Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Francois Berhtout

Pte 2964 Richard Harry Keen
30th Australian Infantry Battalion, C Company,
8th Brigade, 5th Australian Division
 
Today, in the silence of winter which spreads its cloak of silent mist across the frozen fields of the Somme, stand in remembrance and in eternity, the countless rows of immaculate tombs of thousands of men who side by side, among sleeping roses and poppies, stand young forever beside their brothers, their friends who together, for peace and freedom, came from the other side of the world with ardor and innocence of their youth and who, for France, fought with determination in order to preserve our humanity and who, in the trenches, on the battlefields, in the mud, did much more than their duty and what was asked of them to to give us a tomorrow full of hope, to have a world without war so for their loved ones, for their comrades and for us, with conviction and courage, went over the top to advance towards their destinies and faced machine gun fire and shells which, in steel howls, through relentless thunder, rained down death who took too soon the lives of these young boys to whom we owe so much and on whom I will always watch with honor, with gratitude and respect so that their sacrifices and their deeds are never forgotten, so that their names and their faces live forever.

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, for Australia and for France, for each of us, gave his all, his life.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 2964 Richard Harry Keen who fought in the 30th Australian Infantry Battalion, C Company, 8th Brigade, 5th Australian Division, and who died of his wounds 106 years ago, on January 25, 1917 at the age of 19 on the Somme front.

Richard Harry Keen, who was very affectionately called "Dick" by his comrades, was born in 1898 in Marrickville, New South Wales, and was the son of Edwin James and Mary Keen, of Chalder Street, Marrickville, and had one brother, Daniel. Richard was educated at Marrickville Public School, Chapel Street, New South Wales and after graduation, had his first military experience and served for four years in the Citizen Forces then before the outbreak of the war, worked as a railway porter.

Courageous and animated by a high sense of patriotism, Richard enlisted on February 3, 1916 at Casula, New South Wales, in the 30th Australian Infantry Battalion, C Company, 6th Reinforcement, a battalion which was nicknamed the "New South Wales Scottish Regiment" and had motto "In Omni Modo Fidelis" (In All Things Faithful). After a two-month training period, Richard embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A71 Nestor on April 9, 1916 and sailed for Egypt.

On June 6, 1916, Richard arrived in Egypt and was disembarked with his comrades in Alexandria then later the same day, on board the "Franconia", proceeded for England and arrived in Plymouth on June 16. The next day, with his unit , Richard was sent to Camp 28, located at LarkHill, to follow a period of training in realistic war conditions in the 8th Training Battalion on Salisbury Plain then three months later, on September 5, proceeded overseas to France.

On September 6, 1916, after a short, uneventful journey across the English Channel, Richard arrived in France and was disembarked at Etaples where he joined the 5th Australian Divisional Base Depot. More than two weeks later, on September 24, he proceeded to join the 30th Battalion and was taken on strength on September 26 in the trenches of Houplines from where they were relieved two days later by the 29th Australian Infantry Battalion and marched for Armentieres where they were billeted and were employed in general fatigues parties then followed a training period including bayonet fights.

On October 1, 1916, Richard and the 30th Battalion left Armentieres and occupied the trenches of the right sector of Houplines with a force of 877 men and on October 5, launched a gas attack against the German lines, an attack which was described as "successful".The next day the battalion was again relieved by the 29th and moved back to Armentieres where they were relieved by the 2nd New Zealand Battalion on October 13 and proceeded by motor bus to Strazeele where they arrived the following day and remained there until october 16.

On October 17, 1916, the 30th Battalion left Strazeele and marched to Bailleul from where they embarked by train for the Somme and arrived later the same day in the small village of Longpré then moved into billets at Bussus-Bussuel. A few days later, on October 21, they were sent to Buire, joined Mametz Wood the following day and on October 23, finally joined the front line at Flers where they relieved the 2nd Battalion of the Bedfordshire Regiment. On October 25, a large-scale operation was planned by the British to attack at Flers a network of extremely well-fortified and defended German trenches known as "The Maze" which Australian troops, including the 30th Battalion, were to capture and hold but catastrophic weather postponed this assault which was ultimately scheduled for November 5.

On November 4, 1916, on the eve of the attack on "The Maze", exhausted, frozen by incessant rains and by one of the worst winters that the Somme has known, the men of the 30th Battalion were relieved of the front line by the 21st Australian Infantry Battalion and marched to Carlton Camp located at Bazentin-Le-Petit for a rest period but lost 60 men at Flers, 20 of whom were killed in action.

