Battle of the Somme centenary - Arthur Munro Emmett

Centenary of the Battle of the Somme

In July 2016, commemoration ceremonies for two major battles: Fromelles and Pozieres will be held.  This provides the opportunity for me to commemorate the centenary of the death of my great grandfather, Arthur Munro Emmett.

My great grandfather Arthur Munro (Art) Emmett and his brother Alfred Roy (Alf) Emmett were killed on the Western Front. Art was killed during the Battle of Pozieres in 1916, while Alf was killed in April 1917. Over the years, few family members have had the opportunity to visit the Somme. In 2008, I was fortunate to walk in the footsteps of Art and Alf on the Western Front. The centenary of the Battle of the Somme will allow me to pay my respects to both in person in July.

My Emmett ancestors arrived in Hobart as free settlers in November 1819. Henry James Emmett and Elizabeth Mary Thompson Townsend arrived on the Regalia with six sons under the age of 11. Another three children would be born in Tasmania. By the outbreak of WW1 in 1914, the Emmett family had spread to other states including Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, and Victoria. During WW1 and a number of the great grandsons of this couple including Art and Alf would enlist in the AIF for overseas service.

Art Emmett was born on 9 September 1882 at Hamilton Victoria, the son of Frank De La Warr Emmett and Kate Philomena Cannan. In 1900, Arthur Munro and his brothers discovered gold at Mount William, near Mafeking Victoria, the site of the last gold rush in Victoria. Art along with brothers, Philip, Frank, and Robert formed the Mafeking Gold Mining Company. In 1909 the electoral rolls record Art living in Areegra, near Warracknabeal working as a labourer. Art married Evangeline Fanny Franklin on 6 December 1905 at Wickliffe Victoria. There were six issue from this marriage: May Philomena (my grandmother), Clement William, Geoffrey Raymond, Iris Constance and twins Arthur John Franklin and Violet Dardenelles. The twins never met their father as they were born after he had left for the war.

Before the war, Art had been licensee of the Bangerang Hotel in the Warracknabeal district. He took over the license of the Standard Hotel at Campbell’s Creek in December 1914. When Art enlisted on 7 July 1915, he was the licensee of the Standard Hotel at Campbell’s Creek near Castlemaine Victoria. He completed his training at 1 Depot Battalion Seymour Victoria and was allocated to the 7^th reinforcements, 24 Battalion. Art left Melbourne aboard the A73 HMAT Commonwealth on 25 November 1915. On arrival in Egypt, as part of the AIF restructure after the Gallipoli evacuation, on 24 February 1916, Art was allotted to the 8^th Battalion. On 26 March 1916, Emmett boarded the HMT Megantic for the journey to Marseilles and then travelled overland to the Somme. The First Division AIF, which included the 8^th Battalion, travelled overland by train disembarking near Hazebrouck, in French Flanders. In April 1916, the First Division moved to a quiet section of the Allied front line ("the nursery”) near Fromelles to acclimatise to the trench conditions.

During the time that the Australians served on this “quiet” section of the Western Front, a number of soldiers were killed or wounded by the Germans. Art, writing to his younger sister Mabel Irene (Rene) on 17 July 1916, described his success in having dodged bullets but was not so lucky in dodging shrapnel. On 12 May 1916, Art received a shrapnel wound to a toe and was treated by the 2^nd Field Ambulance before being transferred to a Division Rest Station (DRS) at the 3^rd Field Ambulance. He rejoined his battalion on 26 May 1916. Another letter to Rene dated 14 June 1916, revealed Art complaining about the beastly weather for the middle of summer and his concern about how he would survive the winter. Art would never experience winter conditions as he was killed in action six weeks later.

The Battle of the Somme commenced on 1 July 1916. It was apparent very early in the battle that things were not going to plan for the Allied Forces. In early July 1916, the First Division moved south via St Omer, Doullens and Amiens to the Somme region in Picardy. By 14 July 1916, the division was located at Contalmaison, near the heavily defended town of Pozieres. It was imperative that the Allies captured Pozieres, considered critical to German defences, as part of Somme offensive. The Battle of Pozieres involved British and Australian troops. On 23 July 1916, the First and Third Divisions of the AIF moved along Sausage Valley and attacked Pozieres from the south. The 8^th Battalion, which had been held in reserve, moved up during the night of the 23 July and secured the village. Over the next three days, the fight for Pozieres was intense and by 26 July 1916, 5,285 Australian soldiers had been killed including Art Emmett. Art’s body was not recovered after the Battle of Pozieres. A Court of Inquiry ruled that he had been killed on 26 July 1916. Art is commemorated on the Villers- Bretonneux Memorial.

    

(8th Battalion, Villers Bretonneux)

 

(Windmill site Pozieres)

 Alfred Roy (Alf) Emmett, a younger brother of Art, was born on 12 Aug 1891 at Hamilton Victoria. At the time of his enlistment, Alfred Emmett was living at Boinka in the Mallee with his parents. He enlisted at Ouyen on March 1915 but was found medically unfit on June 1915 and discharged. His older brother Arthur enlisted in July 1915 and left Australia in November. Alfred tried to enlist again on 7 April 1916 at Ballarat and was successful. He left Australia on 27 May 1916 with the 6th Reinforcements 39th Battalion C Company aboard the A11 HMAT Ascanius.

On 17 June, the Ascanius arrived at Cape Town, South Africa. Alf recounted their disembarkation. They marched through the streets and on the morning of the 19 June, they visited Prime Minister Louis Botha’s country residence. At the residence, Alf saw a lioness, tiger, ostriches, buffalo, and deer. Alf arrived at Devonport, England on 18 July 1916. During his training at Larkhill on the Salisbury Plain, Alf was hospitalised for rheumatism. On 23 November 1916, the 39^th Battalion crossed the English Channel to serve on the Western Front near Houplines near Armentieres, France. The soldiers experienced one of the coldest and wettest winters during their time in the trenches. Illness was rife among the soldiers. Alf was hospitalised on 14 December 1916 with mumps and rheumatic fever and rejoined his unit on 14 January 1917. Alf was appointed Acting Corporal on 31 January 1917

 The 39^th Battalion had taken over the front line from the 43rd Battalion on 28 April 1917 in the St Ives sector. St Ives was the main communication trench. During the 28 April, the unit diary recorded the enemy artillery as fairly active in the St Ives sector but there were no casualties. In reply, gas was sent over. On 29 April, the diary recorded that enemy artillery was active in the centre sector during the morning. Two were killed including Alf and four wounded. Alf buried just north of Ploegsteert, Belgium 1 ¾ miles south southwest of Messines (Mesen) at the Strand Military Cemetery (Grave Reference I B 3).