Samuel Francis Barber
Stephen LearmonthSamuel Francis Barber was born in August of 1895 at Cudgewa. He was the sixth child of Henry and Isabella (née Anderson) Barber. Sometime between Samuel’s birth and 1903 (the earliest that Henry is found on the Electoral Roll as being in Melbourne) the Barber family left the Upper Murray and settled in the Melbourne suburb of Northcote.
Samuel attended North Fitzroy State School (where he was 1st Dux) and then Melbourne Continuation School (where he was 2nd Dux). The Continuation School was Victoria’s first state secondary school, established in 1905, being renamed as Melbourne High School in 1912.
After leaving school Samuel enrolled at Conway Coaching College, a facility that helped young “ladies and gentlemen” train in various fields including shorthand, typing, bookkeeping, languages, mathematics and science. The education that he gained here helped him to pass the Public Service examination, where he gained employment at the Law Department, Crown Law Offices, as a 5th Class Clerk in the Office of Titles.
Before enlisting in the A.I.F. in August of 1916, Samuel needed to ask for leave from the Public Service. He was also required to be discharged from the Army Service Corps, where he had been a cadet for four years. So, on the 7th of August, 1916, Samuel became Private Samuel Francis Barber, Regimental Number 5791, of the 16th Reinforcements of the 24th Battalion.
On the 2nd of October, 1916, the 16th Reinforcements embarked on HMAT A71 Nestor at Port Melbourne and proceeded overseas. Travelling at a top speed of 14 knots (approximately 25 km/h), the journey took them across the Indian Ocean, through the Suez Canal, with a stop over at Alexandria. Samuel finally arrived at Plymouth, England, on the 16th of November, 1916. Upon arriving in England, the troops underwent a training program at the No. 6 Training Battalion, on the Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire. The aim was to teach them the skills they would need to use while fighting in France and Belgium.
In mid-February of 1917, the 16th reinforcements embarked on HMT Victoria and proceeded overseas to France. They were taken on strength with the 24th Battalion on the 8th of March, 1917, which, at that time, was situated just north-east of Albert.
On the 21st of April, the 6th Australian Infantry Brigade Headquarters issued Order No. 86. On a date to be notified, the Brigade would “attack (leapfrog principle) the HINDENBURG LINE in co-operation with 5th A.I.Bde on our right and 185th & 186th Brigades on our left.” The Hiddenburg Line consisted of three well-defined trench systems and was developed by the Germans as their last, and strongest, line of defence. Eventually, the date was set for the 3rd of May, 1917.
By this stage, Samuel was a part of 6 Platoon in B Company of the 24th Battalion. He was designated a Lewis gunner. The Lewis gun was part of the heavy fire power for a company of Infantry. The gun weighed about 13 kilograms and had a fire rate of over 500 rounds per minute. Each round shaped magazine held 47 rounds of .303 calibre ammunition. B Company had four Lewis gunners in total, one for every platoon. However, each gun needed up to nine men to service it, carry the ammunition and assist in its operation.
The initial moments of the operation is best described by the Battalion’s War diarist:
“First wave forming at 3.5 a.m. [3.05 am] under supervision of of CO [Commanding Officer]. Zero, 3.45 am. Enemy planes plentiful, also searchlights sweeping no mans land. Enemy barrage falls zero-10 mins. Clear start, wire well cut. Little artillery fire, M.G. [machinegun] fire heavy. Casualties fairly heavy. OG1 [First enemy trench] entered zero+16 mins. OG2 +33. Obj carried +1-4. Both flanks all objectives in air. All officers 2nd objective casualties”
By the second objective all of the 24th Battalions Officers were casualties! Even though the battalion had taken their first and second objectives, the battalions on their right and left flank hadn’t.
This would become known as the Second battle of Bullecourt where the Australian 2nd Division and the British 62nd Division attempted to secure the fortified village of Bullecourt. By the 15th of May, German forces withdrew, but at the cost of over 7000 Australian and over 8000 British casualties. The 24th Battalion suffered over 80% casualties. This meant that approximately 800 men (if they had initially been at full strength) were killed, wounded or missing in action.
Samuel had been one of those casualties. A witness statement on Samuel’s Australian Red Cross Wounded and Missing File provides some information on Samuel’s death.
“24th Battn.
B Coy.
A.I.F.
“Killed 3.5.17”
I saw him dead at Bullecourt. I did not see the actual casualty but I believe he was wounded and was going to the dressing station when he was caught by a shell, and killed him instantly. He was very badly knocked about. I knew him very well, but I do not know the place of burial and I cannot refer to anyone for details. We held the ground and were being relieved when I saw him dead. He was sure to have been buried later.
Witness:- Col. D.W. Witherden 3956
24th Battn. B.Coy,6 Pltn.
3rd Aust. Aux. Hospital.
Dartford.
W. Oman.
London. 13.11.17.”
However, the impact of the war didn’t conclude with the end of war. On the 13th of November, 1918, Samuel’s father, Henry, had written to the Officer in Charge at Base Records Office in Melbourne, inquiring about some of Samuels personal effects. Just after his son’s death, he had received a package containing a jack knife and a guide book of London, which had belonged to Samuel. Henry wanted to know what had happened to a number of valuable items that hadn’t been returned, such as a wrist watch, a wallet, safety razor, fountain pen and a testament. A reply stated that if any of Samuel’s personal effects turned up they would be sent to Henry. Nothing else initially surfaced. However, eight years later, on the 19th of April, 1926, a small package arrived in the mail along with a note. A French farmer, tilling the soil at his farm near Bullecourt, had discovered an identity disk in the soil. After taking it to the authorities, it was found to have belonged to Samuel.
Eleven years later, in 1939, when the world was on the cusp of another tragic world war, Henry once again wrote to Base Records. He had become financially destitute [his words], so he decided to apply for an Australian Soldiers Repatriation allowance. To do this, however, he needed Samuel’s rank, Regimental Number and Regiment. History does not record whether he was successful in his endeavours.
Samuel is remembered on the Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Melbourne High School Roll of Honour, the Corryong War Memorial, the Cudgewa War Memorial and the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial. For his service, he was awarded the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.
