While Marie Mounter knew her uncle, Lance Corporal Andrew Elliott, never returned from World War I, she knew little more because her father rarely spoke of it. Now in her 80s, Marie gained a clearer picture from her nephew's recent research, and a visit to France by her great-nephew, which brought to life the battle of Somme in 1916.
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Lance Corporal Elliott was of athletic build and before the war was a policeman.
- Sgt N Clifton
"Andrew was born in Armidale. My Grandfather owned a property called Green Willow at Castle Doyle, and the family grew up there until my grandmother died and my grandfather moved to Sydney," Marie said.
"Andrew joined the NSW Police Force and then enlisted in the Army from there. My father couldn't get into the war, my mother always said, because of health reasons, and my father just didn't want to talk about Andy.
"I don't know too much about what happened when he went overseas, but I do have photos of him in Egypt."
He enlisted in on September 1 1914, and one of his mates later said, "I knew him personally. He was an original man." He meant that Andrew was an original volunteer for the ambulance.
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The 1st Field Ambulance was raised from August 24 1914 at Queens Park, Waverley in Sydney, and a group of 250 personnel had to be recruited. Many had St Johns Ambulance Certificates and prior Citizen Military Forces experience, which qualified them for certain posts.
Andrew was a policeman, about six feet tall and very fit. He was a prime candidate to become a stretcher bearer and get a trip to Gallipoli with the field ambulance, after training in Egypt.
From Gallipoli to France, and as an "original" he would have been highly regarded by replacement troops coming in, although their regard would have been all too often short-lived at Pozieres in 1916.
German artillery bombarded Pozières relentlessly during 1916, in a concentrated shelling aimed to inflict as much damage and loss as possible. Approaches to the village were included, where supplies entered and hundreds of wounded, and stretcher-bearers carrying the severely injured exited.
Enemy shells rained down, and on August 17 1916, one killed Andrew and four other soldiers as they sheltered from the deadly bombardment.
... they were out in the field to pick up the wounded - that's what they did.
- Marie Mounter
"Lance Corporal Elliott was of athletic build and before the war was a policeman. He joined the unit in Australia and left with the 1st Division. I am afraid there is not the slightest as to his identity as I knew him personally and at the time of his death was his Section Sergeant," Sergeant N Clifton reported the following year.
"On the evening of of 18th Aug. 1916 Lance Corporal Elliott was sent with seven others to the Regimental Aid Post situated slightly to the right of Pozieres village. The place had been shelled very heavy all day, but unfortunately the men had to go up.
"On arriving at the post they sat on the steps of a deep German dugout. A shell exploded right in the mouth of the dugout, killing the four men at the top and leaving unscathed the four further down. I saw the bodies the next morning and had them buried in a shell hole about 10 yards from the trench."
Marie said she thought it was sad that her uncle's name had not been mentioned much.
"I mean his name is on the War Memorial Fountain in Central Park, and I just think that being a stretcher bearer, they should be acknowledged too," she said.
"Because they were out in the field to pick up the wounded - that's what they did."
