Lifetime of anguish for a hero of Hamel
PRIVATE Eric Barton was a signaller in the 15th Australian Infantry Battalion at the Battle of Hamel in France during World War I, 100 years ago today.
The 21- year- old runner from Townsville was leaving an American trench with a message when he encountered a German who had infiltrated the trenches.
Pte Barton immediately pulled the trigger, but the enemy soldier by that stage had thrown a grenade at the Digger. He shielded his face with his arm and was knocked unconscious by the force of the blast.
Mr Barton’s 92- year- old son Foster Barton, a veteran himself, said the explosion practically blew his father’s arm apart, leaving him with shrapnel wounds all over his face.
“The Americans thought he was dead and they upturned his rifle, shoved it into the ground with the bayonet and then put the helmet on top of the rifle,” Foster said.
Eric was then transferred to an American medical centre, where he was mistaken for an American soldier, and had a Purple Heart medal placed on his chest.
Foster said it was the removal of the American military decoration when he was identified that started his long- harboured grudge against the Americans.
“Dad always complained about them pinching his bloody medal, because they found out he was Australian and wasn’t entitled to it,” Foster said.
“He thought they were pinching a medal off him.”
Eric Barton arrived back in Australia on the Hospital Ship K Kanowa arriving on March 7, 1919, before he was medically discharged in July that year.
Eric returned to his job at the railways as a trainee clerk, moving back into the family home with his mother at Fifth Avenue in South Townsville.
He married his wife Amy Foster on August 22, 1925. Together they had two children, Foster Barton born on August 20, 1926 and Louis Barton ( April 27, 1929).
Foster said his father suffered from shellshock as a result of the war and died in 1969 at the age of 72. “Dad drank a lot to cope with ith shellshock … when he was working on the railways he used to get off at every stop and have a drink,” he said.
“He became an embarrassment to Mum, because he really hit the grog heavily.”
Foster said his father was a good man, and fondly remembers how he helped people in their time of need.
“As a kid I can remember people coming to our house in the 1930s who were out of work … they would come to our house with a sugar bag and go home with rice, flour and it went on constantly through the depression,” he said. “He never knocked anybody back.”
Foster said he used to enjoy spending time with his father on fishing trips. He said it was important to remember the sacrifices made by all current and ex- serving men and women.
“The things he went through as a 20 to 21- year- old were amazing.”