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From Francois Berthout, The Somme, France

Lance Corporal  4516 Francis Benjamin Hutton
46th Australian Infantry Battalion,
C Company, 9th Platoon,
12th Brigade, 4th Australian Division, 1st AIF
 
Through the fields of the Somme, green and silent, grow season after season, poppies on what were more than a hundred years ago, slaughterhouses, fields of suffering and death scarified by endless lines of barbed wire in which fell thousands of men who, in this hell on earth, saw a chaos never seen before made of fire and steel which, under the hum of machine guns and the thunder of artillery, shattered lives, dreams and hopes of so many young boys who, in the prime of their lives, answered to the call of duty and fought with exceptional bravery united in the eternal and sacred bond of fraternity and camaraderie which brought them together and guided them to do what was right in the name of peace and freedom. Their knees deep in the mud and among rats, harassed by the howl of shells which dragged the world into despair of a terrible war, they knew how to remain strong and united and in this nightmare, kept their humanity and their faith which prevented them from sinking into madness. They lived side by side and watched over each other like brothers then, when the time came to go over the top,it was together that they climbed the wooden ladders and charged with determination under the lead hail which mowed them down one after the other in bloodbaths that were the fields of the Somme on which, so young, so many of them gave their lives and who today, in silence and peace, always united behind their immaculate graves, tell us what their lives were, who they were and what they did for us who stand hand in hand in front of them with respect to honor their memory.

More than a hundred years have passed, the rifles, the bayonets, the cannons have rusted, no more sounds of suffering are heard, the war, like a specter has disappeared into the past but the memory of these heroes who gave their today and their lives continue to live brightly in the light of our hearts and I will always watch over them with the highest respect so that their names, today and in the years to come, may 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, for his convictions, for Australia and for France, gave his life.I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Lance Corporal number 4516 Francis Benjamin Hutton who fought in the 46th Australian Infantry Battalion, C Company, 9th Platoon, 12th Brigade, 4th Australian Division of the Australian Imperial Force, and who was killed in action 108 years ago, on November 16, 1916 at the age of 22 during the Battle of the Somme.

Francis Benjamin Hutton,who was very affectionately called "Frank", was born in December 1893 in Collingwood, Victoria, Australia, and was the son of Mrs Ellen Hutton, of 112, Easy Street, Collingwood. He was educated at Gold Street State School, Victoria, and after graduation worked as a grocer until the outbreak of the war.

In August 1914, the world burst into flames and plunged into war. On August 4, 1914, the British Empire declared war on Germany and her allies then shortly after, Australia responded to the call of the motherland and thousands of men joined the ranks of the brand new Australian Imperial Force. This was the case of Francis, who, after having been rejected several times for "bad vision", succeeded in enlisting on October 26, 1915 in Melbourne, Victoria, as a Private in the 5th Australian Infantry Battalion, 14th Reinforcement, which was raised north of Melbourne during the first weeks of the conflict and was under the command of Lieutenant Colonel David Stanley Wanliss who previously served in the Victorian Scottish Regiment, a Melbourne-based militia unit. After a first training period of just over three months at Broadmeadows Camp, near Melbourne, during which he learned the basics of modern warfare, Francis embarked with his unit from Melbourne, on board HMAT A32 Themistocles on January 28, 1916 and sailed for Egypt.

On March 31, 1916, Francis arrived in Egypt and marched to Zeitoun then to Serapeum where he was transferred to the 46th Australian Infantry Battalion which was raised as part of the doubling of the AIF that took place after the evacuation of Gallipoli and prior to deployment to France. The 46th was the "pup" Battalion of the 14th Battalion, formed by transferring 50% of experienced officers, Non-commissioned officers and men and supplementing them with new reinforcements from Australia. Like its "parent" most of the men in the 46th Battalion were from Victoria although the reinforcements came from farther afield including New South Wales and Western Australia.Shortly after, Francis underwent another period of difficult training under the shadows of the pyramids then, a few months later, on June 2, 1916, he and his new unit marched to Alexandria where they joined the British Expeditionary Force and proceeded overseas to France on board "HMT Kinsfauns Castle".

The journey to France was very pleasant for each man on board and described as follows: "Voyage was made in perfect weather condition with no incident of any kind.Men were given a rest on board.The master of the Kinsfauns Castle expressed himself very greatly pleased with the conduct of the men on the voyage and at the way they kept the ship clean". On June 8, 1916, Francis and his comrades were disembarked in Marseilles then after a night's sleep, embarked by train to Bailleul where the battalion was reorganized and received new equipment including gas masks. On June 19, the battalion was inspected by General Sir Herbert Plummer then from the following day, a period of training followed including anti-gas exercises with lacrymotory shells, musketry exercises and bayonet fights.

