Watson, Herbert & WIlliam

Lieutenant Herbert Watson & Lieutenant William Watson MC - 48th Battalion AIF

The Watson’s were a well known Fremantle merchant family. William Watson Snr had a large influence in Western Australia and did a lot of good work for returned soldiers. He was born in Bendigo Victoria in 1864. From his early teens he learnt a variety of trades including that of miner, bricklayer, and dairyman. He became involved in a local general store in Victoria where he also learnt the basics of the pork industry. In 1888 at Castlemaine he married Eliza Showell and soon after moved to Melbourne where he opened a General Store. William operated this store for 6 years, during which time his first four children were born, William & Herbert being the eldest. As many in Victoria did in the 1890’s, in 1895 William decided to pack up his store and move the family across to Western Australia, which was flourishing thanks to a gold rush. According to the West Australian newspaper, Watson landed;

“At Fremantle with 375 pounds, a horse and a cart, a wife and four children, and very little commercial experience. One of his first acts was to go to the top of Monument Hill, from where he could obtain a birds eye view of the settlement, to try to decide whether it was big enough to warrant the opening of a cash business. He decided that it was. At that time there was little difference in importance between Perth & Fremantle, and almost simultaneously with the opening of the first store in Fremantle, another was opened in Perth. Within 12 months he commenced curing bacon.[i]

The Watson’s store was in High Street Fremantle and later he established an abattoir in Hamilton Hill. These were the first of the stores that was later to become well known in Western Australia as Watsonia.

From an early age both his eldest sons William & Herbert worked in the High Street Store, firstly part time and then after they had finished school the work commenced full time. They seemed destined to play a large role in their father’s stores however fate intervened when war was declared in Europe in August 1914.

Initially both William (pictured right) & Herbert worked in the store for another 10 months but after seeing many of their friends depart on service overseas, the lure proved too strong and Herbert enlisted in June 1915 & William a month later in July. Despite enlisting a month apart, they both managed to get into the same training depot at Blackboy Hill Camp.[i] They survived their training unscathed and were both assigned to the 8^th Reinforcements to the 16^th Battalion AIF and they arrived in Alexandria Egypt in October 1915.

The brothers were separated soon after arrival as William was sent on to Gallipoli and Herbert was diagnosed with diphtheria and was therefore sent to Hospital. William spent seven weeks at Anzac until he was evacuated sick with Jaundice on the 15^th of December 1915. He was sent to hospital at Lemnos where he was joined 5 days later on the island by the rest of the 16^th Battalion when the Anzac sector had been evacuated.

Just after Christmas 1915 the battalion boarded their transport ships and headed back to Egypt. On the 2^nd January 1916 they landed in Alexandria and the battalion made their way to their camp in Egypt. William was able to meet up again with Herbert, who after recovering from diphtheria, had spent a month in the Base Camp details.

The 16^th Battalion took on new reinforcements to replace those men who had been killed or wounded at Gallipoli and further training commenced. They also took their turns to garrison the trenches near the Ferry Post position on the Suez Canal as a Turkish assault was expected.

Over the last few months in Egypt a large amount of Australian reinforcements had arrived and it was decided to increase the size of the Australian Imperial Force from the current two and a half divisions to five. The 3^rd Division would form in Australia, with the 4^th & 5^th Division being formed in Egypt. To give these new units some experience it was decided to split the original sixteen battalions in half. One half would stay and the other half would help form a new Battalion. So it was for the 16^th Battalion as described in the 48^th Battalion history by W Devine.

