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Donald's parents were William Henry Bond and Annie Hamilton, both well-known pioneering families of Terrors Creek. Donald was born on the family farm at King Scrub near Terrors Creek. Educated at Upper North Pine State School, he was the sixth of eight children. He enlisted 29 September 1915 at Brisbane and was killed in action 19 December 1916 aged 22 years. Three of Donald's brothers enlisted, Frederick Arthur [466], Richard Winsley [1872] and Thomas James [3473]. Donald was the only one killed in action.

BOND.—In loving memory of Private Donald Archibald Bond, killed in action 18th December 1916, at the battle of Somme, in France, aged 22 years.
He served his king and country.
Inserted by his loving father, mother, brothers, and sister.

From Francois Berthout

Pte 4736 Donald Archibald Bond,
15th Australian Infantry Battalion,
4th Brigade, 4th Australian Division

More than a hundred years ago, in the bruised fields of the Somme, in the darkness of the trenches, under the fire and the fury of an implacable artillery, stood with exceptional bravery a whole generation of men who, side by side side, back to back, united in camaraderie, through the fury of bloody battles that marked the beginning of the most terrible century in history, served together with pride and courage in mud and blood to bring about peace and who, bayonets forward, charged towards enemy lines, towards enemy machine-gun fire that rained hell-spitting death and rains of lead under the dark clouds of a world gone mad that drove millions of young boys in an unspeakable apocalypse made of death and which in baths of blood, killed each other on lunar soils gorged with tears and blood which were shed among the poppies which were the silent witnesses of the bravery and the sacrifices of so many men same who, for peace and our freedom, gave their today, their lives in barbed wire, in quagmires which were slaughterhouses described with horror by all the men who fought here and whose thousands rest today in peace, in the silence of these sacred grounds on which stand their white graves but which will always be remembered and honored with respect and over which I will always watch with love and gratitude so that these heroes, without distinction of rank, age or nationality, will never be forgotten, so that their names 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, of one of my boys of the Somme who gave his today for our tomorrow, one of thousands to whom I will forever be grateful for what he did for my country. I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 4736 Donald Archibald Bond who fought in the 15th Australian Infantry Battalion, 4th Brigade, 4th Australian Division, and who was killed in action 106 years ago, on December 19, 1916 at the age of 22 on the Somme front.

Donald Archibald Bond,who was affectionately known as "Donnie", was born on October 21, 1894 on his parents' family farm at King Scrub, near Terrors Creek, Queensland, Australia, and was the sixth of eight children of William Henry Bond and Annie Bond (née Hamilton), both well-known pioneering families of Terrors Creek.Sadly, Annie died in 1903 and William remarried Sarah Florence Bond and lived together in Tring Terrace, Nundah, Queensland. He was educated at Upper North Pine State School and after graduation worked with his parents as a farmer.

Donald enlisted on September 29, 1915 in Brisbane, Queensland, in the 15th Australian Infantry Battalion, 15th Reinforcement, which was a composite unit drawn from Queensland and Tasmania and raised in Melbourne and formed, alongside the 13th, 14th and 16th Battalion, the 4th Brigade. The 15th Battalion was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Cannan and had the nickname "The Oxley Regiment" and the motto "Caveant Hostes" (Let the enemies beware).After a six month training period at Broadmeadows Camp, Victoria, Donald embarked with his unit from Brisbane, on board HMAT A73 Commonwealth on March 28, 1916 and sailed for Egypt.

On May 5, 1916, Donald was disembarked in Egypt and the 15th Battalion, after a period of training in the desert, fought against the Ottoman forces for the defense of the Suez Canal and then three months later, on August 6, joined the BEF (British Expeditionary Force) in Alexandria from where they embarked the same day on board the Megantic for England where they arrived on September 23, had a very brief period of training in Rollestone and the next day proceeded overseas for France.

On September 24, 1916, Donald arrived in France and was disembarked at Etaples where he joined the 4th Australian Divisional Base Depot then joined the 15th Battalion on October 2 in the Ypres salient, in the trenches of St Eloi, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Terence Mc Sharry who replaced Lieutenant Colonel James Cannan promoted to the rank of Brigadier General shortly before.

At St Eloi, Donald and his comrades fought in very difficult conditions under constant German artillery and sniper fire during the day and machine gun fire at night, but machine gunners and the particularly effective Australian artillery prevented the Germans to attack the lines of the 15th Battalion which were greatly fortified and constantly improved by the rigorous installation of lines of barbed wire and strongpoints defended by Vickers machine guns then on October 8 were relieved by the 51st Australian Infantry Battalion and marched for Ontario Camp, near Reninghelst where they received new equipment including new gas masks then underwent a period of training and on October 13, joined the trenches of Zillebeke where they relieved the men of the 4th Australian Infantry Battalion and were employed in improving their positions under very active enemy mortar fire and fought there until October 18, when they were relieved by the 8th Battalion of the London Regiment and the next day moved back to Ontario Camp.

