Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From Francois Somme

Pte 2564/A Alfred Donald Blanch
9th Australian Infantry Battalion, A Company,
3rd Brigade, 1st Australian Division, 1st AIF
 
On the fields of the Somme, poppies grow whose red petals stand between the white graves of thousands of young men who ghostly and solemnly, in their khakhi uniforms watch silently and eternally over the sacred grounds of northern France among which they fought alongside their brothers in arms and on whom they fell alongside their friends who, together, in the most beautiful bond of brotherhood, gave their lives in the mud of the trenches. They were in the prime of their lives but took a step forward to defend peace, to preserve freedom and humanity and in the barbed wire of the battlefields, sacrificed their youth, their dreams and their hopes so that we could have a better tomorrow. They were Australians, true cobbers, mates who watched over each other like brothers and proudly, bravely, bayonets forward, like lions under their slouch hats, charged through hell so that from the ashes of war, could emerge like a phoenix the light of a world without war for future generations. They were Australians, proud and strong who together, wrote through their blood and their courage, through their sacrifice and their camaraderie, the legend of the ANZAC spirit. They were Australian , brothers and fathers, sons and husbands but above all they were men whose stories must be told so that their memory can be preserved so that the names of these heroes over whom I am proud to watch today, can live forever.

On this day, it is with the deepest gratitude in my heart and with the feeling of utmost respect that I would like to honor the memory of one of these young men, of one of my boys of the Somme who, for Australia and for France, for us and our children, gave his life. I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 2564/A Alfred Donald Blanch who fought in the 9th Australian Infantry Battalion, A Company, 3rd Brigade, 1st Australian Division of the Australian Imperial Force, and who died of his wounds 108 years ago, on July 21, 1916 at the age of 19 during the Battle of the Somme.

Alfred Donald Blanch was born in 1896 in Casino, New South Wales, Australia, and was the son of Stephen Blanch (1871-1949) and Grace Evelyn Blanch (née McLean, 1874-1954), of Glenmore, South Casino, New South Wales, and were married on September 6, 1893 in Rocky Mouth, New South Wales. He had two sisters, Jane Ruby Blanch (1894-1979), Eliza Victoria Maud Blanch (1899-1989) and a brother, Hilton Richmond Blanch (1903- 1951).He ​​was educated at the Casino Superior Public School then after graduation worked as a boatmaker until the outbreak of the war.
When Great Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914, the British Empire was drawn into the conflict as well. At the time, Australia was a dominion within the empire. The initial reaction of the Australian people after the declaration of war was one of excitement and anticipation. For the young men who rushed to enlist in the Australian armed forces, the war was seen as a chance to travel abroad and an opportunity for adventure. Moreover, the Australian people considered it the duty of loyal citizens to defend and serve their mother country, Britain.

Although Australia was still a young nation, its people were nonetheless united in what they considered a just cause,to defeat the enemy that was challenging Britain. With the majority of Australian citizens at the time being of English descent, it was to be expected that a sense of patriotism would prevail. In the days before the war began, Australian Prime Minister Joseph Cook expressed a view that reflected public opinion at the time: "Remember that when the Empire is at war, so is Australia at war. I want to make it quite clear that all our resources in Australia are in the Empire and for the Empire and for the preservation and security of the Empire." The early enthusiasm would begin to fade, however, as the reality of the war set in. As the war dragged on, the enlistment of Australian volunteers steadily declined.

Despite attempts to introduce conscription, the Australian army consisted only of volunteer soldiers during the war. At the start of the war, Australia established a new force, the Australian Imperial Force (AIF), to serve overseas. The AIF originally consisted of two divisions; eventually it was expanded to five. The Australian troops were combined with New Zealand forces to form the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or ANZAC. The ANZACs, in turn, were organized into two corps: the 1st ANZAC Corps and the 2nd ANZAC Corps.

The AIF also included several Light Horse cavalry brigades, which were key to operations in the Middle East. Three Australian Light Horse brigades were combined with a New Zealand mounted unit in 1916 to form the ANZAC Mounted Division.

For Alfred, it was out of the question to stay behind as his friends set off one after the other towards the battlefields of the great war and, pushed forward by a deep love of his country, he in turn responded to the call of duty and enlisted on July 24, 1915 as a Private in the 25th Australian Infantry Battalion, 6th Reinforcement then after a training period of just over two months at Enoggera during which he learned how to handle a Lee-Enfield rifle and the practice of bayonet combat, he embarked with his unit from Brisbane, Queensland, on board HMAT A48 Seang Bee on October 21, 1915 and sailed for Egypt arriving at Zeitoun on February 27, 1916 and was transferred the same day to the 9th Australian Infantry Battalion which, in Egypt, was involved in the defense of the Suez Canal then, after a new period of grueling training under the suffocating heat of the desert under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Harry Lee, (the officer who had raised the battalion), Alfred proceeded overseas for France with his new unit from Alexandria on board Caledonia on May 19, 1916.