A party of Officers and men of the 16^th Battalion stood lined up on the parade ground in the large Australian camp at Tel-el-Kebir. Altogether they numbered but 4 officers and three hundred and fifty other ranks. The colonel of the 16^th was addressing the assembled men. With blunt but sympathetic directness he was telling them that they were leaving the 16^th Battalion, they were going on strength of a new formation to be known as the 48^th Battalion, they were all right good fellows whom he was very sorry to lose, but that the exigencies of the service demanded it, and he was quite certain that they would give a good account of themselves in their new unit and prove worthy of their old Battalion. The brief speech apparently so conventional was full of unwelcome significance to those present; to the intently listening soldiers it had the pathos of a farewell.[ii]

Both William & Herbert (pictured left) were assigned to the new 48^th Battalion on the 2^nd March 1916. The 48^th Battalion was commanded by Lt-Colonel Leane who had served with the 11^th Battalion at Gallipoli (Leane’s Trench being named after him) and was a very well respected officer. Due to a few Leane’s serving in the unit as officers, the Battalion was soon labeled the ‘Joan of Arc battalion’ aka “made of all Leanes”.

While the 1^st & 2^nd AIF Divisions sailed off to France in March and April 1916, the 4^th continued on training in Egypt until the end of May 1916. They then finally got the orders to embark for France and on the 2^nd June 1916 they boarded the HMT Caledonia for the journey to Marseilles.

After disembarking the 4^th Division made their way to Northern France and soon went into the line in the region of Fleurbaix. They only had a short time here before they followed the 1^st & 2^nd Divisions to the Somme battlefield.

The 1st Australian Division went into action in the Somme battle at Pozieres. They captured the village & were relieved over a week later by the 2^nd Australian Division, who furthered their gains. The 4^th Australian Division then relieved the 2^nd Division and went into the line in early August 1916.

As soon as the 48^th Battalion went into the Pozieres battlefield they were badly hit by shellfire when the Germans launched a counter-attack. The Germans gained ground as well as capturing some soldiers of the 48^th Battalion, though the Australians were quick in reply and the men of the 48^th & 14^th Battalions soon restored the position. However casualties had been heavy among the 48^th Battalion.

Both Herbert & William were used as forward scouts for the 48th during the actions on Pozieres Ridge. Due to their good work both men were promoted to Corporal. William was later recommended for a medal (Servian Gold Oblich Medal) by the 12^th Brigade Commander, Brigadier-General Duncan Glasfurd which does not seem to have been awarded. The recommendation reads;

For Good & Steady Work as a scout and sniper since arrival in France, and particularly during the periods the Battalion was in the front line at Pozieres (5-8-16 to 15-8-16) and Mouquet Farm (30-8-16 to 3-9-16)[i]

William & Herbert had obviously impressed the Commanding Officer of the 48^th Battalion, Lieut-Colonel Ray Leane as in September they were both promoted to the rank of 2^nd Lieutenant, thereby skipping the rank of Sergeant in the process.

The 48^th Battalion were relieved from the Somme in early September and travelled north to Belgium where it was fortunately quieter than the maelstrom of the Somme. However their rest here was not for long as by November they were back to the Somme. They were to stay in the mud of the Somme battlefield all through the 1916/17 winter.

Early in the New Year Herbert was wounded but fortunately the wound was not serious and he elected to have it treated in the front line and so remained with the Battalion.

William took on the role as a Scouting Officer which meant many dangerous forays into No Mans Land to inspect the German trenches.[ii] In the freezing conditions, this was no easy task. It was an important role particularly as the Germans had begun to withdraw from this front in February 1917 and up to date information was needed.

One such foray by William brought special mention from his CO when he was recommended for the Military Cross.

For special good work and devotion to duty, This Officer carried out a special reconnaissance of Pork Trench N.E. of Guedecourt on the night of 24^th February, gained very valuable information and enabled me to occupy Pork Trench. He remained after the 58^th Battalion had relieved me to assist the Company Commander.

Unfortunately this recommendation for a medal was not successful.[iii]

The 12^th Brigade was then withdrawn for a well deserved rest, and the other Australian units in conjunction with the British, followed up the German withdrawal past Bapaume, pressing them all the way. The Germans had prepared a special defensive line that they were withdrawing to, called the Hindenburg Line. It was a great defensive system with belts of razor sharp wire and for the Australians it fell to the 4^th Division to tackle it near a place called Bullecourt.

