Mametz bell

Mametz bell

• Height  152 mm
• Width  190 mm
• Weight  5 kg
• Note  F

One of seven bells which commemorates the Battle of the Somme, ‘Mametz’ is dedicated to the memory of Sergeant Walter Holmes.    

The youngest son of Annie and Francis Holmes, Walter was born in Dunedin in 1894. The family later moved to Wellington where Walter attended Wellington Terrace School and then Wellington College. He participated in the Wellington City Cadets and was also a keen sailor for the Boys’ College Boating Club and the Star Boating Club. 

Walter was working for the Customs Department in Wellington when he enlisted in August 1915. He joined the Wellington Infantry Regiment and by April 1916 was on his way to the Western Front with the New Zealand Division. Not long after, he was promoted to sergeant. On 16 June Walter participated in a trench raid for which he was awarded a Military Medal for showing ‘[c]onspicuous coolness and courage, when, after his officer was wounded, he took command of the wiring parties during the advance to the enemy’s trenches … and also covered the withdrawal of the assaulting parties.’

Three months later the New Zealand Division joined the Battle of the Somme. On 1 October, the New Zealanders made their final infantry attack of the battle, in support of an assault by a neighbouring division to capture Eaucourt l’Abbaye. During this action Walter was wounded. He was evacuated to a casualty clearing station but died two days later. He was 22 years old. Walter is buried at Heilly Station Cemetery, in Mericourt-L’Abbé, France.

In 1926 his family gave one of the Carillon bells in his memory. The bell is named for Mametz Wood, an area behind the New Zealand lines during the Battle of the Somme. 

Further information:

Auckland War Memorial Museum Online Cenotaph record – Walter Holmes
Commonwealth War Graves Commission record – Walter Holmes