Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout

Pte 7558 Ernest Newbound,
24th Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd Australian Division
 
On the old battlefields of the Somme, walk in silence, through the red fields of poppies, young men, a whole young and proud generation of heroes who here, in the trenches, fought and served side by side with pride in the most beautiful of comradeship, a mateship in which they rest today in peace under the innumerable rows of their white graves which stand in the silence and in the peace of the cemeteries, peaceful white cities of the Somme in which grow in silence the first poppies of the end of a silent spring. Forever young, they have not and never will be forgotten because day after day, in a new light, their names enter eternity, they stand tall and proud behind every poppy, behind their graves, gathered and united as they were under the flame of Remembrance which will never cease to shine and their faces, their names, in us, in our hearts, will never cease to live.

Today, it is the memory of one of these young men, one of my boys of the Somme whom I would like to honor with deep gratitude and with my heart.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 7558 Ernest Newbound who fought in the 24th Australian Infantry Battalion, 6th Brigade, 2nd Australian Division and who was killed in action 103 years ago, on May 19, 1918 at the age of 19 on the Somme front.

Ernest Newbound was born on September 22, 1898 in Port Phillip, South Melbourne, Victoria, and was the son of Thomas Walker Newbound and Margaret Newbound (née Simpson), of Burnley, Victoria.He had a sister, Ethel Moss who lived at 3 Felicia Street, Burnley, Victoria. Ernest was educated at Eastern Road State School, South Melbourne, Victoria and after graduation worked as a wood worker and then as a farm hand.

Ernest enlisted on July 2, 1917 in South Melbourne, Victoria, in the 24th Australian Infantry Battalion, 20th reinforcement.

The 24th Australian Infantry Battalion was raised at Broadmeadows, north of Melbourne, in early 1915. After a period of training at Broadmeadows Camp, Ernest embarked with his unit from Melbourne, on board HMAT A71 Nestor on November 21, 1917 and sailed for Suez , Egypt, where he was disembarked on December 15, 1917.

A month later, on January 8, 1918, Ernest embarked with his battalion from Alexandria, Egypt, on board Abbassia, and after a stop in Taranto, Italy, on January 13, he sailed for Southampton, England, where he was disembarked on January 24. The same day he was sent to Fovant and joined the 5th Training Battalion. Three months later, on April 18, 1918, he was found guilty of being absent from 8:30pm parade and after being warned, he was awarded 14 days'confined to camp with forfeiture of 4 days'pay.

A little over a week later, on April 29, 1918, Ernest embarked with his unit from Folkestone, England, and proceeded overseas for France where he was disembarked the next day at Etaples and the same day joined the New Zealand Base Depot at Etaples then a week later, on May 7, he was sent to the Somme front and taken on strength with the 24th Australian Infantry Battalion.

Unfortunately, twelve days later, it was in the Somme, near Ville-Sur-Ancre, on May 19, 1918, during an assault to cross the Ancre river that Ernest met his fate and was killed in action,he was 19 years old.
Today, Ernest Newbound rests in peace with his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at the Ribemont Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme.
Ernest had a brother who fought in the first world war, Private number 65, George Albert Newbound who fought in the 22nd Australian Infantry Battalion and who sadly committed suicide on October 1, 1915 at Shrapnel Gully, Gallipoli, he was 30 years old.

Today, George Albert Newbound rests in peace with his comrades and friends at Shrapnel Valley Cemetery, Gallipoli.

Ernest's photo was probably taken at Broadmeadows Camp by the Darge Photographic Company which had the concession to take photographs at the Broadmeadows and Seymour army camps during the first world war. In the 1930s, the Australian War Memorial purchased the original glass negatives from Algernon Darge, along with the photographers' notebooks. The notebooks contain brief details, usually a surname or unit name, for each negative. The names are transcribed as they appear in the notebooks.

