Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout, Australia and New Zealand in WWI

Today, it is with great gratitude and deep respect that I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 311 Joseph Owen Evans who fought in the 26th Australian Infantry Battalion and who was killed in action 104 years ago,on August 3, 1916 at the age of 27 on the battlefields of the Somme.

Joseph Owen Evans was born on October 31, 1888 in Charters Towers, Queensland and was the son of Joseph Evans of 18, Bartley Street, Brisbane,Queensland. Before the war,Joseph was single, worked as a labourer and lived in Logan Road, Dunellan , Brisbane, Queensland.

Enlisted on March 13, 1915 at Murwillumbah, New South Wales, in the 26th Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company, he embarked with his unit from Brisbane, Queensland, on board HMAT A11 Ascanius on May 24, 1915 for the Gallipoli peninsula where he served and suffered from jaundice and was evacuated to the military hospital in Heliopolis, Egypt. Joseph then embarked from Alexandria, Egypt on March 15, 1916 for France where he was disembarked in Marseilles on March 21, 1916 and joined his unit on Somme front.
Unfortunately, four months later, on August 3, 1916, while he was part of a working party in Pozieres with twelve of his comrades to build a sap under the command of Sergeant John McGuiness, the Germans opened fire with their artillery who wounded seven of the twelve men and killed Joseph who received near him a very large explosive shell.

Today, Joseph Owen Evans rests in peace in Pozieres British Cemetery with his comrades and brothers in arms.
Joseph had a sister who wrote these few words for him which were published in the Brisbane Telegraph on November 1, 1916:
"Though far from home and kindred,
And friends who wished him well,
His memory is with us, And will for ever dwell.
And whilst the sad years vanish, His name we'll oft recall;
And proudly we will cherish His photo on the wall."

As the years pass, Joseph, your memory, never fades, with respect in our hearts and in our thoughts, you will always be honored, under the sun that lights your name on your white grave, your name and your memory will live forever, in silence, in Remembrance.Of those battlefields in which you fought, today only the scars reminding us every day of your sufferings, your courage and your sacrifice, today, the poppies bloom on the old trenches, on the shell holes, in these fields in which silence reigns, the whistling of bullets and the infernal noise of shells has disappeared but your memory and the memory of your comrades, of all your brothers in arms will never fade.Today I walk in your footsteps, I walk through the ranks of your graves as one of the keepers of your memory to understand, to know who you were and what you have done for us and to transmit the story of each of you who rest in peace here, in the fields and the peaceful and flowery cemeteries of the Somme which will never forget, you who were young and whom the war has broken, your memory will be cherished with the utmost respect to make you live again, through us, all united to protect the peace that you have paid with your life. We will always be grateful to you. Thank you for what you have done for us Joseph, you will never be forgotten.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.🌺

"EVANS.— Killed in action, in France, 3rd August, 1916, Private J. O. Evans, aged 27 years 10 months.

Though far from home and kindred, And friends who wished him well,

His memory is with us, And will for ever dwell. 

And whilst the sad years vanish, His name we'll oft recall;

And proudly we will cherish His photo on the wall. Inserted by his loving sisters, J. Hosmer and D. Evans." - from the Brisbane Telegraph 01 Nov 1916 (nla.gov.au)

Joe Evans was the first of three brothers to enlist in 1915. The family seems to have been somewhat disjointed with numerous changes of address for next of kin. To further the confusion regarding the family situation, Joe stated on his enlistment papers that his next of kin was his stepmother: Mrs Elizabeth Harris of Mt Gravatt. By the time of embarkation, Joe had named his father; Thomas Evans of Bartley Street, Brisbane, as his next of kin with Joe’s address as C/- J.C.Hosmer, Logan Rd, Dunellan (Dunellan was later renamed Greenslopes).

Joe Evans was 26 years old, a single labourer, when he presented himself for enlistment at Murwillumbah on 15th March 1915. He stated he had been born in Charter’s Towers. He travelled to Enoggera and was drafted into the 26th Battalion on 19th April 1915. Just over one month later, the battalion embarked on the “Ascanius” at Pinkenba Wharf and proceeded to Egypt.

The 26th Battalion was part of the 2nd Division which had been raised in early 1915. The 26th was comprised of recruits from Queensland and Tasmania. By the time the division arrived in Egypt, Gallipoli had turned into a stalemate. The 7th brigade was landed at night on the peninsula on September 11th 1915. Activity was restricted to fatigue work and relief in the front line at Steele’s and Courtney’s Posts. On 14th November, just before the winter gales would bring snow to Gallipoli, Joe transferred to a stretcher bearer party.

The 26th was evacuated from Gallipoli on 12th December but Joe was transferred to the Hospital Ship “Oxfordshire” suffering from jaundice. He was transferred to #3 Australian General Hospital at Heliopolis in Egypt to recover.

Joe rejoined his unit at Moascar on 5th March 1916. Two weeks later the brigade shipped across the Mediterranean to Marseilles; and then to the Western Front in the Armentieres sector to become accustomed to trench warfare, Western Front style.

On 1st July 1916, Haig (Supreme Commander of the British Expeditionary Force) launched the Battle of the Somme. Casualties were high (60,000 on the first day) and material gains negligible. To continue the offensive, three of the four Australian Divisions in France were deployed to the front on the Albert / Bapaume Road at the village of Pozieres. The 1st Division captured the village but strong defences remained on the ridge above Pozieres dominated by a blockhouse on the site of a ruined windmill.

On 29th July, the 2nd Division was brought in to the line to take the windmill. Enemy artillery bombardments harassed the troops moving up to the start lines and casualties were severe. On 2nd August, a party of twelve men from the 26th Battalion were repairing a sap when an artillery shell exploded amongst them. Seven of the twelve were wounded and one; Joe Evans, was killed.

Joe’s father was duly informed of his son’s death but his personal effects were not forthcoming, prompting him to write to base records. Eventually in late 1917 some personal items belonging to Joe were returned. By this time Joe’s father gave his address as C/- Cashier, Baynes Brothers, Stanley Street, South Brisbane. Joe’s medals; 14/15 Star, Empire and Victory Medals as well as a memorial plaque and commemorative scroll were sent to his father.

Pozieres produced a huge number of fatalities for which no remains were ever recovered. These men who have no known grave are commemorated on the National Memorial at Villers Bretonneux. Remarkably Joe’s remains were buried in a military cemetery at Pozieres and remained undisturbed during a further two years of fighting over that ground. Photographs of his grave were sent to his father.

Today on the site of the ruined windmill which had comprised the major defensive position above the village of Pozieres there is a commemorative stone which reads:

“The ruin of the Pozieres windmill which lies here was the centre of the struggle on this part of the Somme Battlefield in July and August 1916. It was captured by Australian troops who fell more thickly on this ridge than on any other battlefields of the war.”

The final entry in Joe’s military file is a letter from his father advising that his address was now C/- Mrs Hosmer of Hill Street, Dunellan. There is no further mention of the step mother, Mrs Harris.

Joe was the only member of the family to name his father as next of kin. The files of his two brothers, Robert and Charles (below) have no reference to Thomas Evans, but as Robert’s story reveals, both Robert and Charles considered William Harris as their step father.