Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout

Dvr Alfred Edward WILSON
 
More than a hundred years ago, on the soil of France, bravely fought a whole generation of men, young men who, in the mud, in the blood and the tears which they shed together, did their duty with a exceptional courage, together, they who thought they were ordinary men showed that they were exceptional men who today, in the silence and the peace for which they gave their youth and their lives, rest in peace, side by side,through the poppies that grow between the rows of their graves that stand up under the sun of the Somme which, day after day, brings the names and history of these men to life in the light to remind us who they were and what they did for us so that they will never be forgotten.

Today, it is the memory of one of these young men, one of my boys of the Somme that I would like to honor with gratitude,I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Gunner number 9639 Alfred Edward Wilson who fought in the 1st Division of the Medium and Heavy Trench Mortar Batteries of the Australian Field Artillery and who was accidentally killed in action 104 years ago, on April 12, 1917 at the age of 19 in Lagnicourt, Pas-De-Calais and who rests in peace with his brothers in arms in the Somme.
Alfred Edward Wilson was born on June 10, 1897 in Brisbane, Queensland, and was the son of Alexander Maurice and Jessie Elizabeth Wilson, of Queensland National Bank, Queen Street, Brisbane, Queensland.Before the outbreak of the war, Alfred worked as a farmer.

Enlisted on September 1, 1915 in Brisbane, Queensland, as Gunner in Field Artillery Brigade 3, Reinforcement 13, he embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A35 Berrima, on December 17, 1915 and sailed for Cairo, Egypt, where he arrived on January 24, 1916 and was taken on strength in the 1st Ammunition Column and posted to No 2 Section.Two months later, on March 19, 1916, at Zeitoun, Egypt, he was appointed Driver and a week later, on March 26, he embarked from Alexandria, Egypt, to join the BEF (British Expeditionary Force), and sailed for France where he was disembarked on April 2, 1916 in Marseilles.
A month later, on May 18, 1916, Alfred was transferred to No. 4 Section of the 1st Divisional Ammunition Column and three months later, on August 9, 1916, he was mustered as Gunner.A month later, on September 8, 1916, he was transferred to the Trench Mortar Brigade and on September 9, he was taken on strength in the 1st Division of the Trench Mortar Brigade and fought with great courage.
Unfortunately, it is very close to the Somme, that seven months later, Alfred met his fate. On April 12, 1917, while fighting with his unit at Lagnicourt, Pas-De-Calais,he was accidentally killed by the explosion of a shell while salvaging ammunition, he was 19 years old.

A few days later, after Alfred was buried in the Somme, a short of inquiry held on April 17, 1917 at bazentin, Somme, showed that the casualty occurred through the accidental explosion of a 4.7 shell, further that every possible care was taken in handling same and that no blame rests on anyone concerned.
After Alfred's death a letter was sent to his parents, written by Gunner J.L Richards:

"I am writing you concerning your late son Ted. He and I have been together since the first day he joined the trench mortars, and I therefore speak with a full knowledge of him. Through the sterling qualities and soldierly manner always shown by him he gained the admiration, confidence, and respect not only of the sub-section he was in, but the whole Trench Mortar Battery, and it was a great blow to us all that he should have been so unexpectedly killed. He has added one more to the long list of brave men who have given themselves to their country and for their country's honour, and you have every reason to be proud of a son who so nobly did his duty. He was killed instantly, but as soon as he was hit I held his hand, and knew that he suffered no pain."

The commanding officer of the battery has also written to Mr. Wilson as follows:
"I feel I must write and tell you how admired and loved your son was by the officers and men of my battery. He was white clean through, and as game as they make them under fire. Two of his mates and himself were killed".

