Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

 
# 7843  PINION Stanley                                  15th Battalion
 
Stan Pinion was born at Longsight, an inner-city suburb of Manchester in England on 21st December 1897 to William and Mary Pinion. Stan attended the Longsight Wesleyan School and upon leaving school gained a position with London North Western Railway as a Lad Porter. The LNWR mainline ran from Euston Station in London through Longsight to Manchester Central.
 
At the age of 16, Stan emigrated to Queensland. It is likely that he was part of a large emigration program run by various religious organisations to provide young men from inner cities such as Manchester the opportunity to go to Australia to work in the pastoral or agricultural industry. When Stan attended the Toowoomba Recruiting Depot on 20th September 1917, he stated he was working as a farm hand at Kilbirnie near Goombungee. It is possible his employer was Charles Sigston, a well-known business man of Toowoomba.
 
Stan told the recruiting officer he was 19 years old and that his parents lived in England. In spite of the fact that Stan was not 21 and could not provide his parents permission to join the AIF, he was accepted. This is perhaps an indicator that enlistments for the AIF were well below what was required to keep five divisions in the field and that the failure of the conscription plebiscite in 1916 meant that restrictions on enlistment were relaxed.
 
Stan was given a rail warrant to travel to Enoggera where he was taken on by the 28th reinforcements of the 15th Battalion. He was granted five days home leave on 16th October and upon returning to camp made out a will in which he bequeathed all of his estate to his widowed mother. The reinforcements travelled by train to Sydney in preparation for departure for overseas. Stan’s file contains a rather hastily written statutory declaration signed on 30th October in which he stated that he had been living in Australia for three years and that his parents lived in England. He also stated that his elder brother had “gone to the war” and that his parents were unlikely to object to his enlistment. This document would appear to be an attempt belatedly to justify sending a 19-year-old volunteer to active service. The day after the stat dec was signed, Stan and the rest of the 28th reinforcements boarded the “Euripides” and sailed for England. Stan had been in uniform for just over one month. The haste with which the recruits were sent overseas is indicative of the desperate need for reinforcements at the front.
 
The “Euripides” sailed via South Africa into the Atlantic, stopping at Sierra Leone and then continuing on to Devonport near Plymouth. Stan turned 20 six days before the reinforcements set foot on English soil on Boxing Day 1917. After disembarkation, the 28th reinforcements proceeded to the 12th Training Battalion at Codford or Salisbury Plain for further training. On 8th February, Stan was apprehended by Military Police at Bristol. He had been AWL for 6 hours and was probably attempting to get to Manchester to see his mother who he not seen in four years. Stan was returned to Codford and docked 4 day’s pay.
 
With the coming of spring in 1918, the German commander on the Western Front, Ludendorff, took the opportunity to exploit an advantage of a temporary numerical superiority of troops to launch a surprise offensive against the British on the Somme. So successful was this offensive that within a few days of the launch of Operation Michael on 21st March 1918, the Germans had retaken all of the ground they had surrendered earlier in the war during 1916 and 1917; and were even threatening the vital communication hub of Amiens. Units of four AIF divisions billeted in Belgium were raced to the defensive line in front of Amiens. The reinforcements in the camps in England were quickly mobilised. On 1st April, Stan landed at Calais on the French coast and two weeks later joined his battalion.
 
April was a critical month in the defence of Amiens and the 15th Battalion, as part of the 4th Brigade of the 4th Division was stationed in the Hebuterne / Allonville area. The battalion rotated in and out of the front line and support lines for most of the month. The German offensive continued to press hard against the Amiens defences and it was not until 25th April that two brigades of Australian infantry in a daring night action recaptured the vital village of Villers Bretonneux. This victory put an end to the enemy’s advance but the German forces were no beaten.
 
During May, the 15th Battalion was engaged in improving trenches and dugouts, and at the same time actively patrolled no man’s land at night. This activity, the so called “peaceful penetration”, was designed to keep the German occupiers guessing about real intentions while instilling a degree of uneasiness. Stray German soldiers were routinely captured during these forays which provided valuable intelligence.
 
On 1st June, Lieutenant General John Monash was appointed commander of the Australian Army Corps and he began to plan offensive operations on a larger scale. The 15th Battalion continued with a works program in the area near Villers Bretonneux before being withdrawn in late June to begin training for an offensive near the village of Hamel which Monash had been planning for several weeks.
 
