Remembering family lost in battle

INSPIRED by a television program, Pam Vennand her cousin visited the First World War battlefields in Flanders where their great uncle fought and died.

Pam Venn at Charles Penn’s headstone in the Tuileries Cemetery, Belgium, in May 2014. Picture: Contributed

INSPIRED by a television program, in which a British actor walked the field where his grandfather fought, Pam Venn and her cousin visited the First World War battlefields in Flanders where their great uncle fought and died.

Early in 2014, I was watching a "Who Do You Think You Are?" TV program about a British actor who had gone to Belgium to walk along the roads and in fields where his grandfather had fought during World War 1.   My cousin, Jill Hinspeter, and I had already planned our holidays  to Europe for May 2014, and because that program was so inspiring to us, we both wanted  to do the same, to visit the battlefields  in Flanders where our great-uncle Charles Penn had fought and died in World War 1.

So in May 2014, Jill and I stood before the headstone for our great-uncle Charles Penn, in the Tuileries British Cemetery, Zillebeke, near Ypres in Belgium.   Charles Penn may only have risen to the rank of Lance Corporal, but like so many others, he did his birth country England, and his adopted country of Australia, proud.    And it was sad to think that in the 99 years since he was killed in those Flanders fields, we may have been the only relatives to have visited his memorial and resting place. 

Charles was born on 12 February 1885 in Poplar, Middlesex, England, to parents, Thomas James and Maria Penn (nee Short).  He was their third child, with two older brothers John and Thomas, and his younger siblings were Henrietta, Eliza, Herbert, Rosie, Bertram, Celia (our grandmother) and Emily.

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In the early 1900s, Charles and his two older brothers had joined the same British regiment, the Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment), when each turned 19 years of age.  I cannot find reasons why the Penn family decided to emigrate to Australia, or why they decided to settle in Mackay in Queensland, but perhaps like most migrants, economic reasons, more employment opportunities and a better lifestyle may have been important incentives.   Charles, with his two older brothers, John and Thomas, and their father, Thomas, arrived first in Brisbane on 29^th August 1907 on the ship, R.M.S. Ormuz.    Charles's mother, Maria Penn and her younger children arrived in Brisbane a year later on 10^th September 1908 on the ship, S.S. Orotava.

When World War I was declared, Charles's older brother, John, enlisted with the Australian Army, 13^th Light Horse Brigade, while Charles returned to England to re-enlist with his old regiment , 1^st Battalion Royal West Kent Regiment.   Charles was among some additional reserves who arrived in Belgium in late 1914, and sadly he was killed in action on 8^th March 1918, age 29.  In my research, I had found the Unit War Diaries for the RWKR for the month of March 1915 (at nationalarchives.gov.uk/records/war-diaries-ww1/WO 95/1563/3).   The last entry written by the Commanding Officer for the day of 8^th March was "Casualties during the day chiefly from enemy's shell fire were 4 killed and 7 wounded."    On either side of uncle Charles's headstone at the Tuileries Cemetery are the headstones for his three comrades who were also killed that day - Pvt J. Selves, Lance Cpl W. Mott, and Pvt B.C. Acott.    Tuileries Cemetery is in the town of Zillebeke.  The name Tuileries means Tile-Works; the chimney of the tileworks was bombed during the War, and many of the graves there were lost and the headstones destroyed.  After the war, the headstones were re-made and positioned around the perimeter of the cemetery.

Jill and I left red poppies at Charles's headstone and also small wooden crosses which had space on the back to write family messages.  My message for Charles was "Just know that you were sadly missed by your parents and your brothers and sisters.  I'm sorry that it may have taken 99 years for family members to visit your grave.  Remembered today, by your sister Celia and your great-nieces  Pam and Jill."   Jill and I had intended to read the Ode of Remembrance but we became emotionally overwhelmed, so our guide Jaques read it out for us as we stood in front of Charles's headstone.

Charles Penn was awarded the Victory and British War medals and 1914-15 Star.    As Charles was one of the first men from Mackay to die in World War I,  Penn Street in Mackay was later named in memory of his sacrifice.  We were glad that we could visit our uncle's grave, and to continue travelling through the surrounding area where he had fought.  I have attached a photo of Charles Penn in uniform, and another photo of myself beside his headstone at Tuileries Cemetery.     

Our visit to the Tuileries Cemetery was a part of our one-day Battlefields tour in the area where our great-uncle Charles had fought and died.  Our guide was Jaques Ryckebosch who lives in the Ypres area and has conducted battlefields tours for the last 20 years.  He shared his extensive knowledge of the military history around the Ypres (or Ieper) Salient.  We were shown on a battle map the Salient was a "bulge" in the front line around Ypres for most of World War I.

