Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Francois Berthout

Pte 3845 William Simms
47th Australian Infantry Battalion,
12th Brigade, 4th Australian Division, AIF
 
More than a hundred years ago, the fields of the Somme, now so peaceful and silent, were, for an entire generation of men, a hell on earth like no other had ever been seen before, a nightmare of mud and fury which shattered thousands of lives, hopes, dreams but also thousands of families who never saw their sons, their children again and who, in the Somme, in the trenches and barbed wire slaughterhouses, gave theirs today and their lives under rains of bullets but who, facing death, facing machine gun fire, united in fraternity and camaraderie, gathered around common values and causes, for the love of their country, in the name of peace and freedom, charged shoulder to shoulder and gave everything they had, until their last heartbeat, until their last breath, until their last drop of blood to give us the hope of a tomorrow, of a better world which would not be dragged into the madness of a new war, so that the laughter of children will never again be stifled by the sinister roar of the cannons which, on the battlefields of the north of France, mowed down an entire youth whose laughter and innocence were lost in the hell of murderous battles.

They were Australian, French, British, Canadian, German but behind their uniforms, they were men whose lives are today remembered and honored in the sacred epitaphs of their white graves which remind us every day what sacrifices were paid for us and , for everything they did for us, I would give them the time of my life so that their names, their faces and their stories can live forever beyond the fields of poppies, solemn shroud of their memory where they will remain young and united forever and where the flame of remembrance will always shine with the highest respect and love that we will always have for these heroes to whom we owe so much.

Today, it is with the utmost respect and with the deepest gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young men, of one of my boys of the Somme, who, for Australia and for France, for each of us and future generations, gave his life on the battlefields of the great war. I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 3845 William Simms who fought in the 47th Australian Infantry Battalion, 12th Brigade, 4th Australian Division of the Australian Imperial Force, and who was killed in action 108 years ago, on November 28, 1916 at the age of 22 on the Somme front.

William Simms was born in 1894 in Woodford, Essex, England, and was the son of William and Emily Simms, of 34 Fulbourne Street, Mile End Road, London, England. Although he had a happy childhood, he emigrated to Australia at the age of 17 in 1911 and moved to Ferry Street, Kangaroo Point, Brisbane, Queensland where he worked as a steward and shortly after married Leslie Simms, of Jane Street, West End, Brisbane, Queensland.

Unfortunately, happiness with Leslie was brutally obscured by the war. Australia was in the middle of a double-dissolution election when Britain declared war against Germany in August 1914. With Britain now at war, all dominions of the British Empire were also at war with Germany, including Australia. The Prime Minister, Joseph Cook as well as opposition leader, Andrew Fisher, who would win the election and become the Prime Minister, both pledged Australia’s full support. The campaign to recruit volunteers for the Australian Imperial Force began straightaway.

A year later, on August 16, 1915, deeply grateful to the country which welcomed and adopted him and driven by the desire to do his duty, William enlisted in Brisbane, Queensland, as a Private in the 15th Australian Infantry Battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Cannan, who later rose to become Quartermaster General during the second world war. Many of the battalion's officers and non-commissioned officers had previously served in the Citizens Forces and a few had fought in South Africa during the Boer War or in India with the British Army.Shortly after, William underwent a training period of just over three months at Enoggera Camp then embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A23 Suffolk on November 30, 1915 and sailed for Egypt. He arrived at Tel-El-Kebir on March 6, 1916 then on the next day, he was transferred and taken on strength in the 47th Australian Infantry Battalion which was raised in Egypt as part of the doubling of the AIF which took place after the evacuation of Gallipoli and prior to deployment to France. The 47th was the "pup" Battalion of the 15th Battalion, formed by transferring 50% of experienced officers, non-commissioned officers and men and supplementing them with new reinforcements from Australia. Like its "relatives" most of the men in the 47th Battalion were from Queensland and Tasmania. After joining his new unit, William underwent a period of training in the heat of the desert and served in the defense of the Suez Canal then on June 2, the men of the 47th Battalion marched to Alexandria where they joined the British Expeditionary Force and proceeded overseas for France on board HMT Caledonia.

On June 9, 1916, after a short one-week voyage on the Mediterranean Sea, William finally arrived in France and was disembarked in Marseilles. The next day, he and the men of the 47th Battalion embarked by train for Bailleul and then from there, marched into billets to Outtersteene where they remained until July 2. A day before, they heard, hundreds of kilometers away, the echoes of deflagrations caused by the explosion of two mines which, on July 1, preceded the assault of the British troops who charged bayonets forward under machine gun fire on the battlefields of the Somme and who, in a bloodbath, lost, in a single day, 57,470 men of whom 19,240 were killed, the bloodiest day of the British army which now desperately needed reinforcements.

