Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

In Memory of
3564 Private Edward Jesse Lewis
23rd Battalion Australian Infantry
Born 1889 Avon - Bremhill - Died Friday 28 July 1916. on the Somme. Aged 26 years.


Edward Jesse Lewis, known as Jesse was born in Avon, Bremhill, Wiltshire to John Lewis and Mary (Nee Hatt) who married in St Martins, Bremhill on 8th April 1871. His father John was born in Shaw but after his marriage to Mary in 1871 initially lived in Christian Melford later moving to Stockham Marsh where he worked as an Agricultural Labourer. The cottage must have been a busy home, in the 1881 census the household consisted of John and Mary plus 5 children, Mary, John, Samuel, Arthur and Mark. By 1891 Alfred, Fred, David and Jesse had joined the family now living at 52 Wick Hill. After growing up at Wick Hill and attending school at Tytherton and going to the methodist chapel, Jesse worked on a farm in 1911 as a Farm Labourer. Prospects for Farm Labourers were not good so Jesse and his friend next door Charles Fortune, also aged 21 made the big decision to emigrate to Australia, hopefully for a better life. On Thursday the 23rd November 1911 they both boarded the Aberdeen Line, Steamship “SS Themistocles” along with 800 other assisted passage emigrants at London for the six week voyage to Melbourne Australia. Via Africa.They both described themselves as Carter's on the passenger list.
On arrival at Melbourne they soon got work and accommodation at Lucerne Farm at Alphington, Melbourne, Australia and both joined Alphington Methodist Church. After a couple of years in Alphington they were starting up as milk dealers when the clouds of a war with Germany became a reality. Australia, despite not having conscription, quickly promised its full support to the old country and volunteers were enlisted to Join the Australian infantry force. On the 16th of August 1915, Jesse and his old friend Charles enlisted into the Australian imperial force at Melbourne. At his date of enlistment Jesse was 25 years and ten months old according to his attestation paper.They had enrolled into the 8th Reinforcements of the 23rd Battalion, AIF. Jesse had a regimental number of 3564. 6 months training followed with the 6th Training Battalion in broadmeadows camp Victoria. Here soldiers slept in tents and food was basic. In hindsight it is now realised the training given here did not prepare recruits for a modern war with machine guns,gas, shells and aeroplanes. It did however instill discipline and camaraderie which was to prove vital later in the war.


In 5 January 1916 Jesse and Charles Fortune embarked at Melbourne on the Australian troopship HMAT A19 Afric for the port of Alexandria in Egypt. His embarkation record shows Jesse as a member of the 6th infantry brigade, 8th reinforcement of the 23rd infantry battalion. Upon arrival at Alexandria they were then entrained to go to the Moascar and Zkitoun camps near Cairo. On the 19 March 1916 Jesse and Charles embarked again at Alexandria on the HMT Lake Michigan bound for Marseilles, France. The troops were then marched to the railway station and taken to the western front. The battalion was next “in the line” on 10 April 1916, when it occupied forward trenches of the Armentières sector in northern France. On the 15th May Jesse was attached to headquarters but was sent to the casualty clearing station known as Hedgehill suffering from trench fever. He later went to the military hospital at Rouen. He recovered in time to return to the Western Front which in July he was involved in the horrific battles of Pozières and Mouquet Farm, after which it was estimated that the Battalion lost almost 90 per cent of its original members. Jesse was one of those officially reported as missing in action on 28 July 1916 and 5th August 1916. Later on 17 December 1917 Jesse’s record was amended to show Killed in action on 28th July 1916.
Edward Jesse Lewis is remembered not only here in Bremhill parish but in Alphington Victoria, his new home, both on the war memorial and on a wall plaque in the methodist church he attended. This plaque is shortly to be remounted at St Andrews, Alphington Fairfied uniting church in Melbourne. Wall no 91 at the Australian hall of memory in Canberra also displays Jesse’s name, and in addition this year his name will be projected onto the exterior wall. The next date for his name to be projected will be Saturday 2nd July 2016 at 12.26 am and again on Sunday 14th August 2016 at 10.45pm.


Family note:-Two of Jesse’s brothers also served and survived WW1 and are mentioned on the local rolls of honour. Arthur James Lewis and David Elijah Lewis. David married Blanche Dowling and they named their second child (one of twins) Edward Jesse Lewis in memory of his brother who had died a year earlier. They continued to live at 52 Wick Hill for many years. Both of Jesse’s parents John aged 73 (Ref 503 24 May 1921) and Mary aged 82 (Ref 607 1 Jan 1932) funerals were held at St Martins.


The Alphington Methodist Church Honour Roll Contains the names of 16 members of the Church and Sunday School who enlisted in WW1


Trench fever was an unpleasant disease caused by body lice during World War One.The fever was easily passed between soldiers, causing them to suffer from high fever, headaches, aching muscles and sores on the skin. It was painful and took around twelve weeks to recover. For many soldiers, it was an illness that struck them more than once.