.

On the night of the 4/5th August 1916 the battalion was moved forward to participate in a counter attack on OG1 trenches. Captain Foss was to lead his company’s in the attack from Tramway Trenches. At 4.46 am Captain Foss reported that he was in OG1 trenches and a little to the left and in view of the Windmill.

Reinforcements where sent forward arriving about 200 yards to the left of Captain Foss. These reinforcements found a party of men from the 27th Battalion and a Vickers machine gun defending their position against a strong party of Germans who they open fired upon, inflicting a considerable number of casualties. 27 German prisoners where taken from the shell holes and escorted to the rear. Further rifle fire was coming from OG2 trenches, seeing there was no machine gun fire OG2 was charged with a further 100 German prisoners taken.

It was during this counter attack on OG1 and OG2 that Captain Foss was severely wounded receiving gunshot wounds to the chest, severe abdominal wounds and to his leg. He was evacuated and taken to Number 3 Casualty Clearing Station. He remained at the casualty clearing station having his leg amputated and remained unconscious for most of the time, until he died at about 2.30am on 11th August 1916. The Reverend C.H. Broughton buried him. The grave was marked with a wooden cross. Captain Cecil Foss final resting place is in Puchevillers British Cemetery.

He was Mentioned in Dispatches for his action on the night of 4/5th August 1916. “For gallant conduct and able leadership for the attack on Pozieres Ridge 4/5th August for which he was severely wounded.

He was also previously awarded the Military Cross for actions in 6/7th June 1916 for his actions at Armentieres, near Fromelles for leading raids into the German Trenches. “For conspicuous gallantry when in command of a raid on the enemy’s trenches. Considerable loss was inflicted on the enemy and three prisoners taken. Captain Foss was the first to enter and the last to leave the enemy’s trench”.

 
His mother Isabella wrote to Reverend C.H. Broughton asking would he be kind enough to tell her whether he attended to her son in his last hours and if so whether he was conscious and suffered much pain. She also asked the nature of his wounds and a description of his grave.

A mother grieves in hope that her son did not suffer.

In 1938 a Memorial window was unveiled in the soldier’s memorial chapel in the St George’s Cathedral Perth to the Foss brothers who were killed in the Great War by Reverend Dean Moore. The window was provide by the late Miss Maria Burgess an Aunt of the 3 brothers.

A quote from the West Australian 31st January 1938 – The brothers Foss have left behind a fragrant memory and a noble example of service for the human race which would be handed down to generations to come. 

"...Captain Cecil Maitland Foss MC, 28th Battalion, of Babakin WA, who was wounded at Pozieres on 5 August 1916 and died on 11 August 1916 aged 25 years. Captain Foss had served for 18 months in Egypt, Gallipoli and France." - SOURCE (www.awm.gov.au)