The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1397) Private Horace Gray, 19th 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 (1397) Private Horace Gray, 19th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

1397 Private Horace Gray, 19th Battalion, AIF
KIA 9 November 1915
No photograph in collection

Story delivered 17 January 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Horace Gray, who was killed while fighting on Gallipoli during the First World War.

Horace William Herbert Gray was born in 1899, one of nine children of William and Margaret Gray of the inner Sydney suburb of Campsie. After attending Bourke Street School in Surry Hills, where he was involved in the local cadet battalion, Horace was working as a labourer when news of the Gallipoli landings reached Australia.

On 7 May 1915 Gray travelled to Liverpool military camp where he lied about his age to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force. Aged just 16, he convinced the recruiting officers that he was 19 and met the strict recruiting standards to serve overseas. After just six weeks of training at Liverpool, Private Gray embarked for Egypt as an original member of the 19th Battalion, destined for the fighting in the Dardanelles.

The 19th Battalion landed on Gallipoli on 21 August 1915 during the final stages of the August Offensive. It was immediately drawn into the bitter fighting for Hill 60, during which it plugged a gap in the British line following confused fighting to the north of Anzac Cove. It was then employed in the defence of Pope’s Hill.

During this time, the men of the 19th Battalion endured the daily routine of fighting. Rifle and machine-gun fire continued day and night, and bombing duels were constant. Bombs from German aircraft and shells from Turkish artillery fell frequently on their positions, and mines were sometimes detonated beneath the Australian trenches. Trenches were destroyed almost as soon as they were repaired.

For the 19th Battalion, 9 November 1915 was a regular day of manning the defences at Pope’s Hill. Turkish troops directed machine-gun fire at the sandbags protecting a newly constructed sap driven towards the Turkish lines over previous days. Rifle grenades rained down on the Australian positions, and catapult bombs and Garland mortars were flung towards them.

Amid the maelstrom of fighting, Horace Gray was killed. He was 17 years old.

He was buried at Shrapnel Valley Cemetery nearby. His grave has no epitaph.

Horace Gray is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 others from the First World War.

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

Aaron Pegram
Historian, Military History Section