Leone Fabre shares the story of her family – four brothers who served in the Great War – sadly three of them did not make it home.

L-R Private Reginald Percy Bartram, 37th Battalion; Pte Arnold Roy Bartram, 60th Battalion and Sergeant Raymond Everard Bartram, 46th Battalion.

The Batram brothers, Raymond Everard, Arnold Roy, Cyril George and Reginald Percy were born in Richmond, to George Andrew Batram and Isabella Shands. They grew up at 9 Hull St, Richmond.

Ray enlisted on 3rd July 1915 in the Australian Imperial Forces (AIF) and embarked from Melbourne with the 8th Reinforcements, 14th Battalion aboard the SS Makarini on 15 September 1915. On 8 December 1916, he was promoted to Corporal and on 26 May 1917 was promoted to Sergeant. 12 days later he was killed in action south of Ypres near Wyschaete in Belgium along with five of his comrades by a high explosive shell on 7th June 1917. He was 36 years old.

Both Arnold and his brother Cyril, were in the 58th Battalion, 4th Reinforcement. They embarked from Melbourne for Plymouth on HMAT Orsova on 1  August 1916 with the 4th reinforcements. Arnold then proceeded to France on the Princess Henrietta on 6 December 1916. Arnold received a gun-shot wound to the abdomen – in the Second Battle of Bullecourt – on 12 May 1917 and died the next day, aged 21 years. Cyril, however, returned to Australia on 27 July 1917 due to constant illness.

Private Reginald Bartram enlisted in the AIF on 25 August 1916 and embarked from Port Melbourne aboard the HMAT Hororata. Reginald Percy Bartram was killed in action in the Battle of Broodseinde at Passchendaele, Ypres, Belgium on Thursday 4 October 1917 aged 36 years.

Learn more about these brave men at Leone’s blog