Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout

Cpl John Joseph BROOKE, 31st Inf Bn
 
Today, on the old battlefields and through the cemeteries of the Somme, I walk in silence, with respect, traversing the old front lines now silent but on which, in the old trenches, fought and fell, over a hundred years ago a whole generation of young men who lived under the howl of cannons and the endless crackle of machine guns.Today, all is calm, all is silent on these fields on which grow the poppies on which so much blood flowed and it is with gratitude that I walk in the footsteps of these young men who did so much for my country and that I can see,standing still proudly and silent under a light breeze in which their voices are heard, the voices of men who served and fought with honor for their country and who will always have here, their place in our hearts and on whom I will always be honored to watch with the greatest care so that their memory lives forever.

Today,it is the memory of one of these young men, one of my boys of the Somme who fought with bravery and who gave his today for our tomorrow that I would like to honor with gratitude, I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Corporal number 592 John Joseph Brooke who fought in the 31st Australian Infantry Battalion and who died of his wounds 103 years ago, on April 10, 1918 at the age of 28 on the Somme front.

John Joseph Brooke was born in Sydney, New South Wales in 1890, and was the son of John and Bridget Brooke, of Woodstock, Townsville, Queensland.John Joseph was educated at State School, Croydon, Queensland.Before the outbreak of the war he lived in Cloncurry, Queensland and worked as a labourer.

Enlisted on December 16, 1915 in Townsville, Queensland, in the 41st Australian Infantry Battalion, C Company, he embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A64 Demosthenes on May 18, 1916 and he proceeded overseas to England to reinforce the 52nd Australian Infantry Battalion.John was disembarked in England on July 20, 1916 and sent to the 13th Training Battalion to complete his training which ended in early September 1916 and on September 19, he embarked for France and was disembarked on September 24 at Etaples.Two weeks later,on October 7, he was transferred to the 31st Australian Infantry Battalion and sent to the Somme front, but in particularly difficult weather conditions, he suffered from the cold and on November 16, 1916, he was admitted to the 8th Australian Field Ambulance suffering from cold bite then on November 18, he was admitted to a Stationary Hospital.

Having difficulty in recovering, John was evacuated to England and after a long recovery, on September 22, 1917, he was sent to the "D" Sub Depot Parkhouse in Hurdcott, Wiltshire.After Hurdcott John was, on 25 October 1917, sent for a short period of training to Longbridge Deverill where was the headquarters of the AIF Overseas Training Brigade. A month later, on November 10, 1917, he embarked from Southampton, England and returned to France where he arrived the next day,on November 11 at the port of Le Havre and three days later,on November 14, John was sent back to the 31st Australian Infantry Battalion in the Somme.

Unfortunately, it was in the Somme that five months later John met his fate.On April 10, 1918, while John and the 31st Australian Infantry Battalion were in the front line in the Bouzincourt sector, near Amiens, Somme, the German artillery was very active all day and John was seriously wounded by a shell which perforated his abdomen and also injured his jaw, head, right arm and thigh.Always conscious, he was immediately evacuated to the 11th Australian Field Ambulance near Bonnay, Somme, where he died of his injuries a few hours later, he was 28 years old.
Today, Corporal John Joseph Brooke rests in peace with his friends, comrades and brothers in arms at the Bonnay Communal Cemetery Extension, Somme.

John, you who rest in peace on these soils of France, here in the Somme with your friends and brothers in arms who, more than a hundred years ago, have done so much for us, I would like today, through these few words, with all my heart,say thank you.Under the Australian flag, you have, without hesitation and bravely answered the call to duty under the colors that you proudly wore and with your head held high alongside your comrades with whom you have embarked, turning one last time to the Australian sun and to the tears of your families and loved ones who saw you left with apprehension and fear in their hearts of never seeing you again you who were theirs pride, pride and hopes of a whole country which sent its courageous sons to the battlefields and who fought in united ranks for freedom and justice, to bring and shine a new hope for peace, for a better world through the dark clouds of a world at war.United to their country as they were in the trenches full of mud and blood, they were a generation of heroes who did their duty with the greatest determination. In France, together, they walked on the winding roads which led them to a uncertain future, towards the trenches, through the fields of poppies, they went through kilometers of barbed wire and moved forward, towards their destinies, through hills and fields, in the cold and the mud which they dragged under their shoes, they went beyond their limits, fighting meter by meter, fighting not only against the elements of the weather, but also against the death which rained around them in torrential bullets whistling at an infernal rate, against the firestorms that the shells poured down upon them day and night with the shrill and tearing howls of cannons which shook the ground in gigantic explosions in which so much blood was spilled.in this hell that the world had never known, they stood bravely, united and strong in this deluge of fire, hands clasped on their rifles, their heads bowed under the steel of their helmets, they served together with strength and conviction, for peace and freedom, for the future of their loved ones and those who would live after them. they put their hearts in each of their actions and their energy to overcome the horrors of war which they shared side by side , they found in each other, in a bond of camaraderie and indestructible brotherhood, the force to move forward under the fire of machine guns and rifles, they went beyond courage, beyond the trenches, through the no man's land on which already lay their comrades who fell in the previous assaults, they ran in heroic charges, like a torrent that nothing could stop, watching over the men who were with them with whom they shared the sufferings, the joys and the sorrows,hopes and dreams.in the face of fears, in the face of danger, in the face of adversity, they remained united, keeping their smiles and their faith that nothing broke, even in the heart of the battle and under enemy fire, they showed the courage and humanity of a whole generation who, in life and in death, remained together, fighting and falling side by side, they gave their youth, their lives on the altar of freedom so that we can live today and so that we can remember them so that they can continue to live.they were young and brave, gone but not forgotten, their memory remains intact under the shadow of their white graves between which poppies grow, symbol of their sacrifice and of the blood they shed but also a symbol of life after their death, they still stand proudly as they were when they answered the call to duty and as they were when they fought and fell, these men are still alive and they will remain so because their memory, their history will always be kept alive with care and love, I will always watch over them so that their names are always in the sparkling and alive light of the flame of Remembrance but also in our thoughts and in our hearts in which they will never cease to live.Thank you John, for everything, I would be forever grateful.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them.