Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Son of Frank Gavan Duffy and Nellie Gavan Duffy, of the Supreme Court, Melbourne, Victoria

'LIEUT. DESMOND GAVAN DUFFY.
Last week we published the sad news of the death of Lieu tenant. Desmond Gavah Duffy (son of Mr. Justice Gavan Duffy) who was killed in action in France. The photo, was taken in Melbourne on the eve of his departure for the front. The Rev. G, Gavan Duffy, of the Sacred Heart Church, Carlton, is a brother of the deceased officer. Lieut. Duffy entered Trinity College in 1907, winning the Henry Berthon Scholarship. He won University honours at the end of his first year in Latin and English, and at the end of his second, year in classics. He took an active part in the proceedings of the College Dialectic Society, and was elected Prelector in 1911. He was an enthusiastic sportsman, and rowed more than once for his college in the annual race against Ormond  and Queen's. He was captain of the inter-colloglate shooting team, and also played football for his college. Outside his college life he was an active member of the Newman Society. He was very popular with his fellow students, and his death is deeply regretted by the members of Trinity College.
Referring to the deceased officer, the Sydney "Freeman" says ;- An other of the bright band of Riverview students has given his life in the fight for the Empire. He attended the last annual dinner at his Alma Mater, and was one of the at happy gathering which welcomed his Excellency the Apostolic Delegate there some months ago. He went to England as a member of the Cycle Corps, but on arrival there Lieut. Duffy was transferred to the infantry. His unit went to France in October. Mr. Justice Duffy has two other sons in France, one a lieutenant in the artillery, and the other a gunner. R.I.P.

From François Berthout

2nd Lt Desmond Mcmahon Gavan Duffy 
 
Today, under the shy rays of a sun which illuminates the names of millions of men who rest in peace, united under the rows of their immaculate white graves on which are reflected the glow of the red poppies which bloom on the old battlefields, on these lands of remembrance on which fought a whole generation of young men, now peaceful and silent, they lived here for four years in the noise and fury of the trenches and gave their today, their youth and their lives for a peace for which they sacrificed so much.Today, over a hundred years later, we do not and will never forget what they did for us and what they went through, we remember them with respect and love, today they have become our sons, my boys of the Somme and it is with deep gratitude that I would like to honor on this day the memory of one of these men who fell here,I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Second Lieutenant Desmond McMahon Gavan Duffy who fought in the 20th Australian Infantry Battalion and who was killed in action 104 years ago on November 15, 1916 at the age of 27 on the Somme front.

Desmond McMahon Gavan Duffy was born in 1889 in Caulfield, Victoria, and was the son of Frank Gavan Duffy and Nellie Gavan Duffy, of the Supreme Court, Melbourne, Victoria.Desmond entered Trinity College in 1907, winning the Henry Berthon Scholarship. He won University honours at the end of his first year in Latin and English, and at the end of his second, year in classics. He took an active part in the proceedings of the College Dialectic Society, and was elected Prelector in 1911. He was an enthusiastic sportsman, and rowed more than once for his college in the annual race against Ormond and Queen's. He was captain of the inter-colloglate shooting team, and also played football for his college. Outside his college life he was an active member of the Newman Society. He was very popular with his fellow students, and his death is deeply regretted by the members of Trinity College.Desmond was also educated at Riverview College and before the outbreak of the war,he lived in Sydney, New South Wales, where he worked as a barrister at law.

Enlisted on December 6, 1915 in Casula, New South Wales, in the 3rd Divisional Cyclist Company, he embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A64 Demosthenes on May 18, 1916 and sailed for England where he arrived on August 2 and where he completed his training and was transferred to the 20th Australian Infantry Battalion. On October 16, 1916, he embarked with his battalion for France and was disembarked the next day,on October 17 at Etaples before being sent to the Somme front on october 23.

Desmond fought with great courage in the Somme and more particularly in Flers where he led his men with great coolness. Unfortunately, on November 15, 1916, when he was returning from the front lines of Flers, he was sent with his men in a rest camp two kilometers to the rear, "Carlton Camp" and only a few hours after returning from the front, at 2:00 pm, his tent was hit by a large caliber shell and was instantly killed alongside two of his friends, Captain Bush and Lieutenant Carlisle. Desmond was 27 years old.

Today, Second Lieutenant Desmond Mcmahon Gavan Duffy rests in peace with his men, friends and brothers in arms at Quarry Cemetery, Montauban, Somme, and his grave bears the following inscription "Ante diem periit sed miles, sed pro patria".

Desmond, you who rest in peace with your men and your friends on this sacred land of the Somme, Today, I wish, by bowingin front of you, to present you my deepest respects but also my gratitude and my admiration for the man that you were, a young and brave man who answered the call of duty and who served his country in an exemplary way alongside his comrades and all his brothers in arms who fought side by side in the dark and muddy trenches of the battlefields of the Somme which saw so much blood and tears flow under the dark clouds of a world at war which mowed the lives of a whole generation of brave men who proudly, bravely,did their duty with determination and coolness under incessant rains of fire and steel.all showed acts of courage and bravery on these fields of death and mud that barbed wire scarified for thousands of kilometers and in which were stopped, in the prime of their lives, so many men.They fought with devotion, with strength and conviction, moving forward meter by meter at the cost of terrible losses under the explosions and machine guns which spit out lead and death with infernal cadence between the ranks of the men who followed you with incredible courage.you had the weight of the war on your shoulders and those of the lives of your men who had faith and confidence in you and whom you led proudly through no man's land, you did your duty to the end with perseverance and trust alongside men and young boys as brave as you, all together, united in a bond of brotherhood and camaraderie in the face of adversity, all fought and gave their today, their youth which was taken in the trenches infested with rats and blood, they were young and proud and many did not have the chance to return home.Today, on these lands of the Somme, they rest in peace, under the roses which bloom their graves and under the poppies which undulate on the battlefields and under the cross of sacrifice which reminds us that the price of peace has cost the lives and the blood, the hopes of millions of men who, in the Somme will always have our devotion, our respect and our love, we will always take the greatest care of their graves, their memory, their stories, more than names eternally inscribed in stone, they were men and behind every name is a story, a destiny and I think telling the story of these men is one of the most beautiful ways to honor and show them that we remember them, to discover their humanity in a war that was not, to follow in their footsteps is an honor and a privilege for me, to learn from them and to understand who they were but also to understand their commitment and the brutality of this war which broke so many families.Today, France and Australia are united by a formidable and very strong friendship and I feel proud and privileged to be by your side to watch over your loved ones, who, young forever, will live forever in our hearts and in our thoughts, on these lands of Remembrance, on this friendly country which is also theirs country, we will never forget. Thank you Desmond, from the bottom of my heart, for all you have done for us, the flame of remembrance will never cease to shine.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.