The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (691) Pte Alexander Williamson, 29th 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 Joanne Smedley, the story for this day was on (691) Pte Alexander Williamson, 29th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

691 Pte Alexander Williamson, 29th Battalion, AIF
KIA 24 October 1917
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 15 January 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Alexander Williamson.

Alick Williamson was born on 27 August 1892, the eldest son of Louis and Mary Williamson. He spent his entire life in Foster, in the South Gippsland region of Victoria, where he attended the local school and went on to become a farmer like his father and uncles. He was well known in the district and was considered a likeable and respectable young man.

Williamson enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in October 1915, and was posted to the 29th Battalion. He underwent a brief period of training in Australia before leaving in November for overseas service. He spent six months training in Egypt before heading to France, arriving in June 1916.

The 29th Battalion fought its first major battle on the Western Front at Fromelles on 19 July 1916. Nearly one-quarter of the battalion became casualties during the operation. Private Williamson survived, and remained with his battalion for the rest of the year, apart from a short stay in hospital. In 1917 the battalion played a peripheral role in the battles around the French village of Bullecourt.

In late September 1917 Private Williamson was detached to the newly created 25th Machine Gun Company. On 24 October 1917 Williamson was a member of a reserve machine-gun team holding the front line. Their position was established in a pill box, which Williamson was holding with Corporal Dennis O’Dea and Private Albert Edge. At 5 pm a German shell scored a direct hit on their position, killing all three men instantly and burying them under the collapsed pillbox. Their bodies could not be recovered.

Alick Williamson was like thousands of Australian soldiers who served their country quietly, without distinction or misconduct. At home his local school flew its flag at half-mast in his memory. The newspapers reported that “his noble sacrifice in the time of war, although lamented by many, stands as a strong endorsement of his principles of manhood and patriotism to his King and Country”. He was 25 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 Alexander Williamson, his comrades Corporal Dennis Joseph O’Dea and Private Albert Edge, and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section