Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Francois Berthout

Pte 5363 Robert Alexander Ellis,
9th Australian Infantry Battalion,
3rd Brigade, 1st Australian Division

Through the fields of the Somme, silently grow and sway in peaceful red waves the poppies on what were once, more than a hundred years ago, deep mires of mud, slaughterhouses which were the witnesses of bravery and sacrifices of thousands of young men, of a whole generation of young boys, of a whole youth who, in the middle of the trenches and the barbed wire, were mercilessly mowed down by the machine guns which sent death and despair on what were once green fields and silent who turned gray under tons of shells under which so much tears and blood were shed in the darkness and despair of a world that was dragged into madness and death that, in silence, took the souls of innocent men who had to kill each other in bloodbaths of abominable battles which marked the deadliest century in all of human history but with courage, with determination, these young men who came from on the other side of the world, gave their today and did more than was asked of them in the name of peace and freedom for which they sacrificed so much in the prime of their lives which were taken too soon under the shrapnel and the lead, through an unleashing of brutality that led them to their death and who today, rest in peace still standing proudly alongside their comrades, their brothers in arms behind the rows of their immaculate graves that keep on, for eternity, the memory and the history of these men on whom I will always watch so that they are never forgotten.

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, 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 5363 Robert Alexander Ellis who fought in the 9th Australian Infantry Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 1st Australian Division, and who died of his wounds 106 years ago, on December 29, 1916 at the age of 30 on the Somme front.

Robert Alexander Ellis was born on May 8, 1886 in Bowen Hills, near Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, and was the son of James and Mary Ann Ellis. He was educated at Pomona State School, Pomona, Queensland and shortly before the war , married Eliza Ellis, had one child, and lived in Pomona, North Coast Line, Queensland, where he worked as a timber cutter.
Robert enlisted on December 23, 1915 at Brisbane, Queensland, in the 9th Australian Infantry Battalion, 17th Reinforcement. The 9th Battalion was raised shortly after the outbreak of war at Ennoggera,near Brisbane,was nicknamed "The Guards Of Queensland" or often "The Fighting Ninth", had the motto "Pro Aris et Focis" (For God and our Homes) and was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Harry Lee. After a four month training period at the Showgrounds Camp in Brisbane, Robert embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT SS Hawkes Bay on April 20, 1916 and sailed for Egypt where he arrived in Alexandria on May 8 but proceeded overseas the same day on board the Tunisian for France.

On June 4, 1916, after an uneventful trip on the Mediterranean sea, Robert arrived in France and was disembarked at Marseilles and on June 7, marched with reinforcements to Etaples where he joined the 1st Australian Divisional Base depot and after a period of training, was taken on strength with the 9th Battalion on July 29 in the Somme at the village of Berteaucourt-Les-Dames. Before the men of the 17th Reinforcement arrived, the 9th Battalion fought bravely in the deadly fighting at Pozieres and on July 30, during a church parade at Berteaucourt, Brigadier Spoke made a speech in which he declared that "No troops in the world could have done better". After that, a period of reorganization and training followed, including musketry exercises, night attack practice. During the first period of fighting at Pozieres, from July 20th to 26th, the 9th Battalion lost 462 men, 82 of whom were killed in action, 42 missing and 338 wounded.

On August 9, 1916, Robert and the 9th Battalion left Berteaucourt-Les-Dames and marched into Bonneville where they received reinforcements and underwent a period of training including a demonstration of the combat use of smoke bombs, the proper use of which depends largely on the climatic conditions then attended the demonstration of tactical exercises between artillery and airplanes under a particularly hot weather and it is indicated in the war diary of the battalion "The men now have the great coat only as covering. Weather very hot. Blankets unnecessary".

Four days later, on August 13, they marched for Herissart, reached Vadencourt on August 15 and reached the next day the town of Albert and the famous Notre Dame De Brebieres Basilica and its damaged statue of the Madonna. On August 19, Albert was heavily pounded by German artillery and later the same day the men of the 9th Battalion joined the trenches of Pozieres and fought in this sector of the front until August 23 but on August 21, Robert was slightly injured by a gun shot wound in his right arm and was admitted to the 4th Australian Field Ambulance then on August 23, transferred to the 1st ANZAC Rest Station and discharged to duty on August 28. Fortunately, his wound was light and on September 6, he joined the 9th Battalion at Poperinge, in the Ypres salient, in a camp called "Devonshire Lines" where they followed a new period of general training.

