Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

François Berthout

Pte 5850 John Kilmartin

20th Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company, 5th Brigade, 2nd Australian Division
 
On the fields of northern France, under the poppies that grow on the old battlefields, rest in peace thousands of men, a whole generation of men who, with courage and determination, answered the call of duty and fought for their countries and for France, for freedom and peace and who, in the trenches, gave their youth, they gave their lives, their everything, from their today on the battlefields was born our tomorrow in peace and of my today, I would make every day count so that the memory, the history of these men live forever. Today as they were in life and on the front lines, they are still side by side and rest in peace under the shadows of their white graves, in peaceful cemeteries but many of these young men are still waiting to be found in the soils for which they paid the greatest sacrifice, they wait where they fell but they will never be forgotten and behind their names we remember these men, who they were, we remember their stories and their sacrifices, they will never be forgotten and just like their brothers in arms who rest in peace in the cemeteries of the Somme, we will never forget these young men who, in our hearts and our thoughts, are not unknown and will live forever.Gone but not forgotten, we will remember them.

Today, I would like, with the deepest gratitude in my heart, to honor the memory of one of these men who fought and fell alongside his comrades in the poppy fields of northern France. I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 5850 John Kilmartin who fought in the 20th Australian Infantry Battalion, B Company,5th Brigade,2nd Australian Division and who was killed in action 104 years ago, on May 2, 1917 at the age of 39.

John Kilmartin was born in 1878 in Macedon, Victoria, and was the son of Simon and Margaret Kilmartin and had a sister,Annie Allen.Before the outbreak of the war, he was single and lived in Macedon Upper, Victoria, where he worked as a miner.

John enlisted on April 25, 1916 at Cootamundra, New South Wales, in the 20th Australian Infantry Battalion, 16th Reinforcement.The 20th Battalion was raised at Liverpool in New South Wales in March 1915 as part of the 5th Brigade. A sprinkling of the 20th's original recruits had already served with the Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force in the operations to capture German New Guinea in 1914.On October 7, 1916, John embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A40 Ceramic and sailed for Plymouth, England, where he was disembarked on November 21, 1916 then was sent to Rollestone to receive his training with the 5th Training Battalion and three months later, on February 4, 1917, he embarked with his battalion from Folkestone,on board SS Arundel and proceeded overseas for France where he was disembarked the same day at Etaples and a few days later, on February 9, joined the front lines.
On April 15,1917,John and the 20th Australian Infantry Battalion was involved in the follow-up of German forces after their retreat to consolidtae their front on the Hindenburg Line.The four battalions of the 5th Brigade withstood and defeated a German counter-stroke force, more than a Division strong, at Lagnicourt.

Sadly, it was a little over two weeks later, on May 2, 1917, that John met his fate and was killed in action.
On May 2, 1917, on the eve of the second battle of Bullecourt, during an advance at Riencourt, to the right of Bullecourt, a comrade of John will testify that he was accidentally hit by a friendly machine gun and then blown to pieces by a german shell.Another witness claimed that John had a grave in a cemetery near Bapaume but after furious fighting it was never found, he was 39 years old.

Unfortunately, the body of John Kilmartin was never found and today his name is inscribed, remembered with respect and honored with gratitude at the Australian National Memorial in Villers-Bretonneux, Somme, alongside the names of 11,000 Australian soldiers who fought and fell in France and in the Somme and whose bodies were not found.
John, you who, with courage and without hesitation answered the call of duty and joined the ranks of your comrades, your brothers in arms and who, for Australia and France have served and fought with pride and bravery, I would like, with all my heart, to say thank you, to express my gratitude to you for all that you have done and accomplished for us, for France which will be forever grateful to you and for all of us who live in the peace for which you have fought and for which you and so many men like you fell on the poppy fields who saw the courage of a whole nation, of a whole generation of men who gave their youth and their courage in the trenches of the great war in which they united around common causes and for which they gave their all because together, side by side, they fought for their country, for freedom and peace, they fought to realize the hopes that were in their hearts, the hopes of a better world and better days that would see the generations who would live after them in a world at peace, and for us, for their loved ones, they paid the greatest of sacrifices.They were young, they were brave, all coming from distant horizons but all listened to their hearts and walked together towards the battlefields of the north of France, towards their destinies, they walked with determination so that, by their courage and their actions , this war puts an end to all wars. Heads up and smiles on their faces, they moved forward, united as a family, they followed their friends, their comrades through the fields and the hills, through the poppies on which they shed their blood.In the cold and the mud, under the weight of their weapons and their bags, they never ceased to move forward, they fought without fear and with conviction, they fought in the most beautiful spirit of camaraderie, mateship which defined them and who gave them the strength and courage to fight in all the battles of the north of France, in Bullecourt, in the Somme, in Pozieres, Amiens, Villers-Bretonneux, they never took a step back, never looked back , they looked straight ahead to achieve their goals, they fought like lions and made their country proud, they made us proud and were deeply admired and loved in France, wherever they were, wherever they went, they were admired for their courage and their valor, they helped France to recover and alongside their French brothers in arms, in the trenches, they forged sincere friendships and fought together for peace.Together they remained united and strong to overcome the worst times a man can live, they shared the weight of the war on their strong shoulders, they shared the sorrows and the sufferings, they shared the sadness of the loss of their comrades, they shared the joys and sorrows but they were never overwhelmed by fear, their bravery was never broken and with faith and confidence, all went over the top, under the artillery which rained down on them tons of steel and blood in a hell of flames in a thick and sticky mud, they moved forward under the fire of the machine guns which, in an infernal and endless rhythm, brought down so many of these heroes, mowed down a whole generation of men but despite these terrible losses they did not stop and held the line with exceptional courage, they went beyond courage, beyond their limits through barbed wire and shell holes, through fire,and it was together, after a last act of courage, after having done all they could, that they lay down together in the eternal shroud of poppies through which they still stand proudly today to remind us that over a hundred years ago they gave their lives for the peace we live in and I like to think that in each of these poppies that grow is engraved and lives each of these men, in these fields of poppies live forever the souls and the history of these young men who, for many of them, are still waiting to be found and who, even if they do not have known graves as many of their friends and brothers in arms, will never be forgotten and behind their names inscribed on the walls of the Australian memorial of Villers-Bretonneux, the memory and the stories of these men, gone but not forgotten, will live forever in our hearts and it is with the greatest respect that I will watch over them so that these heroes who are not unknown in my heart can be remembered for what they were, men before to be soldiers and for what they are for me in my heart, my heroes, each of them, my boys of the Somme.Thank you so much John,for everything.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.

I would also like to thank with all my heart, your great grandniece, Katherine Allen who allowed me, with infinite kindness, to write this tribute for you John and who feels for you the greatest pride and with her, in her heart, you are always alive and present, she never forgets you and I am proud to be her friend, proud to have her friendship and I join her, Australia and France, hand in hand, to honor your memory with the utmost respect.we will never forget you.