Harry Vivian Fortser, was the third of ten children, eight sons and two daughters, born to John Dann Forster and Jane Elizabeth (nee Grey), who had married in 1877. He was born on 27 July 1882 at Wulla Wullock, near Merriman’s Creek, Sale, Victoria. Jane’s family has deep Australian roots, with both of her parents being born in Tasmania around 1830. John had been born in Suffolk, England and worked as a merchant.

The family lived in the Sale area until about 1895, when they moved to Bairnsdale. The family is then recorded as living in Hosie Street and at Wy Yung over the next ten years. Harry was educated at the State School, Stradbroke West and he went on to work as a boundary rider. At some time after 1905 John, Jane and five of their children migrated to Christchurch, New Zealand.

All the sons, except Charles (who was 37 when the War broke out) served in the War – two for Australia and five for New Zealand - which made their parents proud.

However, Jane did write the Army in February 1916 that:

At 32 years old, Harry enlisted on 20 July 1915 at Melbourne, Victoria. However, as he was 6 foot 6 ½ inch tall, more than a foot taller than most of his fellow soldiers, his height was NOT an asset in the Western Front trenches. He was initially assigned to the 22nd Battalion, 7th Reinforcements and sent to the Seymour Camp for his military training.

Harry left Australia on 26 November 1915 from Melbourne, Victoria for the month long trip to Egypt on board HMAT A73 Commonwealth. With the end of the Gallipoli campaign and the thousands of newly recruited soldiers arriving in Egypt from Australia, reorganizations were inevitable. Soon after he arrived, Harry was transferred to the 57th Battalion and then to the 59th Battalion.

The 59th Battalion had been raised in Egypt on 21 February 1916. Approximately half of its recruits came from the 7th Battalion Gallipoli veterans and the other half from reinforcements from Australia. The 59th was predominantly composed of men from rural Victoria.  After being in Egypt about a month, Harry wrote to his Aunt about his experiences. As is typical for most soldiers he had been keen to see the sights as well as being keen to move on to the War. With the thousands of soldiers spread between many camps, it is not unexpected that he did not come across any of his brothers.

The 59th were inspected by H.R.H the Prince of Wales in mid-March. Shortly after, there was a grueling, two-day, 50 km march across the sands from Tel el Kebir to Ferry Post, near the Suez Canal, for training and guarding of the Canal.

After a month at Ferry Post, they were relieved and headed for the camp at Duntroon Plateau. Life was not all work, however. A 5th Division Sports Championship was held on 14 June, which was won the by the 59th’s brigade. BUT, the very next day they began preparations for heading to the Western Front.

Harry departed Egypt aboard the Kinfauns Castle from Alexandria on 18 June 1916. After a brief stop in Malta, he disembarked at 7 AM in Marseilles on 29 June. By 10.00 PM they were on a train headed for Steenbeque, 35 km from Fromelles, arriving on 2 July. Training continued, but with a higher sense of urgency and it now included the use of gas masks and learning to deal with the effects of large artillery shells. The move to the Front continued and on 9 July they were in Sailly sur la Lys, just 1000 yards from the trenches.

The plan for the battle had the 59th Battalion in an unenviable position, directly across from the ‘Sugar Loaf’ salient - a prominent, heavily manned, German machine gun emplacement which dominated the front lines. Fire from here could enfilade any troops advancing towards the front lines, giving the Germans a significant advantage. If the Sugar Loaf could not be taken, Australian advances would also be subjected to counterattacks from that direction.

Harry was into the trenches for the first time at 4.00 PM on 18 July, in relief of the 57th Battalion. There was heavy artillery from both sides in this very small area. A fellow 15th Brigade soldier, Bill Boyce (3022, 58th), summed the situation up well:

They did not settle in the front trenches for long. Their attack on the German lines began at 5.45 PM on the 19th. The 59th went over their parapet in four waves at 5-minute intervals. A & B Companies in the first two waves, C & D in the next two. There was immediate and intense fire from rifles and the Sugar Loaf machine guns. As documented in the messages sent back to HQ just after the attacks began:

The British 184th Brigade just to the right of the 59th was met with the same resistance, but at 8.00 PM they got orders that no further attacks would take place that night. However, the salient between the troops limited communications, leaving the Australians to continue without British support from their now exposed right flank. The official reports indicate advances were limited, but individuals’ reports suggest that some did reach the German parapet.

However, with little support being available they had to drop back. The attack was ended early on the morning of the 20th. At the 8.00 AM roll call, out of a battalion of about 1000 soldiers, 4 officers and 90 other ranks reported in. The initial toll on the 59th was 26 killed or died of wounds, 394 were wounded and 274 were missing – 694 soldiers. Ultimately, 338 soldiers were killed in action or died from their wounds from this battle. 239 of the soldiers were unidentified.

To get some perspective of the battle, when Charles Bean, Australia’s official war historian, attended the battlefield two and half years later, he observed a large amount of bones, torn uniforms and Australian kit still on the battlefield.

While there was no cease fire after the battle, parties did go to No-Man’s Land to bring back wounded soldiers. Over 200 were recovered on the 20th, but Harry was not among them. Someone did recover his ID tags, but his body remained on the battlefield. While he initially had been ‘missing in action’, the family was advised in early September that Harry had been killed in action.

Harry’s possessions and his ID tags were sent to the family and he was awarded the British War Medal, the Victory Medal, a Memorial Plaque and a Memorial Scroll.

However, with no known grave the family struggled with not having closure. Letters were written in 1917, 1919, 1921, 1922 and 1926 seeking if there was something they could be told about a grave or a photo. Replies were sent about the major efforts that were being undertaken to locate missing soldiers, but there were no results for Harry. In 1926 they did get notice about the VC Corner Memorial, with Harry being commemorated on Panel 16.

All of Harry’s brothers who served did return.

After the battle, the Germans did recover the bodies of 250 soldiers and placed them in a mass grave at Pheasant Wood. This grave was only discovered in 2008. A major effort has been in progress since then to identify the soldiers in the grave via DNA testing of family members. As of 2024, 180 of these soldiers have been able to be identified via DNA matching. Searches for family members to contribute DNA to identify the remaining soldiers is continuing. However, as many of the 59th soldiers were killed near the front lines, these soldiers were less likely to have been recovered by the Germans.

Only one of 239 unidentified soldiers from the 59th has been found to be in the mass grave. If you know anything of contacts for Harry here in Australia or his relatives from New Zealand or England, please contact the Fromelles Association.