On May 26, 1916, Alfred finally arrived in sight of the French coast and was disembarked in the port of Marseilles then marched to Etaples where he joined the 1st Australian Divisional Base Depot on May 29, marched out to unit on July 10 and was taken on strength on July 12 at Halloy-Les-Pernois, in the Somme and the same day, alongside the men of the 9th Battalion, marched to the village of Naours where they followed a short period of training including attack practices. Shortly after On July 16, they moved to Herissart, Forceville on July 18 then reached the front line at Contalmaison on July 20 where they relieved the South Staffordshire Regiment in a portion of the OG1 trench and stood ready to take part in the first major engagement of the battalion on the Western Front, for a hell on earth never seen before known today under a name which remains forever synonymous with the bravery and sacrifices of the Australian soldiers in the Somme, the terrible battle of Pozieres which began on July 23. However, Alfred did not go over the top and was seriously injured on July 21, probably by a German shell. He was immediately evacuated from the front line and admitted to the 2nd Australian Field Ambulance but despite treatment that he received, he died later the same day. He was only 19 years old, a child who did his duty like a man.
Today, Alfred Donald Blanch rests in peace alongside his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at Contalmaison Chateau Cemetery, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription: "Loved by all. His duty done."

Alfred, more than a hundred years ago today, you responded with courage and your head held high to the call of duty to do your part on the battlefields of the Somme alongside your Australian brothers who, on these grounds strewn with poppies, fought together around just causes and showed exceptional bravery through battles which were among the deadliest of the great war but also for the Australian nation which lost so many of its sons in the mud of the trenches which, under the shells, under the flames, became red with the blood of men who here gave their lives in the name of peace and freedom which they defended and which they preserved at the price of their lives which they sacrificed while they were so young and had so much to hope for in the future in the warmth and love of their homes that they left to help a country they knew so little but for which they gave so much with determination and courage which defined them and for which they were so admired by their French brothers in arms who, after the terrible battles of Pozieres, Villers-Bretonneux and Amiens, declared about the Diggers that they were the most courageous men that they knew and were proud to fight alongside them to liberate our country from the madness and darkness of war which ravaged so many landscapes and villages into putrid quagmires, in piles of smoking ruins which were pulverized by tons of shells. They were young, still children who in their hearts had joy and innocence, who, shortly before the war, only knew the happiness of playgrounds, the happiness of love that they experienced for the very first time and quickly hoped to return home to see again the young girls with whom they had fallen in love, to rejoin the tenderness of the loving arms of their mothers, the sweetness of a life under the sun of the beautiful Australian nation which saw them born and grow up and in the Somme, under the hoarse roar of the artillery, found only brutality, the reality of war, death and despair, the howls and the funereal symphony of explosions which, in long sheaves of fire, reduced to pieces who were men whose innocence was crushed, whose lives were made of horrors during four long years of an incensed war and day after day, counting the hours to zero, waiting at every moment to be struck by a bullet, being mutilated by shrapnel endured what they could never have imagined. Of life, they only knew death which they saw up close, their bodies paralyzed and trembling in the face of nightmarish visions and were helpless witnesses to the death of their best mates, of their friends who, lying in the mud , in pools of blood, clutching their guts, riddled with bullets, waited for their last breath in tears which they addressed to their loving mothers whom they never saw again and died with the hope that they had done their best for their country.These horrors, sometimes difficult to imagine, were their daily lives but beyond these torments, these unspeakable sufferings,was seen the camaraderie, fraternity, solidarity, perseverance, endurance and exceptional courage of all the Australian soldiers who together wrote the history of their nation as well as the legend of the ANZAC spirit which is still powerfully felt through the poppies which cover the old battlefields where so much blood was shed by a whole generation of exceptional men who in 1916, here, became heroes in the eyes of the French people. They thought they were ordinary men who were just doing their duty but for us, they will always be our sons, our adopted Diggers, my boys from the Somme over whom I will always solemnly watch over to perpetuate their memory in order to bring them back to life in our thoughts and in our hearts so that they are never forgotten. In the Somme, with us, they will live forever. Thank you so much Alfred, for everything you did and gave for my country which will never forget the Australians to whom our love and gratitude will belong to them forever.At the gong down of the sunand in the Morning,we will remember him, we will remember them.