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His younger brother, 3396 Pte. Ernest Eric Lawton 49th Battalion AIF, was killed in action 3 weeks later at Mouquet Farm, 4 September 1916, aged 20. They were the sons of William Henry and Elizabeth Emma Lawton, of Drillham, Queensland.

 
#1710  LAWTON James Colin Hasty   2nd Light Horse / 2nd Trench Mortar Company
 
James Lawton was born at Miles on 28th September 1893. His parents, William and Elizabeth, were living at Drillham, a short distance from Miles and Elizabeth probably travelled by train to Miles to give birth. James attended school at Drillham before working in rural labouring. Around the age of 16, James moved to Murgon where he was apprenticed to a Mr. Kratzman who was a carpenter/ builder.
 
Before enlisting, it is possible that James took the train home to Drillham to visit his widowed mother. Upon his return to Brisbane, James enlisted on 17th August 1915. He stated his occupation as carpenter and named his mother, Elizabeth, of Drillham as his next of kin.
 
James was taken on as a reinforcement for the 2nd Light Horse Regiment and went into camp at Chermside and then the Pine Rivers Show Grounds at Lawnton. The reinforcements travelled by train to Sydney where they boarded the “Mashobra” on 4th October, bound for Egypt.
 
The end of 1915 and early 1916 was a time of great reorganisation of the AIF. The withdrawal of the infantry from Gallipoli supplemented by large numbers of enlistments in staging camps along the Suez Canal allowed for the AIF to increase in size from two divisions to five. This expansion also required an increase in associated units such as artillery, engineers, ambulance and hospitals. The Light Horse was to remain in Egypt defending the vital Suez Canal while the five infantry divisions of the AIF were destined for the western front.
 
On 11th March 1916, James was transferred from the Light Horse Remounts to the 2nd Division Ammunition Column. Artillery had proven to be decisive on the Western Front and keeping the gunners supplied with ammunition, horses and replacement guns was the task of an ammunition column. In addition to the logistical tasks of supporting field artillery, ammunition columns acted as reinforcement depot once in the field. On 20th March, James was designated a driver of horse teams pulling general service wagons. The column which was attached to the 2nd Division Field Artillery, and sailed from Alexandria to Marseilles at the end of March.
 
The artillery had been training in Egypt with old 18 pounder field guns. Upon arrival in France, they were provided with brand new guns and limbers. The gunners and the ammunition column spent some time at the 2nd Division Base Depot training in the handling of the six horse teams that were employed by both units.
The AIF had been sent to France with the specific task of being part of a huge offensive that was planned for the summer of 1916. The Australians were at that time fully under the direction of British Commanders. General Douglas Haig had been assembling a large British force, made up of a number of so called “pals” battalions; young men from schools, workplaces and villages who were encouraged to enlist together through the use of the famous poster of Lord Kitchener (Your country needs YOU).
 
The battle was timed to begin on the 1st July 1916 along the line which separated the British and French Armies in the valley of the Somme River. The new British battalions were cut to pieces as they stood up to walk into the hail of machine gun and artillery; with 60,000 casualties on the first day alone. Displaying a ruthlessness that typified Haig’s behaviour on the Western Front, he ordered his generals to push on.
 
By the third week in July, with little to show in the way of territory gained, the Australian infantry was called up to join the battle. At the same time, the 2nd Division Artillery and its attendant units limbered up to be deployed for the first time in support of the Australian Infantry which was preparing to go into its first major action in France at Pozieres.
 
On 22nd July, James was transferred to the 2nd Division Trench Mortar Company. The trench mortars employed at that time by the AIF were of the Stokes Mortar type, a relatively new but rather primitive weapon consisting of a metal base plate and a firing tube supported by adjustable struts. The Stokes were prone to premature firing of the explosive head causing the barrel to burst. Trench mortars were employed in laying down accurate barrages during an infantry assault and it was in one such attack at Mouquet Farm on 8th August that James was wounded.
 
James was evacuated to a casualty clearing station at Puchevillers, about 30 kilometres to the west of Pozieres where he was treated for gun shot wounds to his legs and wrist. He died of his wounds three days later and was buried in the cemetery adjacent to the CCS. James’ younger brother, Ernest, was killed at Mouquet Farm one month later.
 
James’ mother did not make any enquiries into the circumstances of the loss of both her sons. Her life as a widow, mourning two young sons, must have been hard in a small town such as Drillham. By the time that service medals were being distributed, Elizabeth had left Drillham and it was only the efforts of police who finally traced her to a house in an un-named street near the railway station at Miles. She received two sets of the 14/15 Star, Empire medal and Victory medal; memorial scrolls and bronze plaques.
 
Elizabeth chose the following inscription for James’ headstone in the Puchevillers British Cemetery:
THE LORD GAVE
AND THE LORD
HATH TAKEN AWAY