Bethleem Farm East Cemetery
- Admin
- Jun 20
- 7 min read
Bethleem Farm East Cemetery was made by Australian units when the nearby Bethleem Farm was captured by the 3rd Australian Division on 7 June 1917, in the Battle of Messines. The majority of the burials are those of officers and men of the Division killed in action on 8 or 10 June, though the cemetery continued to be used until the following September. There are 44 servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in the cemetery. Located nearby is Bethleem Farm West Cemetery.
Cratering the Ridge – The Battle of Messines
On the 7 June 1917 the British Second Army launched its attack along the Messines Ridge with the detonation of nineteen mines comprised of one million pounds of ammonal explosive beneath the German defenders. Read more about the tunnellers and Cratering the Ridge. The Battle of Messines was the most effective integration of mines with an infantry attack that was supported by an artillery barrage which stupefied the German defenders. For the Australian and New Zealand Divisions (ANZAC), which
comprised one third of Second Army, this was to be their finest hours, particularly for the Australians whose first two years of the war had been a catalogue of disasters. Messines was the first victory for the AIF and also the first test for its senior commander Major General John Monash who commanded the 3rd Division. For the 3rd Division the battle was a baptism of fire as they came into the line alongside the 4th Division which had suffered so severely at Bullecourt on the Somme. The objectives of the attack were to seize the villages of Wytschaete and Messines and to move beyond them to establish a line, the Black Line, just over the crest of the ridge. The first phase would see nine divisions move forward and had a series of subsidiary objectives to take supported by the fire of the artillery that lifted and moved forward at a precise time. On the night of the 6/7 June the leading Battalions of the 3rd Division moved up through Ploegsteert Wood and were subjected to a saturation German gas attack with men being hit by a gas shell or the nose cap and several were killed in this way. This gas attack was combined with High Explosive and incendiary shells. They eventually reached their jumping off positions on the forward slopes of Hill 63 and at Prowse Point but they had suffered many casualties with some 120 men of the 39th Battalion being in position at their start line at Anton’s Farm. This Battalion’s leading groups at Ploegsteert Corner had suffered from shell fire throughout its move forward and were also subjected to gas shelling which killed and wounded many. Many officers and NCOs had been killed or wounded or incapacitated by the gas with track from Bunhill Row and Mud Lane being littered with dead and dying men overcome by gas. It does say a lot for the training a of the men of the 3rd Division managed to get through this major ordeal and be prepared for their first ever assault at 3.10am on 7 June. Once the Black Line had been reached there was to be a pause to allow the artillery to reorganise and the reserve divisions to move up and through the Black Line to capture the next line the Green Line which to II ANZAC was the trench line known as the Oosttaverne Line. From the 8 to 10 June chaos and confusion was to rein in their attacks to secure the Green Line and the Australian Battalions were to suffer grievously.
37th Battalion, 10th Brigade, 3rd Division, Australian Infantry Division
Alias
1909 Private Robert Edward Sanders (his real name was Maurice Surrey Dane), Killed in action 8 June 1917, age 21. Grave Special Memorial 1. (Served as R.E. SANDERS). Son of Mrs. Ellen Marian Surrey Dane, of 20A, Lissenden Mansions, Highgate Road, Kentish Town, London. He was born in London. While employed as Second Mate on the ship ‘Mount Stewart’ he deserted the ship at Port Victoria and enlisted on 27 March 1916 in Adelaide under the name of Robert Edward Sanders and listed his employment as a Labourer. His two brothers had enlisted in the British forces, one was a prisoner in Germany. His mother, a widow, wrote to the Australian authorities, via a solicitor, in September 1917 advising them of his real name and that she was his Next of Kin and that she was seeking a pension. A witness statement, from an Australian friends of Maurice, as to his true identity was also provided. On the 7 June the Battalion had fought its way into the Green Line and began to dig in on 8 June having suffered heavily from concealed machine guns while fighting its way forward. German snipers and fire from hidden machine guns killed and wounded more men in the Battalion. To compound matters the British artillery was falling on their positions in the Green Line. At some point Maurice was killed in action.
38th Battalion, 10th Brigade, 3rd Australian Infantry Division
868 Corporal Frederick Ethell. Killed in action 7 June 1917, age U/K. Grave E.5. Son of Henry and Caroline Ethell. Native of Armadale, Victoria, Australia. The Battalion War Diary records that all had gone well. They had been hampered by German gas shells during their approach march to their jumping off positions. They had moved forward to take Ulcer Reserve Trench and then Ungodly Trench meeting no real resistance and only light casualties. Leaving half a company in Ulcer Reserve Trench they arrived at the Black Line with 12 platoons and 12 Lewis guns and put in a block at Ungodly Avenue just east of the Potteries to Messines road. Frederick was killed during this action.
