Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

From François Berthout, Australia and NZ in WWI

The Somme, over a hundred years ago, thousands of young men came from far away to come and fight to help France, a country they knew nothing about and for which they did so much, a country for which they gave their lives through the worst battlefields of the great war which today, peaceful and silent keep in them the hidden traces of the past but which also keep the bravery and the courage of millions of young men who gave their today for our tomorrow and who rest today under the flowering poppies which are and will always be the symbol of the courage and the sacrifice of all these men whom we will always honor with the greatest respect and today, it is the memory of one of these young boys whom I would like to honor. I wish to present, with gratitude, a very respectful tribute to Private number 3255 Allen Beresford Bourke who fought in the 49th Australian Infantry Battalion and was killed in action 104 years ago, on September 5, 1916 at the age of 19 on the Somme front.

Allen Beresford Brouke was born on May 1, 1897 in Ispwich, Queensland, and he was the son of George Brouke and Mary Allen. Allen was educated at Ispwich Boy's Grammar School and before the outbreak of the war he was single and lived with his parents in Waghorne Street, Ispwich, Queensland, and worked as a salesman.

Enlisted on August 4, 1915, in Brisbane, Queensland, at the age of 18, in the 9th Australian Infantry Battalion, 11th Reinforcement, he embarked with his unit from Brisbane, on board HMAT A48 Seang Bee on October 21, 1915,and sailed for Egypt where he was disembarked on February 29, 1916 at Zeitoun and was transferred to the 49th Australian Infantry Battalion the same day at Tel-El-Kebir.Four months later, on June 5, 1916, Allen joined the British Expeditionary Force and embarked with his unit from Alexandria, on board the "Arcadian" for France where he arrived on June 12, 1916 in Marseilles.

Shortly after, Allen and his battalion were sent to the Somme front and in early September 1916, he fought at Mouquet farm, Pozieres. It was here that on the morning of September 5, 1916, an attack was launched and the 49th Australian Infantry Battalion attacked to take Mouquet Farm, they were supported on the left flank by the 52nd Australian Infantry Battalion.Heroic during the charge through no man's land, Allen was hit by a machine gun bullet which he received in the stomach and was left in a shell hole, unfortunately this attack, which was the second attack carried out by the Australians between September 3 and 5, 1916 was a failure and Allen's body was not found and was declared missing.

Later, on September 26, 1916, Mouquet Farm was captured by the British and Canadians and Allen's body was found and identified and reported as "killed in action". 11,000 Australian soldiers fell between August 8 and 3 September 1916.9 attacks were organized and failed, it was one of the worst battles that the Australians knew in the Somme.

Today Allen Beresford Bourke rests in peace with his comrades and brothers in arms at Courcelette British Cemetery, Somme.

Allen, young and brave, your heart echoed with that of thousands of young men who all answered the call of duty, smiling and proud, courageous and determined, it is all together, united for your families, for your country , under the banner of Australia but ready to fight for all the people and for the fate of the world which, you have walked and sailed thousands of kilometers to come and fight in France which was in agony, destroyed, bruised by so much of violence, disfigured by rains of shells.under the dark clouds of war, young and brave, you did not retreat, in the muddy trenches of the battlefields of the Somme, you have seen and faced the worst horrors and pains caused by weapon-destroying madness who spit death in rains of blood and hailstones of sharp and burning steel that shattered the bodies and lives of so many of your friends, so many innocent young lives, lives lost too soon in the shell holes, in the water and the mud drowning a whole generation of heroes ... Anxiously awaiting the hour of the last attack, eyes on the officers' whistles, hands shaking, legs paralyzed by the fear, your stomach knotted by the fear of living the last moments of a too short life, this day of September 5, 1916, you advanced with courage on no man's land, desolate land, plowed by the bombardments of the artillery , charging the enemy, bayonet forward, it is here that in a last act of admirable courage, doing your duty to the end, you fell with your comrades, on these fields of the Somme which are so peaceful today, it is difficult to imagine the hell that these men went through for us, and yet, when I walk through the fields of poppies, I can feel the presence of these young men, then I sit and I look at these fields, alone, in silence, as if the past were in front of my eyes, I see men come out of their trenches, I see them charging with bravery and falling under the rains bullets, I hear the screams and I can smell the gunpowder in the air, the suffering facing courage, and it is often with tears in my eyes that I get up to tell these men how grateful I am and how much I admire them,and that it is an honor to be with them, to be present for them who gave so much for us, their youth, their courage, their today for our tomorrow, their lives.Gone but not and never forgotten, they will live forever in our thoughts and in our hearts, in the light and the flame of Remembrance, their memory, their stories, their faces, their acts of courage will never be forgotten.These men are our History, not just our past, they always live near us and it is by thinking of them that we build the future by protecting the peace for which they fought and gave their lives. We are all the guardians of their memories.Thank you Allen, with all my heart and know that I will always watch over you and your comrades who rest in peace with you, under the banner of Australia and France, hand in hand, we will never forget you and we will always honor your memory with the greatest respect.At the going down of the sun and in the morning,we will remember him,we will remember them. 

Allen Beresford BOURKE was born in Ipswich, Queensland on 1st May, 1897

His parents were John George BOURKE & Mary ALLEN