Heartbreaking Confusion and a Mother’s Devotion – The Story of Sergeant Eric Foote
It is difficult to accept that a loved one is truly gone, especially when their whereabouts are unknown.
Born the son of Joseph and Violet Foote at Ipswich on 1 January, 1891, the eldest of 6 siblings, Eric Joseph Trestrail Foote was educated at Ipswich Boys State School and Ipswich Grammar School. His father owned a fruit farm on Buderim Mountain, which he worked with his three sons. Eric, aged 24, was managing his own farm in Ipswich when he enlisted on 27 July 1915, joining the 11th reinforcements of the 9th Battalion.
Eric embarked on the Seang Bee on 21 October 1915, befriending a Private Robert McGregor, who described him as "a sturdy chap... of fair complexion, sandy hair and... a very cheerful disposition." (Australian War Memorial 2024)
After training in Egypt, Eric and Robert were both transferred to the 49th Battalion. Eric advanced in the ranks and on 28 August 1916 was made a Sergeant in the fields of France. On 3 September 1916, Eric presented himself to a dressing station in the front line at Mouquet Farm at about 7:30am with a slight wound to his hand. The stretcher bearers were being prevented from going out while the ground was being heavily shelled. Instead of remaining at the dressing station, it is said that Eric volunteered to go out and assist some wounded soldiers. He did not live out the day.
Eric was posthumously awarded the Military Medal for his actions on that day. The recommendation by his commanding officer reads: ‘This N.C.O. was wounded early on the morning of the 3rd and though wounded refused to go to the rear, after being bandaged in the front line and did whatever work he possibly could. I used him to take urgent messages to the front line on three occasions and eventually had to order him away on account of exhaustion. The example that he as a wounded man showed was a fine one, and I think that his conduct throughout is deserving of some recognition. This N.C.O. did most excellent work preparatory to the attack in instructing the men of his platoon in their work, and also in the carrying out of it in the firing line.’ (Australian War Memorial 2024)
There followed a delay of several months before A.I.F. Headquarters issued a report of Killed in Action on 12 February 1917, and in the interim there was some heartbreaking confusion. On 27 October 1916, Rifleman W. Herald of the 2nd Royal Irish Rifles wrote to Eric’s mother Violet, saying, 'I was out on a burying party one day and I came across you(r) son and I bur(i)ed him and got his photo... I just thought that I would write and let you know what happened to him as I am sure you would be very uneasy to hear about him. I (kn)ow my mother would to hear about me.’ (National Archives of Australia 2024)
However, the photo enclosed was not of her son, and Mrs. Foote came to believe that he was alive in a hospital somewhere near London. She corresponded with the Red Cross Missing and Wounded Bureau and a base in Melbourne, in one letter writing, ‘Please would you mind trying to help me to find my son... When in Egypt, my son was very ill from the heat and he suffered much with his head, and I fear that perhaps his head or sight has been affected, or he may be suffering from a lapse of memory as I have not heard from him... I know how difficult it is for you to find our boys... you may perhaps smile and think me foolish, but please could you humour me and see if he is there, I have been seeking him for all but six months... please tell him his mother wants him and to think of her waiting for him.’ (Australian War Memorial 2024)
The testimonies of several soldiers were gathered to convince Mrs. Foote that her son had indeed been killed, including that of Eric’s friend Private Robert McGregor. He said, ‘He was a great friend of mine, and I made enquiries after the battle of Mouquet Farm, and was informed by men of his Coy. that they were absolutely certain he was killed, as the bombardment was terrible and the trenches were completely obliterated... I made every effort to locate him... He was one of the finest chaps I have ever met, and I missed him very much.’ (Australian War Memorial 2024)
Although not listed in his service record, it is said that amongst the belongings returned to his family was a gum leaf that Eric had brought with him from Australia. Considering Eric’s love of Australia’s native flora and fauna, in 1948, the Foote family donated 17.5 acres of their land to the community to be used as a memorial to all those from Buderim who gave their lives in service during World War I. This became Eric Joseph Foote War Memorial Sanctuary.
Visiting the sanctuary is a calming experience. There are beautiful, shady native trees and the air is filled with birdsong and the sound of trickling water. It’s not hard to reflect on the tranquility of the area as a contrast to the destructive conflict that it commemorates. The path is strewn with boulders and fallen logs, but the sanctuary is being lovingly maintained by volunteers, evidenced by signage that thoughtfully details the ways that First Nations people used plants and trees that grow throughout the sanctuary. War memorials come in many shapes and sizes, mainly in the form of inanimate buildings, plaques and statues, but even after our man-made monuments have lost their luster, this living, breathing memorial may be thriving long into the future.
Eric Joseph Trestrail Foote is commemorated at Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, France. He has no known grave, and is one of 10,729 names on the walls at the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial for the missing. Eric’s name is also inscribed on the 49th Battalion honour roll in our World War I Memorial Crypt.
References
Adopt a Digger n.d., ‘Foote Eric Joseph Trestrail’, adoptadigger.org, viewed 12 January 2023, https://www.adoptadigger.org/search-for-a-ww1-digger/search-for-a-ww1-digger/item/3-diggers-database/47-foote-eric
Australian War Memorial 2024, ‘Studio portrait of Corporal 3340 Eric Joseph Trestrail Foote, 49th Battalion’, awm.gov.au, viewed 11 January 2023, https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/awm-media/collection/H06538/screen/4131245.JPG
Australian War Memorial 2024, ‘Honours and Awards (Recommendation) Eric Foote’, awm.gov.au, viewed 11 January 2023, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1592657
Australian War Memorial 2024, ‘Australian Red Cross Society Wounded files - Eric Joseph Trestrail Foote’, viewed 11 January 2023, https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/R1485237
Buderim Foote Sanctuary n.d., ‘Foote Sanctuary of Buderim’, www.buderim.com, viewed 12 January 2023, https://www.buderim.com/foote-sanctuary
Commonwealth War Graves Commission 2024, ‘Sergeant Eric Joseph Trestrail Foote’, viewed 12 January, https://www.cwgc.org/find-records/find-war-dead/casualty-details/1460659/eric-joseph-trestrail-foote/
Commonwealth War Graves Commission 2024, 'Villers-Bretonneux Memorial', www.cwgc.org, viewed 21 January 2024, https://www.cwgc.org/visit-us/find-cemeteries-memorials/cemetery-details/93000/villers-bretonneux-memorial/
Find a Grave 2024, 'Sergeant Eric Joseph Trestrail Foote', findagrave.com, viewed 11 January 2024, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/16182594/eric-joseph_trestrail-foote
Foote Sanctuary Association n.d., ‘Eric Joseph Foote War Memorial Sanctuary - History of the Foote Sanctuary’, viewed 12 January 2023, https://www.footesanctuarybuderim.com/history-of-foote-sanctuary
Sunshine Coast Council 2015, ‘Backward Glance: Foote family early residents of Buderim Mountain’, 25 November 2015, viewed 12 January, https://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/news/Backward-Glance-Foote-family-early-residents-of-Buderim-Mountain