Letters and newspaper clipping relating to the death of Douglas Barrett-Lennard, 1915 - Part 2

July 22^nd 1915. 
Dear Mr Henn 
Doubtless it is the intention 
of the Trustees to place on the walls 
 of your beautiful school Chapel the 
names of Boys who have passed 
through the School; and who have 
 died in the service of their Country.  
I can think of no lad who more  
deserves this honour than Douglas  
Barrett-Lennard  - an old Guildford  
School Boy - I am informed - who was  
killed in action here. GALLIPOLI  
PENINSULA. last Sunday. 
As a matter of fact he was not 
killed when the shell struck him; but  
lived a couple of hours afterwards. 
He with Sergt. Taylor & Gunner 
Stanley Carter all of the 8^th West Aust. 
Battery were serving a gun under  
heavy shell fire from the Enemy when 
a High Explosive Shell struck the  
shield & terribly wounded the 3 men.  
Carter only lived a short time - 
regaining consciousness just before he 

2 
passed away, asked "Is the gun  
alright, Sergt?" 
Young Lennard allthough in frightful  
agony lived for two hours & remained  
conscious until the end. He bore his  
awful sufferings  with magnificent 
courage & fortitude. Calmly left  
messages for his loved ones at "Home"  
& said just before the end. "Well  
lads I'm done. I feel myself sinking 
but by God you see I'm  
dying hard. 
His conduct from the time he 
joined the Battery had been marked 
by the most earnest devotion to duty 
& he had done well & would soon 
have got well earned promotion - as  
an instance of his spirit of self  
sacrifice - he said when he & his  
wounded comrades were being removed  
from the Gun pit - "Look after  
the Sergeant - I'm alright" - this  
with with shoulder smashed his arm 
hanging by a shred his leg smashed  
to a pulp. His death is a severe 
loss to his Battery & is deeply  
deplored by his many friends.

3 
His example of devotion in duty,  
courage, fortitude & self sacrifice  
will be handed down for long 
years to come in the history of his,  
may I say it now - famous Battery. 
I write this as I think his friends  
& the Boys in the School should  
know how gallant a lad he was,  
how well he knew his duty & did it 
&  the example he leaves them to follow. 
Sergt Taylor whom I mentioned had  
14 shrapnel wounds in his head & 
shoulders, but wanted the others looked  
after first, saying - "I'm only scratched 
- look after the others-" 
This my Dear Mr Henn is the stuff  
the majority of our lads from Australia  
are made of -  I hope there are many  
ready to follow the examples set by  
Sergt Taylor. Gunr Lennard + Gunr  
Carter. 
With kind regards 
I am 
Yours sincerely 
J. L. Tyobbs.. Col 
Commanding Division Artillery 
1st Aust Div.

Gallipoli 
July 22^nd 1915 
Dear Sir. 
You will no doubt have heard  
of the death of your son, Driver Douglas 
Barret. Lennard, No 1879, 8^th Battery,  
3^rd Field Artillery Brigade. A.I.F. & I write 
to sincerely, sympathise with you in your Sad  
bereavement. Your boy was killed in action on 
July 17^th whilst serving his gun, a true hero  
at his post. He was beloved by his officers  
& men. They with his Major were present at the  
Burial Service which I conducted the same night  
at dusk when we laid him to rest in a little  
quiet gully here by the side of others of his  
comrades who fallen. 
I know that the knowledge that  
your boy died doing his duty nobly for King &  
Country will help lighten the weight of sorrow.  
May God comfort you & all who mourn the  
loss of their loved ones in these trying times.  
Yours sincerely. 
A S Talbot. 
Dean of Sydney & Chaplain A.I.F 
Geo Barrett-Leonard Esq 
St Leonards 
Guildford. W.A.

