The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2158) Private Kenneth Hyam, 18th 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 Meredith Duncan, the story for this day was on (2158) Private Kenneth Hyam, 18th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2158 Private Kenneth Hyam, 18th Battalion, AIF
DOW 17 August 1916
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 19 August 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Kenneth David Hyam, who died of wounds while fighting in France in the First World War.

Kenneth Hyam was born in 1893, one of five children of Michael and Flora Hyam of Terara on the Shoalhaven River in New South Wales. Known as “Ken” to his family and friends, he attended Nowra State School and worked as a carter for a local commercial business. He was also actively involved in a number of sporting teams in the Shoalhaven district, including the Wallaby’s Football Club and the Horse Racing Club at nearby Greenwell Point.

Hyam enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in June 1916, and after a period of training embarked for Egypt with a reinforcement group for the 18th Battalion. The fighting on Gallipoli had ended by the time he arrived, so the following months were spent training while the AIF underwent a major restructure. Hyam described the sights of Cairo in a letter home:
"You travel for about ten miles through beautiful fertile country and then draw near the Nile, which is crossed again, and is rather expansive. Then you see the Pyramids right in front of you. On the right is Mena Camp."

The 18th Battalion sailed for France in March 1916 and entered the line in the relatively quiet Armentières sector, where it learned the rigours and routine of trench fighting on the Western Front. Hyam was mustered into his platoon’s Lewis gun section, most likely as an ammunition carrier, and spent the following weeks taking part in patrols out in no man’s land and providing covering fire for trench raids. In July the battalion moved south to the Somme, where it took part in its first major action at Pozières. By then the village had been captured by the Australians and was bombarded relentlessly by German artillery.

Later that month the 18th Battalion participated in the attack that ultimately secured German positions to the east. Hyam was wounded on 4 August, and was evacuated through a series of aid posts and dressing stations. Hyam sent his parents a cable from the 26th General Hospital Étaples telling them he was wounded but otherwise okay. However, his condition worsened over the following days, and despite two operations on his arm he succumbed to his wounds on 17 August. Aged 23, he was buried at the Étaples Military Cemetery.

Several months later, Hyam’s parents received a letter from one of his friends, who tried to console them in their grief. He wrote:
"There was no one whom I thought more of than Ken … a brave soldier, and above all gentleman – one who was admired and looked up to by all. You have every reason to be proud of him”.

A memorial service was held at the Nowra Presbyterian Church, where some of Hyam’s favourite hymns were sung. His family was left heartbroken in the years after the war. A small epitaph on his headstone reads: “Ye who mourn a loved one lost upon the battlefield.”

Private Hyam’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 others from the First World War. His photograph is displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection.

This is just one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Private Kenneth Hyam, and all of those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.

Aaron Pegram
Historian, Military History Section