The attack by the 4^th Australian Division on the Hindenburg Line at Bullecourt was at first scheduled for April the 10^th 1917. Artillery had been bombarding the Line since early April but during the actual attack, it was decided by General Gough, Commander of the 5^th Army, that Tanks, which were still in the experimental stage, should take the place of an artillery barrage and that the troops would follow them over the trenches after the tanks had made a path through the barbed wire. This plan was put to the Australian Commander, General Birdwood, who though he had misgivings about the plan, gave his consent.[iv]

 The 4^th Brigade was to attack with all four of its battalions, with the 16^th & 14^th seizing the actual Hindenburg Line and the 13^th & 15^th to pass through them to seize the village of Reincourt in the rear. To their left the 12^th Brigade would only have two of their battalions in the attack. The 46^th Battalion was to seize the first trench line (OG1) while the 48^th would seize the 2^nd line (OG2). The British 62^nd division would attempt to capture the village of Bullecourt.[v] Patrols sent out by the forward battalions reported that the Hindenburg Line was very strongly held and that in most places the barbed wire was fully intact. Nevertheless the operation was scheduled to go ahead at 4.30am, at which time the men of the 4^th Division left their trenches near a sunken road, and in the early hours amid a snowfall and bitterly cold wind, lay down in No Mans Land and waited for the tanks to arrive so they could make their attack.

The men who were to guide the tanks up, waited and waited; 4.30am came and went and there was still no sign of the tanks, and by 5am when there was no hope of the tanks reaching the line, the Australian attack was called off. Unfortunately the neighbouring 62^nd Division was not informed of this cancellation and their assault went ahead which resulted in heavy casualties.[vi]

With dawn approaching, the two Brigades of Australian infantry in No Man’s Land withdrew. Thankfully a snow storm now swept the battlefield and the Australian infantry got back to their own lines relatively unscathed, but surely the Germans must have seen them. German shellfire fell on the embankment near the 48^th Battalion HQ killing Major Ben Leane, the CO’s Brother.[vii]

The men, weary after being awake all night now had to march back to their billets, some of which were several miles behind the line. Many had just reached them when the orders came for them to go back to the front, as the operation was to be rescheduled for the morning of the 11^th of April.

The men of the 4^th Division once again went to their positions early on the morning of the 11^th and waited once again for the tanks. The 4^th Brigade’s tanks appeared though a few had broken down on the way, but those remaining slowly drove towards the Hindenburg Line.

As the troops of the 4^th Brigade neared the huge belts of wire, German machine gun & rifle fire broke out and was soon joined by German artillery, which added to the casualties and wiped out many of the men of the supporting machine gun & mortar companies.

On the front of the 12^th Brigade their advance began at 5am after the 4^th Brigade had already fought their way forward. The non arrival of their supporting tanks had delayed their advance. Lt-Colonel Leane of the 48^th Battalion commented that;

“The Battalion was in position to attack at 4am. Receiving no word of the advance I wired to Company Commanders at 5am thinking perhaps they might be waiting for signals from tanks. The tanks were slow in getting away. This proved very bad for us as it began to get light and an advance of 1000 yards had to be made before 1^st objective was reached under direct rifle fire from trenches east of Bullecourt. Only two tanks reached anywhere near the enemy line and it was not until 6.18 that my men were able to reach 2^nd objective.”[viii]

The 46^th Battalion captured a section of the first line (OG1) and the 48^th Battalion, despite mounting casualties, went through them into the German 2^nd line (OG2). Once in the German line no touch could be gained with the 4^th Brigade. A section of line between the two Brigades was strongly held by the Germans and would prove to be a serious impediment in the coming fight.

The 48^th meanwhile were attempting to consolidate OG2 with their remaining men under the leadership of Captain Leane, (a nephew of the CO) the senior 48^th Battalion Company Commander to make it into the German lines as many of the officers and men had been hit in the advance.

Lieutenant Herbert Watson had reportedly led the 48^th Battalion’s dash to the Hindenburg Line. He led his platoon through OG1 and into OG2 where they initially engaged in viscous hand to hand fighting with the German troops. Unfortunately he was soon badly hit by rifle fire and also bayoneted. Despite his death his men pressed forward and captured their section of OG2.

