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Herbert was given the rank of private and attached to the 36
th
Battalion.
He listed his mother, Mary Bradley of Collier Street, Redhead as his Next
of Kin
He arrived in Plymouth England in January 1917. He spent February and
March 1917 in hospital suffering with influenza, bronchitis and gastric.
Poor weather in Europe at this time of the year; the worst in fifty years,
made many soldiers of the AIF susceptible to illness.
By the time of his return to the Front, his battalion was about due to
participate in the battle of Messines in Belgium. This may have explained
a night Absent Without Leave (AWL) for which he forfeited pay as his
punishment for a night away before the start of the battle.
On 9 June 1917 Herbert was reported missing believed killed, but it was
not until 9 July 1917 that it was confirmed that Herbert had been killed in
action. The official date of his death was 8 June 1917. Herbert was only
20 years of age.
Herbert has no known grave. He was one of 6,178 Australians whose
bodies were never found in the Flanders mud. Herbert’s parents,
Ralph and Mary, must have felt the pain of his loss much more keenly
considering his body was never recovered.
His mother Mary, shown as his next of kin at his enlistment, is said to
have taken his death very badly and locked his room, leaving it the way it
was when he left for Europe. The arrival of his possessions- two discs on
a lanyard, wallet, Bible, 2 Diaries, photos & postcards would have
increased her feelings of loss.
In honour of Herbert his uncle, Bill Gilchrist, named his own son Herbert.
He is recognized at the Menin Gate Memorial Panel Plate 25, Ypres,
Belgium. The Gate was an appropriate recognition point as soldiers
moving to the front lines to the main battlefields of Ypres passed through
the gates and hopefully back through them when they returned.
The Ypres battles took place in a particularly marshy area in poor weather
and on ground badly disturbed by constant heavy artillery fire. Some
soldiers carrying heavy equipment, drowned when they fell in holes
created by artillery fire. These factors meant that attacking soldiers were
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