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Bonnefin A C  Pte  1111

Page history last edited by Lenore Frost 3 years, 4 months ago

Volunteers of Essendon and Flemington, 1914-1918

 

The Argus 2 September 1915 (Courtesy of

Kim Phillips, Spirits of Gallipoli website)

 

Bonnefin A C    Pte    1111    Adrian Charles        2 Inf Bn    34    Stevedore    Single    R C       

Address:    Moonee Ponds, Hudson St

Next of Kin:    Turner, Edith, Mrs, sister, Hudson St, Moonee Ponds   

Enlisted:    1 Oct 1914       

Embarked:     A32 Themistocles 22 Dec 1914 

 

Adrian Charles Bonnifin, Independent means, was living at 98 Lennox St, Moonee Ponds, in the 1909 Electoral Roll.   

 

 

Relatives on Active Service:

Turner-A-C-Pte-1643  nephew

General Sir Ian Hamilton, BEF

 

Date of Death: between 07/08/1915 and 14/08/1915

CWGC "Son of Jules Alexander Alcide Bonnefin and Marie Auguste Rosina Bonnefin.

Native of Port Louis, Mauritius".

LONE PINE CEMETERY, ANZAC

 

Private Adrian Charles Bonnefin

 

Rod Martin

 

Adrian Charles (Charlie) Bonnefin had illustrious antecedents.  He hailed from an aristocratic French Hugenot family based in Mauritius, where he was born.  The family  contained men of noble rank and was connected to the Hamiltons, a prominent Scottish clan.  Sir Ian Hamilton, the first British commander at Gallipoli, was his first cousin.

 

Yet the start of the war in 1914 found thirty-four year-old Charlie in rather humble circumstances.  He listed his occupation as stevedoring but he was residing in or near Murrumburrah, New South Wales, where he enlisted.  Perhaps he was working on the Murrumbidgee River.  His mother was still alive, but he indicated on his attestation form that his sister, who lived in Hudson Street, Moonee Ponds, was his next of kin.  Other details contained in his service record suggest that his older brother Aleck was an alcoholic and alienated from the rest of the family.  A degree of dysfunction obviously existed.

 

Charlie joined up on 1 October 1914 and thus became a ‘Dinkum Aussie’ as those early recruits were called collectively.  He was assigned to 1 Reinforcements, 2 Battalion, trained in New South Wales and embarked for Egypt on A32 HMAT Themistocles three days before Christmas.

 

HMAT Themistocles     (www.alh-research.tripod.com)

 

The ship sailed in across the Indian Ocean, bound for Egypt.  By that time, the British commanders had decided to use the men initially to guard the Suez Canal against attack by the Turks, and then to send them to the Dardanelles as part of an Allied expeditionary force, hoping to knock Turkey out of the war.

 

Members of 1 Reinforcements playing cricket while en route to Egypt

on the Themistocles, January 1915 (AWM C01927) 

 

Themistocles at Port Said, Egypt.   (AWM PS0367)   

 

1 Reinforcements arrived in Egypt around the start of February 1915 and joined the first contingent of the battalion at the Australian camp at Mena, near the Pyramids.  In between punishing route marches, often of more than fifteen kilometres in length (twenty men ‘fell out’ of one held early in the morning on 20 March), manoeuvres and weapons and tactics training, the men were able to sample the fleshpots of nearby Cairo – and often did.  Even before Charlie’s contingent arrived, thirteen ‘undesirables’ and sick men had been ordered back to Australia, some no doubt suffering from severe cases of venereal disease.

 

On 28 March, Sir Ian Hamilton inspected the battalion. 

 

Troops marching past Sir Ian Hamilton in Mena Camp. (AWM PS1006)

 

Whether Charlie was able to catch up with his cousin we do not know.  However, it is probably unlikely that a lowly private would get anywhere near a commanding general, and it may also be the case that Charlie wanted to keep his relationship to the very top brass secret from the other men for fear of being ribbed about it or even victimised.

 

In the first week of April, the battalion moved to Alexandria and sailed for the island of Lemnos, arriving at Port Mudros on the eighth.  While there it carried out practice beach landings in preparation for going ashore at Gallipoli.  When the time for attack finally came, 2 Battalion was conveyed to the area by destroyers and was scheduled to be part of the second and third waves to go ashore after dawn.  In the daylight, the Turkish defenders were able to accurately target the invaders. The website of the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (www.anzacsite.gov.au) records that

 

Unlike the first wave in the battleship tows, many of the destroyer men came under fire throughout the whole journey ashore, one man speaking of “shrapnel bullets striking the water with a noise like the popping of corks when drawn from champagne bottles.”  Private Edward Luders, a 1st Battalion signaller, saw a shrapnel shell kill sixteen men in a single boat.

