The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2629) Private Samuel Mackay 9th 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 (2629) Private Samuel Mackay 9th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2629 Private Samuel Mackay 9th Battalion, AIF
KIA 20 April 1916
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 12 May 2015

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Samuel Mackay, who was killed during the First World War.

Samuel Mackay was born in 1894 to John and Alexandrina Mackay at Lutwyche, Queensland. He grew up in the suburbs of Brisbane and attended Zillmere State School. He had some training experience in the Citizen Military Forces, and after leaving school became an apprentice blacksmith with McKenzie and Holland in Brisbane. Two years later he qualified, and was plying his trade when the First World War began.

On 5 June, shortly after turning 21, Mackay enlisted for service in the AIF in Brisbane. He joined the 9th Battalion and was allocated to the 8th reinforcements, and that August embarked with his unit for Egypt aboard the transport ship Kyarra.

Mackay was sent forward to Lemnos in mid-November, joining the 9th Battalion, which had only recently been withdrawn from the Gallipoli peninsula. Returning to Egypt in January, Mackay began several months of training in the desert sands while the battalion was brought back up to strength. The 9th Battalion sailed for France at the end of March 1916.

By 19 April the battalion was in reserve billets near Rouge-de-Bout, one mile behind the front line in the Armentières or “nursery” sector. Intermittent artillery fire was landing nearby.

Early in the afternoon of 20 April, tragedy struck when the battalion’s C Company billets were heavily shelled. One shell landed outside a canvas tent, wounding four soldiers. As men went to assist, another shell landed among them, killing several and wounding others. A further shell hit a brick wall of a nearby billet, causing a further 47 casualties. C Company was decimated, suffering 50 men wounded and 25 killed, one of whom was Mackay. Several others would die from their wounds over the ensuing days.

Later that day Mackay and the other fallen men of C Company were laid to rest in the Rue-Du-Bacquerot (13th London) Graveyard at Laventie. He was 21 years old.

Mackay’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 but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Samuel Mackay, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section