The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (784) Lance Corpral Richard Thompson Shields, 1st Pioneer 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (784) Lance Corpral Richard Thompson Shields, 1st Pioneer Battalion, AIF, First World War.

784 Lance Corporal Richard Thompson Shields, 1st Pioneer Battalion, AIF
KIA 18 August 1916
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 17 November 2016

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lance Corporal Richard Thompson Shields.

Richard Shields was born on 24 July 1891 in the South Australian town of Moonta. His was the youngest son of William and Eliza Shields, and his father was one of the oldest residents of Moonta. Richard was “a keen sport, and highly popular” in the town. He later spent time working in the mines at Broken Hill.

In March 1914 Shields went to Port Pirie. He had some friends and a cousin in the town, and he picked up some work as a labourer. But he never completed the job, began drinking heavily, and a week later he tried to kill himself by cutting his own throat. The police were called, and Shields was charged with attempting to take his own life. Shields responded by saying, “I only wish I had made a good job of it.” In court, Shields pleaded guilty, saying “It’s no good this drinking when it brings a man to this, is it? … There is no fear that I shall tackle it anymore.”

Five months later war broke out in Europe, and Shields enlisted in the AIF within days of the call-up. He was posted to the 10th Battalion, and left in October 1914 on board the troopship Ascanius.

The 10th Battalion was part of the covering force to land on Gallipoli in the early hours of 25 April 1915. Shields he proved an able soldier and was promoted to lance corporal in August. He was evacuated from the peninsula with gastritis in October, and spent the first half of 1916 either absent without leave or in hospital being treated for disease.

Instead of returning to the 10th Battalion after passing fit for active service, Shields transferred to the 1st Pioneer Battalion in June 1916. A few weeks later the battalion was drawn into the fighting around Pozières. On 18 August 1916, during its second spell in the front line, the 1st Pioneer Battalion was under heavy shell-fire. Lance Corporal Shields was returning to his dug-out when he was caught in the blast from a high-explosive shell.

One of his friends later said, “My word he was game! After [he was] hit, [he] called out ‘leave me – get the others away’.” Shields was evacuated from the front line with serious wounds in “half a dozen places” but died shortly afterwards. He was 25 years old.

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 Richard Thompson Shields, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Dr Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section