Although the 30th Battalion was spared for the offensive of 5 November, the first attack against The Maze was launched by the 7th Brigade with the support of the 1st Brigade advancing against trenches north of Gueudecourt.

Despite the rain and thoughts of postponement, the 7th Brigade of the Australian 2nd Division and the 1st Battalion of the 1st Brigade mounted separate attacks. For the attacking battalions of the 7th Brigade, short of rations due to the bad conditions, just getting to the front-line was exhausting. The 28th Battalion when advancing and crossing No Man’s Land noticed that many Germans appeared in the trenches in front on account of the trench being wrongly marked and the barrage already moved past, plus the slow time it took to traverse No-Man’s Land on account of the mud. As a result they were met with heavy rifle and machine gun fire. The 27th Battalion to their right at first fared better, but they too were forced to withdraw. With the gale force winds preventing aeroplanes from flying for reconnaissance and belief that the attack was succeeding, two platoons of the 28th were also sent forward to reinforce, but met a similar fate to the first waves. Except for a tiny foothold in The Maze Trench, which was lost two days later, no ground had been won and with the 7th Brigade suffering 819 casualties. The British 50th Division which had simultaneously attacked towards the Butte de Warlencourt to the left also failed with 700 casualties. Meanwhile the smaller attack by the 1st Brigade in the area of Gueudecourt failed and in the difficult conditions resulted in 170 casualties for the 1st Battalion and 38 in the supporting 3rd Battalion.

On November 6, 1916, Richard and the men of the 30th Battalion moved to Fricourt Camp, marched to Buire the next day and then to Vignacourt on November 8 where they received reinforcements and alternated periods of rest and training. A little over a week later, on November 19, the battalion marched for Ribemont then for Montauban Camp on November 21, reached Trones Wood on November 24 and on the same day joined the front line and occupied the position known as the "Needle Dump" to the right of the 32nd Australian Infantry Battalion. On November 28, the 30th Battalion was relieved by the 29th Australian Infantry Battalion and moved back to Montauban Camp where they remained until December 2.

On December 3, 1916, the 30th Battalion moved back to the front line and reoccupied Needle Dump, in the Trones Wood sector where they relieved the men of the 29th Battalion then on the night of December 7 to 8, marched to Bernafay Camp and two days later, moved back to Montauban Camp where they were billeted until January 12, 1917.

On January 13, 1917, Richard and his battalion moved for the Fricourt Brigade Camp, marched again for Trones Wood on January 22 and joined the front line by occupying Needle Dump and "Thistle Trench", opposite Le Transloy but unfortunately, on January 25, during a raid towards the enemy lines in this sector with the objective of capturing or destroying an enemy machine gun, Richard was very severely injured by several bursts of bullets in the thigh and left arm and was immediately evacuated at the 15th Australian Field Ambulance near Bernafay Camp. Richard had his left arm amputated and died a few hours later due to his injuries, excessive blood loss and the state of shock in which he was despite the most great care he received. He was only 19.

The circumstances leading to Richard's death are described by his comrades and by the records of the Australian Red Cross Society Wounded And Missing Inquiry Bureau Files as follows:
"Keen, quite a young chap was in my Company C. One night in January about the 20th (25th) I should say, we went out on a small raiding party opposite Le Transloy to get a German machine gun I think. Keen got one arm positively, practically severed by bullets. Sergeant Major Schmitzer (since killed) and Corporal Grogan now in hospital somewhere, got him in and took him to the Medical Officer in the reserve trenches.The doctor took his arm off,and he died but how long after I do not know,nor where he was buried, I was not an eye-witness, as I was picked for a bombing post that night." (2751, Private Arthur Henry Stephens, 30th Australian Infantry Battalion, C Company).

"Private Keen was wounded in the left arm during a reconnaissance raid on the enemy's line on night of 24.1.1917. After amputation of the almost severed limb, he was evacuated to the 15th Australian Field Ambulance where he died from loss of blood and shock.The Reverend S.A Beveridge performed the burial service at Bernafay Cemetery." 

"I knew Dick Keen well. He was hit, I believe by machine gun fire and died of his wounds on the way to Bernafay, 15th Field Ambulance Dressing Station. He was buried near the station.His grave has a cross on it." (2388 Private Thomas Alexander Calder Malcolm,30th Australian Infantry Battalion,C Company).

