War Memorial Hall c1929
Guy Marten BERRY
Guy Berry was born on 27 May 1895 in Balwyn, Victoria. His parents were Guy and Kate Emily (née Lush) Berry. He attended Scotch in 1911.
Guy was an orchardist when he enlisted on 30 October 1916 in Melbourne, Victoria. He served in the 2nd Divisional Signal Company with the rank of Sapper. His Regimental Number was 16361.
Guy died on 4 October 1917 at Passchendaele, Belgium. He was 22 years of age.
Service record
Before enlisting in the AIF, Guy Berry was a Sergeant in the 21st Engineers Signal Troop of the militia, so it was logical for him to enter a similar unit in the AIF. He was initially rejected on account of heart trouble following typhoid fever. On enlistment he was sent to a Signal School and then joined reinforcements for the 2nd Divisional Signal Company. They sailed from Melbourne for England on 16 December 1916, reaching Plymouth, England, on 18 December.
He was allotted to an Engineer Training Depot Signals Section at Hitchen in England. He had four days' leave from this work in February 1917. His obituary in the 1917 Scotch Collegian states that he achieved a rare distinction by securing full marks in qualifying examinations in England. He proceeded overseas to France from Folkestone on 8 September 1917. It must have been exciting, but he had less than a month to live. On 15 September he had finally reached the 2nd Divisional Signal section. On 4 October he received a gunshot wound to the right knee and chest. He went via the 3rd Australian Field Ambulance to the 3rd Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, where he died the same day.
His Red Cross Wounded and Missing file contains an account by a Sapper Eric Halliday, who claimed to have known Guy well and to have made a cross for his grave. He said that Guy was called ‘Mark’ by the men in the unit, and that he was 5’6” ‘and very stout’. This seems unlikely, as on enlistment Guy was 5 feet 7 ½ inches and weighed 143 pounds (65 kilograms).
Guy Berry is buried in the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery (Plot XXV, Row C, Grave No. 2A), Belgium.
Photographs and Documents:
One of two beautiful portraits of Guy Marten held by the State Library of Victoria, and apparently taken in Bedford, England in 1917.
Photograph 2
This photograph is from one of three albums donated by Guy’s family to the State Library of Victoria. It appears to show Guy in training in England in 1917.
Guy Berry’s headstone at Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. The inscription, not visible here, should read: ‘He was a veray parfit gentle knight’
Sources:
- Australian War Memorial – Roll of Honour and Red Cross Wounded and Missing file
- Lijsenthoek Military Cemetery website
- Mishura Scotch Database
- National Archives of Australia – B2455, BERRY G M
- Scotch Collegian 1917
- The AIF Project - https://www.aif.adfa.edu.au/showPerson?pid=21285
