The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (4160) Private John Joseph Cleary, 9th 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 (4160) Private John Joseph Cleary, 9th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

4160 Private John Joseph Cleary, 9th Battalion, AIF
DOW 2 July 1916
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 15 January 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private John Joseph Cleary.

John Cleary was born in Kildare, Ireland, to James and Abigail Cleary. He was the fifth of six children.

By the advent of the First World War the family had immigrated to Australia and settled in Charters Towers in northern Queensland, where John was working as a miner. Charters Towers had been founded in the 1870s when gold was discovered there by chance. The area contained Australia’s richest major gold field, and during its boom years had a population of 30,000 and hosted its own stock exchange.

John Cleary enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 16 August 1915. After his initial training, he was allotted to the 13th reinforcements to the 9th Battalion, and embarked from Brisbane in January 1916 aboard the transport ship Kyarra, bound for Egypt.

Arriving at Alexandria in February, Cleary underwent training before being sent to France at the end of March. After a month at Ètaples, Cleary joined the 9th Battalion, in sector near Armentières.

In June Cleary volunteered to take part in a trench raid being organised by Captain Maurice Wilder Neligan. The men trained for several weeks and made numerous night–time forays into no man’s land to familiarise themselves with their plan of attack.

Towards midnight on 1 July the three parties of raiders set out. Cleary was in the right flank party and was involved in the capture of numerous weapons, pieces of equipment, and prisoners. During the fighting he was shot in the head, suffering a compound fracture of the skull. He was evacuated to the 1st Australian Casualty Clearing Station where he died from his wounds on 2 July. He was laid to rest in the Estaires Communal Cemetery and Extension. He was 41 years old.

Cleary’s 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 Private John Joseph Cleary, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section