The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (512A) Lance Corporal Harry Potter 24th 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 Joanne Smedley, the story for this day was on (512A) Lance Corporal Harry Potter 24th Machine Gun Company, AIF, First World War.

512A Lance Corporal Harry Potter 24th Machine Gun Company, AIF
DOW 5 October 1917
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 6 March 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lance Corporal Harry Potter.

Harry Potter was born in 1892 in St Stephens in Cornwall, England, to William and Susan Ann Potter. By 1911 he was living with his parents and siblings in Ashprington, Devon, and was working as a carter on a farm.

Between April 1911 and 1914, Potter immigrated to Victoria, Australia. He made his way to Cheshunt in the north-east of the state, where he found work as a share farmer.

With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Potter continued farming. On 4 August 1916 he enlisted for service in the AIF and underwent initial training and machine-gun training at Moonee Ponds. In October he fell ill and spent almost a month in the isolation camp at Ascot Vale.

After being released from hospital, Potter was allotted to the 8th reinforcements to the 2nd Division Machine Gun Company. He embarked on 23 November aboard the transport ship Hororata, bound for England.

In February 1917 Potter was transferred to the 17th Machine Gun Company. Over the next seven months he and his unit trained for their role on the Western Front. In March Potter was promoted to lance corporal, and in June his company was renumbered as the 24th Machine Gun Company.

The company sailed for France in mid-September and were sent to the Ypres Salient. Here they went straight into action, providing support for the infantry of the Australian 4th Division during its attack on Polygon Wood.

By 30 September the 24th Machine Gun Company was in a defensive position between Zonnebeke and Polygon Wood. The next morning the Germans launched a counter-attack. A German shell exploded near Potter’s position, and he was severely wounded in the legs, buttocks, and arm. He was taken to the 17th Casualty Clearing Station, but died from his wounds on 5 October. He was laid to rest in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. He was 25 years old.

Potter’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, along with around 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 Lance Corporal Harry Potter, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section