On September 11, 1916, the 9th Battalion left "Devonshire Lines" for Brandhoek then for Ypres and took up position on the front line between Vandermoken Road and Knoll Road and faced enemy sniper and artillery fire which caused severe damage and Robert, as well as his comrades, had much to do to repair and improve the trenches and parapets which collapsed under the shells, moreover, they fought under heavy rain during their stay in this sector and also had to protect the lines of communication which were the target of the Germans but on September 20, were finally relieved and marched for the Halifax Camp for a period of rest then on September 25, moved into billets at the camp "Chateau Belge" for reorganization and on October 1, received orders to join the front line, this time in the area of Hill 60, near Ypres.

Hill 60 was a low rise south-east of Ypres made from the soil removed in digging a cutting for the Ypres to Comines railway. It had excellent views over both Ypres and Zillebeke, and was captured by the Germans during the first Battle of Ypres in November 1914. On 17 April 1915, in one of the first tunnelling operations by the British Army, six mines were exploded under Hill 60, which was then quickly captured with minimal casualties. But, in early May, the Germans recaptured the hill with the use of gas.

In August 1915,the 175th Tunnelling Company of the Royal Engineers began deep-mining beneath Hill 60. The 3rd Canadian Tunnelling Company completed the task, building two deep chambers. One under Hill 60 was filled with 53,300 pounds of Ammonal explosives; a second branch, under what was known as "the Caterpillar", was filled with 70,000 pounds of explosives.To try to solve the problems of the wet soil, the mines were dug through blue clay 80-120ft below the surface.

In November 1916, the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company commanded by Captain Oliver Woodward took over the tunnels and maintained them through the winter. Eventually there were about 8,000 yards of tunnels in the area. The Germans very nearly discovered the main chambers on more than one occasion.

At Hill 60, the 9th Battalion fought to cover the Australian Tunneling operations in disastrous weather conditions and many men fell ill, most suffering from trench feet and daily had to evacuate water from the trenches. On their flank left were the men of the 2nd Australian Division who carried out several raids to try to take the German trenches but were repulsed, worse, the Germans managed to enter the trenches of the 4th Division which was on the right flank but the australian artillery prevented the Germans from going further then on October 9, were relieved by the 7th Australian Infantry Battalion and moved to the Dominion Lines Camp then marched through Steenvoorde, Hoost Houck, Moulle, Bayenghem-lès-Éperlecques and on October 21, moved back for the Somme, in Vauchelles-les-Quesnoy.

On October 23, Robert and his unit left Vauchelles-les-Quesnoy and marched for Buire then for Fricourt where they were billeted alongside British units but once again had to face particularly bad weather and then on October 30, were transported to Bernafay Wood Camp.

On November 1, 1916, the 9th Battalion moved for the Pommiers Camp, between Montauban and Mametz then on November 7, after a brief stop at Bernafay Wood Camp, joined the front line and the trenches of Flers on November 9 where four days earlier , on November 5, the men of the 1st Brigade, alongside those of the 7th, advancing from Gueudecourt, attacked a tangle of heavily fortified German lines known as "The Maze" but, launched in catastrophic conditions, on a battlefield which was nothing more than a quagmire of mud, were mowed down by the machine guns. However, after an initial success, they were repelled by a German counterattack which caused very heavy losses.

On November 12, 1916, while the Australians faced one of the coldest winters the Somme had ever known, Robert fell ill and was evacuated to a hospital, then rejoined his unit on November 21 at Cardonnette where the men of the 9th Battalion followed a training until November 29 and the next day, moved to Franvillers.

On December 1, 1916, the 9th Battalion left Franvillers, marched through Dernancourt, Fricourt, and arrived at Bazentin Camp, located at Bazentin-Le-Petit on December 4, but bivouacked here in very uncomfortable conditions, in cold mud despite their efforts to try to make their conditions more comfortable and then were mainly employed in working parties. A week later, on December 11, orders were received to move back into the trenches of Flers, including the "Gap Trench" and the "Switch Trench" that they occupied the next day. This sector of the front line remained relatively calm until December 19 and the main enemy of the men of the 9th Battalion was the snow which fell heavily in the trenches but the next day, the German artillery entered again in action adding to the misfortune of this hell. On the 23rd, it is noted in the battalion's war diary that the rain came and several portions of trenches already in very bad condition collapsed.

