The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (937) Corporal Theodore Willard Wright, 43rd 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 (937) Corporal Theodore Willard Wright, 43rd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

937 Corporal Theodore Willard Wright, 43rd Battalion, AIF
KIA 31 July 1917
Story delivered 31 July 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal Theodore Willard Wright.

Theodore Wright was born on 30 December 1892 to Joseph and Alice Wright of Mount Gambier, South Australia. He attended the local public school and Mr Carrozzi’s Grammar School, and worked as a compositor for the South-Eastern Star. After his parents moved to Adelaide, Theodore took a job in Peterborough working on the Times. But after two years he returned to Mount Gambier, where he was living when war broke out in 1914.

Wright tried a number of times to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force, but was turned down because of bad teeth. He saved up and bought an expensive set of false teeth in order to pass the medical, but lost two sets “as the result of being so fond of swimming”. He finally kept a set of teeth long enough to be accepted for service in February 1916, and was posted to the 43rd Battalion. He was engaged to marry Miss J.M. Opie, but chose to delay the wedding until he returned to Australia.

Wright proved an able soldier and was promoted to lance corporal within four months of enlisting. He left Australia for active service overseas, sailing from Outer Harbour in Adelaide on 9 June 1916 and arriving in Marseilles in late July. In late November 1916 Wright received his final promotion, to corporal, while training in England.

Wright was a machine-gunner in the 43rd Battalion, and in May 1917 attended a Lewis Gun school to further his training. He rejoined the battalion in June of that year. Shortly afterwards he wrote a letter home to be sent in the case of his death, which read:
I have never regretted joining up and I can truthfully say that I have enjoyed the life of a soldier. I have tried to play the game of life straight and clean and believe that I have succeeded … don’t mourn for me. I shall
be happy to give my life for the cause should the necessity arise … Lovingly yours, Theo.

In June the battalion took part in the battle of Messines. The initial assault was preceded by the detonation of 19 mines under the German front line, causing an estimated 10,000 German casualties. Infantry then advanced behind a carefully co-ordinated artillery bombardment and took their objectives within the first hours of the battle.

Success at Messines paved the way for the Third Battle of Ypres, which began in earnest on 31 July 1917 with the British attack at Pilckem Ridge.

At this time the 43rd Battalion was in the front line near the Belgian town of Warneton. While Corporal Wright was in a trench with the machine-gun party a shell dropped nearby. He was badly wounded in the blast, and died a short time later.

His boss from Mount Gambier was not far away when Wright was killed, later reporting that Wright “was the best mate you could want to have … he was a very good man in every way”. Theodore Wright was 24 years old.

It was reported that he was buried near where he fell, but his body was not recovered after the war. Today his name appears on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing at Ypres, alongside the names of some 6,000 Australians with no known grave.

His name 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 Corporal Theodore Willard Wright, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Unit