Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout, Australia and NZ in WWI

Today, it is with great emotion and gratitude that I would like to pay a very respectful tribute to Private number 4765 William Lincoln Rae who fought in the 20th Australian Infantry Battalion and who was killed in action 102 years ago, on August 8, 1918, here in Amiens, in the Somme where I have the chance to live today, he was 24 years old.

William Lincoln Rae was born in 1894 in Marrickville, New South Wales and was the son of Arthur Edward George Rae and Annie Rae (née Frayer). Arthur Rae was an organizer of the Australian Labor Party. William was educated at Glenorie Public School , New South Wales and before the war he worked as a painter, was single and lived in Boronia Road, Glenorie, New South Wales and served in the Citizen Military Forces in Sydney, New South Wales.

Enlisted on December 28, 1915 in the 20th Australian Infantry Battalion, 12th Reinforcement, he embarked with his unit from Sydney, New South Wales, on board HMAT A40 Ceramic on April 13, 1916 and sailed for England then for France and was disembarked to Etaples on September 11, 1916 then he joined the front of the Somme where he was wounded by a bullet in the right arm on November 14, 1916 and was evacuated to the 12th general hospital in Rouen before being evacuated in England on board Gloster Castle on 23 November 1916 to be treated for his injuries.

After recovering from his wounds, William was sent back to France and rejoined his battalion in the Somme on October 15, 1917. Unfortunately, ten months later, William met his fate and was killed in action on August 8, 1918 during the first day of the battle of Amiens, he was 24 years old.

Today, William Lincoln Rae rests in peace in Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery with his comrades and friends who fell on the battlefields of the Somme and his grave bears the following inscription "Another life lost, hearts broken for what".

William had two brothers, Private number 4761 Donald Mac Rae who fought in the 19th Australian Infantry Battalion, he was taken prisoner at Hangard Wood, Somme, then he was repatriated to Scotland on December 11, 1918 and died a month later of pneumonia on from influenza. He died on January 15, 1919 at the age of 22. Today he rests in peace in Dumfries Cemetery, Scotland and his grave bears the following inscription "Through fire, wounds, prison, came safely then gazing homeward, died ".

William's second and twin brother was Gunner number 36655 Charles Joseph Rae who fought in the Field Artillery Brigade, he served in France and Belgium, he survived the war and returned to Australia on July 5, 1919.

William, you who fought here with courage in the battlefields of the Somme, so far from your country who lost here, in the mud, in the icy water of the trenches, in the ruins of French villages, so many brave and young men like you who had noble ideas in their hearts and who faced fear and death every day in these fields bruised and devastated by the cataclysm of war, under an uninterrupted hail of shells and bullets,you did your duty beyond bravery, going through the horrors and the pains of a world at war.William, I live here in Amiens where you fought and where you fell with so many of your comrades and brothers in arms and if I can live here, under the peaceful sun of the Somme, in this beautiful city, it is thanks to you, it is thanks to you that I can enjoy every day without being afraid of the next day, in our beautiful cathedral , Australian soldiers have a plaque in their honor, in your honor which commemorates your courage and your sacrifice, Australia, the Australian people will always have a very big place in the heart of our city which does not forget, which does not will never forget that you and many many young and courageous men fell on this day of August 8, 1918 here on the soil of our beautiful city and I would always be grateful to you for what you, William and what your brothers did for us on this soil of France which also became Australian sacred lands.Today, I am honored to be able to say thank you, to be a link in the Franco-Australian friendship, a friendship that you built over 100 years ago by fighting with the French soldiers who had great respect and a great admiration for you and for your courage just as i feel great admiration and respect for you, for your country and for the people of australia and i want to say to you, William, thank you from the bottom of my heart.We will never forget you.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him, we will remember them.🌺