The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (132) Lieutenant Roy Oscar Claude Keene, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, 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 (132) Lieutenant Roy Oscar Claude Keene, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, First World War.

Lieutenant Roy Oscar Claude Keene, 2nd Field Artillery Brigade
KIA 16 November 1917
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 4 February 2015

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lieutenant Roy Keene of the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, who was killed in action fighting in the First World War.

Roy Keene was born in 1894 and was one of six children of Thomas and Martha Keene of Gundy, New South Wales. He attended Gundy Public School and later went to Maitland Boy’s High School. Afterwards, Roy worked as a junior clerk for the New South Wales Lands Department in Moree, and spent two years in the Militia, parading with the 5th (New England) Light Horse Regiment in Moree.

Roy Keene enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force just two weeks after Britain declared war on Germany in August 1914. He travelled from Moree to Rosebury Park in Sydney, where he formed part of the original establishment of the 1st Light Horse Regiment. Roy was given the rank of corporal and spent several weeks training in Australia. He embarked from Sydney with the rest of the regiment in October 1914 with the first Australian troopship convoy.

Once at sea the convoy was diverted to Egypt when Ottoman Turkey joined the war and sided with Germany. Roy spent several months training in Mena Camp, near Cairo. The Australian Light Horse was unsuited to conditions on Gallipoli, so it was not until May 1915 that its members landed, unmounted, on the peninsula. During the allied August Offensive Roy was severely wounded in the face and arm by Turkish shrapnel and was evacuated to Malta and then England for treatment.

Roy returned to Egypt in February 1916 and was immediately transferred to the 10th Field Artillery Brigade as part of the expansion of the AIF. He was promoted to second lieutenant, but soon after was hospitalised with enteric fever. His condition became so bad that he was eventually sent home to Australia for rest and recovery.

It was not until January 1917 that Roy once again embarked for active service abroad. He spent time training on the Salisbury Plains in Wiltshire, England, and finally proceeded to France in August 1917 for service with the 1st Field Artillery Brigade. Having participated in the fighting around Ypres throughout September, Roy was again transferred to the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade, where he became section commander for No. 102 Battery, firing the 4.2-inch howitzer.

Throughout October and November No. 102 Battery was involved in supporting the Australian operations in the drive towards Passchendaele village. From Broodseinde Ridge, Anzac Ridge and numerous other positions outside the village of Zonnebeke, the 2nd Field Artillery Brigade put down creeping barrages, interdiction, and counter-battery fire on the German positions. While some distance from the fighting, the gunners of No. 102 Battery were particularly vulnerable to German counter-fire. On 16 November 1917 one such German bombardment fell on the battery, killing Lieutenant Keene. He was 23 years old.

Keene was buried at Hut’s Cemetery at Dickebusch in Belgium, where he rests today.

Lieutenant Roy Keene’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 others from the First World War.

This is just one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Lieutenant Roy Keene, and all Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.

Aaron Pegram
Historian, Military History Section