The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (14609) Private Oscar Leonard Godlee, 9th Australian Field Ambulance, 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 , the story for this day was on (14609) Private Oscar Leonard Godlee, 9th Australian Field Ambulance, AIF, First World War.

14609 Private Oscar Leonard Godlee, 9th Australian Field Ambulance, AIF
DOW 7 June 1917
Photograph: P06414.001

Story delivered 26 June 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Oscar Leonard Godlee.

Oscar Godlee was born in Beltana in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia on 21 June 1895. He was the fourth son of Arthur and Eliza Godlee. His father was the local butcher and baker in Beltana, but at some point his family moved to Adelaide, and he spent part of his childhood in the suburb of Prospect. Oscar attended the local public school and Adelaide High School.

In 1915 Godlee qualified to begin medical studies at the University of Adelaide, but instead decided to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force. He enlisted in December 1915 and was posted to the 9th Machine Gun Company. After a period of training in Australia and England he was sent to France to fight on the Western Front.

Godlee arrived in France in late 1916 and, apart from a short period he spent in hospital, there is little record of his experience. His family in Australia was under the impression that he served as a dispatch carrier before working as a stretcher-bearer for his company, although his records do not confirm this.

On 6 June 1917, six months after Private Godlee arrived in France, the 9th Machine Gun Company went into action at Messines. It was supporting the 34th Battalion, and on several occasions came under heavy shell-fire. At some point Private Godlee was wounded, and on 7 June 1917 he died at the 9th Field Ambulance in Belgium. He was buried in the Pont D’Achelles British Cemetery at Nieppe.

Oscar Godlee was one month shy of his 22nd birthday. 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. 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 Private Oscar Leonard Godlee, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section