On July 1, 1916 at 7:30 a.m. while the 46th Battalion was still at Bailleul, they heard the sinister roar of mine explosions which, miles away, marked the start of the Battle of the Somme, the deadliest day of the British army who, in a single day of appalling carnage, lost 57,470 men, 19,240 of whom were killed under machine gun fire. Soon, Francis and his comrades would also be thrown into this hell. On July 2, they left Bailleul and marched to Sailly-Sur-La-Lys, near Fleurbaix and entered for the first time into the trenches in an area called "nursery" which allowed the Australian troops to familiarize themselves with the conditions of trench warfare. They relieved the men of the 4th Australian Infantry Battalion and took up position behind the parapets. Despite the apparent calm of this sector of the front line, they had to face regular fire from German snipers and machine guns as well as duels between the Australian and enemy artillery and had to protect themselves not only from shells but also from shrapnel which, exploding in the air, projected steel balls killing or mutilating everything in a large perimeter then after this first period of fighting, the 46th Battalion was relieved by the 56th Australian Infantry Battalion on July 12 and marched into billets at Outtersteene, leaving three wounded men behind.

On July 14, 1916, Francis and the 46th Battalion left Outtersteene and embarked by train for the Somme, towards a life-crushing nightmare and arrived in the village of Doullens then from there, marched to Berteaucourt but, after kilometers traveled at a rapid pace , many men suffered from painful feet and the doctors had a lot of care to provide. Following this, Francis and his unit followed a period of training and rest and moved to Herissart on July 28, Vadencourt on July 30, " Brickfields" on August 3 then, the following day, under a deluge of shells and bullets, joined the trenches of the Pozieres battlefield which, for the 46th Battalion as well as for the entire Australian Imperial Force, was their largest and their deadliest engagement on the Somme front.
By late July 1916, the limited advances at the southern end of the British line risked a dangerous narrowing of the attack front. The Battle of Pozières Ridge represented an attempt to exert renewed pressure on the strategically important central uplands, notably around the vital positions of Thiepval and Pozières. The principal responsibility for securing Pozières (and German positions on the ridge above) was entrusted to the 1st Anzac Corps, part of General Gough's Reserve Army.

At 12.30am on 23 July infantry of the 1st Australian Division dashed towards the village, screened by an intense hurricane bombardment. Assisted by British 1st Division on the right and the 48th Division on the left, the Australians quickly secured their first objectives. Subsequent consolidation of the village encountered violent German counter-attacks and continuous enemy shellfire. The 1st Division held on amidst intense fighting until relieved by the 2nd Australian Division on 27 July. Repeated efforts were then made to move up the ridge beyond the village towards the 'windmill' and the German second line positions on the crest, which, after a series of costly local assaults, was in Australian hands by 5 August.
Possession of the crest enabled Gough to direct a series of bitterly contested attacks,often hastily improvised,in the direction of Mouquet Farm. These were countered by bombardments and violent German counter-attacks, resulting in brutal close fighting with bomb and bayonet. Mouquet Farm was occupied several times but not retained. Following the final Australian attacks on 4 September Canadian units replaced the Australian forces. Mouquet Farm did not fall until 26 September, following the seizure of Thiepval by the 18th Division. These fights, of exacerbated brutality, cost 23,000 casualties in the ranks of the Australian Imperial Force.

On August 5, 1916, in the fury and chaos, Francis and the men of the 46th Battalion were involved in the attack of the 2nd Australian Division for the capture of the Windmill which was an important German observation point which had an excellent view on the battlefield of Pozieres.Initially, the battalion provided carrying parties for supplies and ammunition during the attack then, defended the ground that had been captured.On August 14, exhausted and having suffered heavy losses, the 46th Battalion was relieved by the 45th Australian Infantry Battalion and moved back to "Brickfields", Albert, then marched to Warloy-Baillon on August 17 for a period of rest and reorganization. In the days that followed, they went from one rest camp to another and were able to enjoy relative calm.

On September 2, 1916, Francis and the 46th Battalion joined the front line, this time, opposite Mouquet Farm which the Australian troops desperately tried to capture then the next day, after a last attempt which was a disaster, the Australians withdrew leaving the way for the Canadian troops. The 46th Battalion was relieved by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Battalion and moved back to Warloy-Baillon then from September 5, marched through Rubempre, Beauval, and embarked by train at Doullens on September 8 for Reninghelst, near Poperinge, in the Ypres Salient where they arrived the following day. From there, they moved to Kenora Camp for training and reorganization. A little over a week later, on September 18, they headed for Dhippewa Camp then Chippewa Camp a day later.