Ernest, you who courageously served your country and who, in France, in the trenches and the battlefields of the Somme, gave your youth and your life so that millions live today, I would like, with all my heart and my deepest respect say thank you for all that you, your brother George and your comrades have done for us.Proud and in the prime of your life you have, without fear and without hesitation, answered the call of duty to join your brothers in arms who, standing proud but with a heavy heart, left their homes, their families and their loved ones to do their part, young men who had a life ahead of them, dreams and hopes, a future full of promise, a life that the bells of war have stopped and it is united that they came together to fight the good fight, so that this war is the last that the world knows, to put an end to all wars.In the villages and in the streets, they paraded one last time in front of the witnesses of history, in front of those they loved and that they hoped to see again very quickly and it is while singing that they joined the boats that would bring them in France.Far from home, they arrived in France, on the soils of our old country, they walked with enthusiasm and determination, with their rosy cheeks and their smiles which remained engraved in the hearts of the French people from whom they were deeply loved and admired.Under a bright sun, they marched through the flowering fields of northern France, through the poppy fields of the Somme and saw in the distance the dark clouds of the front lines and the lightning of thousands of fire-spitting cannons like a destructive symphony in which an army of men were the orchestra.Determined to do their duty, they did not back down, they raised their heads and moved forward towards the front line, towards the first trenches of the battlefields, they advanced towards their destinies with conviction under the fury of storms of steel which welcomed these young men in a world of mud and blood in which they lived for four years.Under the rain of bullets, under deadly artillery fire, they stood and held their positions with the greatest of bravery, day and night, day after day under the mournful howl of shells that destroyed once peaceful fields that became fields of death and blood scarified by barbed wire in which lay lifeless men.In bruised grounds which were nothing more than shell holes everywhere, fell and drowned a whole generation of men, friends and enemies shared the same last place of rest, grounds pounded endlessly by shells under which even the most faithful friends of these soldiers were killed, horses, mules, men and animals fought and fell together.and yet in this interminable nightmare, under deadly gas, in water and mud, these young men who dragged the weight of war on their shoulders never gave up,they remained strong, united and determined, they found in each other the courage to overcome the fears and the pains, in the trenches, they shared everything together, the pains and the sufferings, the death of their friends, of their brothers and fathers but their courage, their determination were never broken, they never lost their sense of humor or their smiles, they came closer to each other and fought like a family, gathered under the same uniform and fighting for the same causes.Together they lived and in an orderly line, united behind their officers, one last time they stood tall, fixed their bayonets to the cannons and at the sound of the final whistle, charged with bravery towards the enemy trenches, under the murderous fire of the machine guns which spit death at an infernal rate under which, many of them, thousands were mowed down, wave after wave in courageous but terribly murderous assaults that ended in bloodshed. Together they lived and fought and together, side by side they fell. They gave their today and their lives so that we could live in the peace they did not have but for which they gave everything they had but death never had the last word on them because today, more than ever they are remembered and we bring them to life by telling who they were and what they did before and during the war, we remember them for what they were above all, men, who , despite the weight of years will never be condemned, their Remembrance, their stories, their names and their faces will live forever and I will always watch over them so that the flame of Remembrance never ceases to shine, they are and will be forever my heroes, my boys of the Somme.Thank you so much Ernest,for everything. At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them. 

Johan Moors, Footsteps 1914-1918
 
The Newbound Brothers

Sons of Thomas Walker Newbound  and Margaret Simpson of South Melbourne , Victoria.

The Footsteps of two Aussie Boys who paid the ultimate sacrifice…

Private Ernest Newbound

24th Bn. Australian Infantry

Born 1899 in Melbourne and educated at Eastern Road State School , South Melbourne.

He was employed , prior to the War , as a wood worker and farm hand.

Enlisted 2 July 1917 in South Melbourne and posted to the 20th Reinforcements , 24th Bn. Australian Infantry.

He left Melbourne ,per Troopship ‘ Nestor’, on November 21st , 1917 for Egypt arriving in Suez December 15th , 1917.

Re-embarked at Alexandra , per SS ‘ Abbassia’ and after a stop in Taranto , Italy he arrived in Southampton on January 24th ,1918.

Marched into the 5th Training Battalion in Fovant the same day where military discipline was a key factor in their daily training….

After a mere three months he left for France on April 29th and taken on strength at the New Zealand Base Depot in Etaples.

He joined the 24th Bn. AIF in the field on 7 May 1918 but twelve days later he was killed in action.

An extract from the War Diary , 19 May 1918 , Buire :
‘ 1.40 am : Engineers reported that the third bridge over the Ancre erected but fourth bridge not in position owing to actions of enemy. Two sappers wounded in the operation. ‘A’ Coy drawn up in lines of platoons behind bridges

2 am : Barrage opened and attack commenced. Lieutenant Munro of ‘A’ Coy was unable to cross the Ancre and while locating positions of posts west of Ancre was severely wounded.

2.35 am : 23rd Battalion reported that green flares (success signals) denoting attainment of objectives from Buffer Post to Ancre.’

Originally buried in Heilly Military Cemetery N°2 by Reverend W.C. Smith but moved to Ribemont Communal Cemetery Extension , Somme.

Brother Pte George Albert Newbound #65, 22nd Bn. Australian Infantry, died Gallipoli 1/10/1915.