The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2332A) Private Findlay Fraser, 48th Battalion (Infantry), First World War

The Last Post Ceremony is presented in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial every 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 Robyn Siers the story for this day was on (2332A) Private Findlay Fraser, 48th Battalion (Infantry), First World War.

2332A Private Findlay Fraser, 48th Battalion
Prisoner of war. Died 23 May 1917
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 19 June 2013

Today, we remember and pay tribute to Private Findlay Fraser of the 48th Battalion who died 96 years ago as a prisoner of war in German-occupied France.

Having worked as a clerk in Adelaide before enlisting in the AIF in December 1915, 28-year-old Fraser embarked for the Western Front with troops of the 32nd Battalion in March 1916; he transferred to the 48th Battalion as soon as he arrived in France. He was severely wounded in the shoulder and back during his first major action on the Western Front on 8 August 1916, when the 48th Battalion withstood the German counter-attack on the positions the Australian captured outside the village of Pozières. Evacuated to England to recover from his injuries, he rejoined his battalion in February 1917, just as Australian and British troops began to follow-up the German withdrawal from the Somme to their new and formidable defences, known as the Hindenburg Line.

The 48th Battalion was heavily engaged in the fighting at Bullecourt on 11 April 1917 when Australian troops and British tanks attempted to breach the Hindenburg Line. In what was a costly and unsuccessful battle, Fraser was one of 3,000 Australians lost during the battle. Along with 1,140 other Australian troops of the 4th Division, he was taken prisoner by German troops in the bitter fight for the enemy trenches. He was wounded in the left leg, and was taken to a German field hospital where he was operated on by German surgeons. The nature of his wound necessitated the amputation of his leg, which he never recovered from: he was transported to a prisoner of war camp at Dulmen in Germany, where he died several weeks later from heart failure, aged 30. Today, he rests in Cologne Southern Cemetery in Germany.

Private Findlay Fraser is one of 111 Australians who died as prisoners during the First World War and were buried in Germany. His loss was mourned by not just his family but also by his friends at the St Peters Cricket Club and St Bartholomew's Football Club, where he was described as a "prominent and popular member & [who] proved himself thorough sportsmen".

Findlay Fraser's name is listed on the Roll of Honour on your left, along with more than 60,000 others from the First World War. This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial.

We now remember Private Findlay Fraser, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.