On September 20, 1916, the men of the 46th Battalion relieved the 10th Canadian Brigade at Vieerstradt, to the right of the Ypres front, a relatively calm sector whose silence was sometimes broken by a few salvos of artillery and by machine gun fire then on September 26, were relieved by the 48th Australian Infantry Battalion and marched to Murrumbidgee Camp, at La Clytte where they remained until October 2.

On the evening of October 2, 1916, Francis and his unit moved back to the front line, in the positions previously occupied but on October 5, he fell ill and was admitted to the 12th Australian Field Ambulance suffering from an eye problem and had to follow a vision test. He was discharged to duty on October 8 and rejoined his unit the next day. On October 14, the men of the 46th moved into support line in the Ridgewood sector where they fought until October 21, were relieved the next day by the Royal Fusiliers and moved back to Kenora Camp, to Reninghelst for a few days' rest but on October 25, orders were received informing them that the battalion was to march again for the Somme and,determined, now aware of the hell that awaited them and where they lost so many of them previously, they embarked by train and arrived at Longpre, near Amiens on October 27 and moved into billets at L'Etoile where they stayed until November 1, date at which Francis was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal.

On November 2, 1916, Francis and his comrades left their billets and marched to Vignacourt then to Flesselles, reaching Dernancourt on November 7, Fricourt on November 11 then joined the front line at Flers but had to face the terrifying fire of German artillery particularly active in this sector. Unfortunately, it was in Flers, on September 16, 1916 at 9:00 p.m. that Francis met his fate and was killed in action in a support trench (Grease Trench) by a shell while he was sleeping in a dugout. He was 22 years old.

Today, Lance Corporal Francis Benjamin Hutton rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at the AIF Burial Ground, Flers, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription: "Eternal honor give to those who died. Our beloved Frank."
Francis, you who were in the prime of your life, walking on a path made of promises and hopes, it was with conviction and love of your country that you responded to the call of duty and proudly wore the uniform and the colors of the young Australian nation alongside your comrades who gathered as courageous guardians of values and who, with their hearts filled with determination, marched towards the battlefields of the great war, towards a dark future filled with uncertainties in the face of the horrors of war which, before the Somme, dragged so many young men to their death on the arid and burning hills of Gallipoli through which, in bravery and sacrifice, the ANZAC spirit was born but, courageously, pushed by the ardor of youth, despite the fear of never returning home, of never seeing their loved ones again, they headed towards the front line, towards the soil of northern France,a country they did not know but which they wanted to help.Together, watching over each other, they discovered, beyond the silent orchards, poppies, behind the sweetness of such peaceful landscapes, the darkness, the murderous madness of a war which ravaged so many ancient beauties and valleys which were once bathed in light and lulled by the songs of birds and which, under the unleashing of shells and artillery, became fields of death, execution grounds swept by rains of lead constantly spat out by overheated machine guns by the fire that they poured across these fields which had become gray, the air of which was vitiated by the poisonous gases and by the smell of death which, in its wake, attracted rats and infinite sadness.Here, in these muddy trenches, these young men did not find the great adventure that they heard so much about during their training in Australia and England but found only the despair, brutality and savagery of a war that crushed their innocence and tried to steal from them their humanity. So young, they were crushed in the face of the horrors they endured and saw helpless, their enemies being torn apart under the tracks of the first tanks, they saw their friends caught in the furnace of the first flame throwers, they saw them being pulverized by the shells and being mutilated by the shrapnel, they saw them who, wounded, unable to move, drowned face down in blood-red mud. A

few months earlier, so joyful in the schoolyards, in the villages of Australia, they heard the laughter, the soft voices of their friends which, in the Somme, became howls of pain, terror and suffering whose echoes haunted the survivors of this hell on earth. In this unspeakable apocalypse, the Australians held on and despite the fact that they had to live deep in the mud, in the blood and guts of their comrades, they remained strong and united in the most sacred bond of camaraderie which gave them the courage and the strength to hold their position and with ardor, with tenacity and bravery, they defended these sacred lands of the north of France where so many of them fell in the fields of Pozieres, of Flers then of Villers-bretonneux and Amiens and shoulder to shoulder, they showed all the determination of the great Australian nation whose sons and daughters served with loyalty and honor but at the cost of terrible sacrifices.

They were thrown into the deadliest battles of the great war but despite the death that rained all around them, they never retreated, they never gave up and paid for each meter forward with the blood that was shed on the poppies which, today, more than ever, reminds us of the courage and sacrifices made by the heroic Diggers who did and gave so much for my country and even today, thousands of them solemnly watch over these sacred grounds which are so many shrouds that carry within them, in the silence, the memory of the young Australian soldiers over whom I will always watch over with care, with love, gratitude and respect so that their stories and their names can live forever.

Thank you so much Francis, for everything you and all your comrades did for my country whose love and respect will forever be yours.At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember him,we will remember them.