Page 17 Uncle Bert's Diary Page 3 Friday, 11 September 2009 12:26:46 PM ShopNBC Coupon Codes Cont from Page 16 Monday 16th: Improved our position as far as comfort was concerned.  Hollowed out the side of the trench enough to allow two to sit in it & and then bring the w p sheet over it & so tho we couldn’t get much sleep, we were able to keep dry - at least we prevented ourselves getting any wetter our overcoats already being soaking wet and very heavy.  Fritz did some accurate shooting on our position during the day, but our little section was lucky.  Our artillery also did some good shooting at one of his strongholds, tho one or two low shots were very close to our own men.  Fritz in shooting at a platoon of ours near his stronghold, kindly dumped 3 or 4 of his H E’s into his own barbed wire.  Relieved about 11 pm in almost total darkness & steady rain.   Pitied the poor beggars taking over from us cos trench in a horrible mess.      Tuesday 17th: Reached our old positions where our packs were early in the mng.  Some of them had been “ratted”  tho mine was OK.  We then set out for our resting place.  It was a march I’ll never forget.  Firstly we had had no dinner or tea the previous day & were tired and weak.  It was pitch dark – one could not see anyone 4 yds in front, & our road lay for a long way along a railway embankment which was blown up at intervals and everywhere pitted with holes, rocks, logs etc which we were unable to see.  (See Bean Volume 4, Ch. 10, Page 361 and Laffin’s  Map Page 115 – Ed.)   There was also plenty of barb wire strewn about.  We were continually falling over into the mud & then we’d get more covered trying to get up.  Everybody was cursing and swearing something awful.  My right boot hurt like H at the ankle & of course I seemed to step on something which would throw my ankle over at every step.    Finally we left the line & went along a so called road.  Had a halt for a rest & myself and others moved to the right to rest on the side & all fell into a deep ditch which we couldn’t see.  The ditch was thick with mud and curses.  A little later one of my section fell on the side of the road dead beat & wouldn’t get up.  He was done right in.  Just lay on his back in the mud and didn’t care what happened.  Stopped back with him.  After he’d rested a while we both pushed on, but it was pitch dark.  We had no idea where the others were, & we lost the road, so we sat down in the rain until dawn, when we drifted into a village & slept in the first shelter we could find.  Found the mob after we’d had some sleep.  Billeted in a comfy place & such things go Fritz shells this place off & on, so we had to buzz off & quarter ourselves in a sunken road just out of the town.  A mate and I got into a tiny brick room in the outskirts of the village.  Quite dry which is the chief thing; Fritz shelled the town pretty heavily for a while.  Two or three casualties.     Wednesday 18th: On guard today but a soft cop writing letters most of the time. Rumoured that the building that Bn Hq is in is mined so they are building a dugout in the sunken road.  Some part of the chateau where we were a few days ago has been blown up with a few casualties.  They today discovered in a hidden cellar in the town a German equipped with telephone & listening apparatus & six months rations!  Some nerve eh.  Only discovered by accident.  Some chap floundering about fell through the roof on top of him.   Thursday 19th: Things fairly quite. Having an easy time.  Had to stand to prepare to move this arvo but nothing came of it.     Friday 20th: Informed that we are going into the line tomorrow for a few days to relieve the 4th.  Wrote to Mrs. M. KD. C & D McP. E & N G.  L.A.F.  Fell in after dark to do digging fatigue.  Two of our pns marched out about 3000 yds & dug trenches already marked out by the Engrs.   Dug until 1.30 a.m. & then came back.  Reported that our chaps are using gas shortly.     Saturday 21st: Slept till near dinner & also nearly all the afternoon.  Haven’t been able to get the letters I wrote censored yet.  Rec’d two letters today, one from Charlie, & Ernie.  Moving up the line some time tonight for a few days.    Wednesday 24th: Four quiet days in the line with no excitement & plenty of work.  The cookers do not like Fritz & we have to go jolly nearly 2 miles for our rations.  Relieved late at night by the Y & L Infnty & marched to the chateau in the woods mentioned earlier where we put up for the night.    Thursday 25th: Anzac Day.  Marched about 5 or 6 miles to some camp in tents.  After dinner was put on guard.  Wrote letters most of the time.  Friday 26th: Up the line again.  Fine spell they are giving us.  Marched 8 or 9 Ks & took over from the 18th. About 3 miles behind the line but still had to patrol.  Fine weather luckily.     Saty 27th: Back again to the tents, but we are going up again tmw so they say.  If they want us & go in & out the line like rabbits going into & out of their burrows why the devil don’t  they keep us handy instead of marching us about so much.  No pay yet but rec’d a reg letter from Viv with money for Cook but as cannot do anything with it yet am drawing my pay on it.   Troops mustered writing letters-   SO BERT’S ENTRIES IN HIS DIARY FINISHED AND HE WAS KILLED A FEW DAYS LATER.   On 3rd May, Bert’s 3rd Battalion moved up and relieved the 24th Battalion (2nd Battle of Bullecourt) and he was killed that day.  A second cousin Julius Ordo CLARKE was also killed  and his brother Hercules Lionel CLARKE, both from the 19th Battalion died the next day from wounds.  2007 We were able to stand on the very spot we believe Uncle Bert died at farm in Bullecourt with help of Army documents and GPS. We owe this entire trip to my wonderful husband David who was working full time in his real job  and whose endless hours spent with no help what so ever from family members. 2009 Our next visit we found many relics from field where Uncle Bert died and we had not seen on a previous trip form the battle and as we were there on on the 8th May we were treated to a party in community hall drinking French Champagne with the mayor and locals one of the most wonderful day of our trip. As it was just after Anzac day at Villers Bretonneux they seemed just so happy to have us there on their special day VE. Matthew holding a Mills Bomb from the nearby fields at Bullecourt. We then had a barbecue lunch/supper with some dear friends Collette and Claude Durand. Bert's Service Documents from the Australian War Memorial and at the end of all his details, written in red are the words 'Buried near Maricourt Wood." This is the first time that these details were known of this fact. I do not know how far it was from the lines at Bullecourt to this wood. We cannot be sure that details given to his brother Captain Viv SMYTHE at that time was correct. It was always believed that his body had been blown up after initially being hit badly. In all the turmoil of the battle, it is easy to understand that whoever passed this information on to Viv, could easily have been mistaken.  On our recent trip with my husband we were not able to find any site of it at Maricourt Woods. Clyde SMYTHE (Viv's son) told me when I passed these details on to him that his father had told him that Bert died in the 2nd German Trench at 3 a.m. in the morning. Small pieces of additional information can come at anytime to add to the data I have. It is still unknown if there was a body or his name on the Villers Brettoneaux Memorial is all we will ever have. It is so sad to me and I can imagine how this affected his parents and siblings and the many other families who lost friends and relations missing in action. Page 18