Private Samuel James Bennett

Private Samuel James Bennett (3257, 35th Battalion) was an alias for Joseph Samuel Bennett, born 1901 at Bowenfels, NSW. Samuel claimed to be a coke worker when he enlisted in June 1917, although his mother later recorded that his calling was dairyman. Samuel's mother wrote to the army requesting that he be sent home as under age, which had been approved. However it was too late for Samuel. He was wounded during the battle of Avre on 4 April 1918 and last seen in no man's land surrounded by heavy enemy fire. A court of enquiry later determined that he had been killed in action on that day. Samuel has no known grave and is commemorated on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France. He was 16 years 5 months of age at the time of his death.