They continued to fight through on their flank in an attempt to gain touch with the 4^th Brigade, but the Germans in this section of trench were giving tough resistance.

Private Alec Nicoll of the 48^th Battalion was with Herbert Watson early in the assault;

I was attached to the Battalion H.Q. Bombers. On 11^th April 1917 my Battalion were to attack the Hindenburg Line. Our objective was the second line of trench. We were located in a sunken road which was our jumping off point. We hoped over in waves. We were led by Captain Mott[ix] our O.C., with Lieut. Watson as Platoon Commander. I was wounded in the back just before reaching the second trench. I returned to a dugout in the first trench, and my wound was dressed.[x]

As the ground over which reinforcements would travel was being swept by German fire, very few reports on how the fight was going reached the battalion & brigade headquarters. Even the wounded could not get back to safety as a result of the heavy fire and had to wait in dugouts in the front line for the fire to slacken. There had been reports that both the villages of Bullecourt and Reincourt had been taken, but the truth was that they were both strongly held by the Germans; therefore Allied artillery could not bring their fire to bear until they received definite reports of their positions in the German Line. At around 9am Colonel Leane sent forward his Intelligence Officer, Lt William Watson to ascertain the position. He successfully made the journey under heavy fire and according to Lieutenant Norman Imlay, a fellow officer of the 48^th Battalion;

The first thing that poor old Bill saw in the second German line was his brother Bert lying impaled on a bayonet, just where he had apparently jumped down into the trench when the mob arrived earlier in the morning. Bill stood over Bert, and said: “I’ll get at least a dozen of them for you Bert.” Bill, no mean shot, then took a rifle from the hands of a dead Aussie and started to pot anything that showed its head an inch above ground. In front of us was a factory, from the windows of which Fritzes were potting at sitting targets in our line. Bill spotted this, and, as it was useless to try and stop it with a rifle alone, he asked me to see what I could do with the Lewis gun. We collected some more ammunition and filled up a magazine or two, and then fired a couple of bursts into each window separately. Everyone was smashed, and we could now the better see if any snipers poked up their heads. One or two did, but Bill was first in, and they did not reappear.

Suddenly two Fritzes appeared on the road from Bullecourt to the factory. I swung my gun around to have a fly at them, but Bill stopped me. He was a quicker thinker than I, and reasoned that there might be a party following them, and that if I shot the first one or two the others might stay put, whereas if we let them come on and get halfway between the village and the factory they would not have much cover. Seventeen in all came into full view. None reached the factory. Bill muttered, “Some on Bert’s account Norm.”[xi]

Lt William Watson had been ordered by Colonel Leane to bring back a message to Headquarters, but finding the 48^th Battalion short of officers, decided to stay in OG2 and instead sent a message back to Colonel Leane by a runner, stating the direction in which the Germans were attacking from, and asking for artillery support. Once the message arrived back however, the artillery commander would not at first fire, as he believed the false reports that the Australians were already in the villages beyond the line and he didn’t want to bring an artillery barrage down on our troops. The result was that initially the Germans were allowed to attack the Australian positions unhindered by artillery fire.

The 4^th Brigade had run out of ammunition and those who could withdrew under very heavy German fire. This left the 12^th Brigade by itself in the line and under the full glare of German attention and all their fire was put on to the 48^th’s ever shrinking position.

The 46^th Battalion which held OG1 was being pushed back along the flanks and finally evacuated their positions without informing the men in OG2 of this which left the 48^th Battalion holding OG2 in the unenviable position of being surrounded. A runner from the 47^th Battalion informed Captain Leane of the 46^th’s withdrawal and the officers in the 48^th Battalion, including Lt William Watson, made the decision to bomb back down the communication trench and retake OG1. The fighting was furious and Captain Leane, the senior officer of the 48^th in the attack, was badly wounded but the trench was retaken and for a time the 48^th held sections of both German lines. But now fire from both German and Australian artillery began to fall amongst them so the decision was made by Leane to pull out of OG2 and continue to hold OG1. With bombs now severely running short, with artillery pounding the trenches and German pressing in from every flank, at 12.30pm, an hour after the 4^th Brigade left, the 48^th Battalion withdrew from OG1.

