Mathew David Black was born 4 June 1888 in Victoria but was boarding at 66 Central Avenue with Mr Robert Yollant Morgan and family after he moved to Western Australia. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia on 28th July 1914 beginning World War I, and it was only four weeks later that Mathew enlisted in the army on 26th August 1914 aged 26 yrs 2 months. On his attestation paper, he put his trade as soldier as he had served in the Royal Australian Garrison Artillery in Victoria.

After a period of training at the Blackboy Hill camp, he was promoted to Sergeant from Private in the reinforcements of the 11th Infantry Battalion on 1 September 1914 and he embarked on HMAT A11 Ascanius at Fremantle on 2 November 1914. Originally heading for England, the ship was redirected to Egypt as the English camps were overcrowded with new recruits. On the 2 March 1915, Mathew then embarked on HMT Suffolk at Alexandria and proceeded on to the Gallipoli Peninsular where he took part in the Gallipoli Campaign. He returned to Alexandria, Egypt, on 15 May 1915 and headed off to France, disembarking at Marseille on 5 April 1916.

Mathew continued his rise in the non-commissioned ranks and was promoted to Staff Sargeant on 8 May 1916. But he was twice severely reprimanded, first on 26th May 1916 at Rouen for not complying with an Officer’s order, and again on 3 January 1917 for using obscene language to an officer. And yet despite this, on 9 April 1917 Mathew was selected to attend an Infantry Cadet course in England where he qualified for a commission on 30 April 1918. He was appointed as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Australian Imperial Force on 1st June 1918. On 10 June 1918 he embarked at Southampton to go back to France disembarking at Le Havre on 12 June 1918. Unfortunately, Mathew was hospitalised with influenza on 15 June 1918 but he finally rejoined the 11th Infantry Battalion on 10 August 1918.

On his first day back, the battalion was committed to a strong attack around Lihons in the Somme region of north France and Mathew was shot by an enemy sniper, dying instantaneously. That attack lasted three days and resulted in heavy casualties, including 58 killed and 140 wounded. Mathew was first buried at the Ridgeway British Cemetery, Northern France but then reburied at Heath Cemetery, Harbonnieres, France. His mother, who was still living in Victoria, finally received her son’s personal effects 3 February 1919 and later a photograph of Mathew’s grave.