Born at Wards River, New South Wales, on the 21st of March 1886, Herbert was the 3rd of 11 children to Alfred and Elizabeth Soars.
Shortly after Herbert was born the family moved to the Copeland where the rest of his siblings were born. Herbert attended the Gloucester Public School. Working as a labourer, he enlisted with the 8th Reinforcements, 19th Battalion at Holsworthy on the 27th of October 1915.
Departing Australia from Sydney on the 12th of December 1915 aboard HMAT A35 Berrima. The Berrima stopped at Freemantle for the period 18th to the 31st of December during which time Herbert snuck ashore. Shortly after arriving in Egypt, on the 13th of January 1916 he was charged with absent without leave on the 28/29/30/31st of December 1915 and fined one pound and forfeited 4 day’s pay.
Herbert was allotted from the 19th Battalion, Zeitoun on the 14th of February 1916 and taken on strength with the 2nd Battalion at Tel el Kabir the same day.
Boarding the Invernia at Alexandria on the 22nd of March, Herbert arrived at Marseilles on the 28th. After being landed in Marseilles, the troops proceeded north by railway to staging areas near Hazebrouck. Shortly afterwards, on 7 April, the units of I Anzac Corps were assigned to a “quiet” sector of the line near Armentières to gain experience of trench warfare. In June, during a brief period away from the line the battalion were housed in billets near Fleurbaix.
On the 9th of July, Herbert reported sick with a sprained ankle to the 12th Field Ambulance and was transferred to DCS. He marched out to the 1st ADBD, Etaples to join his unit on the 14th of July.
The 2nd Battalion’s first significant action came at Pozières, commencing the night of the 19/20th of July 1916. By the 25th, the men of the Battalion, had suffered terribly in the open trenches, and were relieved. After this, they were sent to Pernois for rest and re-organisation and after being brought back up to about two-thirds strength, the 2nd Battalion’s next involvement in the fighting came around Mouquet Farm when they were briefly put into the line on the 18/19th of August to provide reinforcement, before being quickly relieved a few days later.
In early September, I Anzac Corps was transferred from the Somme region to Ypres, in Belgium, swapping with the Canadians for a rest. On the 6th of October, in concert with three parties from the 1st Battalion, the 2nd carried out a number of minor raids on a German position to the north-east of a position known as “The Bluff” in order to gain intelligence.
After this, the units of I Anzac Corps returned to the Somme, to relieve units of the Fourth Army. The 2nd Battalion was not involved in any major actions during this time. Winter began to set in at this point, and even though combat operations all but ceased during this time, the battalion endured considerable hardships amid snow and rain, in a sector that has been described as “the worst … of the sodden front”.
On the 16th of January 1917 he again reported sick and was admitted to the 26th General Hospital and on the was discharged to the 6th Convalescent Hospital, Myalgia on the 28th of January and on the 7th of February was transferred to the 5th Convalescent Hospital.
Due to the shifting front line, the 2nd Battalion’s first major engagement of 1917 did not come until the 9th of April when, on the periphery of the Arras offensive, they took part in an attack on Hermies, one of the outpost villages of the Hindenburg Line. The battalion played only a limited, supporting role during the 1st Division’s repulse of the German counterattack at Lagnicourt in mid-April.
Having been discharged to base at 1st ADBD, Etaples on the 28th of March Herbert rejoined his unit on the 23th of April, in time for the battalion’s next major action, which came in early May when it was involved in the Second Battle of Bullecourt.
On the 2nd of July 1917 he was again to report sick to the 3rd Field Ambulance and was admitted to the 16th General Hospital at Le Treport on the 5th of July. Having spent a day there he was then moved to the 39th General Hospital at Havre. On the 27th of August he was discharged and was again back at the 1st ABDB at Etaples.
Meanwhile the battalion’s next major action came on the 16th of September when they were committed to the fighting around Menin Road, which formed part of the wider Third Battle of Ypres, in a supporting role. Later, following the assault, the 1st Brigade, including the 2nd Battalion, went forward on the 21st of September and secured the ground that had been gained. They were subsequently relieved shortly afterwards on the night of the 22/23rd of September by troops from the 14th Brigade.
After a brief period of rest, they returned to the line near Broodseinde on the 1st of October, taking up a position near Molenaarelsthoek, on the right of I Anzac’s position for the upcoming attack during the Battle of Passchendaele commencing on the 12th of October. Leaving Etaples on the 26th of October, Herbert rejoined his battalion in Belgium on the on the 4th of November. Herbert was ‘killed in action’, on the Passchendaele Ridge, Belgium on the 8th of November 1917, aged 31 years.
The personal effects returned to his father consisted of a photo, a letter and a comb.
