Private Richard Warne MM 31st Battalion AIF
"Within Sight of Home"
Acknowledgement: This is one of a selection of stories written by Darryl Kelly about soldiers who served in WW1. It is intended that the stories soon be published as a book, “Just Soldiers".
Soldiers accept the risk of battle. The death, pain of wounds and the hidden fear of illness are commonplace. But fate can be a cruel and vicious player in the game and can deal you the worst of hands. This is one such story.
Richard Warne was born to simple country folk in Maryborough, Queensland in 1898. A boy of the land, he worked hard on the family farm at Owanyilla to help meet his family's needs. He was bright at school and did well, but with not a lot of time on his hands, sport took second place. When a chance did arise, he relished a hard game of tennis.
On enlistment in the AIF in March of 1916, he was in a select group of recruits commonly known as "The Fair Dinkums". They were the recruits who knew what to expect after the carnage of Gallipoli, after the romanticism of the war had died with so many seeking the great adventure. Richard Warne was first posted to the ranks of the 41st Battalion. He relished his life in the military and adapted well to the rigours of training.
In May 1916 he boarded the troopship Demosthenes in Sydney. The ship was bound for England, for it was here that the diggers would hone their skills for the upcoming battles. In September 1916, Warne received his orders to embark for France. It was at this point he found he was needed to help fill the ranks of the depleted 31st Battalion, which was engaged in heavy fighting at Flers.
As the young diggers moved up towards the line that first night, nothing in training could have prepared him for the sights, sounds and conditions he was about to experience. France was entering the worst winter in 100 years. Freezing cold, constant damp, knee deep mud and the constant presence of death were daily norms. The 31st Battalion, like all the units of the AIF, endured and held the enemy in these impossible conditions in this place called the Somme.
In February 1917, Warne was on a ration-carrying party supplying the front line. As the party weaved its way forward, the scream of artillery shells pierced the night. Diving to the ground, Warne and his carrying partner sought the safety of the mud. As the shells exploded, a red-hot splinter shattered the urn of boiling water they were carrying and drenched Warne's feet with its contents.
As the young soldier was carried to the dressing station, he pleaded not to have to leave his mates. The medics decided that the injury required specialist treatment in England and on the 8th of February 1917, Warne entered the Norfolk War Hospital. His stay was to last eight weeks.
On release from the hospital, Warne remained in England to assist in the training of recruits. When he read of the casualties and the loss of so many mates, he pestered his superiors to let him return to his battalion and the front so as to do his bit.
In October of 1917 he got his wish and re-embarked for France. In November of that year Richard Warne had his first brush with the disciplinary side of the Army. He was charged with the serious crime of stealing. It wasn't money nor was it a mate's possessions, it was four pounds of apples (less than two kilos) which he had given to members of his section. He was found guilty and sentenced to one day's detention.
The 31st was again on the move through the carnage of the trenches. The shot, the shell, the death and destruction. The Aussies held their ground through the great German advance of April 1918.
Finally the tide turned and they had Fritz on the run. It was now August 1918 and finally the Aussie Divisions were fighting side by side. The German General Ludendorff called it the "Black Day" of the German Army. At one point the 31st became bogged down and were driven back by accurate German artillery fire. The front was strewn with Australian wounded. Warne and a mate, Private Richard Stutz, also from Owanyilla, went out under heavy fire and dragged in their wounded mates. Both soldiers were awarded the Military Medal for their actions of that day. It is ironic, but after the war, Stutz would marry Warne's sister.
By now the Germans were retreating on all fronts with the Aussies hard on their heels. During an attack in September the 31st again came under heavy and accurate German artillery fire. A Lewis gun section which included Richard Warne sortied forward. They located the troublesome battery and engaged it with accurate small arms fire, serious enough to have the Germans temporarily abandon their guns. This respite allowed the 31st to move forward and continue the advance. Warne's name was submitted for a bar to his Military Medal, but it was not approved.
An armistice was declared on the 11th of November 1918. The battlefield adopted a strange, ghost-like silence. Finally the war was over. Private Richard Warne MM would have to wait his turn for a draft to go home. Those who had longer periods of service would be given first priority. He was sent to England on leave and took in the sights, sounds and celebrations of the allied victory.
Finally the order came which he had waited three and a half years for. As the troopship neared the coast of Australia, diggers could swear they could smell the gum trees. Private Warne presented himself for a final medical board in Brisbane on the 22nd of August 1919. He was passed fit with no disabilities. He sent a telegram to his family stating that he would catch the first available train from Brisbane which was due in Owanyilla on the afternoon of the 25th.
He arranged to travel with Private George Black, also of the 31st. They had been the best of mates for the past 18 months and had looked out for each other, both in and out of the line. By a stroke of luck Warne was released on leave early and thought he would surprise his family by catching an earlier train which would arrive on the morning of the 25th of August.
During the journey Warne learned the unbelievable - the train did not stop at Owanyilla. He asked if the driver would make a special allowance and make an unscheduled stop. The driver refused saying the best he could do was slow down to allow Warne to jump.
As the train slowed on its approach to Owanyilla around 5am, Warne glanced from the carriage. He could see the lights of his home and could imagine his mother cooking breakfast. Black walked with Warne to the carriage door, here they paused, shook hands and said their good-byes. As the platform came into view, Warne threw his kitbag from the train. It landed safely on the platform. He judged his time and jumped. Fate now took over. He found that the train was going too fast and he had missed the platform altogether. He bounced along the ground and hit a large rock with such force that it threw him under the wheels of the train. The wheels shattered the lower portion of his right leg. He was gashed about the head, had a compound fracture of the skull, and severe gravel rash over most of his body.
At about 7am, Mrs Eva Lay, the wife of a local linesman, made her way to the platform. Her job was to open the gates. She noticed the kitbag lying on the platform. Looking about she noticed the station was empty. Curiosity got the better of her and she made her way down the track. It was here she found the bloodied body of a young soldier. As she looked closer, she could see a slight rise and fall of his chest. It was the impossible. He was alive.
Being new to the area and with her husband away, she raced to the nearest farm for help. The farm was that of the Warne family. On arrival at the scene Richard and Clara Warne looked down at the battered form of the young soldier only to see that it was their own son, Richard.
A series of telephone calls rattled along the ancient lines for the ambulance from Maryborough to be sent. On arrival the ambulance men did all they could. They placed young Richard in the back of the ambulance with his mother cradling her son's battered head. The ambulance sped towards Maryborough. As it approached the hospital, Private Richard Warne MM lost his final battle and died in his mother's arms.
The citizens of the Maryborough district contributed funds to have a memorial erected over the young soldier's grave. His mother never got over the death of her first born and secretly favourite child. She endured a further 41 years of the unbearable torture of his loss before she was finally laid to rest alongside him in 1960.
The memorial. Its inscription reads:
ERECTED BY THE CITIZENS OF MARYBOROUGH & DISTRICT TO PTE R. WARNE M.M. 31 BATT. AIF ELDEST SON OF R & C WARNE OWANYILLA ACCIDENTALLY KILLED ON HIS WAY HOME FROM ACTIVE SERVICE 25 AUG. 1919 AGED 21 YEARS