On October 19, 1916 Donald and his unit arrived at Ontario Camp where they underwent further exercises including bayonet fighting and two days later on October 21 left Reninghelst and moved to Godewaersvelde in northern France where they were billeted until October 25 then the next day, received orders to go to the Somme and arrived in the small village of Pont-Remy on October 27 and followed a new training period which ended on November 1.

On November 2, 1916, the 15th Battalion left Pont-Remy and marched for L'Etoile, near Amiens and moved on to Picquigny where Donald and his comrades were employed in the construction of railways and roads to transport munitions to the front line then alternated between periods of rest and physical exercise.On December 2, the men of the 15th Battalion marched to Fricourt where they had a hot bath and then moved back to the Picquigny sector where from December 3 to 23 they were employed in general fatigue parties operating on railway lines unloading and loading construction of light railways. Unfortunately, it was during this period, on December 19, that Donald met his fate and was killed in action in circumstances that remain mysterious because no enemy action is noted for the entire month of December in the war diary of the battalion. Was he killed by an errant shell? No one knows but it is noted on December 19 that Donald was "killed in action on the field".

Today, Donald Archibald Bond rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Bernafay Wood British Cemetery, Montauban, Somme.
Donald had three brothers who also served bravely in the great war. The first of them was Sergeant number 466 Frederick Arthur Bond who fought in the 2nd Light Horse Regiment. Frederick survived the war and returned to Australia on November 15, 1918 and married in December 1920 to Violet Susan Maude Mann and had three children. Unfortunately, Frederick was killed in a level crossing accident at Yeerongpilly, Queensland, on May 24, 1956 at the age of 65 and rests today in peace at Mount Thompson Memorial Gardens and Crematorium, Queensland.
Donald's second brother was Private number 1872 Richard Winsley Bond who fought in the 47th Australian Infantry Battalion. Richard was wounded in action on November 14, 1916 near Flers, Somme and returned to Australia on May 4, 1917. In July 1934 , he married Sarah Ellen Allison in Coorparoo, Queensland and died on December 2, 1940 at the age of 60 in Brisbane, Queensland. He rests today in peace at Toowong (Brisbane General) Cemetery.
Donald's third brother was Private Number 3460 Thomas James Bond who fought in the 5th Light Horse Regiment. Thomas survived the war and returned to Australia on March 13, 1919. In March 1921, he married Hazel Yoland Westaway in Brisbane and died on August 28, 1987 at the age of 91.
Donald, young and determined, loyal and brave, it is with determination and patriotism, with honor that you answered the call of duty under the dark clouds of a world at war to do your duty, your bit on the fields of battles of the great war alongside your brothers and comrades who together, in a common front, united around the same causes, marched behind the bagpipes and the drums with an unfailing fighting spirit that guided them through the mud and the poppies of the Somme, on the sacred grounds of northern France where so many of them shed their blood in the name of peace and freedom which were paid for by the sacrifices of a whole generation of men who, in the prime of their lives, lost their innocence in the violence and brutality of a war that dragged the world into madness and chaos of storms of steel and fire that, in howls of courage and agony, ended in bloodbaths, in body fights hand in hand, in the clash of bayonets through the flesh, in an insane fury in which friends and enemies fell side by side in the barbed wire and the shell holes that dotted the fields of Pozieres, Flers, Gueudecourt, the Mouquet Farm which were nothing but open-air cemeteries, mass graves which dragged so many young men into despair and death in the face of the relentless and murderous fire of the machine guns which mercilessly mowed down these poor souls who moved forward with determination on the no man's land, on mud pits soaked with tears and blood that covered the poppies of the Somme, silent witnesses of what happened more than a hundred years ago in the trenches and the killing fields of France, of an old country for which millions of men gathered who, with smiles on their faces and faith in their hearts, came from so far for us, for a country they did not know but for which they gave did everything they had, for which they left everything behind, love, warmth, the security of their homes and fought day and night at the gates of hell, in a nightmare that haunted their daily life alongside their brothers in arms but who also haunted the nightmares of those who were lucky enough to return home but were forever scarred and broken by what they endured and went through alongside their mates who fell alongside them under rains of shells and bullets but who found in camaraderie, in brotherhood and in the ANZAC spirit, the strength and the courage to hold the front line and go over the top to face their destinies and death, and found in each other the hope, the reason to fight the good fight watching over each other as brothers, as a family and together, in tight lines, covered in mud and blood, took a step forward, not to kill but for this war to end n to all the wars, not for the glory of which they had been told so much but to preserve our humanity, to preserve the future generations of a world at war, so that what these men lived will never happen again.From July 1916 to November 1918 in the Somme, the young Diggers showed the courage, resolve and determination of all Australia but after the hard-won victory they looked behind them and saw their friends, brothers and fathers lying lifeless where they fell.They left France with a heavy heart not knowing what would become of all their comrades who did not have the chance to return home but quickly saw the children of France bloom and take care of the graves of their friends, they saw them pray for them to honor their memory generation after generation so that the courage and sacrifices of these young boys will never be forgotten.They are not just names but are our sons over whom I will always watch over with respect to perpetuate and transmit their memory, so that the names of these heroes, of my boys of the Somme live forever. Thank you so much Donald, for everything.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.