The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (3357) Private Albert Leslie Crapp, 54th 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 Jana Johnson, the story for this day was on (3357) Private Albert Leslie Crapp, 54th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

3357 Private Albert Leslie Crapp, 54th Battalion, AIF
KIA 19 May 1918
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 1 January 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Albert Leslie Crapp.

Known as “Leslie”, Crapp was born in 1886 to William and his second wife Martha, of Uralla, New South Wales. He had five brothers and three sisters. His mother died in 1898, when Leslie was eight, and his father later remarried, eventually giving him three half-brothers and a half-sister. Leslie’s father was a warm, likable man, and the family was well known in the district. They were all involved in the local Methodist church, which William had been instrumental in establishing. Leslie attended the local public school, and later went in to business as an auctioneer in Armidale.

Leslie Crapp enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in December 1916, and after a period of training in Australia was sent to England. In April 1917 he contracted the mumps and spent a few weeks in hospital. On his release he continued in a number of staff positions with the 14th Training Battalion and the 61st Drafting Battalion. In December 1917, a year after he enlisted, Private Crapp reached France and joined the 54th Battalion on the Western Front.

The 54th Battalion’s major offensive operations of the year had ended by the time Private Crapp joined them. Little is known of his experiences from this point, and it was later reported in newspapers in Uralla that people had “not heard much of him since he joined the Great Australian Army, but we are assured that he did his duty quietly and bravely, and helped to build up the fighting reputation of our gallant boys abroad”. Like hundreds of Australian soldiers, he served without particular punishment or praise.

On 19 May Private Leslie Crapp was killed in action. Like his service on the battlefield, little is known of his death. The 54th Battalion was in the front line at the time, but the day was quiet and the patrols sent into no man’s land met little opposition. The exact manner of Crapp’s death went unrecorded. He is buried in Aubigny British Cemetery, and his headstone reads:

He hath done his duty
In love for his country

A memorial service was held back home in Australia. The local paper reported that people “received the news, as we are sure many other friends did, with deep regret, for we knew of the best that was in him, and he had a good heart and a kindly disposition”. Albert Leslie Crapp was 33 years old.

His name is 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 Albert Leslie Crapp, and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section