The AIF Project

Ernest William FENNELL

Regimental number5094
Place of birthRamsgate, Kent, England
SchoolChrist's Church School, Ramsgate, Kent, England
Age on arrival in Australia17.2
ReligionMethodist
OccupationBaker's assistant
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation18
Height5' 6"
Weight112 lbs
Next of kinMother, Mrs R Fennell, 52 Berridge Street, Sheerness on Sea, England
Previous military serviceNil
Enlistment date17 August 1915
Place of enlistmentMelbourne, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name14th Battalion, 16th Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/31/4
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A68 Anchises on 14 March 1916
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll46th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 1 September 1916
Place of death or woundingPozieres, Somme Sector, France
Age at death19.9
Place of burialNo known grave
Commemoration detailsAustralian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux, France

Villers-Bretonneux is a village about 15 km east of Amiens. The Memorial stands on the high ground ('Hill 104') behind the Villers-Bretonneux Military Cemetery, Fouilloy, which is about 2 km north of Villers-Bretonneux on the east side of the road to Fouilloy.

The Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux is approached through the Military Cemetery, at the end of which is an open grass lawn which leads into a three-sided court. The two pavilions on the left and right are linked by the north and south walls to the back (east) wall, from which rises the focal point of the Memorial, a 105 foot tall tower, of fine ashlar. A staircase leads to an observation platform, 64 feet above the ground, from which further staircases lead to an observation room. This room contains a circular stone tablet with bronze pointers indicating the Somme villages whose names have become synonymous with battles of the Great War; other battle fields in France and Belgium in which Australians fought; and far beyond, Gallipoli and Canberra.

On the three walls, which are faced with Portland stone, are the names of 10,885 Australians who were killed in France and who have no known grave. The 'blocking course' above them bears the names of the Australian Battle Honours.

After the war an appeal in Australia raised £22,700, of which £12,500 came from Victorian school children, with the request that the majority of the funds be used to build a new school in Villers-Bretonneux. The boys' school opened in May 1927, and contains an inscription stating that the school was the gift of Victorian schoolchildren, twelve hundred of whose fathers are buried in the Villers-Bretonneux cemetery, with the names of many more recorded on the Memorial. Villers-Bretonneux is now twinned with Robinvale, Victoria, which has in its main square a memorial to the links between the two towns.

Panel number, Roll of Honour,
  Australian War Memorial
141
Miscellaneous information from
  cemetery records
Parents: George Henry and Ruth FENNELL, 68 Fenton Road, Bournemouth, England
Other details

War service: Egypt, Western Front

Marched in to 4th Training Bn, Tel el Kebir, 15 April 1916.

Embarked Alexandria, 6 June 1916; disembarked Plymouth, England, 16 June 1916, and marched in to 12th Training Bn.

Proceeded overseas to France, 25 July 1916; taken on strength, 46th Bn, in the field, 16 August 1916.

Wounded in action, Pozieres, 1 September 1916.

Died of wounds, 1 September 1916.

Assistant Director, 4th Division Medical Services, stated, 10 October 1916: 'This man did not pass through any of 4th Division's Field Ambulances. I have no knowledge of his whereabouts.'

Captain (unnamed), 46th Bn, stated (undated): 'All records covering the period named have been lost through enemy action. The only record we now have of 5094 Pte. E.W. Fennell, is the same as shown on your memo. No information is available regarding burial but enquiries show that he was wounded by H.E. shell-fire in the side and has (sic) a broken arm. He was attended by stretcher bearers but died very shortly afterwards.'

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal

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