Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout

2nd Lt William George DEVITT
 
Under the clouds of the Somme, pierce the rays of the sun which come to light with benevolance the ranks of the graves of young men who fought and who fell here more than a hundred years ago, they were young and brave and gave their today for our tomorrow and now rest in peace under the fields of poppies that grow on the old battlefields, never forgotten, today we watch over them with respect and with deep love by following in their footsteps to learn from them what they went through here and to know who they were because more than soldiers, they were men with a story and it is this story, the story of a generation of men gone but not forgotten that I want to tell and pass on and today,it is one of these young men that I would like to honor with gratitude, I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Second Lieutenant number 2624 William george Devitt who fought in the 17th Australian Infantry Battalion and who was killed in action 104 years ago, on November 9, 1916 at the age of 25 on the Somme front.

William George Devitt was born on November 11, 1890 in Alexandria, New South Wales, and was the son of George Devitt and Mary Ann Devitt (née Flers),and lived at 110 Arden Street, Coogee, New South Wales.Before the outbreak of the war, William lived at Glen Ayr Centennial Avenue, Randwick, Sydney, New South Wales and worked as deputy town clerk of the Randwick municipal council.

Enlisted on August 31, 1915 at Holdsworthy, New South Wales, as a Private in the 17th Australian Infantry Battalion, 6th Reinforcement, he embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A14 Euripides on November 2, 1915 and sailed for Egypt where he was disembarked at Suez on February 5, 1916 and participated in the defense of the Suez Canal. A month later, on March 17, he joined the British Expeditionary Force and embarked with his battalion for France and arrived in Marseilles on March 23 before being sent to the Somme front. Five months later, on August 10, 1916, William was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal and then to the rank of Second Lieutenant on August 16.

William fought with exemplary courage in the Somme by leading his men admirably, unfortunately, on November 9, 1916, while he was fighting near Flers, he met his fate and was killed in action by a shell at High Wood, Bazentin-Le-Petit, Somme, he was 25 years old.

Today, Second Lieutenant William George Devitt rests in peace with his men, friends and brothers in arms at the A.I.F.Burial Ground, Flers, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription "Dearly loved son of Mrs. and the late Mr. Devitt of Randwick, Sydney ".

William, you who gave so much alongside your comrades on the battlefields of the Somme, you were young and you only had as a youth the hell of the trenches, determined, you answered the call of duty alongside a generation of men who courageously walked the fields and roads of France for which they fought with all they had, for Australia and for the fate of the world, for humanity, they moved forward with conviction under the orders of valiant and courageous officers like you whom they followed with confidence, always forward, you stood with respect and bravery in front of them under the murderous fire of the machine guns, young and without fears you went through hell on earth under the shells and led your men, your friends in the worst conditions, in the sticky mud, through the shell holes, in an apocalypse landscape, you never back off and had served beyond bravery, you did everything what was possible for your men, in difficult times you were there to cheer them up and make them smile and to dry their tears and to encourage them to always keep their brave hearts and their heads high, you were not qu an officer, you were a man with a big heart and great courage, a man who gave more than what a man can give for his country and for the world, for peace and for France who, here,in the Somme, never forgets you and does not forget the sacrifices of your comrades and of your country which has done so much and lost so much alongside the French and Commonwealth soldiers who, united, fought together for the same causes and for a free world, to end all wars, australia has a very big place in our hearts and in our thoughts, we are honored and proud to be your friends and to be the guardians of the graves of your beloved ones whom i consider and love as my boys of the somme.they who have done so much for us will always have my eternal gratitude, my deep respect and for them, for their families, I will always be present, I will always be proud and honored to watch over them for you and to proudly hold the flame of remembrance in which live their names and their hopes. through the poppies, in silence and in peace, under the whispers of the winds in which we hear the voices of the past, we will always listen and respect with love the wish of these young heroes which is that we never forget them, gone but not forgotten, they continue to live with us and in us, in our hearts and in our thoughts, they will never be forgotten and we will remain united for them and that is by bowing down With respect that I wish, with all my heart say thank you, for all they did for us, thank you William.At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember him, we will remember them.

DEARLY LOVED SON OF MRS. & THE LATE MR. DEVITT OF RANDWICK SYDNEY

Member of Kensington 270 Lodge

Lieutenant WILLIAM GEORGE DEVITT, aged 26, was the son of the late Senior-constable Devitt, of the Detective Office. He was first employed by Messrs. Lever Bros., and left that firm in 1907 to take the position of Junior clerk in the employ of the Randwick Council. He obtained advancement in the service, and was appointed deputy town clerk in 1912, and has since occupied that position. He enlisted in August, 1915, and left for active service in the following November. He was one of the first detachment to see service in  France, and obtained his commission after the taking of Poziers. On the Mayor reporting the news of his death to the Randwick Council at its last meeting, the meeting was adjourned as a mark of respect and esteem.

Lieutenant WILLIAM GEORGE DEVITT, eldest son of Mrs. Dcvltt, of "Glen Ayr," Centennial Avenue, Randwick, who left for the war in November last year, and had been in action in  France ever since the Australian troops have been on that front, was killed in action on November 10, tho day before his 26th birthday. He enlisted as a private, and for  conspicuous work in the battle of Pozieres he , was promoted on the field to lieutenant. The colonel congratulated him on the way he had won promotion, remarking that this was  the best way to win a commission. Afterwards he was sent to the officers' school in France for a month's special training, and apparently was only back in the firing line a month  when he was killed. Before enlisting Lieutenant Devitt was deputy-town clerk of Randwick.