The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (648) Private Carl Amos, 1st Battalion 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 Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (648) Private Carl Amos, 1st Battalion AIF, First World War.

648 Private Carl AMOS, 1st Battalion AIF
KIA 25 April 1915
Photograph: P07391.001

Story delivered 27 January 2015

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Carl Amos, who died during the First World War.

Carl Amos was born in Rockley, near Bathurst in New South Wales, the youngest of Arthur and Emily Amos’s five children. He attended school in Bathurst and was described as a “clever, vivacious lad.” Carl was working as a carpenter when war broke out. He enlisted in the AIF on 19 August 1914, only a few weeks after the declaration of war, and became a private in the 1st Infantry Battalion.

Private Amos left Australia with the 1st Battalion on board HMAT Afric, part of the first convoy of Australian troops bound for the war. He arrived in Alexandria in early December. Despite suffering from an illness that kept him in hospital for several weeks, Private Amos trained with his battalion and embarked with them for the Gallipoli peninsula in April 1915.

The 1st Battalion landed at 7.40 am on 25 April 1915, and was immediately “thrown into the firing line”. It was while advancing inland that Private Amos was killed. Witnesses stated Amos was shot while standing up to observe the enemy through field glasses. The 24-year-old soldier died instantly.

His family were informed of the loss of their youngest son and brother by the Reverend Collier of Bathurst. His memorial notice in the Bathurst newspaper described Amos as “a fine young soldier … a good son, a good citizen and a good churchman. The future was bright with promise for him”.

Carl Amos’s grave could not be identified after the war, so he is commemorated on a memorial at No 2 Outpost Cemetery on the Gallipoli peninsula, along with more than 150 other Commonwealth servicemen.

Carl Amos’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour to my right, along with the names of more than 60,000 other Australians who died fighting in the First World War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

His is just one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Carl Amos and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.

Dr Kate Ariotti
Historian, Military History Section

Sources:
Laverty Family Tree, www.ancestry.com

“In Memoriam”, Bathurst Times, 30 October 1915.

1st Battalion Unit Diary, entry for 25/4/1915: AWM4 23/18/1.

Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour database record for Carl Amos.