Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout

Pte 5743 Ronald David Longmuir
44th Australian Infantry Battalion, A Company,
11th Brigade, 3rd Australian Division
 
On the fields of the Somme, peaceful and serene, stand row after row the white graves of a whole generation of young men who, more than a hundred years ago, in the name of peace and freedom, responded to the call of duty from the other side of the world to liberate our old country from the darkness of a world war that plunged the world into madness. With bravery and determination, they fought alongside their brothers in arms in the trenches, the knees deep in the mud on which so much tears and blood were shed but held the front line side by side united in camaraderie and brotherhood and faced the fire of machine guns and artillery bound by an unbreakable bond of friendship who gave them the strength and the courage to move forward under the bullets and the shells but the price was high and there were thousands of them, friends, fathers, brothers who fell next to each other on the ground bruised by barbed wire and after so much fury, fears and suffering, found in France the eternal silence of their last resting places that bloom tulips and roses and that the sun, tirelessly shines its light to bring back to life these young boys over whom I will always watch with honor and respect to keep their memory strong and alive so that who they were and what they did for us will never be forgotten.

Today, it is with the utmost respect and the deepest gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young men, one of my boys of the Somme who gave his today for our tomorrow.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 5743 Ronald David Longmuir who fought in the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion, A Company, 11th Brigade, 3rd Australian Division, and who was killed in action 104 years ago, on March 28, 1918 at the age of 22 on the Somme front.

Ronald David Longmuir was born on December 17, 1895 in Perth, Western Australia, and was the son of David Longmuir (1868-1928) and Eunice Keziah Longmuir (née Rashleigh 1868-1968) of 364 Stirling Street, Perth. Ronald was educated in the State School, Western Australia, and before the outbreak of the war served for five years in the 88th Infantry Battalion of the Military Cadets then worked as a gas-engine-driver.

Ronald enlisted on March 13, 1916 in Perth in the 11th Australian Infantry Battalion, 18th Reinforcement and after a three-month training period at Blackboy Hill, Western Australia, he embarked with his unit from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A31 Ajana on July 15, 1916 and sailed for England.
On September 1, 1916, Ronald arrived in England and was disembarked at Plymouth where he was transferred to the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion on September 23, a battalion whose nickname was "The West Australian Rifles" and whose motto was "In hoc signo vinces" and which was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William Mansbridge. Two months later, on November 25, Ronald embarked from Southampton and proceeded overseas for France.

On November 26, 1916, Ronald and his unit arrived in France and were disembarked at Le Havre then marched for Bailleul and Steenwerck on November 28 then joined Armentieres on December 24 where the battalion was engaged in working parties in the trenches until January 1, 1917 but the following day Ronald fell ill and was admitted to 1st Australian Field Ambulance suffering from Scabies and on 9th January was transferred to 1st Casualty Clearing Station, was discharged to duty on 14th January and rejoined his battalion on 15th January in the trenches of Armentieres.

After a rather quiet routine period, on March 13, 1917, Ronald and the 44th Battalion were involved in a major raid to try to capture the German trenches in the Armentieres East sector, but the waves of attacks were swept away by intense barrage fire and enemy machine guns and the men of the 44th Battalion had to retreat to their original trenches.

After the failure of this raid, Ronald and the 44th Battalion were sent to Ploegsteert, Belgium, on March 14, 1917 and fought in the sector of "Factory Farm" until April 4 and were relieved by the 42nd Australian Infantry Battalion then marched into billets at Pont De Nieppe on 5 April but after a 15 day rest period, the battalion returned to the trenches of Ploegsteert on April 20, were relieved a week later by the 40th Australian Infantry Battalion and moved into billets at Armentieres.

A month later, on May 24, the 44th Battalion returned to Pont De Nieppe where the men were engaged in working parties until June 2, then were again sent to Ploegsteert the following day and were involved in an attack at Messines Ridge on June 7 and took a portion of the enemy line called "Green Line" near the river Douve but the battalion lost 300 men during this courageous action and were relieved of this sector on the night of June 11 to 12 by the 43rd Australian Infantry Battalion and marched into billets at Hillside Camp near Ploegsteert then proceeded to camp at Le Doulieu on 13 June for reorganization and training and on 22 June moved back to Messines Est where they relieved the 7th Battalion of Loyal North Lancashire and fought there until July 6, when they were relieved by the 42nd Battalion.

On the night of October 1, Ronald and the 44th Battalion arrived at Ypres and three days later fought bravely at Broodseinde Ridge.

