Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout

CSM 502 Stanley Wilson
42nd Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company,
11th Brigade, 3rd Australian Division
 
A new spring sun rises in the mist that spreads its coat over the old battlefields of the Somme, silent and peaceful, across which in the light of dawn stand thousands of white graves of a whole generation of young men who, in the blood and mud of the trenches, served side by side with pride alongside their comrades through the fury and darkness of a world gone mad and who, in the darkest hours of history, gave their youth and their today and made their country proud and who, under machine gun fire, through deluges of bullets and lead, gave their lives for peace and freedom, for the highest values ​​which united them and which guided them to give the best of themselves until their last breath so that we can live and stand up to honor the courage, the memory, the lives and the sacrifices of these men on whom I will always watch over with gratitude and respect so that they will never be forgotten.

Today, it is with the utmost respect and infinite gratitude that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young men, one of my boys of the Somme who gave his today for our tomorrow. I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Company Serjeant Major number 502 Stanley Wilson who fought in the 42nd Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company, 11th Brigade, 3rd Australian Division and who was killed in action 104 years ago, on March 30, 1918 at the age of 23 on the Somme front.

Stanley Wilson was born on January 29, 1895 in Lismore, New South Wales, and was the son of Oliver and Emma Wilson, of Woodlawn, Lismore, Richmond River, New South Wales. He was educated at Woodlawn Public School and after graduation served two years in the Cadets, one year in the Militia, one year in the Machine Gun Section then worked as a dairy farmer.

Stanley enlisted on September 20, 1915 at Lismore as Serjeant in the 42nd Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company, battalion whose motto was "Cede Nullis" (Yield To None) and whose march was "Blue Bonnets Over the Border" and under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Arthur Woolcock. The battalion was nicknamed "Australian Black Watch" due to sharing its numerical designation with the famous Scottish regiment "The Black Watch". This association was recognized with a bagpipe band.

After a period of nine months of intensive training at Thompson's Paddock, Brisbane, then in Sydney, Stanley embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A30 Borda on June 5, 1916 and sailed for England.

On July 23, 1916, while the terrible battle of Pozieres began in the Somme, Stanley arrived in England and was disembarked in Plymouth where he was promoted to the rank of Serjeant to complete establishment three months later, on October 27, then the following month, on November 25, embarked from Southampton and proceeded overseas for France.

On November 26, 1916, Stanley arrived in France and was disembarked with his unit in Le Havre then were sent to Outtersteen on November 28 where the men of the 42nd Battalion followed a short period of training and marched for Armentieres on December 7 and entered the trenches for the first time on December 26 in this sector then were relieved a few days later, on December 31 by the 44th Australian Infantry Battalion then moved back to the front line.
Less than a month later, on January 25, 1917, Stanley fell ill and was admitted to the 10th Australian Field Ambulance suffering from mumps and transferred the next day to the 7th General Hospital in St Omer, was discharged to duty on February 16 then after having recovered, he joined the 42nd Battalion on February 20 which was still in the trenches of Armentieres but on March 3 Stanley fell ill again and was evacuated and admitted to the 11th Australian Field Ambulance suffering from gastritis, was discharged to duty the next day and returned to his unit on March 5.

On March 15, 1917, Stanley and the 44th Battalion left Armentieres and marched to Pont De Nieppe where they joined their billets and were employed in working parties until March 18, then the next day marched for the front line and entered the trenches of Ploegsteert, near Ypres where they relieved the men of the 44th Battalion and repelled several German raids which tried to break through the Australian lines in this sector then on March 27, moved back to Pont De Nieppe where the 42nd Battalion alternated between periods of training and rest until April 3.
On April 4, 1917, Stanley and the 42nd Battalion moved back into the trenches of Ploegsteert where on April 6 they relieved two New Zealand battalions in a position called "Hunters Avenue" having good dugouts and were employed in the repair and improvement of trenches but came under heavy German bombardment then on 19th April moved to Oosthove Farm near Messines and after heavy fighting were sent to Armentieres, a quieter sector of the front line where they remained until May 1.

On May 3, 1917, the 42nd Battalion marched to Tatinghem then to Alquines where they were billeted until May 18 and on the 21st, were again sent to Armentieres then moved back into the trenches of Ploegsteert, in the Ypres Salient where they relieved the 38th Australian Infantry Battalion and fought in this sector until June 2 and then the next day, marched for their billets at Pont De Nieppe.

Just over two weeks later, on June 23, 1917, Stanley and the 42nd Battalion moved back into the Ypres sector and fought bravely at Messines until July 10, when they were relieved by the 36th Australian Infantry Battalion.One month later, on August 17, 1917, for his courage on the battlefields of Messines, Stanley was promoted to the rank of Company Serjeant Major and was awarded the same day the Distinguished Conduct Medal with the following citation:
"For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He organised working and carrying parties with great skill and coolness under fire.He commanded a platoon when his officer became a casualty and on many occasions showed splendid courage and determination."

