The AIF Project

Anthony BATTERS

Regimental number1870
Place of birthSt Arnaud, Victoria
SchoolSt Arnaud State School and College, Victoria
ReligionMethodist
OccupationFarmer
AddressTocumwal, New South Wales
Marital statusSingle
Age at embarkation25
Height5' 8.75"
Weight136 lbs
Next of kinFather, John Batters, Oak Lees, Tocumwal, New South Wales
Enlistment date14 March 1916
Date of enlistment from Nominal Roll5 April 1916
Place of enlistmentMelbourne, Victoria
Rank on enlistmentPrivate
Unit name46th Battalion, 3rd Reinforcement
AWM Embarkation Roll number23/63/3
Embarkation detailsUnit embarked from Melbourne, Victoria, on board HMAT A7 Medic on 20 May 1916
Regimental number from Nominal Roll2032
Rank from Nominal RollPrivate
Unit from Nominal Roll46th Battalion
FateKilled in Action 11 April 1917
Place of death or woundingBullecourt, France
Date of death11 April 1917
Age at death from cemetery records26
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
Reg. No. appearing on Cemetery Details is 2032. Parents: John and Hannah Elizabeth BATTERS, Tocumwal, New South Wales. Born at St. Arnaud, Victoria
Other details

War service: Western Front

Marched into 12th Training Bn, Rollestone, England, 21 July 1916.

Proceeded overseas to France, 16 September 1916; taken on strength, 46th Bn, 31 October 1916.

Wounded in action, 13 November 1916; admitted to 8th Casualty Clearing Station, 14 November 1916 (gun shot wound, left hand)0; transferred by Ambulance Train No 7 to No 11 Stationary Hospital, Rouen, 16 November 1916; discharged to Base Depot, 25 November 1916; rejoined Bn, 27 January 1917.

Wounded in action (2nd occasion), Bullecourt, 11 April 1917; posted 'Wounded and missing'. 11 April 1917; Court of Enquiry, held 26 November 1917, concluded fate to be 'killed in action', 11 April 1917.

Medals: British War Medal, Victory Medal

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