Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Francois Somme

Pte 3158 William Edward Mazey
4th Australian Infantry Battalion, C Company,
1st Brigade, 1st Australian Division, AIF

On the fields of the Somme bathed in light and silence, stand eternal, between the poppies red as blood, the immaculate graves of an entire generation of men who, so courageous and far from home, for their country and for peace, served and fought together as brothers in the trenches and battlefields of the war that was to end all wars. They were Australians, French, British, Canadians, South Africans but above all they were men who came together to preserve our humanity, to make the light of freedom prevail, to give their children and future generations a world without war in which solidarity, fraternity and friendship can be stronger than the darkness of new conflicts .In tears and mud, these men then in the prime of their lives renounced a life made of joy and love to find themselves under the shells with the deep fear that each moment would be the last of a life cut short by a bullet spat by a machine gun that they had the courage to face alongside their brothers in arms who were mowed down in the barbed wire in which so many souls were lost.Here, the poppies grow season after season and remind us with humility and emotion what the Somme was more than a hundred years ago, a hell on earth and what was the price of our today that so many heroes paid with the supreme sacrifice. Today, the machine guns have fallen silent making way for the song of birds, guns, artillery have disappeared in the rust of the barbed wire which has mixed with the earth and the howls of agony have given way to silence but the men who fought and fell here are still there, standing proud and young, stretching out their hands on our shoulders to pass on to us their story that we must perpetuate so that they are never forgotten and that is why I will always watch over them with respect, so that their names live forever beyond these sacred fields.

On this day, it is with infinite gratitude and with the utmost respect 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 France , for each of us, gave his life.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 3158 William Edward Mazey who fought in the 4th Australian Infantry Battalion, C Company, 1st Brigade, 1st Australian Division of the Australian Imperial Force, and who died of his wounds 108 years ago, on July 25, 1916 at the age of 20 during the Battle of the Somme.

William Edward Mazey was born in 1896 in Balmain, New South Wales, Australia, and was the son of David and Margaret Catherine Mazey, of 28 Grafton Street, Balmain. He was educated at Gladstone Park Public School, Balmain, and after graduation, worked as a clerk until the outbreak of the war.

In July 1914 the Australian Government and Australian people followed the news from Europe with growing anxiety. Would there be war? What would Australia's contribution be?

When the Governor-General, Sir Munro Ferguson, called the caretaker Prime Minister and Cabinet to the seat of government, Melbourne, on 3 August 1914, ministers were travelling around the country campaigning for the forthcoming federal election. Only five ministers and the Prime Minister were able to attend the meeting which decided Australia would place the Australian Navy under the control of the Royal (British) Navy and raise an expeditionary force of 20 000, matching the commitments of New Zealand and Canada.

In the face of such a national emergency, William (Billy) Hughes,Prime Minister, declared the election should be cancelled to better focus on the now declared war. However, the Australian Constitution does not allow for the Australian Parliament to be recalled after it has been dissolved. The caretaker Liberal Party government and Labor Party opposition both pledged to fight "to our last man and our last shilling", making the commitment of Australia to the war a non-election issue.

The Australian Parliament took charge of, and spent much of the war, debating the recruitment and welfare of soldiers. However, neither the Australian Parliament nor Australian Government had any role in decisions about their deployment. In 1914 Australia, like New Zealand, Canada and South Africa, was a dominion of the British Empire. This meant that although Australia had a constitution which gave the Australian Parliament the power to make laws for Australia, Britain still controlled Australia's foreign affairs and the power to declare war rested with the King. Neither the Australian Government nor the Australia Parliament made the decision to go to war in 1914.

In the weeks following Australia's entry into the war, William made his first attempt to join the ranks of the brand new Australian Imperial Force but was rejected due to kidney problems. However, far from being stopped in his desire keen to do his duty, he finally succeeded in enlisting on August 6, 1915 in Holsworthy as a Private in the 19th Australian Infantry Battalion, 7th Reinforcement, then after a training period of a little over four months in Liverpool, New South Wales, during which he learned how to load and fire a rifle as well as the rudiments of modern warfare which raged such as bayonet fighting, he embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A29 Suevic on December 20 and sailed for Egypt, arriving at Tel-El-Kebir on February 14, 1916 and the same day, was transferred and taken on strength in the 4th Australian Infantry Battalion. The 4th Battalion was raised during the first weeks of the war under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Astley Thompson who was killed in action on April 26, 1915 at Gallipoli. Shortly after, William and his new unit, ready to join the battlefields of the Western Front, proceeded for France on the 23 March 1916 on the troopship "Simla" from Alexandria.

