Studio portrait of two soldiers from the 18th Battalion. Seated on the left is 4652 Private (Pte) ...

Studio portrait of two soldiers from the 18th Battalion. Seated on the left is 4652 Private (Pte) Reuben Walter (Wack) Allen, a 22 year old baker's assistant from Ingleburn, NSW and standing is 4788 Pte Thomas Albert (Tom) Dures, a 21 year old cabinet maker from Carlton, NSW. Both enlisted on 29 January 1916, trained together and embarked for overseas with the 12th Reinforcements from Sydney on 13 April 1916 aboard HMAT Ceramic (A40). Following further training in England Pte Allen proceeded to France and joined the 18th Battalion on 23 September 1916. Pte Dures did not join the battalion until 2 October 1916 due to illness. In November 1916 both soldiers were taken ill and transferred to England for medical treatment. Pte Allen rejoined the 18th Battalion in France in April 1917, was promoted to Lance Corporal in May 1918 and to Corporal in July 1918. He was wounded in action on 3 October 1918 and evacuated to England before being returned to Australia on 4 February 1919. Pte Dures did not return to the 18th Battalion until October 1917. On 8 August 1918 he was killed in action and is buried in the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, France. Pte Allen later wrote that he was attending NCO duties in Amiens when Pte Dures was killed. Pte Allen wrote: "We were taken out of the line for a bit of a spell to Corbie and Rivery. We were then sent up to the side of the road which runs from Villers-Bretonneux to Warfusee. We were in here for 45 days. When I got word to attend an NCO School in Amiens for 14 days, I handed my Lewis gun over to Tom Dures. While I was away, Tom was killed in the big push on the 8th August. When we heard that the big push was on, we had two days school to go. We went up to the Officer-in-Charge of the school and asked him to let us go back to our Battalion so we could be in it. He would not let us go so I missed out on the 8th August show. I was back with the Battalion again on 10th August. From now on it was forward all the time." After the war, Pte Allen became quite an identity around the Ingleburn area, delivering bread in his horse and cart and becoming a member and President of the Ingleburn RSL. He lived until he was 88 and was known as Mr Ingleburn.