On August 22, 1917, the 42nd Battalion marched into Billets at Remilly-Wirquin and after a well-deserved rest period they were sent the following month, on September 27, to Poperinghe, Belgium, fought at Ypres and Zonnebeke early in October and the following month, on November 1st, moved back to Remilly-Wirquin where they were billeted until November 11th then marched through Boeseghem, La Becque, and arrived at Kortepyp, near the river Douve on November 16th and on December 16th were sent to Locre.

On December 20, 1917, Stanley and the men of the 42nd Battalion entered the trenches of Bois Grenier where they relieved the 16th Battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers and faced the 113th Landsturm but held the front line with bravery and determination.
On January 9, 1918, Stanley was granted leave in England and joined his battalion on January 29 at Ingersfell Camp, near Locre. More than a month later, on March 5, 1918, the 42nd Battalion moved back to Belgium, at Kortepyp "B" Camp and then marched to Fromentine, Calais for a new period of training but two weeks later, on March 21, 1918, the German army launched its spring offensive, the last German offensive of the war to try to break through the Allied lines and the 42nd Battalion was sent to the Somme to stop them at Sailly-Le-Sec, near the Somme River, where unfortunately, on March 30, 1918, Stanley met his fate and was killed instantly by a fragment of shell, he was 23 years old.

Here is the war diary of the 42nd Australian Infantry Battalion of March 30, 1918 which reads as follows:
"At about 9.15am the enemy suddenly displayed great aerial activity and engaged any of our machines then in flight. At about 10am a plane was shot down by a squadron of enemy planes and crashed. During this period the enemy appeared to be ranging on our line of resistance. Bombardment by the enemy was relentless and when their soldiers advanced they made ground but were also in range of the infantry weapons. A concentration of well-controlled fire stopped the enemy literally in their tracks."

It was during this hectic day that Wilson became a casualty and was killed in a trench near Sailly-Le-Sec.
His division distinguished itself during that battle by holding back the German advance.

A soldier (Serjeant Bretner) who served with Stanley gave, in his own words, the following description of him:
"It would take a better pen than mine to give an idea of what kind of man he was: a better comrade no man could wish for, straight, clean living, he was an example to all, a soldier every inch of him. Always ready to lend a hand to anyone in trouble. He has been sadly missed."

Wilson's effects were sent back home to his parents by ship, but was sadly sunk due to enemy action.

Today, Company Serjeant Major Stanley Wilson rests in peace alongside his men, comrades and brothers in arms at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription: "In memory of the dearly loved son of O and E Wilson of Woodlawn."

Stanley, you who were so young but already so brave, it was with unfailing courage that on the battlefields of Belgium and France you did your duty with determination alongside your comrades and brothers in arms with whom you came from so far to do your bit through the poppies of the Somme, under the clouds of powder and the darkness of the trenches but without fear, you marched with conviction behind the bugles and the bagpipes with in your heart, the deep desire to fight and to do what was right, not only for your country but to bring humanity a better future, a better world without war and for that you did more than what was asked of you.In the prime of your life, you left behind your home and the love of your family who, in a last embrace and with tears in their eyes, were heartbroken to see you join the front in the uncertainty of tomorrow and the fear of losing you forever on the soil of a distant country but your desire was to join your friends and wear the uniform with honor and loyalty under the colors of australia whose sons volunteered to give their today in the name of peace and freedom they all had in their thoughts and singing, their heads held high under their slouch hats they were guided by the ardor of their youth and by the hope of a short war and thought that they would live the greatest adventure of their lives but in Messines, in Ypres, in the fields of Villers-Bretonneux, they discovered the horrors and the brutality of a world gone mad, they endured hell on earth and found the death, the madness, the inhumanity of a endless nightmare from which they could not escape and with nowhere to hide or run, they held their ground under terrible storms of fire and steel in which so many friends were killed and in this outburst of violence, in fury and the chaos, their childhood and their carelessness were swept away but their courage never failed.Today when we talk about Pozieres, Amiens, the Somme, we have in our hearts and in our thoughts an infinite tenderness and a deep respect, a love that has never disappeared towards the young Diggers who were and will be always deeply loved and admired for all they did for our country which, without them, would not have known the peace for which thousands of them fought and fell alongside their French brothers in arms who said " Australian soldiers are the bravest men we have ever seen and with whom we are honored to fight for ideals that unite our two countries."More than a hundred years have passed and silence has returned to the old battlefields of the Somme where so many lives were shattered and where so many tears and blood were shed in the mud and the barbed wire but we will never forget the courage and the sacrifices of these young men who rest in peace on these sacred grounds where they still stand proud through the light of the rising sun and I will always watch over them with love and respect and they will be forever through my eyes and in my heart, my heroes, my boys of the Somme for whom I will always carry high and proud the flame of remembrance so that their faces and their names remain forever in the light, in the love and friendship which unite Australia and France, a friendship of which I am honored and proud, a friendship that was born in the trenches and that nothing will ever break.Thank you so much Stanley,for everything. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember him,we will remember them.