The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (3848) Second Lieutenant Henry Arundel MM, 16th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

Places
Accession Number AWM2017.1.269
Collection type Film
Object type Last Post film
Physical description 16:9
Maker Australian War Memorial
Place made Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Campbell
Date made 26 September 2017
Access Open
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Copyright Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
Creative Commons License This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
Copying Provisions Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction.
Description

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 (3848) Second Lieutenant Henry Arundel MM, 16th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

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Speech transcript

3848 Second Lieutenant Henry Arundel MM, 16th Battalion, AIF
KIA 26 September 1917
Photograph: P02912.004 / P05248.004

Story delivered 26 September 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Second Lieutenant Henry Arundel MM.

Henry Arundel was born on 27 March 1876 in Osbornes Flat, near Yackandandah, Victoria, to John and Catherine Arundel.

Growing up in the nearby town of Gundowring and attending the local state school, he was known as an all-round sportsman who excelled in nearly every aspect of athletics. After studying at South Melbourne College, he became a teacher, working within the Victorian Education Department.

Arundel’s teaching duties saw him travel to numerous schools in the state. For a while he was head teacher at Colac State School, but around 1902 he moved to Western Australia, and by the time the First World War began, he was living in Westonia.

Arundel enlisted at Blackboy Hill Camp on 23 August 1915. After initial training, he was allotted to the 12th reinforcements to the 16th Battalion. On 22 December, he left Fremantle aboard the transport ship Ajana, bound for Egypt.

Shortly after arriving in Egypt, Arundel was hospitalised with mumps. He recovered quickly and was taken on strength of the 16th Battalion in early March. The following months were spent training as units of the newly-raised 4th Australian Division were brought up to strength.

The 16th Battalion sailed for France in June. After a brief stint in the “Nursery Sector”, a relatively quiet part of the line near Armentières
where new units were familiarised with trench warfare, the battalion was sent south to the Somme. Arundel saw his first major action in August, when his battalion joined the battle of Pozières, which had begun in July.

As a member of the battalion scout platoon, Arundel accompanied his platoon commander into no man’s land to conduct reconnaissance, gaining valuable intelligence which gave his commanding officer fore-warning of a German counter-attack.

During the battalion’s own offensive action, Arundel was employed as a runner. According to his commanding officer, he “displayed the greatest resource and courage in the execution of [his] duties”. For his continuous bravery and courage under fire, he was awarded a Military Medal.

After the battalion was withdrawn from the front line, Arundel was promoted to lance corporal. At the end of August, he returned to the front to attack German positions near Mouquet Farm. After some initial gains, strong German counter-attacks and artillery fire forced the attackers to retire to their original positions.

Having suffered heavy casualties, including many junior officers, the 16th Battalion was withdrawn to rest and reinforce. Arundel, who had repeatedly demonstrated his leadership qualities, was commissioned from the ranks as a second lieutenant on the 13th of September.

The European winter of 1916 and 1917 was the coldest in living memory. As well as suspending major offensives, it affected troops stationed on the Western Front.
On 10 December 1916, Arundel reported sick with a severe case of bronchitis. He was hospitalised and evacuated to England and it took him months to recover. It was late April 1917 before he was well enough to rejoin his battalion.

Arundel’s reintroduction to fighting occurred in mid-June. Initially in reserve, the 16th Battalion took over front-line positions during the battle of Messines and conducted a minor operation to extend and consolidate the Australian front line.

The next few months were mostly spent training, as the battalion did not move back to the front line until 22 September, when they began preparing for the battle of Polygon Wood. It is likely that the image of Arundel and two comrades, displayed this evening by the Pool of Reflection, was taken in those days leading up to the battle.

Much of the surrounding woodland had already been destroyed by huge quantities of shell-fire as the area changed hands during earlier fighting. When the battle began in the early hours of 26 September, infantry advanced behind a heavy artillery barrage and secured most of their objectives without difficulty.

Shell-fire continued to fall, churning up the ground and destroying roads – and lives. During the day, as Arundel was talking with some of his fellow officers, a German shell exploded nearby. One of Arundel’s legs was badly shattered, a main artery was severed, and he died soon after.

Initially buried where he fell, Henry Arundel’s remains were later re-interred in Tyne Cot Cemetery under a simple cross.
He was 41 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 Second Lieutenant
Henry Arundel MM, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section

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