After a week of a peaceful and uneventful voyage on the Mediterranean Sea, William and his unit finally arrived in France on March 30, 1916 and were disembarked at the port of Marseilles then, in the afternoon, at 2:00 p.m., embarked by train for the small village of Staple, in the north of France, which they reached on April 2 and followed a period of training including gas exercises in gas-filled trenches to test the composure of the battalion in the face of the use of this new weapon which was used for the first time with lethal effects by the Germans at Ypres on April 22, 1915 against Canadian and French troops. After a little more than a week spent at Staple, on April 10, the troops of the 4th Battalion marched through Hazebrouck, Pradelles, Strazeele, Meteren and arrived at Outtersteene where they followed musketry exercises on targets at a distance of 30 meters (around 4000 bullets were fired during this exercise) which was judged very satisfactory and bringing the battalion to a high level of efficiency, precision and professionalism. They were also led to improve their skills in the handling of grenades as well as in bayonet fights then on April 19, moved for Petillon, a few kilometers from Fromelles where three months later, between July 19 and 20, 1916, the Australian troops experienced their worst day in their military history.Arriving at Petillon, the men of the 4th Battalion relieved the 23rd British Battalion of the Manchester Regiment and were placed in reserve but suffered from the German artillery which regularly shelled this sector then on May 3, moved to the front line at "Cellar Farm Avenue" where they relieved the 2nd Australian Infantry Battalion where on 6 May, they witnessed a surprising incident. In the evening, while looking through a periscope, Second Lieutenant Grey was injured by an enemy sniper who, with a bullet, broke one of the periscope glasses (an incident reminiscent of that seen in the film Beneath Hill 60). In the following days, the 4th Battalion suffered from frequent enemy shelling to which Australian artillery responded.

On May 21, 1916, the troops of the 4th Battalion were relieved by the 11th Australian Infantry Battalion and moved back to Sailly-Sur-La-Lys where William and his comrades had a little rest and were able to clean themselves but it seems that a little later, they had to be confined a little further away, at "Rue Du Quesnoy" due to the start of an epidemic of scarlet fever caused by the lack of hygienic care. A little more than a week later, on the 27th May, they were reviewed by General William Riddell Birdwood, a very respected officer who had won the confidence of his troops at Gallipoli then, during the days which followed, were employed in the digging of trenches opposite Sailly but also had to follow a new period of training. On June 1, they were again reviewed, this time by Major General Harold Bridgwood Walker as well as by Prime Minister Hugues who encouraged the men of the 4th to show the same courage with which they have demonstrated until now.

On June 10, 1916, William and the men of the 4th Battalion left Sailly-Sur-La-Lys and marched to Fleurbaix where they relieved the 8th Australian Infantry Battalion then, during the night of June 12 to 13, were placed in support of the 16th Australian Infantry Battalion which led a successful raid on enemy positions between "Losange" and "Angle". The result of this daring raid was the death of between 12 and 18 German soldiers, capturing 6 of whom they took back to Australian lines for interrogation and destroyed a machine gun as well as two trench mortars using grenades then on July 6, were finally relieved from the front line by the 46th Australian Infantry Battalion and moved back into billets to Sailly-Sur-La-Lys where they remained until July 9.

On July 10, 1916, the men of the 4th Battalion marched to Outtersteene then to St Ouen and arrived in the Somme on July 13, in the village of Vignacourt, behind the enemy lines where William and his comrades may have met Louis and Antoinette Thuilliers, a couple of French photographers who had a photography studio in the courtyard of their farm and who, during the war, took thousands of exceptional photos, most of which were those of Australian soldiers who stayed here. The next day, they moved into billets to Allonville, in tents located on the grounds of a castle which was destroyed after the war but whose traces are still visible then on July 16, getting ever closer to the front line and their destinies, marched through Beaucourt, Contay, Vadencourt and reached Warloy-Baillon the following day but already in the distance the thunder of the artillery could be heard. Here, they followed a brief period of training then shortly after, on July 20, heading towards the abyss, moved to La Boisselle and the trenches of the "Sausage Valley" and on July 22, were informed that they had to prepare to go over the top for July 23, towards the hell on earth of the terrible battle of Pozieres which, for the 4th Battalion and the entire Australian Imperial Force, was their deadliest engagement during the Somme Campaign.

