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War Memorial
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From Francois Somme with Anne Griffiths.

Pte 2369 William Faulkner
11th Australian Infantry Battalion, D Company,
3rd Brigade, 1st Australian Division, AIF
 
 
The Somme, in these sacred fields, rest in peace for eternity, standing silently, thousands of young men behind the innumerable rows of their immaculate white graves which make us think of their lost innocence and youth that they sacrificed through the poppies alongside their friends and their brothers but, in the mud, in the earth of northern France, so many of them still stretch their hands towards the sky and the light while waiting to be found to join the ranks of their brothers in arms who did their duty and gave their lives for Australia and for France. They were once smiling, strong and proud men who left far from home to fight in the name of peace and freedom, volunteered to watch over each other in the hell of battles united in the ANZAC spirit, a spirit, a sacred bond forged in brotherhood, in camaraderie, in gallantry, in common effort. A spirit which kept them strong and united under the darkness and the madness of murderous battles and which gave them the strength to go over the top to face death in the slaughterhouses of blood-red fields, slaughterhouses which sent so many of men to death by shattering their destinies.Together, shoulder to shoulder, in the turmoil they remained close to each other and fell together, rifle in hand.They were Australians, real cobbers who became heroes who, here, paid the supreme sacrifice and in our hearts, through our eyes, became more than ordinary men to whom we owe so much. They became, our sons, our brothers, our adopted Diggers, my boys of the Somme who were and will be loved forever and over whom I will always watch with respect, with love and gratitude so that their names, beyond the fields of northern France, can live forever.

On this day, it is with the deepest feeling of gratitude and with the utmost respect that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young men, one of my boys of the Somme who, for the Australian people and the people of France, for all of us, gave his life, his everything.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 2369 William Faulkner who fought courageously in the 11th Australian Infantry Battalion, D Company, 3rd Brigade, 1st Australian Division of the Australian Imperial Force, and who was killed in action 108 years ago , on July 22, 1916 at the age of 25 during the Battle of the Somme.

William Faulkner was born in January 1891 in Perth, Western Australia, and was the son of Samuel Francis Faulkner (1857-1949) and Margaret Mary Faulkner (née Murtha, 1869-1960), of 16, Golding Street, West Perth, who married in 1888 and today rest in peace together at Karrakatta Cemetery, Karrakatta, Nedlands City, Western Australia. He had six sisters, Mary Lillian Faulkner (1889-1981), Ellen Lila Faulkner (1894-1992), Kathleen Bridget Faulkner , (born and died in 1897), Ethel May Faulkner, Margaret Mary Faulkner, Mary Rita Faulkner as well as two brothers, John Aloysius Faulkner (1893-1964) and Reginald James Faulkner. William was educated at the Christian Brothers (Catholic) School, Western Australia then after graduation worked as a clerk until the outbreak of the war.

There was no single definitive factor that caused the start of the First World War. Tensions throughout Europe had been growing for many years, nationalism, an arms race, disputes over territories and spheres of influence, greed, fear, distrust, and the division of Europe into two hostile alliances were all contributing factors.

The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, by Serbian terrorists led to the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia, on 29 July 1914. Russia mobilised troops to prevent Serbia being crushed. Germany declared war on Russia and, realising that France would support Russia, declared war on France as well. When Germany invaded neutral Belgium, Britain declared war on Germany. Japan, seeing the chance to seize German territory in China, also declared war on Germany. Bulgaria and Turkey sided with the Central Powers and soon most countries in Europe had become involved in the war.

When Britain declared war on Germany on 4 August 1914, most Australians greeted the news with great enthusiasm. Volunteers rushed to enlist for an exciting war, a great adventure which was expected to be over by Christmas.

For William, who felt deeply patriotic and who had a strong sense of camaraderie, he answered the call and enlisted on April 28, 1915 in Nannup, Western Australia, with the rank of Corporal in the 11th Australian Infantry Battalion, 7th Reinforcement. The 11th was raised on August 17, 1914 under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Lyon-Johnston. After a training period of just under two months at Blackboy Hill Camp, near Perth, during which William learned the rudiments of modern warfare including bayonet fights in sandbags, he embarked with his unit from Fremantle, Western Australia, on board HMAT A63 Karoola on June 25, 1915 and sailed for Egypt, arriving in Suez on July 25 but due to a illness, was detained in a hospital for six days then on July 31, proceeded for the Dardanelles from Alexandria on board HMT Berrima.

On 4 August 1915, William arrived on the Gallipoli Peninsula and the same day, at his own request, was reverted to the rank of Private. Subsequently, the 11th Battalion was heavily involved in defending the front line of the ANZAC beachhead. In August, it made preparatory attacks at the southern end of the ANZAC position before the battle of Lone Pine. The battalion served throughout the campaign at ANZAC until the evacuation in December.

