The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (744) Private Andrew Edward Staggs, 1st 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 (744) Private Andrew Edward Staggs, 1st Battalion, AIF, First World War.

744 Private Andrew Edward Staggs, 1st Battalion, AIF
KIA 19 May 1915
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 3 November 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Andrew Edward Staggs.

Andrew Staggs was born in 1888 to John and Jemima Staggs of Inverell, New South Wales. He was the eldest of seven sons and two daughters born to the couple. John Staggs was a farmer and Andrew would eventually follow in his footsteps. The family first lived in Moss Vale before moving to the Richmond River during the early days of its dairy industry. There Staggs had an accident that left him with a head wound and two missing fingers, as well as a “peculiar manner”. In 1908 the family moved to Inverell, where his father worked a property known as Rose Hill.

In April 1914 Staggs was found guilty of larceny over a borrowed mowing machine, and was heavily fined. Four months later war broke out in Europe, and he was among the first to enlist. Andrew and his brother Fred enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 27 August 1914. Despite his missing fingers, Stagg was accepted for active service and was posted to the 1st Battalion. The brothers underwent a short period of training before being sent overseas, where they continued training in Egypt.

On 25 April 1915 the 1st Battalion landed on Gallipoli, part of the second and third waves of the landing force. Andrew and Fred survived the hectic first days after the landing as the Australians struggled to establish a line and organise their battalions. On 19 May 1915 the brothers were stood talking to each other when the Turks attacked. Andrew was shot through the neck and was told to go down to the beach to have his wound dressed. He refused, however, and stayed to help carry ammunition to the men in the front line. As he worked, he was hit again and killed. His brother later wrote, “Thank God he never suffered – the end came very quickly … Nobody can say he was anything but brave.”

Private Andrew Staggs was buried near where he died, but his grave was later lost. Today he is commemorated on the Lone Pine Memorial on Gallipoli. He was 28 years old.

Fred Staggs was repatriated to Australia the following year. He enlisted for service during the Second World War and died as a prisoner of the Japanese in Borneo in 1945.

The name of Andrew Staggs is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 Australians who died during 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 Private Andrew Edward Staggs, who gave his lives for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.
Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section