42nd Battalion 11th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Australian Infantry Division
Second Lieutenant Thomas James Bartley, Killed in action 10 June 1917, age 24. Grave D.1. Son of William John and Mary Bartley; husband of Constance Bartley, Derby Street, Highgate Hill, Brisbane, Queensland. Native of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Thomas was employed as a Public Accountant when he enlisted on 24 September 1915 initially as a Private and he was then sent to Officers school in January 1916 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant on 24 March. He landed in the UK on 30 January 1917 and joined the 42nd Battalion on 10 May in the field. On the 9 June the Battalion received orders to move forward and to take over the trenches in the Black Line from the 38th and 40th Battalions with the Battalion HQ in Seaforth Farm. The Battalion had ‘A’, ‘B’, and ‘C’ Company’s in the line with ‘D’ Company in support. They began digging and riveting the trench and were subjected to heavy German shelling throughout the day. On the 10 June they were still working on the trenches and the War Diary records that they were again subjected to heavy German shelling with casualties recorded as 3 Officers wounded, 12 Other Ranks killed and 55 wounded.
44th Battalion, 11th Infantry Brigade, 3rd Australian Infantry Division
On the 8 June 1917, the Battalion took part in the attack to take that part of the Green Line between the La Douve River and Huns Walk on Messines Ridge with their frontage being some 1100 yards. The attack went in with ‘D’ Company on the right, ‘A’ and ‘C’ Company in the middle, and ‘B Company on the left. The attack was a success and they took the trenches in the Green Line with light casualties and began to consolidate. It was now that they came under heavy shell fire both from the Germans and by the British firing on their own troops. The War Diary recording that the Battalion HQ was in Schnitzel Farm ‘until they were blown out of there’ and took up a position in a nearby shell crater. On two occasions during the night of 8/9 June the Battalion had to temporarily evacuate the Green Line position as they were being shelled by their own artillery. The Battalion had some 300 casualties holding the line before they were relieved on night of 11/12 June by the 43rd Battalion.
1619 Private Martin Abolin. His real name was Victor James Leopold Martin. Killed in action 8 June 1917, age U/K. Grave A.6. The Commonwealth War Graves record him as ‘Abolin’ and make no mention of this alias. His personal file is not available to view online
in the Australian archive. Captain William Thomas Bryan. Killed in action 8 June 1917, age 36. Grave A.2. Son of Thomas Joseph and Annie L. Bryan. He was married to Beatrice and they had five children and lived at 1183 Hay Street West, Perth, Western Australia. He was employed as a Civil Servant and had spent 14 years in the 88th Infantry Reserve when he enlisted on 7 March 1916 and joined ‘A’ Company on 17 May 1916 and arrived in the UK with the Battalion on 21 July 1916. His burial was presided over by the Reverend A.A. Mills, of the 41st Battalion. Beatrice sent a telegram to the Base in Perth about her husband’s welfare after she had heard rumours that the Battalion had been in action. On 16 June 1922 she received a letter from the Base in Perth that included her husband’s damaged and degraded fountain pen and some medallions taken from his body by the grave exhumation party. Lieutenant Richard Edward Walsh. Killed in action 8 June 1917, age 30. Grave C.1. Son of Francis and Margaret M. Walsh, of "Messines," Campbell Street, Newstead, Launceston, Tasmarua. Native of Westbury, Tasmania. He was single. The address of his parents was altered after his death to include ‘Messines’. His mother was a widow. He was a Drill Instructor having spent seven years with the 12th Battalion AIF and a further 5 years as Sergeant appointed to the instructor staff from 1 July 1911. He enlisted on 12 February 1916 for overseas service and applied for a commission on 31 January 1916. He was promoted to Lieutenant on 30 September 1916 when he was in England with the Battalion. His burial was presided over by the Reverend A.A. Mills, of the 41st Battalion.
Location
Bethleem Farm East cemetery is located 10 Km south of Ieper town centre and 1 km south east of Mesen, on a road called the Rijselstraat, which leads from Mesen market square. (Mesen itself is located 10 Km from Ieper via the N365 connecting Ieper to Armentieres). The cemetery lies 1 Km beyond Mesen market place along the Rijselstraat, on the left hand side of the road. Visitors to this site should note a 250 metre grassed access path which is unsuitable for vehicles.
The cemetery was designed by G H Goldsmith.
Burials
UK – 2
Australia – 34
KUG – 7
Special Memorial to Australian ‘Believed to be Buried in the Cemetery’ served as an Alias
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