Sons of the British Empire

Below Pictures of Buttes New British Cemetry on ANZAC Day 25th  April 2011.Please view the video all the way through to get a full understanding of what we do. 

 In the video below our Patron Dr Brendan Nelson talks with Chris Barker our UK man on the ground. The video is a little dark fat the start.

 PUPILS MOVING WREATH TRIBUTE TO FALLEN AUSTRALIAN SOLDIERS

Student from Fort Pitt Grammar School for girls have honoured Australian soldiers of the First World War.Pupils from the Chatham school remembered those buried in the Fort Pitt Military Cemetery, in Rochester's City Way.To mark Anzac day, when Australians commemorate men lost at Gallipoli, they placed crosses on nine graves.They had all been hand-made and signed by youngsters from a school in Tasmania.The students were addressed by Major Alex Thomson, of the Australian High Commission, who saluted each of the graves in turn. Maj Thomson, of the Royal Australian Engineers, is also from the 12/40th Tasmanian Battalion that won battle honours in Belgium, in the First World War.Most of the men buried in the cemetery died in the Fort Pitt Military Hospital.One girl placed a wreath on the grave of Thomas Patrick Rooney that was sent by descendants of his family in Melbourne.Rooney, who had been a mail driver before the war, died after having a leg amputated in the Chatham hospital.The care shown in Medway towards the Australians at Fort Pitt was reflected in this letter to Rooney's mother, from Philippa Blanchflower, of York Terrace, Gillingham.

She wrote: "He has been very ill, but would not allow anyone to write as he said you would feel nervous about him. He had a most terrible time of it".


 Major Alex Thomson the at Fort Pitt memorial

"First of all, the doctors tried hard to save his leg, but it had to be taken off at last but he has still had a great deal of suffering. He has been wonderfully patient, but could not be made to take much nourishment."I am a visitor from the Australian Branch Red Cross... we have been so interested in your son and have done what we could to tempt him with dainty things to eat "I'm afraid this must be a sad Xmas for you... I will write again and sincerely hope I will be able to give you better news of him. You may rest assured that all possible will be done for him."

On November 26, 1916, Sister M. Boyd King, who had helped care for him, wrote a very different letter to Rooney's mother."May I offer you and your dear ones our deepest sympathy, in your dear boy being taken from you, he was a patient with us so long and we were very fond of him. I asked your son if he would like me to write shortly before his death, but he said that it would make you think he was worse than he was and he hoped to write to you himself and he said to me once would it be possible to keep from you that his leg had been taken off, until he got home."

Head of history at Fort Pitt, Elaine Kirsopp, said the school took a great interest in the links with the Military Hospital.


Another Australian buried at Fort Pitt, Private Cecil Horace Price, from North Sydney, was awarded the Military Medal for his work as a stretcher bearer, before he died on September 24,1917 aged 24.

The citation, which included his comrade John Hay Campbell, read: "In the fighting near Bullecourt on the 11th April 1917, these two men showed conspicuous bravery as regimental stretcher bearers." The other two men of their squad were both hit by a shell whilst carrying a wounded man, and privates Price and Campbell were badly shaken, but they stuck to their work, returning again and again to the enemy's wire although under fire from snipers and machine guns "They continued this work until both were severely wounded."                -

After crosses had been placed to the accompaniment of laments played by a piper in full Highland dress, the students laid their own wreath on the cemetery's memorial.

The ceremony was organised by Chris Barker, a governor of the school.