The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (568) Private Harold William Sanderson, 4th Australian Machine Gun Company, 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 Michael Kelly, the story for this day was on (568) Private Harold William Sanderson, 4th Australian Machine Gun Company, AIF, First World War.

568 Private Harold William Sanderson, 4th Australian Machine Gun Company, AIF
KIA 13 July 1917
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 5 December 2015

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Harold William Sanderson.

Harold Sanderson was born in 1892 in Gympie, Queensland, the second son of William and Jane Sanderson. He was considered to be “a fine specimen of the typical Queensland bushman”, and went on to become a teamster. Harold followed his brother George in enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force, joining a year later in May 1916.

Before leaving Australia, the Wyr Tennis Club in Byrnestown held an afternoon tea as a send-off for the young private. Friends and club members were present in large numbers, and returned soldiers and Boer War veterans made speeches wishing him well. He was also sent gifts from well-wishers, including a wristwatch from members of the Byrnestown Volunteers’ Appreciation Society.

Private Sanderson was first sent to Enoggera camp to begin his training as a member of a machine-gun team. There he met Private Percy McDonald, and the two became best mates. That December they were sent together to England to continue their training, and Sanderson finally joined the 4th Machine Gun Company on the Western Front in August 1917. He told his mate Percy that he feared a serious wounding, and that he hoped he would either receive a slight wound or be killed outright.

In July 1917 Sanderson’s machine-gun company was in the line near the Belgian town of Messines. They were waiting to be relieved, and Sanderson was the last to leave the position, remaining at the gun until the last minute. As he was walking up the trench to leave an artillery shell exploded close by. He was killed instantly.

Percy McDonald wrote to Harold’s parents of the death of his mate: “it was a great blow to me, as we were like brothers ever since we met in camp in Australia. Another chap and myself stopped behind and buried him.” Harold’s grave was later lost. He was 24 years old.

Percy returned to Australia in 1919, but the Sanderson family would also lose their oldest son, George, killed in action in July 1918.

The names of Harold and George Sanderson are listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died during 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 Harold William Sanderson, his brother Private George Alexander Sanderson, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section