The battle of Broodseinde Ridge was the third operation launched by British general Herbert Plummer as part of the Ypres offensive of 1917. It was a large operation, involving twelve divisions, including those of both 1st and 2nd ANZAC. The attack was planned on the same basis as its predecessors,the attacking troops' objectives were approximately 1,500 metres deep, the advance would be preceded by a massive artillery bombardment; and a creeping barrage would lead the troops on to their objectives and then protect them while they consolidated their positions.The attack began before dawn on 4 October 1917. The Australian troops involved were shelled heavily on their start line and a seventh of their number became casualties even before the attack began. When it did, the attacking troops were confronted by a line of troops advancing towards them; the Germans had chosen the same morning to launch an attack of their own. The Australians forged on through the German assault waves and gained all their objectives along the ridge. It was not without cost, however. German pillboxes were characteristically difficult to subdue, and the Australian divisions suffered 6,500 casualties.

A month later, on November 1, the 44th Battalion was sent to Hazebrouck where they remained until November 10 then marched through Remilly-Wirquin, Wittes, Outtersteen, joined De Seul Camp on November 15, Bulford Camp on November 16 and the following month, marched for Wakefield Camp, moved to Bois Grenier on December 20 and two months later, on February 6, 1918, Ronald was granted a leave in England.

On February 22, 1918, Ronald returned to his battalion at Ingersoll Camp, Nieppe then the following month, on March 6, marched for Lottinghem for a period of training but two weeks later, on March 21, 1918, the German army launched its spring offensive, the last offensive to try to break through the allied lines and on March 26, the 44th Battalion was sent to the Somme, arrived at Doullens then marched through Bus-Les-Artois, Bertrancourt, Coigneux, Bayencourt, Heilly, Amiens, Bonnay, and entered the trenches of Sailly-Le-Sec on March 27 where, unfortunately, the next day, Ronald met his fate and was killed by a machine gun bullet during a raid on the German lines, he was 22 years old.

Today, Ronald David Longmuir rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription: "Beyond this grave rests an immortal soul in God's repose."

Ronald David Longmuir had a brother, Charles Douglas Longmuir who served courageously during the great war in the 16th Australian Infantry Battalion. Douglas survived the war and returned to Australia on June 21, 1919.

Ronald, it was in the prime of your life that more than a hundred years ago you answered the call of duty to do your bit, your duty on the battlefields of the great war, in the mud and the blood of soils devastated by relentless rains of shells that maimed and shattered bodies and souls through barbed wire and poppies that were silent witnesses to the bravery and dedication of a whole generation of young boys who proudly served together and who did more than was asked of them in the face of machine guns and bullets which mowed them down at a ruthless and merciless pace in the fields of Flanders and then in the slaughterhouses that were the fields of the Somme, but at the gates of hell they remained united and strong in the finest spirit of camaraderie and fraternity which was the strength of the Australian soldiers who, in the north of France, showed the determination and courage of the entire Australian nation to which we will be forever grateful and alongside which we will always stand respectfully united in the remembrance of all these young Diggers, of my boys of the Somme who gave their today and their lives guided by the ANZAC spirit which was born in the red sands of Gallipoli and which we honor every year with the utmost respect in front of the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux where I will stand alongside my Australian friends on April 25.Brave among the bravest, they fought in appalling conditions but like lions and were deeply admired and held in high esteem through the eyes of their French brothers-in-arms who saw in the Diggers the bravest men they have ever seen and it was together that they shared the horrors, the sufferings and the tears but never took a step back and carried on their young shoulders the weight of war and went over the top with resolution for peace and freedom, for their country which they made proud through the darkest hours of the 20th century.Together they endured an endless nightmare but remained standing under their steel helmets and their slouch hats and shoulder to shoulder they held the front line and charged through Pozieres, Amiens, Villers-Bretonneux, symbols of their courage and their sacrifices where thousands of them rest in peace behind the shadows of their white graves but we will never forget them and on the walls of the schools, in letters of gold is written their legacy in these few sacred words "Do not forget Australia".More than a hundred years have passed and the barbed wire has disappeared, the machine guns and the artillery have fallen silent, the mud fields have given way to the poppies which season after season keep growing in silence but the men who fought and fell here will keep , behind their names and in our hearts an eternal presence and it is with respect that I will always watch over them because thanks to them I live in peace on these soils where their blood was shed and I would give my today to bring them back to life by telling who they were and what they did for us, I will keep their memory alive so that they will never be forgotten and will always be remembered with gratitude and respect.Their ideal is our legacy,their Sacrifice our inspiration.Thank you so much Ronald,for everything. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember him,we will remember them.