The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (805) Lance Corporal George King, 33rd 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 Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (805) Lance Corporal George King, 33rd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

805 Lance Corporal George King, 33rd Battalion, AIF
KIA 30 September 1917
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 19 October 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lance Corporal George King.

George King was born on 13 May 1891 in Beith, Scotland, to James and Margaret King. By the outbreak of the First World War, he had immigrated to Australia and was boarding in Curlewis, New South Wales, where he worked as a labourer.

King enlisted for service in the AIF at Narrabri on 6 January 1916 and was posted to the newly formed 33rd Battalion, then in camp at the Armidale Showgrounds. He embarked with his battalion from Sydney that May aboard the transport ship Marathon, bound for England. The battalion spent several months training before sailing to France.

At the end of November the 33rd Battalion entered the front line for the first time. It spent the next several months in rotation and enduring the terrible winter of 1916–17, the worst winter Europe had seen for 40 years. It took part in its first battle at Messines on the 7th of June, and along with the rest of 9 Brigade led the 3rd Division’s assault and captured its objectives. The battalion held these positions for several days afterwards amid heavy German shelling, suffering heavy casualties as a result.

During the occupation of the front line near Messines in July, King was wounded in the back and evacuated to the 1st Australian General Hospital at Rouen. He returned to the battalion in late August, and was promoted to lance corporal in early September.

In the early hours of 30 September, the 33rd Battalion returned to the front line near Zonnebeke, relieving several British battalions. That morning the battalion suffered three fatalities, one of whom was King, who was struck in the chest by shrapnel. He was carried to the battalion’s Regimental Aid Post where he died. He was 26 years old.

King was buried near the railway at Zonnebeke, but his grave was lost in the ensuing fighting. Today he is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died while serving in 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 George King, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section