 

Somehow, Charlie got ashore safely and he and his surviving comrades were able to follow those of the first wave inland and up the ridges towards the Turkish positions.  The battalion’s war diary does not record the events that occurred between 17 and 30 April, so we do not know the detail of what transpired for Charlie and the others.  Suffice it to say that, by the start of May, 2 Battalion was positioned on the ‘right flank’ of the battlefront, probably in the area of what was to become known as Lone Pine.

 

Anzac Cove June 1915        (AWM DAX2173)

 

In those early days after the landing, the Turks carried out constant bombardments and several counter-attacks in an effort to drive the Anzacs back into the sea.  On 18 May, the troops suffered the heaviest bombardment up to that date, lasting three hours, and expected a Turkish attack to follow.  It came later in the day and was followed up by three other assaults during the night.  Some of the Turks reached the Australian front trenches, but the men repelled all the attacks at great cost to the enemy.  The next morning, the Turks withdrew, leaving ‘hundreds of bodies lying quite close [and second] Bn. alone must have killed at least 250 to 300.’  The battalion diary also records that ‘The conduct of the men was magnificent throughout.  Some of them say it was the best bit of sport they have ever had.’  Twenty men were killed during the attacks and another twenty-five wounded.  The next day an armistice was arranged so that the Turks could collect and bury their dead.  The diary quotes an estimate that the Turks lost about 2 000 dead and 7 000 wounded as a result of the attacks.  Another comment later in the week, made after another armistice, noted that the initial figures were low estimates.  The writer noted that ‘the number of [dead] Turks is enormous.’

 

During May, Lance-corporal William Beech of 2 Battalion invented a periscope rifle to use against the Turkish trenches.  As the trenches were often very close to each other (sometimes as close as thirty metres) it was very dangerous to raise one’s head above the parapet to take a shot.  Beech’s invention was designed to avert the danger.  Factories to make the rifles were quickly set up on the beach and they were used quite extensively during the campaign.  Later, new and improved versions were employed on the Western Front.

 

William Beech demonstrating his rifle, May 1915.    (AWM P00600.001)

 

The Turks did not attempt a large-scale attack again after the losses of 19 May.  Instead, they regularly peppered the Anzac trenches with shells, gunfire and grenades, and the Australians and New Zealanders replied accordingly.  On 15 June, Charlie was struck by shrapnel, suffering wounds to the head and forearm.  He was evacuated to the beach, conveyed to a hospital ship and taken to a hospital on Lemnos.  He returned to his unit at Gallipoli a month later.

 

The battalion was still in the same general location when Charlie arrived back.  By then, it was the height of summer and heat and flies abounded – the latter especially so because of the heat and the large number of dead bodies still exposed to the elements in various parts of the battlefield.  One of the activities the men were involved in was the digging of tunnels under the enemy’s trenches and then the placing and detonation of mines.  The Turks did the same, and such events, along with regular stealthy patrols at night, kept the men of both sides on their toes.

 

In early August, a large group of British reinforcements was due to land at Suvla Bay, to the north of Anzac Cove.  The British commanders planned a number of feints and attacks along the line at Anzac to divert the Turks’ attention from the Suvla area.  2 Battalion, as part of 1 Australian Brigade, was to be involved in an attack on the Turkish positions at Lone Pine.  At 5.30pm on 6 August, Charlie and his comrades went into battle.  By the end of the next day, the men had taken their objectives (the attack at Lone Pine was the only successful one on that fateful day), but at great cost.  The battalion diary records that the unit had suffered 450 casualties, including 179 missing.  It noted that ‘a great many of our dead are still lying between the lines, and nearly all men shown as missing will prove to be killed.’

 

Confusion reigned in the area for another seven days as the Turks counter-attacked relentlessly, determined to recapture their position.  They failed in their quest and eventually gave up.  At some time between the sixth and the fourteenth of August, Charlie was killed.  What happened to his body is uncertain.  However, the belief of the authorities was that he was one of many buried in the Lone Pine Cemetery who bore no identification.  As a result, the Imperial War Graves Commission installed a permanent headstone containing the inscription:

 

Believed to be buried in this cemetery.

 

(Commonwealth War Graves Commission) 

 

Sources

 

Australian War Memorial

Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Department of Veterans’ Affairs, Australia

National Archives Australia

Pedersen, Peter: The Anzacs: Gallipoli to the Western Front, Melbourne, Penguin Books,

 2007               

www.alh-research.tripod.com 

 
 

 

PERSONAL

"News was received yesterday by his only sister, Mrs E Turner of Taylor street, Moonee Pond, that Private Adrian Charles Bonnefin has been killed in action at Gallipoli. Private Bonnefin was the second son of the late M. Aleide Bonnefin, sugar planter of Mauritius, and was a member of a famous Huguenot family. He was a first cousin of General Sir lan Hamilton and was a nephew of the late Sir Alexander Bestel, Chief Justice of Mauritius, nephew of the Marquis and Marchioness of Darrafat and grandson of the Count and Countess De Ravel. Private Bonnefin was a member of the 8th Battalion (Reinforcements) Infantry Brigade. He was wounded by shrapnel in the first landing at Gallipoli, and after a month in hospital on Lemnos Island, he returned to the firing line. Private Bonnefin, who had independent means, resided at Moonee Ponds with his sister prior to enlisting. The majority of his relatives are in France and Italy.

