David James Hounsham

Birth	1890, Crondall, Hants
Parents	Son of Henry (deceased) & Mary Ann Hounsham
Residence	Busselton, Western Australia
Occupation	Farmer

Enlisted	Perth, Western Australia
Regiment	11th Australian Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, 22nd Reinforcements
Regimental No:	6850
Rank	Private
Service Record	Nationality shown as Australian on Forces website.

Death	23rd June 1918, aged 28
Theatre of War	France & Flanders
Commemoration	Longuenesse, St Omer
Medals	Victory Medal, British War Medal

David James Hounsham was born in Crondall, in 1890. He was the son of Henry and Mary Ann Hounsham and in the 1911 Census he was visiting or living with his brother, George, in Guildford. His parents were living in Husseys Lane, Lower Froyle. On 26th April 1912 he emigrated to Australia, leaving aboard RMS Orvieto, out of London, en route for Freemantle. At the time of his enlistment he had been working as a farm hand, dealing primarily with the horses, on a farm owned by a Mr Samson, called Bramhope Farm, in Busselton, Western Australia. When he enlisted in Perth on 27th June 1916, his nationality was shown as Australian and he was posted as 6850 Private David Hounsham in the 11th Infantry Battalion, Australian Imperial Force, 22nd Reinforcements. His service record shows that, after training, he left Freemantle aboard the troop ship Argyllshire, on 9th November 1916, headed for Devonport in the UK. This voyage appears to have taken two months and, soon after arriving in this country on 10th January 1917, he developed bronchitis and was hospitalised. A week later he was discharged, only to be hospitalised again, this time with mumps. Perhaps the sea voyage had taken its toll! Eventually he proceeded overseas on 13th May 1917. David died on 23rd June 1918 and was laid to rest in the Longuenesse Souvenir Cemetery, St Omer, France the following day. St Omer was the location, throughout the war, of the Australian Casualty Clearing Station and we thought that he may have died here, after being wounded in the Mont de Merris offensive, but this was not the case! Evidence has come to light that his family, who believed that he had died of his wounds, were trying to get confirmation of this. One cannot imagine how his mother must have felt - trying to find answers from the other side of the world. Not only that, but she had lost her husband, who was 68, at the beginning of 1917. She, or someone on her behalf, must have contacted the Australian Red Cross, whose Wounded and Missing Enquiry Bureau did just that; help families find closure. Operating in Britain as well as in France and Belgium, official lists of the wounded and missing were scoured, letters written to men on active service, and where possible, comrades of missing soldiers were interviewed in camps and hospitals. Altogether 400,000 responses were sent back to those who placed enquiries with the Bureau. Where a death apparently occurred, the Red Cross staff tried to remove all doubt. Miss Vera Deakin, the secretary of the Bureau, wrote to the Clearing Station in Longuenesse, asking for information about David’s passing. Letters passed back and forth to the Bureau’s headquarters in London, accompanied by transcripts of interviews with fellow soldiers. Private J P Maloney, 6375 AIF 11th Division stated on 14th September 1918:
... I saw him pass through the 3rd Fld Amb. at La Kreule, and he walked out to Amb. We heard a week later that he had died of illness. I am quite sure he was not wounded....
Private T Gallagher, 7472, also from the AIF 11th Division, added:
I knew him well.... He used to live in the Killgoolig Gold Fields. He was stout, about 5 feet 8, dark, and clean shaven. He was a signaller. I was with him near Borre which is north of Hazebrouck in June when he caught a very bad cold owing to the weather and got ‘dog fever’. We were in billets at the time, and he was removed to hospital at Boulogne and died there. He only lasted two days. I saw him going away from Borre in an ambulance.
Eventually, on 16th December 1918, almost six months after his death, his mother received the letter which hopefully gave her some kind of closure, although I personally feel that it was not the closure she was looking for. The letter read:
Dear Madam, With reference to the report of the regrettable loss of your son, the late No.6850, Private D J Hounsham, 11th Battalion, I am now in receipt of advice which shows that he was admitted to the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance, France, on the 16th June, 1918, suffering with influenza. On the same day he was transferred to the 58th Casualty Clearing Station, France, where he died on the 23rd idem of Acute Nephritus, and was buried at Longuenesse St Omer Souvenir Cemetery, France. The utmost care and attention is being devoted where possible to the graves of our soldiers. It is understood that photographs are being taken as soon as is possible and these will be transmitted to next-of-kin when available...... Major, Officer i/c Base Records
I think she would have felt his death had not been in vain if he had died on the battlefield. To die of influenza was a cruel fate, and to compound her grief, during that six months of questions back and forth about David, she was to lose her other son. How could she bear it? Private David Hounsham was awarded the 1914-15 Star, the British War Medal and the Victory Medal.