The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (WX5261) Corporal Howard Bruce Hill, 2/28th Battalion, 2nd AIF, Second 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (WX5261) Corporal Howard Bruce Hill, 2/28th Battalion, 2nd AIF, Second World War.

WX5261 Corporal Howard Bruce Hill, 2/28th Battalion, 2nd AIF
KIA 22 July 1942
Photograph: P08773.001

Story delivered 30 April 2016

Today we pay tribute to Corporal Howard Bruce Hill, who was killed on active service during the Second World War.

Born in Claremont, Western Australia, on 29 March 1918, Howard Hill – known as Bruce – was the youngest of six children to Arthur Dunleavey Hill and Marguerite Elizabeth Hill.

Known as a bit of a larrikin as well as a hard worker, Hill worked as a clerk for the Vacuum Oil Company in Claremont before enlisting in the Second Australian Imperial force on 26 July 1940. He had previously served in the Militia with the 103rd Howitzer Battery. Posted to the 2/28th Battalion as part of the 24th Brigade, which later became part of the 9th Division, Hill commenced training with the battalion at Melville Camp near Fremantle.

In January 1941 the 2/28th Battalion embarked for overseas service. Once in Egypt it travelled by train to a large Australian base in Palestine to complete its training.

In March the 9th Division was brought to Libya to garrison the area east of Tobruk. By April the division had withdrawn to the city and become surrounded. Besieged, the Australians helped defend the Tobruk fortress for the next six months.

Hill served with the battalion throughout this period, bar a short spell of illness during the siege. In September the 2/28th was evacuated by sea to Alexandria, then returned to Palestine. The 24th Brigade later moved to Syria and then Lebanon for rest, training, and garrison duties. During this time, Hill undertook ski training during January and February 1942, successfully completing a course at the I Australian Corps Ski School.

By July 1942 the war in North Africa had become critical for the British forces. The Germans and Italians had reached El Alamein in Egypt, and the 9th Division was rushed to the front.

The 2/28th reached the Alamein front in July and the division attacked a week later. It was during the battalion’s attack on Ruin Ridge on 22 July 1942 that Hill was killed in action.

His body was buried in the El Alamein British and Commonwealth War Cemetery in Egypt. He was 24 years old.

Hill’s name is listed here on the Roll of Honour on my left, among some 40,000 others who died while serving in the Second 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 Corporal Howard Bruce Hill, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Lachlan Grant
Historian, Military History Section