The objective was a ridge of high ground overlooking Hamel, which the Germans named the Wolfsburg. Monash planned to use Australian troops exclusively but upon having a company of Americans from the Illinois National Guard attached to his command for training, he included them in the order of battle. Monash was also offered a number of the latest British tanks which he put to good use. To honour the American cooperation, the battle was planned for the 4th July 1918; American Independence Day. In the days leading up to the battle, the Australians were visited by the Australian Prime Minister, “Billy” Hughes.
 
By 3:00 am on the 4th July, all of the troops that would take part in the battle, including Stan Pinion, were lined up on the start line waiting for the artillery barrage that would provide cover as the troops moved across the open ground. Monash had planned for the battle to take 90 minutes; all objectives were taken in 93 minutes! Hamel was a resounding success.
 
The 15th Battalion alone captured 230 prisoners, 9 mortars and 55 machineguns. The battalion counted 155 enemy killed but suffered 35 of their own killed and nearly 200 wounded. One of those killed was Stan Pinion aged 20. As the new position was consolidated, burial parties began to collect the dead. Stan’s body was removed from the battlefield and buried in a temporary cemetery with all details recorded. His widowed mother received Stan’s War Gratuity and also in due course, his war medals.
 
At the end of the war, the small temporary gravesites were consolidated into larger permanent cemeteries, Stans remains were exhumed and he was reburied in the Crucifix Corner Cemetery just south of Villers Bretonneux. His mother chose the following inscription for his headstone: DEEP IN OUR HEARTS HIS MEMORY LIVES.

From Francois Somme

Private 7843 Stanley Pinion
15th Australian Infantry Battalion,
4th Brigade, 4th Division of the AIF
 
On this morning of a new summer day, a soft July sun rises and gently, above the horizon, spreads its golden rays which, slowly, spread across the fields of the Somme and, little by little, in undulating waves, awaken and stand millions of poppies which, perennial and soft, red as blood remind us of what horrors took place here more than a hundred years ago on these sacred grounds on which flowed the blood of thousands of men who came from the other side of the world. They were New Zealanders, they were Australians, they were men who, driven by the hope of a great adventure, united by camaraderie and loyalty, animated by a strong spirit of gallantry and patriotism, came here to help and liberate the French people from the darkness of war, from the torments of a conflict which destroyed our villages and families dressed in black along the roads who, heads bowed, mourned their sons killed at Verdun but also in the Somme, tomb of a whole generation of fathers and sons.

However, in this sadness, this despair, when the young Diggers arrived in France, in Amiens, in Pozieres and Villers-Bretonneux, a new hope was born in a better future and in our homes were welcomed, adopted and very deeply loved the young Australian soldiers who fought for us with the greatest bravery by writing the glorious legend of the ANZAC spirit in the trenches, last defenses against the Germans who threw all their forces to take Paris but after furious fighting, Sir John Monash and the Australian troops stopped Ludendorff and his army and saved France but here in the Somme, they paid the price of the peace of November 11 and, on their way back to Australia, they returned by the paths they trod alongside their comrades, their brothers who, for many of them, lay lifeless, did not have the chance to return to their loved ones and found the eternal silence of a white grave bearing their names but also their stories that I wish today to bring to life and transmit to make known who they were and what they did for us, what we owe them so that the memory of the Diggers lives forever. For me, doing this is more than a duty, it is a pride, a privilege and an honor that I am proud to accomplish alongside my little boy so that he understands why these heroes gave their lives for us and so that one day in turn, he too can bring their memory to life by carrying high and proud these words "Never forget Australia".

On this day, it is with all my heart, with the deepest feeling of gratitude as well as with the utmost respect that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young men, one of my boys of the Somme who, for Australia and France, for each of us and for our children, gave his life. I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 7843 Stanley Pinion who fought bravely in the 15th Australian Infantry Battalion, 4th Brigade, 4th Division of the Australian Imperial Force, and who was killed in action 107 years ago, on July 4, 1918 at the age of 20 on the Somme front.

Stanley Pinion was born at Longsight, an inner-city suburb of Manchester in England on 21st December 1897 to William and Mary Pinion. Stan attended the Longsight Wesleyan School and upon leaving school gained a position with London North Western Railway as a Lad Porter. The LNWR mainline ran from Euston Station in London through Longsight to Manchester Central.

At the age of 16, Stanley emigrated to Queensland. It is likely that he was part of a large emigration program run by various religious organisations to provide young men from inner cities such as Manchester the opportunity to go to Australia to work in the pastoral or agricultural industry. When he attended the Toowoomba Recruiting Depot on 20th September 1917, he stated he was working as a farm hand at Kilbirnie near Goombungee. It is possible his employer was Charles Sigston, a well-known business man of Toowoomba.