On July 3, 1916, William and his unit left Outtersteene then, after a quick stop at Sailly-Sur-La-Lys, marched to Fleurbaix where they relieved the 1st Australian Infantry Battalion. Here, they entered the trenches for the first time but Fleurbaix was a "nursery" sector, a relatively quiet location on the front line which would allow Australian troops to gain experience and familiarize themselves with the conditions of modern warfare and spent the following days improving and fortifying their positions by installing new strong points defended by machine guns as well as lines of barbed wire then on July 11, were relieved by the 53rd Australian Infantry Battalion and moved back to Sailly-Sur-La-Lys then to Outtersteene for a brief period of two days rest. On July 14, the battalion received new orders and headed for the Somme, arriving in the small village of Candas the same day then marched in their new billets at Berteaucourt where they followed a period of training until on July 26 then the following day, marched through Herissart and reached Vadencourt where they bivouacked until July 31 but the time to join the bloody quagmires of the Somme was approaching.

On August 1, 1916, William and the 47th Battalion left Vadencourt and marched for Brickfields, Albert, then the next day, under shells, moved to Tara Hill and, through hellish fire, took position in the trenches of Pozieres which, after The Battle of Fromelles on the Western Front was the largest and deadliest engagement of Australian troops in the Somme.
There, the 1st, 2nd, and 4th Australian divisions wrested a small, devastated area from the enemy, but at a staggering cost. Over 42 days the Australians made as many as 19 attacks against the German positions. The final casualties totalled an appalling 23,000 men killed, wounded, or taken prisoner. The losses sustained throughout that exhausting period were almost unsustainable for a volunteer army.

The high ground at Pozières was an essential advantage, and a place from which further attacks could be launched. The 1st Division was the first to go into the battle, and did so on 23 July 1916. The Australians managed to capture the village of Pozières, whereupon they were subjected to relentless artillery bombardment that reduced the village to rubble and inflicted a heavy toll among the allied troops. The 2nd Division relieved the 1st, and suffered even more losses attacking towards the heights east of the village. The 4th Division then went in, pressing its attack north towards Mouquet Farm and holding off German attempts to retake Pozières. Each of the three Australian divisions, though severely reduced, served a second tour on this notorious battleground.

The massive artillery bombardment from the Germans at Pozières inflicted a huge number of casualties among the Australians. For several weeks Pozières became the focus of the Somme fighting and the worst place to be on earth.

Of the 23,000 Australian casualties, 6,800 men were killed or died of wounds during the battle.

On 4 August 1916, William and the men of the 47th Battalion were involved in supporting the 2nd Australian Division's attack on the Windmill, north of the village of Pozieres, initially by providing working parties. The Windmill was a very important command point and observation point for the German field artillery which, in 1916, was very heavily defended by several German machine guns but on August 5, after heavy sacrifices, was finally captured. After this attack, the men of the 47th Battalion fought in horrible conditions to preserve the conquered ground and were heavily shelled but held their ground despite the fury of the battle. Added to their misfortune were the rats and the sight, beyond the parapets, of comrades who were lying lifeless, dismembered, mutilated, face down in pools of blood above which hung an unbearable smell of death.

Then, exhausted, having suffered heavy losses, were relieved on August 15 by the 8th Australian Infantry battalion and moved back to Brickfields then to Warloy-Baillon the next day.
On August 18, 1916, the men of the 47th Battalion left Warloy-Baillon and spent the following days between rest and training in Rubempre, Berteaucourt, Talmas, Herissart, Vadencourt but William's health began to deteriorate and he was admitted on August 23 to the 12th Field Ambulance suffering from Influenza then transferred to the 1st Australian Stationary Hospital on August 28 where he recovered quickly then returned to his unit on September 6 in Beauval. Shortly after, on September 8, he embarked by train with his comrades from Doullens for Proven, near Ypres and from there, marched to Patricia Camp where they rested until September 18 then the next day moved to Alberta Camp for reorganization. One day later, on September 20, they took up position at Voormezele , relieved the 47th Canadian Infantry Battalion and fought in this sector until September 26, when the 47th was relieved by the 45th Australian Infantry Battalion and moved to "Ridgewood".