On December 24, 1916 at Flers, D Company of the 9th Battalion captured six German prisoners and this was noted in the battalion's war diary as follows: "They were a carrying party and apparently got lost and were walking to our lines. Lewis gun fire was directed on them, and wounded three, the remainder surrendering. One of the wounded died in our trench, the other two were able to walk. All belonged to the 173rd Bavarian Regiment."

Unfortunately, two days later, Robert met his fate. On December 26, 1916, Flers was very heavily bombarded by German artillery and Robert was very seriously injured in his left leg as well as his left shoulder. He was immediately evacuated and admitted to the 38th Casualty Clearing Station in a state of profound shock but despite the treatment he received, he died of his injuries three days later, on December 29, 1916, he was 30 years old.

Today, Robert Alexander Ellis rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Heilly Station Cemetery, Mericourt-l'Abbe, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription: "Lovingly remembered by his wife and child".

Robert shares his grave with Driver number 9510 Leslie Thomas Ralph Collins who fought in the 6th Field Artillery Brigade, Australian Field Artillery and died the same day as Robert of broncho-pneumonia at the age of 20.

Robert, driven forward by an unwavering sense of courage and patriotism, loyalty to your country and your friends, it was without hesitation and with determination that you answered the call of duty in the prime of your life, at the dawn of promises and hopes, of a happy life alongside your child and your wife, to join your comrades and your brothers in arms who united and marched side by side towards unknown shores, towards the dark clouds of a horizon line broken by the thunder and lightning of thousands of cannons which, in a mournful and mechanical symphony, spat out hell, torrents of howling metal followed by the relentless unleashing of tons of shells which , tirelessly, implacably, without pity, rained down death and annihilation, the desolation and the fury of a world gone mad and which dragged civilization into death, a whole generation of young men to whom glory had been promised but in the trenches, they discovered the darkness and the horrors of a senseless war and sacrificed their innocence through their eyes which saw the pain, the suffering and the carnage of a war which was only a mass slaughter and in the barbed wire, in the bloodbaths, in the bayonet charges, found nothing but the death which mowed down so many souls, of barely lived lives which were taken in the bruised and reddened grounds of the Somme which were only open-air cemeteries on which the bodies of friends and foes were piled up in battles which were among the deadliest of the great war.In this hell which did not end in December 1914, the young Diggers, the whole Australian nation volunteered under the rising sun and with bravery, first on the beaches of Gallipoli, fought with the greatest dedication far from their homes in the burning hills of Lone Pine, in the heat of Sari Bair, in heroic charges at The Nek and wave after wave, under the bullets, were decimated but never retreated and here was born, alongside the New Zealanders, their brothers in arms, the ANZAC spirit, an eternal and invincible spirit which kept these young boys united in solidarity, loyalty and self-transcendence which, after these first deadly battles, guided them and led them,, on July 19, 1916, in the hell of Fromelles where more than 5500 Australians fell for the capture of the "Sugar Loaf". Once again in the front line, they were mown down under the bullets, a battle that was the worst 24 hours in Australian history but the war was far from over, and once again they headed for another hell, to the red poppy fields of the Somme where on July 23, 1916, exhausted but courageous, they threw themselves into the Battle of Pozieres, the deadliest battle in the history of the Australian Imperial Force which, in seven weeks of slaughter, lost more than 23,000 men.Again and again, always holding the front line, together, watching over each other, they found in mateship, in love of country, the strength and courage to go forward despite the death of their friends, of their brothers and at Flers, at Gueudecourt, in a blood red winter, they held their positions and fought fiercely like lions, they endured and lived so much but did it together in the name of peace and freedom, to preserve our humanity then in 1918, after so much suffering on once peaceful soils, were the first to enter and defend our city of Amiens, they were in all the fighting and on April 25, alongside their French and British brothers in arms , stopped at Villers-Bretonneux the last German offensive of the war and saved France but the price of peace was so high and the Diggers left behind thousands of their brothers who rest in peace behind the shadows of their white graves.Gone but not and never forgotten, we owe these men so much, we live in peace today thanks to them, thanks to their courage, their sacrifices and I feel proud, honored to watch over them who are and will always be the sons of France, who came from the other side of the world to help us but who did so much more; I feel proud to maintain the Franco-Australian friendship which was born in the trenches and which will live forever through united hands, united forever in remembrance so that these heroes, these exceptional men, my boys of the Somme live forever.

Thank you so much Robert,for everything. At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.