However, on August 21, 1915, William was admitted to the 2nd Field Ambulance suffering from debility and then evacuated to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station at Mudros, Greece suffering from diarrhea. The next day, he was admitted to the 25th Casualty Clearing Station at Imbros, was discharged to duty then admitted to the 3rd Australian General Hospital of the Australian and New Zealand Base in Lemnos on September 9. Shortly after, he was taken on strength on September 28 to a rest camp and joined his unit at Gallipoli on October 3 but a little over ten days later, on October 18, fell ill again and was admitted to the 3rd Field Ambulance suffering from Dysentry, was transferred to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station and on October 23, embarked on the hospital ship "Sudan" for Malta where he arrived on October 24 and was admitted to the Military Hospital of Cottonera. On November 3 he was transferred to Ghain Tuffeka (Malta), was discharged to duty the next day and marched to St Barnbas Camp on the 4 January 1916, and joined his unit on January 13 in Tel-El-Kebir, Egypt.

Under the burning heat of the desert, without shade, suffering from lack of water, William's health deteriorated once again and he was admitted to a hospital in Ismailia on February 22, 1916 and then to the 1st Australian Stationary Hospital in Heliopolis suffering from piles.On March 18, he was transferred to the British Red Cross Hospital in Montazah, discharged to duty on April 3 and, after being declared "fit for service", he joined the 3rd Training Battalion at Tel-El-Kebir on April 17 for an intensive training period of just over two weeks (carried out in difficult conditions), then proceeded for France, on board "Caledonia" from Alexandria on May 9.

On May 20, 1916, after an uneventful voyage on the waters of the Mediterranean Sea, William finally arrived in France and was disembarked at Etaples where he joined the 1st Australian Divisional Base Depot, marched out to unit on June 22 and joined the 11th Battalion the following day in Fleurbaix alongside 73 men who reinforced the battalion which, on June 28, moved to Sailly-Sur-La-Lys where William was engaged in guard and fatigue parties then from June 30, with his unit, followed a period of training including gas exercises.

On July 3, 1916, two days after the start of the Battle of the Somme which, for the single day of July 1, cost the British army 57,470 casualties, of which 19,240 were killed, William and the 11th Battalion left Fleurbaix and marched to Outtersteene where they resumed their training including routes march, bombing, bayonet fights. On July 10, they moved to Meteren and from there, were sent to the railway station of Godewaersvelde and proceeded to, in turn, join the battlefields of the Somme. On July 11, they arrived in the town of Doullens and headed towards their new cantonments at Halloy-Lès-Pernois where they stayed for the night before marching to Naours and followed a new period of training there, hearing in the distance the thunder of the artillery whose lightning lit up the sky during the nights, making William and his comrades think that soon they would join the front line in a new battle but nothing prepared them for the hell that awaited them a few kilometers away and, feeling the death that awaited, like a bad presentiment, many men wrote to their mothers, to their wives to express their presentiment and the fear which, slowly, began to take over their hearts.

On July 17, 1916, William and his unit left Naours behind and moved to Rubempré then marched to Forceville where they were very warmly welcomed and greeted by the French villagers who offered the Diggers wine, milk and biscuits, which gave a little comfort to the young Australian soldiers who, for some, were even invited around a table for a meal. In these moments, the cobbers who were far from home, found the warmth and love of a home , it was a moment of union during which friendship was born between our two countries. The children, whose fathers were at war, found friends in the Australians, brothers with whom they smiled and even exchanged addresses to write to each other after the war, but would they still be alive in a few days?. The war, imposing its terrible pace had no halt in its carnage and on July 20, the men of the 11th joined the front line opposite the village of Pozieres which, a few days later, would become a field of ruins, a field dotted with dead. Immediately after they took their place in the trenches, they were heavily and brutally shelled by the Germans and, courageously, under fire, consolidated their positions then on July 21, orders were received and read to each man, the next assault would be launched on July 23 to take the village of Pozieres and advance to the village windmill, a heavily fortified German observation position that the British had failed to take during the previous days and which allowed the enemy artillery to shell with efficiency and deadly precision the allied positions between Pozieres and Thiepval.

Unfortunately, it was only one day before the start of the Battle of Pozieres that William, on July 22, 1916, met his fate and during a terrible German shelling, was killed in action by shrapnel which hit him on the back of his neck. He was 25 years old.

Unfortunately, during the fury of the fighting at Pozieres, William's body was lost never to be found but today, his name is remembered and commemorated with respect on the walls of the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux, in the Somme, alongside the names of 11,000 Australian soldiers who, in and around the Somme, have no known graves.

