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St John's battlefield windows

St John the Baptist Church
45 Constitution Ave
Reid 2612

Shards of stained glass found in the ruins of churches on the battlefields of the Somme, carefully gathered and carried back to Canberra in 1918, now form two windows in Canberra’s oldest building. Their rescuer, Captain Frederick Greenfield Ward, had witnessed firsthand the destruction of churches in the villages of Doignes, Flers, Beugny and Bapaume.

Reverend Ward was the incumbent minister of St John’s at the outbreak of war and knew many of the Duntroon cadets who attended his services. He enlisted in October 1915 and sailed on the transport ship Beltana for Egypt. In June 1916 he embarked for France and as Chaplain to the 30th Battalion his duties would have been onerous, particularly when the battalion came under fire. He was continually requisitioned by Brigade Headquarters to read burial services, in different locations and in all sorts of weather. He kept up the morale of the troops, provided spiritual guidance and comforted the wounded and sick. Throughout the freezing winter of 1916–17 he was instrumental in administering kitchens providing hot soup and drinks to the men, even when he was under heavy fire.

His service file states his actions were recognised by Sir Douglas Haig with a Mention in Despatches in March 1917 for his work at Waterlot Park during November and December 1916. His later work at Delville Wood, Bapaume and Bugny was recognised the following September with the award of the Military Cross. The citation in part reads ‘although under heavy shell fire he never failed in administering to the comfort of the troops ... The untiring energy and devotion to duty displayed by this Officer during the winter campaign in the Somme, won for him the admiration of all ranks’.

In ill health he was evacuated to England in May 1917 and following surgery he was invalided home and discharged from the army in January 1918.

St John’s is evocative of an English country church, with its lych-gate and beautifully maintained graveyard, but there is a poignant reminder of France and all it suffered in the gift of Reverend Ward’s two small windows.

Two stain glass windows in a Canberra Church
Portrait of the Reverend (later Canon) Frederick Greenfield Ward
Australian soldiers explore the ruins of a church at Bapaume in March 1917
Funeral of Major General William Throsby Bridges inside St Paul's Cathedral 1915. The coffin is drapped with a flag and surrounded by foral wreaths and four soldiers with backs turned and heads bowed. Stained glass windows can be seen above alter.
The First World War Honour Roll erected in 1924 records the names of sixty men who lost their lives during the war. Central to the list of names is a cross and inscripted 'To the glory of God and in memory of those who gave their lives in the great war'
Black marble grave stone with gold lettering. 'An ANZAC rests here No 151 Ernest Murray, (Canberra) 28th July 1935. SGT.1st&14th F.C.Engineers A.I.F. Member First Landing Party Gallipoli 25th April 1915.' A yellow and white ribboned wreath in front.

References

Further information

St John’s Parish Office

Cnr Constitution Ave and Anzac Park West
Reid ACT 2612
Website: St John's Canberra
Phone: (02) 6248 8399