Fromelles Remembered: A Century On

This Tuesday, the Australian War Memorial will remember and honour the service and sacrifice of those Australian’s who fought during the battle of Fromelles, 100 years ago. Fromelles occurred on 19/20 July 1916 and was the first major action fought by the Australians on the Western Front. Tragically, it resulted in over 5,500 casualties in less than 24 hours in what was a brutal initiation to the fighting in France.

To mark the centenary of this tragic event, the Australian War Memorial will deliver a commemorative Last Post Ceremony honouring brothers Privates David and Colin Barr from the Melbourne suburb of Richmond, who lost their lives at Fromelles.

David and Colin Barr enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force together in August 1915. After a period of training in Australia they were sent to Egypt, arriving at a time when the AIF was undergoing a period of expansion and reorganisation. As part of this expansion, the Barr brothers were transferred to the newly-raised 60th Battalion. They underwent further training before sailing for to France to fight on the Western Front.

After just two weeks in France, the 60th Battalion participated in its first major operation on the Western Front. On the evening of 19 July 1916, just outside the village of Fromelles, the brothers turned to each other and shook hands before climbing out over the parapet to assault the German trenches. The waves of infantry from the 60th Battalion came under heavy artillery, machine-gun, and rifle-fire as soon as they left the trenches, and suffered exceptionally heavy casualties. 

David and Colin were both hit as they crossed no man’s land together. Colin later wrote, “the worst part of it all [was] I never fired a shot at [the Germans]”. As they were lying near each other, David told Colin to ask his father to forgive him for something done years before. He died shortly afterwards. His remains were never recovered from the battlefield. He was 25 years old.  

At roll call after leaving the front line, just four of the battalion’s officers and 61 other ranks men were present. About 750 men had become casualties in the costly and unsuccessful attack. 

Colin Barr had been hit in the back by shrapnel, and was sent to hospital in England suffering from wounds to his chest and lungs. A regular visitor was Miss Bloxham of Kent, who came to try to cheer up the sick men. She wrote of visiting Barr: “he is only 19 and looks even younger … I thought him a very nice boy”. Barr often spoke with her about David, and was devastated by his death.  

On one such visit Miss Bloxham arrived to find Barr’s condition had deteriorated. She wrote, “he didn’t know me, but he held my hand tightly and I hoped he might feel someone belonging to him was there”. Private Colin Barr died later that night, aged 19. He was buried in a cemetery near the hospital. 

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told at the Australian War Memorial.