On 2 October 1916, William and his unit moved back to the front line, in the positions they had previously occupied at Voormezele, relieved the 45th Australian Infantry Battalion and fought here until 13 October. The following day, they were relieved and moved to Murrumbidgee Camp. During the days that followed, the men of the 47th enjoyed rest, were able to wash but the war, implacable, continued to impose its rhythm and on September 26, marched for Boeschepe then Godewaersvelde, in the north of France then resigned but determined, returned by train to the Somme and arrived at Longpré-Les-Amiens, near Amiens. After a night's rest, they marched to L'Etoile and bivouacked there until November 1st.

On November 2, 1916, the men of the 47th Battalion left L'Etoile and marched to Vignacourt then to Flesselles where they remained until November 5 then moved to Dernancourt where they followed a period of training. Less than a week later, On November 11, William fell ill a second time and was admitted to the 12th Field Ambulance Hospital suffering once again from Influenza. Finally, on November 22, completely recovered, he joined his unit on the front line, in Flers where the 47th occupied two positions, the "Switch Trench" and the "Gap Trench" facing a system of extremely well defended and fortified German trenches called "The Maze" which the Australians attempted to take for the first time on November 5 then a second time on the 17th November. At this time, the battlefield of Flers was only a quagmire of sticky mud soaked with rain and these two courageous attacks sank into the mud. The Diggers advanced with great difficulty and became easy targets for enemy machine guns. However, twice, they succeeded in taking portions of enemy trenches but were each time pushed back by strong German counterattacks which pounded the Australian lines with incredible intensity during the days that followed. On November 27 , the 47th Battalion moved to Bernafay Wood but unfortunately, during an intense bombardment which took place the next day, William met his fate and was killed in action by a shell on November 28. He was 22 years old.

Today, William Simms rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Bulls Road Cemetery, Flers, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription: "Though far away yet so near love still clings dear."

William, over a hundred years ago, you raised your head beneath the clouds of a world at war and, following your heart and your conscience, you answered the call of duty to fight in the name of Australia, of your adopted country which offered you a chance, a hope, a future, then with determination and confidence, refusing to stay behind, you joined your comrades, your brothers in arms and wore with pride and honor the colors of a great and beautiful nation which with a heavy heart, sent its sons and daughters to the battlefields of the great war but, loyal and animated by great courage, by the faith of a better future, you marched with straight shoulders towards the front line, towards the trenches and without knowing it, towards death but nothing could have made you take a step back, nothing could have stopped you from doing what you believed in and, in the prime of your life, brave among the brave and surrounded by heroes, you joined the front line, not to bring death but to give humanity, future generations, new hope and under artillery fire, you stood admirably of bravery in the name of peace and freedom which guided your steps in once green fields which, in the flames and the roar of the cannons, sank into madness and despair and which, in the blood, were nothing more than open-air slaughterhouses on which thousands of men killed each other who, together, shed their tears and blood in the middle of indescribable chaos and who, together, had to bear the weight of the horrors they endured and lived among the rats, knees deep in the mud, standing around their dead comrades who, mutilated, riddled with bullets, torn by shrapnel, silently implored their friends to hold on again and again so that after so much sacrifice, so much desolation, of lost lives, may the light of peace return through a nightmare experienced by all these heroes who, in camaraderie and fraternity, in loyalty and courage, found the strength to fight, the strength to do everything to may humanity be reborn in the hearts of men.In the Somme, the Australians fought like lions and William, alongside his friends, under their slouch hats and the rising sun, showed the courage, the determination, the conviction of this entire beautiful and great nation whose history they wrote and among the poppies, in Pozieres, at Mouquet Farm and in Flers in 1916 then in Villers-Bretonneux and in Amiens in 1918, they wrote the legend of the ANZAC spirit, a spirit of perseverance, of effort, of unity in the face in adversity, a spirit of coolness and gallantry in the face of trials and suffering and for this sacred spirit, for the friendship which brought these young boys together in the trenches, they did not hesitate to give their lives, to sacrifice themselves to save those they loved but also for the values in which they believed and today, if we are free, if we are here, it is because they were there more than a hundred years ago, it is because they gave their all to allow us to live without fear of tomorrow, without fear of a bullet coming to take our life.We don't know them all but we owe them all so much and to live where they gave their lives, in the Somme is for me an honor and every day I feel proud and honored to walk with respect in front of their white graves to honor their memory, to perpetuate their stories, to tell the world what they did here but also to tell who they were, so much more than ordinary men but true heroes over whom I will always watch with love and gratitude and who, through my eyes and in my heart, will forever be, like William Simms, my boys of the Somme.

Thank you so much William, for everything you and your brothers in arms, for everything Australia did for France whose respect and love will forever be yours.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him, we will remember them.