The Argus Thursday 2 September 1915

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1555588

 

News was received last week by his only sister, Mrs. E. Turner, of Taylor street, Moonee Ponds, that Private Adrian Charles Bonnefin has been killed in action at Gallipoli. Private Bonnefin was the second son of the late M. Alcide Bonnefin, sugar-planter, of Mauritius, and was a member of a famous Huguenot family. He was a first cousin of General Sir Ian Hamilton, and was a nephew of the late Sir Alexander Bestel, Chief Justice of Mauritius, nephew of the Marquis and Marchioness of Darrafat, and grandson of the Count and Countess De Ravel. Private Bonnefin was a member of the 8th Battalion (Reinforcements) Infantry Brigade. He was wounded by shrapnel in the first landing at Gallipoli, and after a month in hospital on Lemnos Island, he returned to the firing line. Private Bonnefin, who had independent means, resided at Moonee Ponds with his sister prior to enlisting. The majority of his relatives are in France and Italy.

 

WITH THE COLOURS. (1915, September 9). The Essendon Gazette and Keilor, Bulla and Broadmeadows Reporter (Moonee Ponds, Vic. : 1914 - 1918), p. 5 Edition: Morning.. Retrieved January 14, 2012, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article74590028

 

War Service Commemorated

Essendon Town Hall A-F [Bonnefin]

Anzac Honoured Dead 7-14 Aug 1915  

 

BEREAVEMENT CARD.


BONNIFIN. - Mrs J. TURNER, of 40 Taylor
street, Moonee Ponds (sister), Mrs. M. CERTAIN   
(mother), and Mr A. BONNIFIN (brother), of 14

Dundas place, Albert Park, desire to THANK those

who have shown their sympathy with them during

their recent bereavement in the death of Pte. A.C.

Bonnifin, who lost his life for this adopted country's sake.     
MR and Madame CERTAIN and Family desire to express
their sincere THANKS to their many friends for visits and

messages of sympathy in their recent sad loss of Charlie
Bonnifin, killed at Dardanelles, on the 7th August.
14 Dundas place, Albert Park.

Family Notices. (1915, September 16). The Argus, p. 1.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1560427

 

In Memoriam

 

BONNIFIN.-In loving memory of my dearly be-

loved son, Adrian Charles Bonnifin, who lost

his life on the 7th of August, 1915, at Gallipoli.

Deeply mourned by his sorrowful mother

(Marie Certain), and brother, Alex Bonnifin,

14 Dundas place, Albert Park.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1596812

The Argus 8 August 1916

 

BONNEFIN.- In sad and loving memory of my

dear son, Private Charles Bonnefin, who was

killed at Lonesome Pine, August 8, 1915.

Gone for ever, but too dearly loved to be

forgotten.

-(Inserted by his sorrowing mother, M. Certain,

and brother, A. Bonnefin, 14 Dundas place,

Albert Park.)

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1641424

The Argus 8 August 1917

 

BONNIFIN -In sad and loving memory of my

dear brother, Adrian Charles, who was killed

at Gallipoli, 7th August, 1915.

Your place we can never fill.      

-(Inserted by his only sister, Mrs. J Turner, 40

Taylor street, Moonee Ponds, and his nephew,

Sergt Major A C Turner.)

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1641589

The Argus 9 August 1917

 

BONNIFIN - In loving memory of my dearest son,

Charles Bonnifin who was killed at Lone Pine,  

on 8th August, 1915, nephew of the late Sir

Alex Bertel, the Marquis and Marchioness of D....

Rest my dearest son in peace

(Inserted by his sorrowful mother, Marie Certain

and brother Alec, 14 Dundas Place, Albert Park.)

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1408707

The Argus 8 August 1918

 

BONNEFIN - In sad and loving memory of my

dear son, Charles Bonnefin, who was killed at

Lone Pine, Gallipoli, August, 1915, great

grandson of the Marquis Darifat, cousin of Ian

Hamilton and Sir Nicolas Bestel, Chief Justice.

Dearest four years have passed away  

Since you have gone for ever, 

But your face is always before me,

And in my heart your memory will never die,

Rest dearest in peace

-(Inserted bv his sorrowful mother, M Certain,

14 Dundas place, Albert Park. )

 

BONNEFIN - In memory of Private Adrian

Charles, killed at Gallipoli, 7th August, 1915,

cousin to General Sir Ian Hamilton, nephew

of the late Sir Alex Bestel, the Marquis and Mar-

chioness of Darrafit, and grandson of the Count

and Countess De Ravel, and dearly loved

brother of Mrs John Turner, 19 Byron street,

Moonee Ponds.

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article4707629

The Argus 8 August 1919

 

No further Argus entries in 1920 or 1921.

 

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