The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (374) Sergeant Alexander Miller Bugbird, 9th Light Horse Regiment, 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 Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (374) Sergeant Alexander Miller Bugbird, 9th Light Horse Regiment, First World War.

374 Sergeant Alexander Miller Bugbird, 9th Light Horse Regiment
KIA 29 August 1915
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 27 February 2014

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Alexander Miller Bugbird.

Alexander Bugbird was born into a farming family from Baringhup in rural Victoria between Castlemaine and Maryborough. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force shortly after the outbreak of war in 1914 and left Australia with the 9th Light Horse Regiment in February 1915, arriving in Egypt a month later and receiving a promotion to the rank of lance corporal.

The 9th Light Horse were originally not considered suitable for the conditions on Gallipoli, and it was not until a decision was made to deploy them without their horses that they were sent, arriving in late May. The 9th Light Horse was in reserve for the disastrous attack on the Nek in early August which cost so many light horsemen their lives.

In late August attention turned to Hill 60, an important Turkish stronghold that, although really just a small rise, gave a clear view of parts of the battlefield and had two usable wells nearby. The hill was fiercely fought over, with many wounded and dead resulting, but was only partially won by Australia and Irish units. The 9th Light Horse were sent in at the very end for what proved to be the final assault on the position. They, too, suffered a number of casualties, with 15 killed, 45 wounded and 18 missing. Alexander Bugbird was numbered among the missing.

Of the 18 missing, only one was found, and he wounded. In the end, a court of inquiry found no other option than to consider that Bugbird and the 16 others had been killed in action.

Bugbird had been promoted to sergeant before the operation against Hill 60. It came through just two hours before the charge and, as his fellow lance corporal W.P. Hawkes reported, "he probably did not hear of it officially ... he went out with the charge on the 28th and was never seen again".

Alexander Bugbird's name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 others from the First World War. There is no photograph in the Memorial's collection to display beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of courage and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Sergeant Alexander Miller Bugbird, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.