Today, Richard Harry Keen rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Bernafay Wood British Cemetery, Montauban, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription: "In memory of the dearly loved son of Mr and Mrs Keen of Sydney."
Richard, at the first light of a life under the Australian sun, it was with determination and honor that you answered the call of duty to do what was right, to do your bit alongside your comrades who took a step forward and carried the colors of a young and strong nation and carried with them, on their shoulders and in their hearts the hopes of all freedom-loving peoples and side by side, with the determination and the ardor of their youth, marched to the battlefields of a world at war and with faith and confidence, behind the bugles, marched with their heads held high through fields of poppies scarred by miles of sharp barbed wire and bruised by lines of trenches that darkened under a rain of shells falling at a merciless pace through the mechanical thunder of devastating artillery, a weapon of death that marked the beginning of an industrial-scale death race on a scale industrial with the sole aim of pulverizing days and nights thousands of men under waves of steel typhoons which swept away so many young souls who, in the prime of life, were crushed, disfigured, marked forever by wounds physical and mental effects caused by this unleashing of brutality which, like an implacable tsunami, spat death and desolation on these fields of death which for a whole generation of young boys were only slaughterhouses on which their friends and their brothers fell in a hell of fire, through bursts of rabid machine guns thirsty for blood and flesh which, in the mud of Pozieres, of Flers, of Gueudecourt, of Amiens, of Villers-Bretonneux, took the lives of so many young Diggers who fought with the greatest courage alongside their French and British brothers in arms in the mud of the Somme in which so many of them gave their all, their today and their lives for our country which they knew little but for which they gave so much with their heart in the hell of battles but in this apocalypse of fire and blood, the Australians stood strong and united in the finest spirit of camaraderie and were guided, pushed forward by the ANZAC spirit, a spirit of bravery, determination, sacrifice, unity in the face of adversity which gave them the strength and courage to go over the top in the face of fire and death and charged the enemy trenches without ever retreating, bayonets forward they showed the strength and determination of the entire Australian nation whose sons and daughters rest today in peace on these sacred soils of northern France which are and will forever be the symbol of the valor of these heroes who left behind their familiesfor the blood and the mud of the trenches and fought together like lions, not for the glory of which they had been told but to be with their comrades and friends, to watch over each other, to bring future generations a better world and made the greatest sacrifices to make peace prevail and today, as they did in life, they watch over each other in death, in the silence of their white graves that tell us who these exceptional men were and what they did for us, for my country that will be forever grateful to them. Forever young, they are today and will always be the children of France, my boys of the Somme on whom I am proud and honored to watch over to keep their memory alive so that their names live forever, so that the ANZAC spirit live forever.Thank you so much Richard,for everything you did for us. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember him, we will remember them. Australia and France, united forever in friendship and remembrance.

Richard Harry KEEN (Service Number 2964) was born in Sydney on 8thOctober 1898.  He joined the NSW Government Railways as a junior porter in October 1915 in the Sydney District. He was employed at the Sydney Carriage Cleaning Sheds. 

In February 1916 he was granted leave to enlist in the AIF at Casula.

He embarked from Sydney with reinforcements for the 30th Battalion. He was sent via Egypt to England, where he landed in June 1916.  In September he was sent to France and ‘taken on strength’ by his unit. 

He was wounded in action, according to a letter sent to his mother by Lt F A Wisdom:

‘on the night of the 25th January.  He was one of a strong patrol taken out by myself with the object of raiding the German trenches.  The snow was about a foot in height… Your son being one of the advance scouts…’ 

Later in another letter Wisdom wrote:

‘I remember this case.  Pte. R.H. Keen was on patrol with me and was shot in the arm by machine gun fire.  We managed to get him back to our lines but he was numbed with cold and inclined to give in.  I had his wound dressed and my company stretcher bearer carried him to the Aid Post, where he was attended to by the R.M.O. and sent off to the 15th Field Ambulance.  I heard next day that he had died…’

He died on 25th January 1917 at an Advanced Dressing Station of the 15th Field Ambulance, where his left arm had been amputated.  He was buried in Bernafay Wood British Military Cemetery, 10 kilometres E of Albert and two kilometres S of Longueval. 

A war pension was granted to his widowed mother.

- based on the Australian War Memorial Honour Roll and notes for the Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board.