Eyewitnesses reported that the men of the 48^th withdrew from the German lines with ‘proud deliberation & unhurried nonchalance’,[xii] like a crowd leaving a football game. Men were picking their way through the barbed wire & helping the wounded get clear with the officers bringing up the rear. Unfortunately many were killed or wounded in the withdrawal. Captain Leane, badly wounded, did not make it out of the trenches; he was captured by the Germans, dying a few days later.[xiii] Lt William Watson was shot through the back, the bullet hitting his spine, but he managed to drag himself towards the Australian line and was eventually found by stretcher bearers who took him to safety.

Lt-Colonel Leane once again recommended William for the Military Cross. The recommendation reads;

At Bullecourt on 11^th April 1917 for conspicuous good work and devotion to duty during the attack and capture of Hindenburg Line. This officer showed great courage and presence of mind, after the trenches were captured he went forward to gain information, to reach the trenches he had to pass through enemy artillery barrage, heavy machine gun fire and in full view of snipers. He sent back valuable information of enemy advancing and enabled our guns to disperse them. He with the few officers that remained covered the retirement of the men. He was hit near the spine just outside the enemy trench and crawled 800 yards before he was picked up by our bearers. By his courage and example to his men.[xiv]

This time William was awarded the Military Cross.

After being picked up by the Stretcher Bearers William was taken to the 13^th Field Ambulance where initial treatment was given before he was transferred to No.49 Casualty Clearing Station. By the 13^th of April William had arrived in Hospital at Rouen. Every possible treatment was given to William while he was here but sadly on the 28^th of April, he died of his wounds.[xv]

Both the Watson boys had died as a result of the Bullecourt attack.

In Fremantle, news had been received by William Watson Snr that Herbert had been killed and William wounded. The family hoped that William would recover but that hope would not last long as the telegram came informing them of William’s death at Rouen. Added to the family’s distress was that, while William’s body was able to be buried by the staff at Rouen, Herbert’s body was not able to be recovered and had most likely been buried by the Germans in some unmarked grave.

Lt William Watson had died of his wounds before he could be officially presented with his Military Cross. For relatives of the fallen who had been awarded medals for bravery they normally were given the option of accepting them from the Governor in a public ceremony or in private. William Snr requested that the medal handover be a private affair by the Western Australian Governor.

The family was devastated by their loss and for a time William Snr lost all interest in his business. He became a great supporter of returned servicemen and was well known for his generosity towards them. He became an honorary member of the Fremantle branch of the Returned & Services League. If not for his large financial & moral support, the War Memorial on Monument Hill in Fremantle would never have been built.[i]  Post war he also made a pilgrimage to Europe where he could at least visit William’s grave at St Sever Cemetery at Rouen France.

Supporting returned soldiers was one of the reasons he entered Federal politics. He stood for the seat of Fremantle in the Election of 1922 and won and was also re-elected in 1925. He stood down for the 1928 election. However with the depression taking a large toll on the community he decided to again stand in the 1931 election and was successful. He was independent of party politics and showing his popularity in two of the elections in 1925 and 1931 he defeated John Curtin, the Labor politician. Curtin would later become the Australian Prime Minister during World War Two. William Watson snr retired from Federal Politics in 1934.

In the years after he retired from politics he furthered his business and continued to help returned soldiers. In June 1938 he was presented with a scroll for his work.

Presented to William Watson Esq

The Returned Sailors and Soldiers resident

At the OMH desire to express their deep sense

Of gratitude to him for all the splendid services that he

Has rendered to them. By his constant zeal and never-failing

Loyalty he has endeared himself to the hearts of all Diggers……….

We are proud of the friendship of such a worthy citizen.

