Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

17 March 2020

Speech transcript
Lieutenant William James Spencer, 15th Battalion, AIF
KIA 4 July 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lieutenant William James Spencer.

William Spencer was born William James Bottom in 1887 to William and Catherine Bottom of Cooma, New South Wales. He seems to have been the only one of his siblings to use his mother’s maiden name rather than the family name of Bottom. At some point Will moved on his own to Townsville in Queensland, and worked there for Cummins and Campbell Ltd. Newspapers later reported that “he was very popular among his comrades while in the north.”

Will Spencer enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in September 1915. He underwent a period of training in Australia before leaving for active service overseas in March 1916.

Private Spencer was first sent to Egypt, but was in hospital within a fortnight. He spent an extended period undergoing treatment, and during his convalescence wrote to his parents to say he thought “he had managed to contract ‘every known kind of disease’”, even to a return of dengue fever and mumps. He was not fit for active service until October 1916, when he finally joined his battalion on the Western Front.

Spencer proved an able soldier, and was quickly promoted to lance corporal. He spent the bitterly cold winter of 1916 and 1917 with his battalion as it rotated in and out of the front line. In early February a party of around 220 men from the 15th Battalion attacked a German position on the Somme. They entered the German line and took about 50 prisoners, but were eventually forced out by a strong counter-attack. At some point during this operation, Lance Corporal Spencer was wounded in the right thigh and had to be evacuated to England for treatment. It took six months before he was fit enough to return to his battalion.

After rejoining the 15th Battalion in France in August 1917, Spencer once again proved to be a valuable member of his unit, and by October had been commissioned second lieutenant. Early the following year he wrote to his parents to say, “The weather here can be described by no other word than ‘rotten’; snow one day, rain the next, and mud and cold winds galore, but I do not think we shall have to put up with such things much longer, as I have an idea that peace is close at hand.”

Shortly after he wrote that letter, the Germans launched their Spring Offensive. The 15th Battalion was part of the force rushed in to try to contain German forces near Hébuterne. By July the German operations had slowed so much that the commanding officer of the Australian Corps, Lieutenant General John Monash, could begin to think offensively.

On 4 July 1918, the 15th Battalion took part in an attack to capture the French village of Hamel. Noted for its success – and the fact that the infantry had captured all of their objectives in only three minutes longer than had been planned – Hamel was a brilliant example of a coordinated all-arms attack. For the 15th Battalion, however, the result was not as positive. Facing a German strongpoint known as Pear Trench, the men of the 15th encountered staunch resistance. Nearly 40 per cent of the battalion became casualties.

One of those killed was Lieutenant Will Spencer. Little is known of the manner of his death, but his body was later recovered from the battlefield. Today he is buried at Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery under the words “His the noble sacrifice – ours the sacred loss.” He was 30 years old.

Both of Will’s brothers also served in the war. Corporal Joe Bottom was killed in action a little over a month after his brother at the Battle of Amiens in August 1918. Sergeant Les Bottom returned to Australia in late 1918 on special Australia leave. He had been badly wounded earlier in the war, and a minor car accident in Sydney inflamed problems with his back. Within weeks it had deteriorated to the point he could no longer walk, and he died in 1921 after two years in hospital.

Lieutenant Will Spencer’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Lieutenant William James Spencer, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section

Speech transcript
1344 Corporal Joseph Charles Bottom, 14th Field Artillery Brigade
KIA 8 August 1918
Story delivered 8 August 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal Joseph Charles Bottom.

Joe Bottom was born in 1889 to William and Catherine Bottom of Cooma, New South Wales. His older brother, Will Spencer, used his mother’s maiden name, and moved to Townsville after finishing his education. Joe also moved away as a young man, taking up a position with E.K. Pepper and Company in Inverell. He was described as “a fine stamp of a young man” and was a keen sportsman. Also a member of the town band, Joe Bottom was “extremely popular amongst a large circle of acquaintances”.

Joe and both of his brothers, Will Spencer and Leslie Bottom, tried to enlist separately after the outbreak of war in 1914. While they were successful, Joe was turned down because his chest measurements did not meet the minimum enlistment requirements of the time. He was successful in August 1915 after the enlistment standards had been relaxed. None of the three brothers served together. Will and Les went into different infantry battalions, and Joe served with the 14th Field Artillery Brigade.

Joe Bottom underwent a period of training in Australia before sailing for Egypt. He continued training in the desert camp on the outskirts of Cairo for some months before leaving for France in June 1916 with the 25th Field Artillery Brigade. He served with this brigade for six months before being transferred to the 14th Field Artillery Brigade in early 1917.

In March, Bottom’s brigade was not far from Albert firing against German defensive positions. On 15 March, a shell burst near Bottom’s battery, severely wounded him in the face, neck, chest, and arm. He was evacuated to England, and took more than a year to recover.

In May 1918, Bottom was finally well enough to return to his field artillery brigade in France. Two weeks after leaving Southampton he rejoined his unit and was promoted to corporal. Six weeks later his brother, Lieutenant Will Spencer, was killed in action at the battle of Hamel while serving with the 15th Battalion.
Corporal Bottom’s field artillery brigade was involved in the next major battle fought by the Australian Corps – the Battle of Amiens on 8 August 1918. Amiens was a stunning success, with the Australian and Canadian infantry advancing miles across the old Somme battleground. The 14th Field Artillery Brigade “put down a barrage in support of operations and fired for several hours covering [the] advance of tanks and infantry”.

Bottom’s section of the 53rd battery of the 14th Field Artillery Brigade was ordered to move forward with the infantry after the final objective had been taken. They packed up and harnessed the guns to horses, but before the order to leave was given a German aircraft flew over, dropping three bombs in their midst. Four men, including Corporal Joe Bottom, were killed outright. At least six others were wounded, two of whom would later die of wounds, and around 16 horses were also killed.

Sergeant Les Bottom, now the only brother left, wrote to his parents to say:
No doubt long before this reaches you, you will have been notified of the deaths of both poor old Will and Joe: I knew that the news would be a shock to you both but being the parents of such noble men as they both were, how can you do anything else but bear up bravely under that shock, and ever in your sorrow be proud that your boys gave their lives fighting bravely and well for you and all else they hold dear.

Les was granted Australia leave in late 1918, and was on his way home when the war ended. Before he left France he made sure to visit his brothers’ graves. He had been seriously wounded on more than one occasion during the war, and while in Sydney during his 1914 leave, he was in a small car accident that exacerbated these old wounds. By March 1921 he had been permanently hospitalised for two years, and he died later that year at the age of 26. For years afterwards, William Bottom attended Anzac Day services in Cooma with his wife and daughters, leaving wreaths in loving remembrance of their three boys: Will, Joe, and Les.

Corporal Joseph Bottom’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Corporal Joseph Charles Bottom, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section



Video: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2610788

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