Well after his death, William Faulkner's obituary was written and published on Saturday July 28, 1917 in the "W.A Record" as follows:
"The late William Francis Faulkner,
Mr. and Mrs Faulkner, of Golding street, have received official information that their son, William Francis Faulkner, previously reported missing,has been killed in action. For some time the family have been under great anxiety concerning him. He embarked from here on the 25th June, 1915, with7/llth Reinforcements, 3rd Brigade, and proceeded to Egypt. Owing to illness, he was detained in hospital at Suez for six days. He arrived in the Peninsula, and was in action the first week in August of the same year. After two months fighting he was taken to Hospital, on the hospital ship Soudan; there he remained until January 4th 1916.

Regaining health, he left for Egypt; hoping that he might meet his brother, Jack, there. On one occasion they were within half-a-mile of each other and yet neither knew of the other's whereabouts. At the end of February, 1916, he was again in hospital, seriously ill, but under good treatment at Heliopolis, he pulled through and at the beginning of May left for France.

He was a good affectionate son, and kept up a regular correspondence with his mother. His last letter was from the Somme, and was dated July 17, 1916, he then, seemingly, anticipating the worst from that terrible offensive, bade the family goodbye.From then up to recently no information regarding him was heard. Prior to enlisting he was in charge of Ellis Creek Mill, and from there he wrote to;his mother setting forth his great desire, and asking her consent to respond to the call of the Commonwealth. There is every reason to believe he met his death like a gallant soldier and a good son of the Church.May he rest in peace."

William Faulkner's brother, Private number 262 John Aloysius Faulkner who also served in the 11th Australian Infantry Battalion, survived the war and died peacefully in 1964 at the age of 71.

William, it was more than a hundred years ago that your life was taken, a hundred years that you still stood, young for eternity alongside your comrades who, in the fields of the Somme, gave their lives but since 1916 , you were never forgotten and today we remember you, the man full of life, hopes and dreams that you were, we remember you and the courageous soldier that you were and who, alongside his comrades, in the trenches, did his duty with bravery and loyalty by facing dangers, suffering and death with your head held high and your heart filled with pride and strength and which, pushed forward by the deep desire to doing what was right as well as through the ardor of youth, did more than his share in the mud and poppies of northern France where he and his brothers in arms fought like lions, with determination and faith under the shells that spewed death and despair onto once peaceful lands that became oceans of blood, stinking quagmires that, beneath bullets and shrapnel, were nothing other than execution fields on which all lives were swept under the murderous fire of the machine guns which heroically charged so many brothers and fathers who, one beside the other, charged bayonets forward in howls of courage while watching over each other through storms of fire which, like a volcanic inferno, set the world ablaze under the dark skies of a world at war streaked with the lightning of a murderous artillery which transformed the soils of pozieres into lunar craters in which were crushed, mutilated so many young boys who collapsed at an implacable rhythm, swallowed in the clay, struck by a rain of steel which continued to fall sending ever more men towards death like a beast hungry for souls and blood that was war.In ravaged grounds which, from evening to morning changed shape, these young men showed exceptional bravery in the face of death and despite what they endured, the battles, the raids, the shelling, the ever more deadly counter-attacks, the poisoned gas and the nightmarish sight of their friends who fell alongside them, reduced to pieces by steel weapons, torn in two by bursts of rifles and machine guns, knocked to the ground in terrible hand-to-hand combat, they found the courage to hold the line because they were not alone and despite the death which decimated them, they always found at their side, a friend, a brother for whom they fought and for whom they gave their lives in a war which was the beginning of the bloodiest century in history but beyond the suffering, they fought together to make peace prevail, to make freedom triumph, so that the future would be marked by the laughter of children and not by the mournful grunts cannons.Together, they lived with the fear that a bullet would hit them and that death would catch them and sacrificed their youth but made their country proud with their courage of which the poppies were the silent witnesses and which today, more than a hundred years later, still grow to remind us that here, a whole generation of men paid the supreme sacrifice, to remind us what the price of our today was. Young forever, under the sun of the Somme and peaceful skies, they still watch like the eternal guardians of friendly lands whose children gather together to honor the memory of these heroes over whom I will always watch with the deepest affection, with the greatest care and respect so that these young men, my boys of the Somme, are never forgotten, so that their names and their faces, their stories can live forever.Thank you for everything William, for everything you did and gave for my country whose eternal gratitude and love will belong to you forever.At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember him, we will remember them.

I would like, with all my heart and with infinite respect, to thank Mrs Anne Griffiths, niece of William Faulkner who asked me to go and photograph her uncle's name at the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux and who allowed me with infinite tenderness, to write this tribute to honor the memory of William who one day I hope will be found but will never be forgotten.