“Old Bill” as he is affectionately known by all his comrades,

Is looked on as the personification of all that is best in mankind………

His benevolent nature and unassuming manner have earned

The respect and goodwill of all with whom he has come in

Contact……His life shines as a beacon guiding others to

Service of Humanity…The world has been better and brighter

For his having passed through it……

In the Autumn of his life we would remind him that…

Whilst Life’s gay times can charm no more

And much is left behind,

Yet greater wealth thou host in store

The treasure of the mind…

Truly he has laid up for himself a noble heritage

Which neither Rust nor Moth shall corrupt…

‘The Burnt Out Diggers” June 26th 1938.[ii]

In 1938 William Watson Snr had become unwell and succumbed to his illness on December 21^st 1938. He had much written about him after his death including Fremantle Mayor Mr. F Gibson;

Fremantle has lost one of its most respected citizens. His charity knew no bounds and neither religious creed nor political beliefs influenced him when somebody needed help. No man was ever held higher in the esteem of the returned soldiers of Fremantle, and I have known of scores whom he helped. The development of his business was a tremendous asset to primary producers throughout the State, and his work has been of inestimable value to Fremantle where he was a friend to everybody.[iii]

In April 1939, John Curtin, Member for Fremantle and then the leader of the Opposition made his appreciation known of William Watson Snr in a talk given in the House of Representatives.

He lived worthily and won the respect, and indeed, the affection of thousands of persons in his adopted State – Western Australia. I knew the late Mr. William Watson intimately. On two occasions he was successful in defeating me as a candidate for Fremantle. I knew that not only was he a doughty political opponent, but also that his strength politically was due almost entirely to the universal esteem in which he was held, to the wide appreciation of his generosity of heart, to his character as a whole, to his business integrity, and to the part he had played in building up industry, and incidentally doing good to thousands of people throughout his State. All of that made him a political opponent beyond my powers to overcome; but throughout the two contests that we fought, I found him a generous and friendly opponent. He was the same man in politics as he was out of politics. He loved everyone and endeavoured to do good wherever he could. I hardly feel capable of recalling any other man whom I have met of whom it could be said that no one thought ill of him. Usually we find that in the case of a man who has done nothing worthwhile, but the late Mr. Watson did a great deal of good not only publicly but also privately without the knowledge of very many. The amount of good he did in that way was, I understand tremendous. He did all that and at the same time never incurred the enmity of even his political opponents. He was very charitable and upright. He was a native of Victoria but did much good in Western Australia.[iv]

William Watson Snr was buried at Fremantle Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and six children. His son Henry took control of the Watson small goods business.

William Watson (snr) and Lieutenants Herbert and William Watson had been highly thought of in Western Australia.

Private Thomas Henry Wilson; (Regimental no.2546); a Surveyor, who served in the 16^th Battalion at Gallipoli was one who put pen to paper. Wilson was also well known in Western Australia through his stories and verse under the name of ‘Crosscut’ in the Sunday Times newspaper. He was a mate of William Watson, having served in the same unit at Gallipoli and in 1919 he wrote the following in the Sunday Times under the title;

‘A Pair of Gloves – And a True Mate – A Gallipoli Memory.[v]

Lying in my bush bunk miles away from anywhere, one recent night the cold nip of an easterly wind blowing through the door of my tent so chilled my fingers that holding the newspaper I was reading became a sharp discomfort, and reaching down to my open “port” beside my bead I drew from it a pair of woolen gloves, old, but as good as the day they were made – for I have treasured them carefully – and drew them over my hands. I will tell you about those gloves later on. Soon afterwards my eye fell upon a paragraph headed: “Military Decorations,” a long list of names of soldiers who were to be invested at the then forthcoming Royal Show with the distinctions which they had won at the war.

There were names of men that I knew in my old Battalion – certainly the “Old Sixteenth” would be well and truly represented – Captain Lynas to receive a bar to DSO, and a Military Cross and two bars; Lieut. Ketterer the Military Cross; and the late Lieut. W Watson the Military Cross. There were others in lower rank I was proud to see, but the last named evoked feelings of affection and regret that cold print is impotent to portray. Lynas has achieved a fine record; Ketterer – “Little Vic,” we used to call him when he was a Sergeant on Gallipoli – was exceedingly popular, a free handed mate and a gallant little fighter with a pluck that exceeded his inches; and “Bill” Watson was as true and gallant a gentleman as ever donned khaki. Demortuis nil nisi bonum – but if he were still alive the admiration of all who knew him would be a higher tribute than all the polished epitaphs that could be chiseled upon marble.