Stanley told the recruiting officer he was 19 years old and that his parents lived in England. In spite of the fact that he was not 21 and could not provide his parents permission to join the AIF, he was accepted. This is perhaps an indicator that enlistments for the AIF were well below what was required to keep five divisions in the field and that the failure of the conscription plebiscite in 1916 meant that restrictions on enlistment were relaxed.

Stanley was given a rail warrant to travel to Enoggera where he was taken on by the 28th reinforcements of the 15th Battalion. He was granted five days home leave on 16th October and upon returning to camp made out a will in which he bequeathed all of his estate to his widowed mother. The reinforcements travelled by train to Sydney in preparation for departure for overseas. Stan’s file contains a rather hastily written statutory declaration signed on 30th October in which he stated that he had been living in Australia for three years and that his parents lived in England. He also stated that his elder brother had "gone to the war" and that his parents were unlikely to object to his enlistment. This document would appear to be an attempt belatedly to justify sending a 19-year-old volunteer to active service. The day after the stat dec was signed, Stanley and the rest of the 28th reinforcements boarded the “Euripides” and sailed for England. He had been in uniform for just over one month. The haste with which the recruits were sent overseas is indicative of the desperate need for reinforcements at the front.

The "Euripides" sailed via South Africa into the Atlantic, stopping at Sierra Leone and then continuing on to Devonport near Plymouth. Stanley turned 20 six days before the reinforcements set foot on English soil on Boxing Day 1917. After disembarkation, the 28th reinforcements proceeded to the 12th Training Battalion at Codford or Salisbury Plain for further training. On 8th February, he was apprehended by Military Police at Bristol. He had been Absent Without Leave for 6 hours and was probably attempting to get to Manchester to see his mother who he not seen in four years. Stanley was returned to Codford and docked 4 day’s pay.

With the coming of spring in 1918, the German commander on the Western Front, Ludendorff, took the opportunity to exploit an advantage of a temporary numerical superiority of troops to launch a surprise offensive against the British on the Somme. So successful was this offensive that within a few days of the launch of Operation Michael on 21st March 1918, the Germans had retaken all of the ground they had surrendered earlier in the war during 1916 and 1917; and were even threatening the vital communication hub of Amiens. Units of four AIF divisions billeted in Belgium were raced to the defensive line in front of Amiens. The reinforcements in the camps in England were quickly mobilised. On 1st April, Stanley landed at Calais on the French coast and two weeks later joined his battalion.

April was a critical month in the defence of Amiens and the 15th Battalion, as part of the 4th Brigade of the 4th Division was stationed in the Hebuterne / Allonville area. The battalion rotated in and out of the front line and support lines for most of the month. The German offensive continued to press hard against the Amiens defences and it was not until 25th April that two brigades of Australian infantry in a daring night action recaptured the vital village of Villers Bretonneux. This victory put an end to the enemy’s advance but the German forces were not beaten.

During May, the 15th Battalion was engaged in improving trenches and dugouts, and at the same time actively patrolled no man’s land at night. This activity, the so called "peaceful penetration", was designed to keep the German occupiers guessing about real intentions while instilling a degree of uneasiness. Stray German soldiers were routinely captured during these forays which provided valuable intelligence.

On 1st June, Lieutenant General John Monash was appointed commander of the Australian Army Corps and he began to plan offensive operations on a larger scale. The 15th Battalion continued with a works program in the area near Villers Bretonneux before being withdrawn in late June to begin training for an offensive near the village of Le Hamel which Monash had been planning for several weeks.

The objective was a ridge of high ground overlooking Le Hamel, which the Germans named the Wolfsburg. Monash planned to use Australian troops exclusively but upon having a company of Americans from the Illinois National Guard attached to his command for training, he included them in the order of battle. Monash was also offered a number of the latest British tanks which he put to good use. To honour the American cooperation, the battle was planned for the 4th July 1918; American Independence Day. In the days leading up to the battle, the Australians were visited by the Australian Prime Minister, "Billy" Hughes.
By 3:00 am on the 4th July, all of the troops that would take part in the battle, including Stanley, were lined up on the start line waiting for the artillery barrage that would provide cover as the troops moved across the open ground. Monash had planned for the battle to take 90 minutes; all objectives were taken in 93 minutes! Le Hamel was a resounding success.
The 15th Battalion alone captured 230 prisoners, 9 mortars and 55 machineguns. The battalion counted 155 enemy killed but suffered 35 of their own killed and nearly 200 wounded. One of those killed was Stanley Pinion aged 20. As the new position was consolidated, burial parties began to collect the dead. Stan’s body was removed from the battlefield and buried in a temporary cemetery with all details recorded. His widowed mother received Stan’s War Gratuity and also in due course, his war medals.
Today, Stanley Pinion rests in peace alongside his comrades, friends and brothers in arms at Crucifix Corner Cemetery, Villers-Bretonneux, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription chosen by his mother: "Deep in our hearts his memory lives".

