The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (916) Sergeant Colin Brodie Bull, 12th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF, First World War.

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial each day. The ceremony commemorates more than 102,000 Australians who have given their lives in war and other operations and whose names are recorded on the Roll of Honour. At each ceremony the story behind one of the names on the Roll of Honour is told. Hosted by Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (916) Sergeant Colin Brodie Bull, 12th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF, First World War.

916 Sergeant Colin Brodie Bull, 12th Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF
KIA 31 October 1917

Story delivered 31 October 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Colin Brodie Bull.

Colin Bull was born in 1896 in Burwood, Sydney, to Joseph and Annie Bull. He grew up in Sydney, and attended the Fort Street School. While his parents later recorded that he became a clerk, when Bull enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in May 1915 he gave his occupation as “drover”. This and more than four years’ experience in the local light horse regiment saw him accepted for service in the 12th Light Horse Regiment in May 1915. Whether or not Bull worked as a drover is unknown, but his mates in the regiment were under the impression that he had worked as a bookmaker’s clerk in Sydney before the war.

Five months after Colin enlisted, his older brother Clifford also signed up, serving with the field artillery in France.

Colin Bull underwent a period of training in Australia before leaving Australia on the troopship Runic in August 1915. He was first sent to Egypt before reaching the Gallipoli peninsula in mid-November 1915. He had arrived long after the major offensive actions were over, and within five or six weeks the evacuation would be well under way. Bull arrived back in Egypt just after Christmas, and would spend the next few months training in the desert.

In May 1916 his regiment joined the forces protecting the Suez Canal, conducting patrols into the Sinai Desert for the rest of the year. Bull continued to prove an able soldier, and saw regular promotion, to corporal in October, and to sergeant in December.
In April 1917 his regiment moved to Palestine, joining the main advance against the Ottoman forces.

In April 1917 the 12th Light Horse participated in the Second Battle of Gaza. The regiment began the battle in reserve, but on 19 April the men left their horses with the horse holders and took up position to advance at dawn. The battle failed with nearly six and a half thousand casualties among the attacking forces. Bull was hit by shrapnel in the leg. After being evacuated to hospital in Egypt, he took several months to recover, returning to the regiment in late August 1917.

A few months after Bull’s return, the 12th Light Horse Regiment was about 40 km from Gaza, facing the heavily fortified town of Beersheba. An attack was launched in the early hours of the morning, but the British infantry made little headway. In the late afternoon, Lieutenant General Chauvel ordered the 4th Light Horse Brigade to advance and secure the position. The 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments charged at the Turkish trenches at a gallop. Famously, the surprise tactic worked, the men rushed through the Turkish defences, capturing the town’s water supplies and more than 1,000 Turkish prisoners.

Bull, however, did not survive the charge. He was shot while galloping across no man’s land. Lieutenant Ralston of the 12th Light Horse wrote to Bull’s parents to say, “it will be a relief to you to know that he never had to go through that most awful horror of a battlefield, lying crippled and praying for death”. He added that Bull’s “loss was deeply felt by all his old comrades … the last I saw of him was offering to bet a corporal that he would beat him in the gallop for Beersheba.

I had just told the troop that we were to charge the position and take it at all costs.” Ralston finished his letter by writing, “your son to my mind has the right to the greatest title it is possible to give, ‘he died as he lived, a true soldier and a gentleman’, for he always lived cleanly and set a good example in spite of all temptations”.

Today Colin Bull lies in the Beersheba War Cemetery under the words, “Son of Mr and Mrs. J.A. Bull, For the death of heroes, bless ye the Lord.”
He was 21 years old.

Upon learning of the death of her son, Annie Bull wrote to her other son, Clifford, to tell him of Colin’s death: “You know I loved you both too much, and to think I can never see that dear face again seems almost too much to bear. They say time will heal the blow, but I cannot understand that now. I just feel I want you home.” Clifford Bull was repatriated to Australia the following month.

Colin Bull’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Sergeant Colin Brodie Bull, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.