The Australian 1st Division began their attack half an hour past midnight on the 23rd July, following a plan that required the 1st and 3rd Brigades to attack Pozières from the south, and advancing in three stages.They would be supported to the northwest of the Albert-Bapaume road by the British 48th Division, which would attack the German trenches to the west of the village.During the evening and night of July 22nd, the eve of the attack, British and German artillery engaged in a fierce duel, a display of fire power that lit up the sky for miles around.The Australian 2nd Division, newly arrived at Albert three miles away, watched the bombardment from nearby high ground.At 12.30am, the Allied artillery lifted its fire, striking targets behind the German front line and the first two waves of the 1st and 3rd Brigades began their assault, rapidly capturing the Pozières Trench system south of the village. 45 minutes later, the Australians took their second objective, south of the Albert-Bapaume road. However, to the east, the 3rd Brigade's advance faltered as the 9th and 10th Battalions met stiff resistance near the Old German Lines on their right.By 4am, the Australian front line stretched diagonally across the south of the village, with the 1st Battalion at the western end, edging toward the Albert-Bapaume road, and 9th and 10th Battalions' experiencing intense resistance.

By 7am, shortly after sunrise, scouts had reported to 3rd Brigade commanders that German infantry was massing for a counter attack in the north of the village. Allied artillery bombarded the area, inflicting heavy casualties on the Germans and dispersing the attack.As the barrage lifted, German infantry were seen withdrawing and the 2nd Battalion, on the west flank, crossed the Albert-Bapaume road and pushed north through the ruins of the village.

Meanwhile, toward the Old German Lines the Australian assault remained stalled in the face of continuing heavy resistance.Brigadier General Sinclair-Maclagan, ordered the Battalions on the far right to renew the attack on the first line. But sustained German fire from the vicinity of the heavily fortified Pozières Windmill continued to hinder this effort.The 10th Battalion's commander, Lieutenant Colonel Stanley Price Weir, described the fortification there as "a cement keep which has the appearance of a cottage and will be very difficult to take without assistance from Heavy Guns, which have not up to the present touched it."Several problems faced the 9th and 10th Battalions in their assault of the Old German Lines.

The area had been so pummelled by artillery fire that orientation was difficult and the two parallel German trench lines were not easily visible. Beneath the trenches were deep dugouts, impervious to the Allied bombardment, and occupied by German troops ready to emerge and engage the Australians.

The Germans were also supported by concealed machine guns and by fire from the fortifications around the Pozières windmill. This well defended position also meant that German fire could continue targeting Australian soldiers attempting to secure the eastern side of Pozières.The drawn-out struggle for the Old German Lines continued for days. By 10am, further west of the Old German Lines, Australian observers watched German troops withdrawing toward the cemetery at the northern edge of the village. The 1st Brigade pursued them, capturing more and more of Pozières, engaging in vicious close quarters fighting and taking prisoners as they advanced through the ruined buildings.By mid-afternoon, the Allied artillery had lifted its fire still further behind the German front lines as Australian troops secured the village.By 9pm that evening, when 2nd Brigade's 8th Battalion arrived to reinforce the them, 1st Brigade occupied a line about mid-way through the northern part of Pozières.

As night fell on the 23rd of July, Australian soldiers digging in throughout the village were aware of their significant success,despite the difficulty in securing the Old German Lines to the east, they had succeeded in taking their objectives and now occupied an important German position in this sector of the Somme Valley.Orders for the 24th of July were for the Australians to press their advantage by advancing further north beyond the village, toward Mouquet Farm, and east against the Old German Lines.But this proved an impossible task. The Germans occupied a formidable position at Mouquet Farm and the Australians had trouble repositioning their troops for this new assault, in a ruined landscape now devoid of landmarks and under heavy German artillery bombardment.At one point, 5th Battalion soldiers seized a section of the Old German Lines but were driven back by the newly arrived 18th German Reserve Division, brought in to reinforce the main counter-attack against the Australians at Pozières.

German high command ordered a strong response to the loss of Pozières, the only significant gain by Allied forces on this part of the front.As the Australians consolidated their gains the Germans opened a devastating artillery bombardment on Pozières.

Australia's Official Correspondent to the Australian Imperial Force and later Official Historian of the war, Charles Bean, later wrote, "The German bombardment was, at first, methodical rather than intense. One battery,for example, firing directly along a deep trench just dug by the Australians on the southern side of the Albert-Bapaume road, pounded it systematically with about four shells a minute, breaking its sides and burying men whose comrades,constantly dug them out alive and dead. By evening parts of that trench could not even be found by the relieving companies. The southwest entrance to the village,was most heavily and continuously pounded, and the main approach route there was so lined with dead that it came to be called Dead Man's Road."

