The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1782) Corporal David Leslie Clyde Absolom, 40th 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 (1782) Corporal David Leslie Clyde Absolom, 40th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

1782 Corporal David Leslie Clyde Absolom, 40th Battalion, AIF
KIA: 12 October 1917

Photograph: P06986.001

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal David Leslie Clyde Absolom.

David Absolom was born on 27 April 1894 to William and Emily Absolom of Hobart. Here he grew up and attended the local school, before going on to work as a postman. A keen sportsman, he played cricket for the South Hobart Cricket Club. Standing 5 feet, 5 inches tall, and solidly built, he acquired the nickname “Bricky.”

Absolom enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Claremont on 29 May 1916. He had previously served with the 93rd Infantry Regiment, but had been discharged as medically unfit. After initial training, he was allocated to the 2nd reinforcements to the 40th Battalion. About two months after enlisting, on the 8th of August 1916, he left Hobart aboard the transport ship Ballarat, bound for England.

Landing at Southampton, he was taken on strength of the 10th Training Battalion at Lark Hill, where he received further training to prepare him for the war on the Western Front.
Absolom joined the 40th Battalion in mid-November, and towards the end of the month moved to France, entering the trenches in a relatively quiet section of the line near Armentières.
After some time becoming familiar with the routines of trench warfare,
Absolom was attached for duty with 10th Brigade Headquarters, returning to the 40th Battalion in January 1917.

After enduring the coldest European winter in living memory, the 40th Battalion moved into Belgium in early May, taking up positions near Ploegsteert, and then going into action for the first time at Messines on 7
of June. The battle was a great success, removing the German salient south of Ypres and paving the way for the great offensive to the east.
But a heavy price was paid, as the two Australian Divisions involved suffered nearly 6,800 casualties.

On 21 June, Absolom was promoted to lance corporal, and a month later he was promoted to corporal. His next major action occurred on 4 October, when the 40th Battalion was involved in the capture of Broodseinde Ridge, the last of the successful “bite and hold” operations of the Third Battle of Ypres.
That afternoon the rain began to fall, turning the battlefield into a bog.

A week later, on the night of 11 October, the battalion began moving into position for the attack towards the Belgian village of Passchendaele. A little after 3 am German artillery began falling on the 40th Battalion, causing casualties before the attack had begun. At 5.25 am the artillery barrage opened and the men of the 40th Battalion began to move forward. The weather was foul, and with the battlefield a sea of mud, in some places over 8 feet deep, it had been impossible to drag forward enough artillery and ammunition for support. According to the 40th Battalion’s unit history, “the barrage was so thin that it could not be distinguished as a barrage and we made no attempt to conform to it”.
As the Australians began their attack, the Germans began their artillery and machine-gun barrages. As the Australians moved forward, a German high explosive shell landed near Corporal Absolom.

Private Thomas Crabtree was 30 yards away when the shell exploded and saw Absolom get hit. Despite being wounded by shrapnel from the same shell, Crabtree ran to his mate’s assistance. But Absolom was beyond aid. He and three others had been killed instantly.
David Absolom was 23 years old.

Soon after his death, a German counter-attack drove the battalion back and his body, like so many others, had to be left behind.
Absolom’s remains were later recovered, and today they lie in Passchendaele New British Cemetery.

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 Corporal David Absolom, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section