The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (WX7406) Private Edward William Newbey, 2/28th Battalion, Second Australian Imperial Force, Second 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 Charis May, the story for this day was on (WX7406) Private Edward William Newbey, 2/28th Battalion, Second Australian Imperial Force, Second World War.

WX7406 Private Edward William Newbey, 2/28th Battalion, Second Australian Imperial Force
Died of illness 7 December 1942

Story delivered 26 April 2017

Today we pay tribute to Private Edward Newbey.

Born in Albany, Western Australia, on 27 December 1905, Edward William Newbey was the son of Thomas and Alice Newbey.

Known to family and friends as “Ted”, Edward Newbey was 34 years old when he enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force in August 1940. He was married to Mary, with whom he had a son, Alan, and was working as a clerk. Newbey had previously served in the 44th Battalion of the Militia.

In April 1941 he embarked for overseas service. Arriving in the Middle East in May, he completed training in Palestine and in August was posted as reinforcement to the 2/28th Battalion, part of the 24th Brigade of the 9th Division. Edward’s brother, Joe, was also a member of the battalion.

At this time the 2/28th Battalion was in the midst of the siege of Tobruk. The 9th division had become surrounded at Tobruk the previous April. Besieged, the Australians helped defend the Tobruk fortress for the next six months.

During the siege Newbey was wounded, suffering gunshot wounds to a knee and upper arm. After being evacuated from Tobruk he spent several months recuperating.

In September, the 2/28th was evacuated by sea to Alexandria, from where it returned to Palestine. The 24th Brigade later moved to Syria and then Lebanon for rest, training, and garrison duties. During this time, Newbey returned to the battalion having recovered from his wounds.

By July 1942 the war in North Africa had become critical for the British. The Germans and Italians had reached El Alamein in Egypt, about 70 miles from Alexandria, and so the 9th Division was rushed to the front.

The 2/28th reached the Alamein front on 10 July and the division attacked a week later. During the attack on Ruin Ridge on 27 July 1942 Edward Newbey and his brother Joe were captured and became prisoners of war. The 2/28th suffered heavily at Ruin Ridge. Sixty-five officers and men from the battalion and its support units were killed or wounded; nearly 500 were captured and became prisoners of war. Of those who participated in the attack, only 92 men remained.

After a period of captivity in Libya, Edward was transported to Italy, where he was held in transit camps before arriving at Campo No. 57 Grupignano.

The condition of the prisoners arriving from Libya was poor. The camps in Libya were not well organised, there had been a lack of food and basic amenities, and camp conditions were substandard.

Following their arrival at Gruppignano, there was an outbreak of beriberi and other food deficiency related diseases.

Edward Newbey died at Gruppignano on the 7th of December 1942. Officially, he died of bronco-pneumonia and severe organic decay, although his brother also reported that Edward had also suffered greatly from malnutrition.

Edward Newbey was 34 years old.

Writing about his funeral service, the New Zealand padre Robert McDowall wrote:

The day broke fine, calm, cloudless. A watch had been stationed at the body in a room adjoining the hospital since the lad’s death on Monday morning. The recreation hut was prepared as a Church, a small pulpit made of stools, and draped with blanket and sheets, a resting place for the coffin just in front. At 8.45 am the men were assembling, 3,500 of them, along the road through the camp.

Newbey’s body was taken by a hand-pushed hearse to be buried near the camp at Gruppignano. His body was later reinterred at the British and Commonwealth War Cemetery at Udine, Italy.

Edward’s brother Joe later escaped from Italian captivity, making it to neutral Switzerland and surviving the war.

Edward Newbey’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among some 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second 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 Edward William Newbey, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Lachlan Grant (with assistance and thanks to Katrina Kittel)
Historian, Military History Section