Stanley, on this day, it is with my little boy that we stand filled with respect in front of you to honor your memory, to remember the man you were, so young, but for us, for Australia and France, you fought like the bravest of men who with determination, did his duty with honor and conviction alongside his comrades who together, from the ends of the earth, did everything in their power and beyond to offer us the light of peace while for four years, so far from home, in the darkness of war, lived and crossed the horrors of the deadliest conflict of the 20th century which was the bloodiest in the history of humanity. In the prime of their lives, in a childlike innocence, they sailed carried by slow liners on blue waves, rocked by a fragrant foam without knowing towards which hell they were heading and without knowing that this journey, for many of them would be the last of their young lives but, proud to be there, to belong to this historic moment, to this moment marked by brotherhood, they let the wind carry them, they let their hearts and their hopes lead them towards what they chose together to fight for. Ready to do their duty, they were not there to kill, to take the lives of men like them who, on the other side of the trenches, thought they were fighting for what was right but these young soldiers, strong and proud of beautiful Australia, were there to make peace and freedom prevail, so that the smiles of children could once again be heard in the ruined villages of northern France, a country they did not know but for which they were ready to give everything, even their lives. Suddenly, the steam from the boats vanished, the pitching stopped, the propellers stood still and under a blue sky, the Australian soldiers discovered the beauty of our old country, marched in perfect rhythm behind the bugles beyond the flowering orchards, among fragrant apple trees, along roads bathed in sunlight, followed slow rivers whose calm eddies soothed the hearts of these young boys who, little by little, they saw, were getting closer to the front line and the battlefields of the Somme once so beautiful and peaceful but, when they arrived here, all was nothing but destruction, fields of ruins, quagmires of mud and entered the trenches, into a world of death. Heads bowed, they had as their only greeting, the brutal shots of the enemy artillery which, from the German trenches, sent out an apocalyptic fire which, in sprays of blood and mud, of blocks of clay and bodies, shattered the juvenile innocence of the brave Australians who, in a few days of apocalypse, were changed forever and became men and then veterans who lived every second close to death in fear that at any moment, a bullet or a shell would cut their lives short.

Hammered, attacked without respite, harmed by the cruelty, brutality and savagery of deadly battles, they held their positions with determination and fought like true lions who were always the first to go over the top and whose unfailing courage was always admired by their French brothers in arms who saw the Diggers as exceptional men and elite soldiers, a feeling that emerged just after the battle of Le Hamel on July 4, 1918 and expressed with heart in the following words by French President Georges Clemenceau: "I have come here just for the very purpose of seeing the Australians. I am going back to-morrow to see my countrymen and tell them: "When the Australians came to France, the French people expected a great deal of you.We knew that you would fight a real fight, but we did not know that from the very beginning you would astonish the whole continent.

I shall go back tomorrow and say to my countrymen, I have seen the Australians, I have looked in their faces, I know that these men will fight alongside of us again until the cause for which we are all fighting is safe for us and for our children."More than a hundred years have passed, but in our hearts, we still feel the same admiration, the same gratitude and an even greater respect for all the Australian soldiers who fought and fell here who, little by little, in turn since I have lived here, became my sons over whom I feel honored to watch, as one of the guardians of their memory that I try to transmit to my son, so that he too, when he understands the meaning of their sacrifices, can keep alive their heritage and the ANZAC spirit as well as the friendship that unites our two nations. Born French, through the stories of these young men, I fell in love with Australia, a country to which my heart and soul will forever belong. Here, through the poppies of the Somme, we will never forget.

Thank you so much Stanley, for everything you did and sacrificed alongside your comrades for whom I would always give my life so that theirs are never forgotten.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.

I would like to warmly and respectfully thank Virtual War Memorial Australia and Mr Ian Lang for their invaluable help without which I would not have been able to write this tribute.