Barney at Pozieres

John ‘Barney’ Hines was a real thorn in the side of the German army during the Great War, so much so the story goes the Kaiser put a price on his head ‘dead or alive”.

He became a master at souveniring, looting all sorts of items from dead and captured Germans and returning triumphant to the Australian lines. So good was he that he became known as the ‘Souvenir King’.

Barney was not at all fazed by his notoriety and continued to collect great supplies of badges, helmets, guns, watches and other jewellery while maintaining his amazing attacks on German troops. He was reputed to have killed more Germans than any other soldier in the AIF.

On one occasion he reached a German pill box and danced on the roof taunting the occupants to come out. When nothing happened he lobbed a couple of Mills bombs through the gun openings, killing some and forcing the rest, about 63 of them, to come out with raised arms. He duly collected his souvenirs from them and herded them back to the Australian lines.

Among his more unusual souvenirs were a grand piano, which he managed to keep for several days, a grandfather clock which was eventually blown up by his own men because it attracted shell fire from the German lines whenever it chimed, a barrel of Bass ale, which he shared with his comrades, and several suitcases full of banknotes from the bank at Amiens.

He was arrested by British military police but caused so much bother he was returned to his unit.

Hines was born in Liverpool, England, and tried to join the British Army when he was 14. When the Great War broke out he tried to enlist in the AIF when already in his 40s. He was rejected on medical grounds. But he persisted and was finally accepted. And then began his amazing sequence of daring attacks and enthusiastic souveniring.
He was wounded when at Passchendaele every man in his Lewis gun crew was killed by an exploding shell. Hines was flung 20 metres through the air, had the soles ripped from his boots but still managed to crawl back and keep firing until he fainted from his wounds.

He was soon back in action but not long afterwards was hit above the eye by a bullet and was hit by a gas attack. He was eventually repatriated to Australia and recovered sufficiently to take up droving, prospecting and timber cutting.

When the Second World War broke out he again tried to enlist in his 60s but for some reason was rejected.

Barry and Yvonne