Ypres is a fortified village with a moat and wall that surrounds the old village.  During WW1 the town was almost decimated with most buildings destroyed beyond repair.  After the War, the brick rubble was removed and used as a base for roads.  The village and buildings were reconstructed almost to the exact location and style as it was before WW1 commenced.  The reconstruction took over 8 years.   

In the nearby town of Zillebeke , we visited the Zillebeke Aristocrats' Churchyard Cemetery, the location of the graves of barons and sons of aristocrat families who had been killed in action nearby.

Outside the town of Zillebeke, our guide took us to the road and the windmill that we had seen on "Who Do You Think You Are?   We had achieved one of our goals !  We too walked along the roads near Zillebeke, not far from Ypres, where our great-uncle would have walked 99 years ago !

We visited the 5^th Australian Division Memorial at Polygon Wood, where 191 "unknown" Australian soldiers were buried.  Since then, 124 soldiers have now been identified by DNA, and Pvt G.R.Storey, Pvt J. Hunter and Sgt G. Calder, are just three of those soldiers identified, and these were featured in Mat McLachlan's 2009 documentary "Lost in Flanders". 

At Hill 60, we saw the devastation caused by 4 years of continuous artillery fire on the cratered landscape.  I learned why it was called Hill 60 (shown on military maps at 60m high ground above sea level).  Jaques also told us about a brilliant movie called "Under Hill 60" which tells the stories of courage and hardships experienced by the brave tunnellers who ultimately created the world's largest single explosion underneath the German lines occupying Hill 60.   He was surprised to hear that we were from Townsville where the movie had been filmed, and that some of the tunnellers had been recruited from Charters Towers mines, west of Townsville.  There is a Memorial to the men of Australian 1^st Tunnelling Company who gave their lives in the mining and defensive operations of Hill 60, 1914-1918.  Some tunnels still exist underneath the farms and towns, and it is not known how many explosives remain underground.  Live ammunitions and explosives are still being found in farm fields, and still causing injuries.

We visited Tyne Cot Cemetery, the world's largest Commonwealth War Cemetery, situated in the centre of one of the most horrific battlefields of that war - Passchendaele.  The Cross of Sacrifice is an impressive sight.  There are  two graves of Victoria Cross recipients, Capt Jeffries and Sgt McGee, located at Tyne Cot.    Jaques also took us to Langemark German Military Cemetery,  where there is an imposing Statue of the Mourning Solders - four soldiers standing, mourning over the grave of a comrade.   

When researching where my uncle Charles was buried, I found the location of the cemetery, a map showing his grave location, and photos of cemetery at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission website.     

We visited the Black Watch memorial and Polygon Wood, and went around Hellfire Corner, where it intersects with Menin Road (known in WW1 as "the most dangerous corner on earth" because it was under constant observation by German gunners).   Close to Hellfire Corner and to Zillebeke, we visited the large Hooge Crater Cemetery where the Stone of Remembrance is located in the remains of the crater.  Large American cemeteries, and many other smaller British cemeteries are scattered throughout the Ypres Salient.  Jaques took us to the battlefield area where 18,000 Canadians on the British Left withstood the first German gas attacks on 22-24 April 1915.  2000 fell and lie buried nearby at the St Julien Memorial. 

The museum in Ypres, the "In Flanders Museum", has many displays in recognition of the bravery and suffering experienced not only by the casualties but also by the medical staff, surgeons, wardsmen and the nurses who had to make horrific decisions and to work under difficult and dangerous situations.

Near Essex Farm, we visited the memorial for Lt Col. John McCrae, military surgeon and poet, who wrote the enduring poem from World War 1 "In Flanders Fields", the words of which have made the red poppy a lasting symbol of self-sacrifice in war.  The Essex Farm Cemetery, which is close to the Advanced Dressing Station (bunkers) where Dr John McCrae was a surgeon during the war.  These bunkers were overgrown with reeds and canal water, and history would have been lost if not for a group of locals, including Jaques, who cleared and cleaned the bunkers.

In Ypres that night, we attended the Last Post ceremony which is held at Menin Gate, at 8 pm each night. The huge memorial at the Menin Gate is covered with the 54,896 names of soldiers who died in the Ypres Salient, and have no known grave.  This is a very moving ceremony where people can lay wreaths in remembrance of family members or members of defence units.

Rest in Peace.       Lest We Forget. 

*Independent research shows Thomas James Penn worked as a brickmaker at Hebbards at Walkerston. Other members of the Penn family were employed in the Finch Hatton area.

Originally published as Remembering family lost in battle