The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (5016) Frank Farquharson, 33rd Battalion, 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 Blanch, the story for this day was on (5016) Frank Farquharson, 33rd Battalion, First World War.

5016 Frank Farquharson, 33rd Battalion
DOW 31 August 1918
Photograph: P00518.002

Story delivered 10 June 2015

Today we remember Private Frank Farquharson, who died of wounds suffered in August 1918 while serving with the 33rd Battalion on the Western Front during the First World War.

Frank Farquharson was born in Kiama, the second son of Percy and Emma Farquharson’s five children. Frank Farquharson attended Kiama Public School and served in the senior cadets. He subsequently worked as a draper when he left school.

In May 1915 Frank’s older brother Walter Farquharson volunteered for the Australian Imperial Force. Frank wanted to join up too but their parents persuaded the 16-year-old to wait until he was 18. Frank did wait, but to prepare himself for the harsh life of a soldier he served in the senior cadets and slept outside in a tent. In March 1917, shortly after his 18th birthday, he enlisted in the AIF. He left Australia for England that May, and after several months’ training he embarked for France and was transferred to the 33rd Battalion in January 1918.

On 17 April Frank was listed as being wounded in action “shell shocked”. While not physically wounded, he was evacuated suffering nervous strain. He had been buried alive when a shell exploded nearby. He was quickly dug out but later that day was he sent back out of the line. He wrote home that he “had to be taken out” because his voice had gone and he “was crying like a big kid – that is the way things happen when you get shell shock”. Frank was left virtually speechless for 24 hours. By 27 April he had recovered from what he described as “a bit of a breakdown” and re-joined his battalion in early May, although he spent much of June sick, moving back and forth between medical units and his battalion.

Frank’s older brother Walter, who had served on Gallipoli and was badly wounded on the Somme in 1916, was killed in action on 3 May 1918. Walter Farquharson has no known grave.

Three months later, on 8 August, Frank Farquharson and the 33rd Battalion participated in the battle of Amiens – the “black day of the German army” – breaking through the German lines for an unprecedented 12-kilometre advance. On 30 August, however, Frank was wounded in the abdomen. He was evacuated to a casualty clearing station, where he died the next day. He was 19 years old.

There is no written record of Percy and Emma Farquharson’s reaction when they learned of the loss of their second son. Perhaps they found some solace in the words they received from Frank’s commanding officer, Lieutenant Colonel Leslie Morshead, who described the young private as an excellent soldier, “gallant and determined in action”, and always unselfish and thoughtful towards others.

His parents later chose the following lines as the epitaph for Frank’s grave, a grave they only ever saw in a photograph:

A brave young life
That promised well
At the will of God
A hero fell.

Frank is buried in Daours Communal Cemetery Extension in France. His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with more than 60,000 other Australians who died in the First World War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Frank Farquharson and all those Australians who gave their lives in the service of our nation.

Dr Karl James
Historian, Military History Section