Over the next two days, German and Allied artillery bombarded what remained of the shattered village of Pozières, until this part of the front resembled a lunar landscape.The ferocious barrage was visible for miles, throwing up dust, smoke and debris. Some Australians were outside the line of German fire, others sheltered in the deep dugouts vacated by the German soldiers while others still had to endure the terrible shell fire in the shelter of shell holes or broken trenches. The severity of the bombardment indicated the likelihood of a strong German counter-attack, which the Australians expected would come on the evening of the 25th July. But the fighting in the Old German Lines that morning between the Australian 5th Battalion and the German 18th Reserve Division, the exhausting artillery duel, and the enormous strain of the past three days compelled the Germans to abandon the attack.

Emerging from the rubble of Pozières on the morning of the 27th to be relieved by the Australian 2nd Division, the survivors of the Australian 1st Division were described as being so dazed they appeared to be walking in a dream. They had suffered more than 5200 casualties in their first tour of Pozières.

Unfortunately, on July 24, 1916, during the second day of the Battle of Pozieres, William was seriously injured by a shell and, half buried, was rescued by stretcher bearers who evacuated him to the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance where he died the next day , on July 25, 1916 with his prayer book and his Bible in his hands. He was 20 years old.

Today, William Edward Mazey rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at the Becourt Military Cemetery, Becordel-Becourt, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription: "Will", dearly loved."

William, you who were so young, already so valiant and courageous, your heart filled with dreams and hope and driven by the deep desire to serve your country alongside your comrades, you responded to the call with your head held high and walked with faith to do your part on the other side of the world, on the battlefields of northern France among the poppies which, between 1914 and 1918, in the Somme, were covered with the blood of an entire generation of young men who, with you, at your side, fought with bravery beyond what was asked of them, beyond what they could give and, in the mud, in the darkness, stood tall and proud, holding firmly the front line facing the death that they saw every day and alongside which they lived without ever complaining.

In the chaos, in the turmoil, these young men shared their lives watching over each other like brothers who, shoulder to shoulder, endured the same horrors, the same pains caused by the brutality of an incensed war which, in murderous battles, pushed all the youth of the world towards suicide, towards the death which, deviously, awaited lurking in the shell holes to mow down the lives of men who had known so little of a happy life and who, ready to give up their today in the name of peace and freedom, sacrificed their today in a world at war and had as their only youth oceans of mud and barbed wire through which charged and fell in waves, friends, brothers and fathers who, running under fire, were decimated by showers of bullets and hammered to the ground by hurricanes of shells against which steel helmets were of no use.To the sound of whistles, after the deafening thunder of the artillery which played its funeral eulogy, the young Diggers were pushed into battle and showed themselves to be among the bravest.

Pushed forward by an invincible spirit of camaraderie, they were always proud to be led to the front line even if the price of their bravery was paid in bloodbaths and despite the catastrophic losses they suffered at Pozieres, at Mouquet Farm, they were still willing to move forward and wrote together the glorious legend of the ANZAC spirit, a spirit of high fraternity, gallantry, courage and sacrifice and in these tortured, scarred fields, paid hard for each step, for each meter of French soil that they defended with conviction.

Together, in France, they made Australia proud, they were admired by their loved ones who, anxiously, awaited the return of their sons, of their men with the fear every day of receiving the terrible telegram informing them that somewhere, gloriously , their boys fell, with only consolation, a few lines written to say how brave they were on the front line until death took them to the silence and solitude of a grave then in Australia, in France as in Great Britain, thousands of homes were emptied of a happiness once so sweet and whose laughter was replaced by mourning, by the inconsolable tears of mothers, sisters and wives who, with trembling hands, read the terrible news that no one wanted to receive and never had the chance to come to France to visit their heroes, who so far from home and the Australian coasts, among the eternal poppies, paid the supreme sacrifice.They were young, they were loved, admired, not only by their comrades but also by the people of France, a feeling which, since the end of the war, has never faded and today, with love, with admiration and gratitude, I solemnly watch over these heroes who gave so much to my country so, proudly, I carry the flame of their memory that one day I will pass on to my son so that he can one day, in turn, say, as it is written on the walls of Amiens and Villers-Bretonneux “Never forget Australia, never forget the Australians”.

Thank you so much William, coming from the heart of a young Frenchman eternally grateful and in love with Australia. At the going down of the sun and in the Morning, we will remember him,we will remember them.