Noake, Herbert Cecil

No.869 – Gunner Herbert Noake – 36^th Heavy Artillery Group

Herbert Cecil Noake was born in Fremantle WA in 1896 to William and Mary Noake. The family lived at Walker Street South Fremantle and Herbert was educated at Beaconsfield State School. After leaving school he took up work as a shop assistant with J & W Bateman but also soon found work as an Ironmonger. Bert had also spent several years as a member of the 11^th Australian Garrison Artillery based at the Fremantle Barracks. The members of the 11^th AGA had been permanent artilleryman of the Australian forces and enlisted en masse in June 1915 and they went on to form the 36^th Heavy Artillery Group.

Early in the war there had not been much call for reinforcements for the Heavy Artillery, but on the 18^th October 1916 Herbert was among a group of Gunners that enlisted at Fremantle Barracks. He was medically tested and passed as fit for service with the examiner finding Herbert to be 5 feet 10 & ½ inches tall; weight of 11 stone; chest measurement of 36 inches, fair complexion, blue eyes and fair hair. His religious denomination was Church of England.

Instead of training in WA Herbert and the other Gunners that enlisted in Fremantle were sent to NSW where they trained at South Head fort in Sydney. Bert trained here for the next few months while they waited for their departure orders to arrive. These finally came through and on the 10^th February 1917 Bert boarded the RMS Osterley in Sydney Harbour and set sail for England, where after a long sea voyage they reached Plymouth on the 11^th April 1917. After being disembarked Bert was initially sent to No.3 Camp at Parkhouse Camp but was then sent to Stowlangtoft. 

While in England he wrote to his parents;

27/04/1917: Well Mum we have shifted camp again since I last wrote, we are now at Suffolk about 90 miles from London and 8 miles from the nearest town. About our trip from Salisbury Plains to here well I can tell you that we had a very good one. Left camp at 9 o’clock Monday morning 23^rd, left Tidworth Station at 20 to 10 changed at Andover Junction, met one of the Gunners from Fort Forrest, E Loney back from the front for a spell he was going to the same camp as us so we had a good old chat on our way. Arrived at Waterloo about midday then we had to find our way to the underground railway up and down the lifts up stairs till at last we struck the underground train which took us to Liverpool St Station. Arrived about 12.30 as our train didn’t go till 5 to 3 we had a look around London.

Left Liverpool well on time and arrived at Thurston about 6.30 then we had 5 miles to march to our camp we didn’t mind it in the least as we had wagons to carry all our kits, arrived at camp at 8 met two more fellows there from Fort Forrest, A Loney, the other Loney’s brother and Len Keenan, the three of them are on the photo we had taken at the Forts.

This is the place for Artillery, all the heavy artillery, British, Canadian, Sth African and good old Australian, about 2000 troops altogether, so there is enough of us there to make a row. A couple of weeks ago we went to the Kings Review at Bulford, about 35,000 troops on parade, it was some sight, the King had a bit of a look at us then we had to march past, they took moving pictures of the parade we were well in it. You might see us at the Princess soon. I met Les Allen there, he’s in the 28^th Battalion, and Wally Cook from Batemans, and he’s also in the 28^th.

You was asking if Toop & Downing had gone to the front, yes they have gone, and so has Guthrie & Rossell with the 9^th Reinforcements, and dear Mum don’t get down hearted when I tell you that I will also be in France in two weeks time, so our stay in England will be short & sweet, but we may as well go now as soon as we get there the sooner we will get home again, so cheer up Mum and don’t let this news get the best of you. At present we are on our 4 days leave and are having a good look around London. We have been all over St Paul’s, Westminster Abbey, a lot of other places seen are the Kings buildings including Buckingham Palace. So you can see we have seen a few sights and have something to tell you when we get home again. The weather is simply bonzer here now, just like Sunny Australia but it gets a bit cold at night, otherwise it’s good and will always do us.

On the 5^th May 1917 Herbert was put in a draft of men that was sent to Folkestone Harbour where they boarded a troopship and proceeded across the Channel to France. On arrival he was sent to the Royal Garrison Artillery Base Depot at Le Havre. On the 15^th June 1917 Bert was transferred to the Artillery General Base Depot at Rouelles and remained here for the next few months. It wasn’t until the 21^st September 1917 that he was taken on strength of the 55^th Battery of the 36^th Heavy Artillery Group who were then located near Ypres.

Herbert’s unit was providing crucial artillery support during the Third Battle of Ypres and helped support the Australian advances along the Menin Road, through Polygon Wood and Broodseinde Ridge towards Passchendaele. However with their battery positions near Ypres being visible to the Germans on higher ground, the 36^th HAG’s Battery positions were often shelled and on October 4^th 1917 a salvo landed on the 55^th Battery guns, killing around 17 of the 55^th Battery, including Bert. Those killed were taken back and buried in what was then called the Ypres Prison Cemetery but later became Ypres Reservoir Cemetery. The men of the Battery fashioned the wooden crosses from the wood of the Ypres Cathedral. Gunner Herbert Cecil Noake lies in plot I.F.73.

His mother Mary would subsequently receive a pension of 40/- per fortnight after his death. He was deeply mourned by his parents and his siblings, Laura, Isabella and Henry.

They received many condolences including from the Bateman’s for who Herbert had worked. Charles Bateman, who lost two elder brothers in the war, wrote;

“Dear Mrs. Noake, It is with very much regret that I have to write you this note to express my sincere sympathy for the recent sad loss of your son Bert. I may say that he and I were constantly together in our camps at Fort Forrest prior to his enlistment with the Siege Brigade, and in our civil life at the warehouse. The news of his death came as a great shock to me as he was so very cheerful in his letters, and I had always thought we would have him back. Once again expressing my heartfelt sympathy towards you in your great loss.”

A returned Fremantle soldier of the 28^th Battalion, Stephen Mais wrote to authorities on behalf of the Noake family for more information about Herbert’s death but not much more news was forthcoming.

His younger brother Henry Noake served in the Royal Australian Air Force in World War Two and survived the war. Descendents of the Noake family still reside at the family home in Walker Street South Fremantle.