The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (545) Trooper John Lauder, 1st 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 Charis May, the story for this day was on (545) Trooper John Lauder, 1st Light Horse Regiment, AIF, First World War.

545 Trooper John Lauder, 1st Light Horse Regiment, AIF
KIA 7 August 1915
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 19 February 2015

Today we remember and pay tribute to Trooper John Lauder.

Jack Lauder was born in the Wimmera region of Victoria, near the small town of Rupanyup. He attended the local public school and spent some time with the citizens’ militia, serving three years with the 6th Light Horse Regiment and leaving on the conclusion of his contract. At some point he moved to Guyra, north of Armidale in New South Wales, and worked there as a farmer.

Lauder enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 1 September 1914, shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Although unmarried, a son was born out of wedlock shortly after he left Australia. They would never meet.

Lauder was posted to the 1st Australian Light Horse Regiment, which was sent to Gallipoli without its horses on 12 May 1915. These men were there as reinforcements to the hard-pressed infantry units that had been there for just over two weeks. From the time they landed the men of the 1st Light Horse were rarely out of the firing line. One of Jack’s mates, Gordon Cooper, later wrote that “one is never safe from snipers, shrapnel or stray bullets or stray pieces of shell which fly for hundreds of yards”.

In early August the 1st Light Horse Regiment took over Pope’s Post. Here it attacked a Turkish position known as the “chessboard”, taking heavy casualties. They managed to take part of the line, but after two hours of heavy fire the Turks counter-attacked and the light horsemen were driven out, with 15 killed, 98 wounded, and 34 missing.

During this action Trooper Jack Lauder and his mate Gordon Cooper worked as stretcher-bearers. It was heavy work – they went forward under fire to wounded men, bandaged them up and then carried them out to safety. After some time Jack stood up to have a rest – or a “blow”, as he called it. Gordon warned him to “keep down, Jack, or you will get hit”. As he said it, Jack said, “I must have a blow!”, and fell with a gunshot wound to the head. He died instantly.

Cooper wrote to Jack’s parents to say, “Jack was one of the most popular chaps in our troop – always had a smile about something, nothing every put him out and was always a willing and good worker and good friend.” He was buried at the Quinn’s Post Cemetery shortly afterwards. He was 32.

His 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 but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Trooper John Lauder, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section