Bernard William Chatfield
From Our Contribution
 | |
| Personal Information | |
|---|---|
| Date of Birth | not known 1897 |
| Place of Birth | Burton on Trent, Manchester, England |
| Death | 3 Sep 1916 |
| Place of Death | Mouquet farm, Pozieres, France |
| Age at Enlistment | 18 years, 4 months |
| Description | 5'3½" (1.61m) tall, weight 129 lbs (58.5kg); dark complexion, brown eyes, black hair. |
| Occupation | farm hand |
| Religion | Church of England |
| Address |
'Bridge Farm', Serpentine, Western Australia (Turner farm) |
| Next of Kin | Sister Miss Elsie Monica Chatfield |
| Military Information | |
| Reg Number | 2798 |
| Date of Enlistment | 5 Oct 1915 |
| Rank | Lance Corporal |
| Unit/Formation | 11th Battalion, 9th Reinforcement B Company, transferred to B Company 51st Battalion / 13th Brigade, 4th Division |
| Date of Embarkation | 5 Oct 1915 - ? |
| Ship Embarked On | HMAT A20 Hororata |
| Fate | Missing in Action 3 Sep 1916 Mouquet Farm, later confirmed KIA |
| Monument |
Serpentine Roll of Honour Villers-Bretonneux Memorial ANZAC Memorial Park (Byford) |
| Medals |
1914-15 Star British War Medal Victory Medal |
Pre War
Permission to enroll was signed by Eliza Turner given that both parents were dead. Parents were Edmund John and Annie.
War Service
On arrival at Blackboy Hill camp, Bernard was allocated to the 9th reinforcement draft for the 11th Battalion.
At Tel-el-Kebir camp in Egypt Bernard was taken on strength by the 11th Battalion, and on 29 Feb 1916 he was one of the first to be transferred to the 51st Battalion at Serapuem.
Along with his battalion, he boarded HMT Ivernia in Alexandria on 5 Jun 1918 for Marseilles in France where they arrived on 12 Jun 1916.
The battalion was engaged in an attack on Mouquet Farm between 13th and 16th August, and given that on 18 Aug 1916 he was appointed Lance Corporal during the battalions reorganisation at Warloy, Bernard must have acquitted himself well.
At 6:30pm on 1 Sep 1917 B Company left BRICKFIELDS to lead the battalion forward to relieve the 47th Battalion and prepare for an attack on the enemy trenches. Relief was completed by 5am. Later, B & D Companies were to lead the attack on Mouquet Farm, and although the attack advanced to the farm and beyond, the defenders were able to use a very extensive underground system to emerge behind attacking troops and harass them with snipers and machine guns.
Support troops, finding themselves under attack from both flanks as well as the front were forced to withdraw, leaving the remnants of C and D Companies isolated in an old German trench.
Red Cross files note their inability to find anyone who can tell them how Chatfield was killed. A Court of Enquiry was held on 23 Apr 1917, and it resolved that Bernard had been Killed in Action on 3 Sep 1916.
Post War
Following confirmation of his death, sister Elsie was awarded a pension of 10/- per fortnight from 7 Dec 1916. Elsie (married name McIntyre) wrote to the Defence Department in June 1967 requesting Bernard's Anzac Medal. At the time she was living at 'Big Bend', Clunes, Victoria.
Notes
No grave having been identified for Bernard, he is recorded on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial.