I first met him on a troopship from Egypt, upon which I and a portion of my battalion were returning to Gallipoli after a holiday upon the island of Lemnos, while he and the reinforcement detachment to which he belonged were entering the fire zone for the first time. In the six or seven hour journey we became friends; by the time we stepped ashore on Anzac Beach I loved him as a brother-and nature has not built me to make quick friendships. I was a much older man than he – he was only a boy after all as years go – and already he had begun with me to exercise that consideration and eagerness to assist, to smooth over a rugged path; to help a lame dog over a style that later endeared him to every soldier in his company. Luck kept us together. When on that same night of his arrival on the peninsula our detachment got “bushed” on its way to the front line owing to our guide having lost his bearings, and I, as one of the “old hands” was detailed with two or three others to move ahead and try and pick up our position. Private Will Watson volunteered to take my place. “You’re tired old man,” he urged, “and I am just as likely to drop across it in the dark as you!” A brisk sprinkling of rifle fire was spattering along just then, and he had heard the hum of bullets for the first time, but only his ignorance of the lay of the land prevented him from joining the little expedition. “Vic” Ketterer was there at the time. I think he came with us.

The greater portion of the period that Watson spent on Gallipoli was occupied in hard and exhausting labor. We were preparing, in an utterly farcical manner, for our “winter quarters.” Sinking trenches in ground that wouldn’t hold; digging wells that never came to water; driving tunnels that led to nowhere; and deserting them ere they were finished; – and holding the line all the time. In these dreary stunts Watson was my mate and many a time, when working in narrow cuttings in relays – one in and one out – if the sleep of the very wearied would overtake me while awaiting my turn of the pick and shovel, he has worked on without awakening me and turned my remorseful protestations aside with a laugh and a jest.

It was at Beck’s Bluff that the snow overtook us. We had worked hard in our spare time at the excavation of a dug-out for ourselves. We aimed at making it large enough for three – his younger brother, whom he was everyday expecting, to be the third party. It was a hole in the hillside, four feet wide, six feet deep and three feet high. One could not sit properly up in it because the roof was friable and would not stand another saving taken from it. We intended, later on, to sink the floor a bit, but we never had the chance. The cold was intense; one hour on and one hour off was the limit in the trench at night time – one mate relived the other every alternate hour, and short as the interval of rest  was all too frequently  he came to my post before the Corporal had warned him for relief to give me the unspeakable blessing of a few minutes longer repose. His excuse would be that; “he couldn’t sleep, and the trench was just as comfortable as the dugout anyhow.” And one day when I was trying to adjust an equipment with fingers too numbed to perform  their office he pulled the gloves from off his own brave generous hands and gave them to me  - and there was no forcing them back upon him either. “he could keep the barrel of his rifle hot” he laughed, “and that would warm his hands.”

I have them now, about the only souvenir I have left of the war. Lieut. William Watson MC has made the ultimate sacrifice; his younger brother fell upon the same day. I seek in vain for words to pay a tribute to his memory. If my reason ‘held’ doubt upon the troubled problem of a sentient existence after death the passing of such splendid manhood would determine it. I cannot think of him as dead, He has only gone West!

Due to the depression in the late 1920’s the original (more expensive) design of the War Memorial on Monument Hill in Fremantle by noted sculptor Pietro Porcelli[vi] had to be scaled back and thus the notion of having Fremantle’s fallen named on the memorial was reluctantly withdrawn from the memorial design.[vii]

In 2015 Fremantle Council will be redressing this when plaques will be added naming the 849 Fremantle soldiers, sailors and airmen to die in the Great War, Herbert and William Watson among them.

Information courtesy of Fremantle Local History File on the Watson Family; The West Australian Newspaper; Reveille: The publication of the NSW RSL: B2455 series at the National Archives of Australia: AWM Honours & Awards.

Photos courtesy of Fremantle Council