Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Susannah Mayne, of Stowport, Tasmania, and the late William Mayne.

François Berthout, Australia and NZ in WWI
 
Today, under the white graves, rest in peace, united in silence and under the poppies and the song of the birds, thousands of heroes, who, young and courageous came from very far to fight on the lands of France and who gave their youth and their lives for us.Today, it is with deep gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young boys, I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 3494 Linden Alfred Mayne who fought in the 52nd Australian Infantry Battalion and was killed in action 104 years ago,on September 4, 1916 at the age of 26 on the Somme front.

Linden Alfred Mayne was born in 1890 in Stowport, Tasmania, and he was the son of William and Susannah Mayne. Linden was educated at Stowport State School and he lived with his parents in Stowport where he worked as a farmer before the outbreak of the war.

Enlisted on August 4, 1915 in Claremont, Tasmania, at the age of 25 in the 12th Australian Infantry Battalion, 11th Reinforcement, he embarked with his unit from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A11 Ascanius on November 10, 1915,and sailed for Egypt where he was disembarked at Zeitoun on March 3, 1916 and was transferred to the 52nd Australian Infantry Battalion the same day at Tel-El-Kebir. Three months later, on June 5, 1916 he joined the British Expeditionary Force and embarked with his battallion from Alexandria ,on board the "Ivernia" and sailed for France where he arrived on June 12, 1916 in Marseilles.

After Marseilles, Linden was sent to the battlefields of the Somme.Unfortunately, three months later, on September 4, 1916, he fought at Mouquet farm, Pozieres, nicknamed "Moo Cow Farm" by Australian soldiers.It was the first major engagement of the 52nd Australian Infantry Battalion and it was on September 4, 1916, during the second attack on Mouquet farm by the Australians which took place from September 3 to 5, 1916, that Linden was declared "missing". A little later , his body was found and a comrade confirmed that Linden was killed by a shell during the attack of September 4 and that he fell 30 meters from the German trenches. Linden was then declared "killed in action",he was 26 years old.
Today Linden Alfred Mayne rests in peace with his friends and comrades at Pozieres British Cemetery, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription "In memory of the dearly loved son of Mrs. and late Mr. Mayne, Tasmania" .

Linden, you who rest in peace on the soil of the Somme alongside your comrades who all answered the call to duty, with courage and bravery, they fought for their convictions, for their country, for their families, for their comrades and for France for which they fought meter after meter in horrible conditions, under the bullets and the shells which rained above their heads, falling and mowing down young lives and hopes that the war shattered in its destructive fury, united in a bond of brotherhood, they faced death in the mud and icy water of the trenches, day after day, day and night, living in anguish and in fear of never seeing the sun the next day,the fear of being hurt, of being killed and of never seeing their families again, they faced the worst horrors of a world at war and stood their ground with admirable courage and faced the worst battlefields that were swept away by firestorms, under a torrent of bullets, under deadly gas, bayionets and rifles in hand, they advanced, running and falling in a Last breath, aware that they had done their duty and to have served their country and their families with courage, they gave their lives for us, in the hope of seeing a peaceful world, of seeing people united in peace.I wish, Linden, to say thank you, today you rest on the soil of France, here in the Somme which will always have a very deep respect for you and for all your brothers in arms who suffered together, who fought together and who fell together, we will never forget that a whole generation of courageous men were here and that they gave their everything, gone but not forgotten, we will always watch over you who stand in silence in front of us, our generation and the following ones will never forget who you were and all that you did for us on these ancient battlefields that bloom with thousands of poppies in which I walk with respect, in silence to listen to the murmurs of the past in the voices of thousand young men saying "we are still here, do not forget us, we gave our today for your tomorrow". We will never forget and we will pass on your memory with love and passion, with respect to the next generations who will watch over them after us, this is my dearest wish, 30 years old, like you I am young but your lives stopped on the battlefields but I wish to give you mine by putting all my heart and my energy to watch over you, to make you live again, you will always be remembered with love and I will take care of each of you.I will always be there for you.Thank you Linden, Sir, with love,gratitude and respect.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.