Contributed by Ron Inglis, October 2021:
Auburn Memorial man William Godfrey Bartlett, 27, was a member of the Auburn Rifle Club and the Earl Carnarvon Masonic Lodge. A single man, born in Britain, William Bartlett nominated his father in Gloucester, UK as his next-of-kin. William Bartlett’s name was on Auburn’s Temporary Roll of Honour erected in South Parade in 1916 and we know from a newspaper obituary that Bartlett, a tailor, was a partner of Mr H. Hurst of Auburn Road, Auburn. On an ‘Application to Enlist’ Bartlett gave his address as Auburn Road, Auburn.
William Bartlett enlisted on 16 August 1915 at Warwick Farm and embarked on the Euripides on 2 November 1915. He could not have reached Gallipoli in time but he must have reached Egypt by 31 December 1915 because he was awarded the 1914-1915 Star. Allocated to the 3rd Battalion William Bartlett moved on to the Western Front in March 1916. Initially the Australians camped in the Nursery sector in northern France but then the First, Second and Fourth Australian Divisions were brought down to join British units already engaged in the Battle of the Somme. Bartlett was killed in action on 21 July 1916 at Pozières just before the Australians launched a major attack on the village. The body of William Bartlett was never found so his name was inscribed on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.
See: ‘Three Auburn Boys Killed’, The Cumberland Argus & Fruitgrowers Advocate, Sat. 19 August 1916, p6.
William Bartlett is honoured on the following memorials in Australia:
- Auburn War Memorial
- Municipality of Auburn 1914-1919 Honour Roll
- William Thompson Masonic Schools First World War Memorial, Baulkham Hills
- Roll of Honour Australian War Memorial Canberra
His decorations:
- British War Medal
- 1914-20 Victory Medal
- 1914-1915 Star
