Herbert Henry Bartley was a pillar of his community. On 7 June 1915 about fifty of his fellow citizens gathered to present him with a silver wristlet watch and wish Private Bartley good luck, before he left for the front. In the town of Delegate, NSW, Herb was captain of the rugby team, secretary of the Star of Delegate Lodge, treasurer of the Rifle Reserves club, and the local butcher. His friends and family felt ‘it was impossible for him to refuse to lend his assistance to public matters’ and Herb himself stated that ‘He had long been anxious to get into a bigger field for his energies.’ What ‘bigger field’ could there be than the First World War?

Recruitment

Private Herb Bartley was a big man; six foot tall and 182 lb. His friends proudly said that ‘when Herb got at the Turks they would certainly feel some weight behind the bayonet.’ He had a fair complexion, brown hair and eyes. He was 25 years old when he enlisted, youngest son of a large family long in the Monaro district. The people of the district were proud to see ‘splendid specimens of young Australian manhood’, like Herb, ‘answering the call.’

Between enlistment and his final leave and farewell party, Private Herb Bartley attended training at Liverpool, NSW. His time encamped there was surprisingly short. On arrival, the new recruits were asked if they were experienced with ‘musketry.’ Herb stepped up, referencing his drills with the Delegate Rifle Reserves club. He was subsequently placed in the 6th Reinforcements, 1st Battalion. This unit embarked from Sydney for Egypt on 16 June 1915, on board HMAT A63 Karoola.

Farewell to Private Bartley

Mr A.H. Jeffreys said their guest was a worthy citizen, who would be sorely missed in Delegate. Still he was badly wanted at the front. They wanted only the best there - not shirkers and second-raters - and it was grand to know that men of Herb’s stamina, pluck and capability were answering the call.
"Farewell to Private Bartley." *Delegate Argus,* 17 June 1915, p. 2.

When Herb enlisted (15 May 1915), Police Sergeant Macinnis of Delegate provided a reference which stated that Herb was ‘a first class penman and book keeper.’ This reference must have carried some weight because Herb was assigned to the orderly room on board the Karoola. His duties included processing the mail, issuing orders, and taking the minutes of disciplinary courts. There was a lot of work involved in the latter after the ship berthed at Fremantle. Of the soldiers given leave on shore, about 60 faced court for ‘playing up in Fremantle’. Some didn’t return to the ship at all and were left to the military police on shore, as HMAT Karoola left on 25 June 1915 for Egypt.

Herb broke his wristlet watch on the ship.

Overseas

Suez, Egypt

When HMAT Karoola arrived at Suez on 18 July 1915, Herb’s first priority was delivering the mail to the Suez post office. Over 5000 letters had been written on board, all of them passing through Herb’s orderly room. After a look around Suez, Herb embarked for Cairo and the Heliopolis training camp. The 1st battalion, including Herb’s unit, 6th Reinforcements, went into camp in the desert outside Cairo. Camp life was demanding work for the new recruits; Herb wrote home about hard marches and warned those coming after that it was not a holiday. It was a very brief stint in the desert, as he soon left for the Dardanelles.

Fasani Grivas Diamanti, Tent lines at Mena camp showing the pyramids in the background, 1915, Australian War Memorial collection A02741. — Fasani Grivas Diamanti, *Tent lines at Mena camp showing the pyramids in the background*, 1915, Australian War Memorial collection A02741.

Gallipoli, Turkey

In the Dardanelles, the Gallipoli campaign dragged on. An attempt was to be made in August 1915 to break out of the beachhead. Newly promoted Lance-Corporal Herb Bartley and the 6th Reinforcements arrived 6 August 1915 and were ordered to reinforce the assault on Lone Pine that very afternoon. There followed ‘four days of intense hand-to-hand fighting.’ Herb experienced trench warfare for the first time. The Turks retaliated with heavy counter attacks. Bombs were often being thrown into the trenches. Herb survived a close shave on sentry duty when a bullet ripped through a sandbag, then his cap, and grazed his scalp. Some of his mates weren’t so lucky. Herb helped bury friends from home, Bricky Davis and Harold Lewis, side-by-side.

Herb was caught up in the disease that swept through the Gallipoli camp in September 1915. Dysentery decimated the ranks, and Herb and others afflicted were moved to the hospital on Lemnos. At this time some of the brigades were being rested, so Herb did not return to the fighting until December 1915. By that time Lieutenant-General Birdwood had taken over command of the peninsula and signalled that the troops were to be pulled out of Gallipoli. Herb’s company was one of the last to leave on 20 December 1915.

The Gallipoli veterans were reorganised in Egypt. Herb was taken on strength to the newly formed 53rd Battalion. Long marches from Tel-el-Kebir to Suez Canal were gruelling. The 53rd assisted in guarding the Suez Canal transport route. While in Egypt, Herb was promoted to Company Quartermaster Sergeant.

Fromelles, France

The 53rd Battalion embarked for France on the OC Royal George, 22 June 1916. They arrived in the billet area of Thiennes on 30 June 1916. The 53rd Battalion had only recently arrived, when the battle of Fromelles commenced. The objective of the offensive was to bring down Sugar Loaf, a raised German position. A bombardment began 19 July 1916. Its purpose was to incapacitate the German trenches in preparation for infantry attack. Unfortunately, the Germans were well prepared for the Allied attacks and had pulled their troops back. When Herb and the men of the 53rd Battalion went ‘over the bags’ the Germans were ready for them.

Missing

Herb Bartley was reported missing in action after the Battle of Fromelles. The confusion of the battle is reflected in the responses of the men interviewed by the Red Cross. There is no doubt that Herb was killed in the battle, but exactly how he was killed and where buried remains a mystery. Reports from fellow soldiers include information that he was killed by machine gun fire, or a shell; that he was last seen in No-Man’s-Land or in a shell crater.

Back home, Herb’s father, Michael Bartley, had received the news that Herb was missing. Herb’s final letters arrived from France, which told of him being in good spirits and weighing in at 16 stone (102 kg) in Marseilles; he was a well-fed quartermaster sergeant.

Michael had to wait ten months for confirmation of Herb’s death. In the meantime, he desperately hung onto the hope of Herb being alive. Michael wrote to the army after he saw a request in the newspaper to identify an unknown soldier with amnesia. Despite the poor quality of the photograph, Michael thought it might be his son. It was not Herb.

Commemoration

Brooke Wooldridge, Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour Panel 156, 2019, digital image. — Brooke Wooldridge, *Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour Panel 156*, 2019, digital image.

I visited Herb’s panel on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial, Canberra. CQMS Herb Bartley is also commemorated in France at the Australian Cemetery, Fromelles. His name is on panel seven on V.C. Corner. Herb’s family holds some hope that he is among the Fromelles soldiers unearthed in 2009. His family continues to gather DNA evidence that will hopefully identify him and lead to his being interred in a named grave. In Delegate NSW Herb’s sacrifice is commemorated in the local war museum and at the cemetery.

‘Far away from home and loved ones in a hero’s grave he lies.’

Lest we forget.

From Lone Pine to Fromelles