ENGLERT, Bertie George
| Service Number: | 7342 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 9 October 1916, Sydney, New South Wales |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 14th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Dungog, New South Wales, Australia, 1 March 1887 |
| Home Town: | Drummoyne, Canada Bay, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Painter |
| Died: | Shell Blast, France, 31 May 1918, aged 31 years |
| Cemetery: |
Allonville Communal Cemetery Row B, Grave No. 9 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour |
World War 1 Service
| 9 Oct 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 7342, 14th Infantry Battalion, Sydney, New South Wales | |
|---|---|---|
| 19 Feb 1917: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 7342, 14th Infantry Battalion, Enlistment/Embarkation WW1, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '11' embarkation_place: Melbourne embarkation_ship: HMAT Ballarat embarkation_ship_number: A70 public_note: '' | |
| 19 Feb 1917: | Embarked AIF WW1, Private, 7342, 14th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Ballarat, Melbourne | |
| 31 May 1918: | Involvement AIF WW1, Private, 7342, 14th Infantry Battalion, Merris (France) |
Gently sleeping...
Bertie George Englert was born on 1 March 1887 at Dungog, NSW. His mum and dad were Elizabeth and George Anton ENGLERT.
The Englert family travelled around northern NSW and lived at Quirindi, Dungog, Tamworth and Manilla. Bertie was a keen musician, like his father, and was mentioned twice in the Manilla Express newspaper of 1909 as a member of the town’s social band.
When World War 1 broke out in 1914, Bertie was living with his family at 1 Napier Street Drummoyne.
In 1916 he married Ruth Zara Higgins at Balmain South. They lived together at their home, ‘Frampton’, at 13 Westbourne Street Drummoyne. The home still stands today.
On 9 October 1916 – the same year he married – Bertie joined the Australian Imperial Force as a Private (Serial Number 7342) in the 14th Infantry Battalion. He was a bugler in the Battalion band.
Bertie left Melbourne aboard the HMAT Ballarat on 19 February 1917. On 25 April 1917 the Ballarat was struck and sunk by a torpedo in the English Channel. There were no casualties.
On the night of 31 May 1918, Bertie and 28 others of the 14th Battalion A and C companies, were killed when German artillery shells hit the two barns in which they were sleeping at Allonville, France.
Bertie is buried at the Allonville Communal Cemetery. On his headstone, at his widow’s request is the inscription ‘Gently sleeping, til the day dawns’. Bertie’s name is also inscribed on his parents’ headstone at Field of Mars cemetery in northern Sydney.
Bertie’s widow, Ruth Zara, never remarried. She had no children and died at Gosford, NSW, in 1957.
Lest We Forget
Submitted 4 May 2016 by Jason Smith
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
François Berthout, Australia and NZ in WWI
Today, to commemorate his death, I would like, with very great gratitude, to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 7342 Bertie George Englert who fought in the 14th battalion of Australian infantry and who was killed in action 102 years ago,on May 31, 1918 at the age of 31 on the Somme front
Bertie George Englert was born on March 1, 1887 in Dungog, New South Wales and he was the son of George Anton and Elizabeth Englert, Bertie was a passionate musician just like his father and before the war he worked as a painter and married in 1916 with Ruth Zara Englert and they lived at 13 Westbourne Street, Drummoyne, Sydney, New South Wales.
Enlisted on October 9, 1916 in the 14th Australian Infantry Battalion, 24th Reinforcement, Bertie was also a bugle player in the 14th battalion and he embarked with his unit from Melbourne, Victoria on board HMAT A70 Ballarat on February 1917, but unfortunately during the voyage for england, the ship was torpedoed and sunk but fortunately without any losses and the battalion arrived in england and were disembarked in Coldford, England. In england, Bertie joined the 12th Training Battalion and on April 15, 1918 he joined the 14th Australian infantry battalion and embarked with his unit from Folkestone, England on April 15, 1918 for France. Disembarked in Etaples, France, April 17, 1918, Bertie and his battalion joined the front of the Somme where he fought with great courage.
unfortunately, In the early hours of 31st May 1918, German artillery fired 7 or 8 high velocity, likely 9 inch, shells towards the village of Allonville which is a few miles to the north east of Amiens,Somme. Two of the shells hit with devastating effect. The first of these caused the highest number of casualties from a single shell in the whole of the AIF, 69 men of A company, 14th Battalion. 13 men were killed outright and a further 12 died from their wounds (8 within hours of the attack). The second shell caused 17 casualties with at least 4 killed. Casualties were was so high for the first shell because its force shattered the main beam holding the slate roof of the barn in which the men were sleeping. As a result slate fell to the ground and sliced ??through anyone and anything in the way. The collapsed beam crushed any in the way too. The Battalion’s band members were sleeping in the second barn to be hit. Some were woken by the first blast and left to help the victims. When the shell hit the second barn, Bertie was killed.Bertie had a brother, Eldred Englert who survived the war and returned to Australia in 1919.
Today, Bertie George Englert rests in peace with his comrades and friends at the Allonville Communal Cemetery, Somme
Today I wanted to say thank you with all my heart Bertie, for all that you did, not only for your country for which you fought and served with bravery, but also for France and the Somme who will be eternally grateful to you , today poppies bloom in remembrance of you and your brothers in arms who fought and who fell here, men of honor and courage that the war broke but you will always be present, in our hearts and in our thoughts but also on these battlefields of the Somme which are peaceful and flowered today, your souls will always be with us and we will always stand in front of you with the greatest respect but also with love. what you have done for us will always be a source of inspiration for me, to try to make this world better just as you did, to protect the peace for which you gave your life and to transmit to future generations your history and the history of all your brothers in arms so that the world never forgets and so that you are never forgotten.With respect and gratitude, thank you Sir.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.🌺
Biography
Bertie George ENGLERT was born on 1st March, 1887 in Dungog, NSW
His parents were George Anton ENGLERT and Elizabeth Murray TOWNS who married in NSW in 1886
He married Ruth Zara HIGGINS in 1916
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His brother Eldred ENGLERT also served in WW1 (SN 831) and returned to Australia in 1919
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