Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout
 
Under the sun of the Somme, rest in peace, side by side, row after row of their white graves between which grow the poppies of Remembrance, a whole generation of men, of all ages and of all nationalities who over a hundred years ago served with pride and honor for their country and who fought and fell with determination and bravery on the soils of France on which, united in friendship and comradeship, stood together with pride and shed their blood for freedom, for their loved ones and who until their last breath, with the greatest of courage, paid the supreme sacrifice of their lives for our tomorrow and for the peace in which we live and in which we honor their memories and their history, the history of their lives to keep them alive so that they will never be forgotten.

Today, it is with the greatest gratitude and with all my heart that I would like to honor the memory of one of these men who gave his today for our tomorrow, I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 4878 Patrick Sheehan who fought in the 50th Australian Infantry Battalion and who died of his wounds 104 years ago,on April 3, 1917 at the age of 34 on the Somme front.

Patrick Sheehan was born in 1883 in Rosewater, South Australia and was the son of Patrick John Sheehan and of Mary Ellen Sheehan (but it appears that her true name was Mary Elizabeth Sheehan). Patrick was educated in Rosewater and before the outbreak of the war he worked as an iron moulder and lived in Unley Road, Kingswood, South Australia.

Enlisted on November 27, 1915 at Adelaide, South Australia, in the 10th Australian Infantry Battalion, 15th Reinforcement,the 10th Battalion was among the first infantry units raised for the AIF during the first world war.The battalion was recruited in South Australia, and together with the 9th, 11th and 12th Battalions, formed the 3rd Brigade.On March 19, 1916, Patrick embarked with his unit from Adelaide, on board RMS Mongolia and sailed for Egypt where he was sent to the 13th Training Battalion then after intensive training, on April 4, 1916, he was transferred to the 50th Australian Infantry Battalion and two months later, on June 7, 1916 he joined the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) and embarked with his battalion from Alexandria on board Huntspill and sailed for France where he was disembarked in Marseilles on June 14 and was sent to the front of the Somme where he fought with great courage.

After arriving in France on 14 June, 1916,Patrick and the 50th Battalion was part of the concentration of the 1st, 2nd and 4th Divisions in the Somme sector and shortly thereafter, the Divisions were committed in succession to the attacks around the village of Pozieres.The 4th Division was assigned the capture of the ground around the Windmill Feature north east of the village of Pozieres on the 4th August.

The 50th Battalion was therefore not committed to its first major battle, at Mouquet Farm, until the second phase of the fighting between 13 and 15 August.Like all of the troops engaged, the 50th Battalion suffered heavy casualties.

Early in 1917, the battalion participated in the advance that followed the German retreat to the Hindenburg Line, and attacked at Noreuil on 2 April.the attack on Noreuil was led by the 50th and 51st Australian Infantry Battalion as well as the 49th Battalion which had a support role.

Unfortunately, it was in Noreuil that after the attack of April 2 and after the capture of the objectives assigned to the 50th Australian Battalion, on April 3, 1917 that Patrick was seriously wounded in the abdomen by a German sniper while they were digging to hold the line. He was evacuated to Pozieres, to the 3rd Casualty Clearing Station where despite the greatest care, he died later the same day, he was 34 years old.

Today, Patrick Sheehan rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Pozieres British Cemetery, Ovillers-La Boisselle, Somme.
Patrick, you who were brave and young and who, for your country and for France, for future generations and for peace, gave your life, I would like, with the highest esteem, with respect , from the bottom of my heart say thank you for all that you and your brothers in arms did for us in the mud and blood of the trenches in which you fought with bravery and determination alongside a whole generation of men who , with you, answered to the call of duty without hesitation to serve the greatest causes.For peace, for freedom and for humanity, with conviction and patriotism, they joined their friends, their brothers, their fathers and left their homes, their families, not without tears but had in their hearts the pride to serve their country , to serve together in the same fight and for the same causes and walked together on the paths of war, their steps punctuated by drums and bagpipes under the dark sky of a difficult and uncertain future in which on the horizon, they saw the clouds torn by the lightning and the dismal rumbling of the shells, terrible symphony of a world at war making fear the worst and all knew that many would not return from these battlefields but all would fight together,united in the face of dangers and death which, invisible but present, surrounded them through each of their steps, with courage and energy, in the bonds of comradeship which united them, they fought for those who were at their side, they shared together the sufferings, the pains of the war, they mourned together their friends who fell by their side and also shared the hopes for which they stood with honor in the trenches, in the thick and sticky mud, in the cold, among the rats and lice, in water and blood, among diseases, they all showed exceptional determination and in this hell they gave every part of their youth under storms of howling metal, under avalanches of fire and steel, under rains of bullets they remained strong and brave.in this outburst of fury they lived day and night in the horrible sound of the shells raining down on them, unprotected, their heads and hands on their steel helmets, praying to god in whom they placed their lives and their faith for may he protect and guide them.They lived to survive, to live one more day until the end of this terrible war which was to end all wars. They were young, brave and proud, united and determined to do their duty and do what was right and it is together, at the sound of the whistles they went over the top, over the parapet and ran towards the enemy trenches, towards their fates under the furtive whistling of bullets and murderous fire machine guns under which they were mown at an infernal rate in the barbed wire, on these soils of France on which they shed their blood and gave their lives and on which, today in serene silence, they rest in peace, still standing side by side, young and proud under the shade of their graves that the sun puts in its light day after day to bring them back to life and to remind us of what they did for us and the sacrifices they paid and today I am honored to watch over them, to be there for them and for their families for whom I have the highest and deepest respect. I would always stand with honor and respect in front of them, I would always walk holding for them, on my heart, the Poppy of Remembrance.None of them will ever be forgotten, I will keep alive and with care, with love and passion, their memory, their history, the story of my boys of the Somme.Thank you Patrick, for everything, your name will forever live through us and in the flame of Remembrance.At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember him, we will remember them.