July 24th 1915 
(Portion of second letter from Son)  
It will be a terribly sad  blow to you all   
& you all have my deepest sympathy. I know what  
you will go through when you hear this terrible news:  
I know what it is myself & was only a chum  
but a real one Mr Lennard & it has been a terrible  
loss to me. I have one consolation & am sure you  
will feel it too & that is that he with his comrade  
they died wonderfully brave deaths, & the whole  
Battery are wonderfully proud of the three which  
will be remembered by all for many a day.  
The Dr remarked to me afterwards that it  
was a wonderfully brave death. The Major   
& in fact everyone did all they could for 
him. He was wonderfully liked by all  
the boys & cheered everyone up by his  
cheerfulness & determination. 
I have done his grave but hope to put  
a border round it & make it look peaceful  
& as pretty as possible and I hope to be  
able to have a photo taken of it.

"HOW THE MEN IN THIS BATTERY
DIE." 
EXTRACT FROM A SOLDIER'S LETTER. 
The following extract from a letter, writ- 
ten from the front by Corporel H. R. 
McLarty of the 8th Battery, and who 
prior to the time he joined the expedition- 
ary forces, was employed in the Perth 
branch of the A.M.P. Society, indicates the 
spirit in which our men at the front face 
the supreme ordeal of the battlefield. The 
other men referred to in the letter are 
Sergeant "Mick" Taylor, formerly of 36 
Raglan-road, North Perth; Douglas Len- 
ard, son of G. Barrett-Lennard, of the 
Swan; and Stanley Carter, son of Cr. R. 
B. Carter, of Freemantle:- 
"This how the men of this battery die:  
- When the smoke from the bursting shell 
had cleared away, Wallis ran up to see the 
damage. He found Mick Taylor crawling 
about the ground, covered in blood and 
dazed. Bill said, 'Are you badly hit, Mick?' 
'No, Bill,' he said 'I am only scratched; 
look after Doug and Stan.' (We subse- 
quently found that he was wounded in 14 
places.) Bill Wallis then picked up Doug 
Lennard The poor lad had one arm off, 
one leg shattered at the thigh, and inter- 
nal wounds. He said: 'I'm done; look after 
Mick and Stan; don't mind me.' Carter 
was leaning on the gun. He had a fearful 
wound in the side. He said: 'I'm sorry I'm 
moaning; I know it will upset the others, 
but I can't help it; I can't help it.' He 
died, poor lad, almost immediately. His 
last words were, 'Did they get the gun?' 
Doug was in fearful agony, but kept say- 
ing, 'I'm dying, but, by God, I'll die game.' 
He lingered for two hours and it was a 
terribly pitiful thing to watch. His last 
words were, 'I died at the gun, didn't I?' 
And so he went, dear lad, the most gallant, 
the most unselfish little soldier God ever 
made. He has taught us all how to die. 
Mick may pull through—14 wounds. God 
grant it may be so. I do not think in the  
whole history of this war there is anything 
to eclipse this incident for gallantry or 
unselfish devotion to comrades. 
The General spoke to us all. He said, 
'Dear lads, I have heard of nothing gran- 
der than the way your comrades died. I 
am proud of your battery. I would be 
proud to be a gunner in your battery. I 
only hope that when you return you will 
be appreciated as you should be.' 
"We buried the dear lads side by side at 
midnight. It was a real soldier's burial 
The minister's voice was drowned in the 
crack of the bulets whistling overhead 
And thus we left them."

Extract from a fellow Battery pals 
letter dated September 16^th 1915.
  
I don't wonder Mater that you were so 
upset when you heard of Douglas 
Lennard's death. He was an exceptionally 
nice fellow & a general favorite in 
the Battery. The incidents connected 
with his death were printed in the 
West Australian & were remarkable 
correct in every detail - even the words 
spoken were correct. The official report 
didn't do justice to the case - it just 
stated the bare facts without giving 
any details - which would make  
splendid reading - for we all love to 
read heroic acts & there would 
be nothing more heroic than Doug's 
death. The dear fellow! Now he is 
beside seven of his comrades on our 
own Battery graveyard. We have put

an inscribed cross at his head 
& covered the mound with brass 
fuse caps. It is a grave worthy of 
the hero that lies at rest in it.