Today, Alfred Edward Wilson rests in peace with his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at the Flatiron Copse Cemetery, Mametz, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription "Nobly done laddie, 1897-1917, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.".
Alfred, you who were so young, at the dawn of a life full of promise and hope, it is with your head held high and a brave heart that you answered without any hesitation to the call of duty and join your comrades who volunteered with determination under the Australian flag flying lightly in the rising sun and who, confident, proud and determined to do their duty, sailed through the oceans and walked through the poppy fields with conviction, side by side , they followed the men who were at their side and their officers who guided them to the trenches of northern France and the Somme in which fell before them so many of their brothers, in a red mud with blood, in the cold, under showers of shells and torrential bullets that hell poured down on them through machine-gun fire going mad, enraged, thirsty for blood, they mowed down a whole generation of men at an unrelenting rate.across no man's land, devastated lands, millions of men collapsed under fire, in the sharp steel of barbed wire, in courageous and murderous assaults that ended in blood and tears.In this hell on earth, these men showed extraordinary courage, exceptional bravery in each of their acts and stood admirably in this ocean of mud and blood that was the great war and that was the hell of the Somme. United, strong, convinced of the nobility and the justice of their fight, they held their position by paying, for each step, the price of blood in terrible losses.in the trenches, ultimate shelters, ultimate limit between life and death which separated them from no man's land a few meters from them, they served with determination, in the camaraderie which united them, in a bond of fraternity, gallantry, It is together that they shared every moment, moments of suffering and pain but also, in this darkness, moments of respite, of comfort and of joy and in the face of adversity and fears, they showed their smiles, the strength of their conviction, they fought with coolness mocking death,and at the whistles of their officers, fearlessly, they went over the top, resolved to do their duty and nothing stopped them, they charged with heroism and honor, with determined hearts under the whistling bullets above their heads, through the explosions of the shells, through the flames, the mud and the rain of blood, they saw their friends thrown in the air, they saw their brothers, their fathers who fell under the bites of fire and steel of the machine guns, motionless, lying forever in the poppy fields Braves among the bravest, despite these horrors, they continued to move forward, through the lightning of the gunshots, they went beyond their limits and their courage and in a final act of faith and bravery, stopped, they gave their lives and their today for the peace that all desired in the depths of their hearts and for which millions of these young men, of these heroes paid the supreme sacrifice and who today,in the peaceful and silent fields of the Somme, rest in peace, always standing proudly, courageous and smiling, casting their shadows on the red fields of poppies that remind us of what they did for us there over a hundred years ago and never, they will never be forgotten, I would always watch over each of them with the greatest respect, with gratitude,often with tears in my eyes when I walk in silence on the battlefields of the Somme and the countless ranks of their white tombs but also in my heart, an indescribable pride that I feel for them, for who they were, men above all, and for what they did and it is with these very strong feelings in my heart that I would always watch over them, telling and sharing their stories to bring them back to life so that they can live here forever, on these lands of remembrance but also so that they remain eternal in our thoughts and in our hearts, their memory will never fade just like the poppies which grow season after season, eternal symbol of their lives and their sacrifices.Thank you Alfred,for everything, with all my heart.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.

"Mr. A. M. Wilson, of the Queensland National Bank, Ltd., whose son, Gunner A.E. Wilson, V.I.A., of one of the heavy Trench Mortar Batteries, A.I.F., was killed in action in France on April 12, has received the following letter from Gunner J. L. Richards:—

"I am writing you concerning your late son Ted. He and I have been together since the first day he joined the trench mortars, and I therefore speak with a full knowledge of him. Through the sterling qualities and soldierly manner always shown by him he gained the admiration, confidence, and respect not only of the sub-section he was in, but the whole Trench Mortar Battery, and it was a great blow to us all that he should have been so unexpectedly killed. He has added one more to the long list of brave men who have given themselves to their country and for their country's honour, and you have every reason to be proud of a son who so nobly did his duty. He was killed instantly, but as soon as he was hit I held his hand, and knew that he suffered no pain."

The commanding officer of the battery has also written to Mr. Wilson as follows:—

"I feel I must write and tell you how admired and loved your son was by the officers and men of my battery. He was white clean through, and as game as they make them under fire. Two of his mates and himself were killed by a German shell. He was buried in Flat Iron Cemetery, Bazentin, France."

The late Gunner Wilson was 19½ years of age, and had been in France about 15 months." - from the Queenslander 30 Jun 1917 (nla.gov.au)