The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2039) Private Edward Walter Wait, 10th 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 Sharon Bown, the story for this day was on (2039) Private Edward Walter Wait, 10th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2039 Private Edward Walter Wait, 10th Battalion, AIF
KIA 11 July 1915 Story delivered 17 October 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Edward Walter Wait.

Edward Wait was born on 13 November 1895 to Walter and Annie Wait of Adelaide. He grew up in the Adelaide suburb of Goodwood, and attended the Thebarton Public School. Following his schooling he became a butcher. He also served in the local light horse regiment, where he had become proficient in machine-guns.

Wait enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1915. At that stage of the war the minimum age for enlistment was 19, so as well as bringing a letter from his father giving his consent, the 18-year-old Edward Wait put his age up to 21 when he went to Keswick Barracks to enlist. He was accepted, and was posted to reinforcements to the 10th Battalion.

Private Wait underwent a short period of training before leaving Australia for overseas service on 20 April 1915. Five days later, while Wait was still at sea, the 10th Battalion formed part of the advanced landing party on the Gallipoli peninsula.

After further training in Egypt, Private Wait was joined the rest of the 10th Battalion on Gallipoli. The situation was much quieter when Wait arrived than it had been in the weeks following the landing, but the peninsula was still a very dangerous place to be. One Sunday afternoon, just three days after Wait landed, the 10th Battalion came under
extremely heavy artillery fire. A Turkish artillery shell landed near Wait’s position. He was stuck by a fragment of the shell which pierced his heart and killed him almost instantly.

Wait was killed about 5.30 in the afternoon, and was buried three hours later. The chaplain who presided over the funeral service paid a “warm tribute to the worth of the deceased soldier and the high respect in which he was held by his officers and comrades”. Edward Wait is buried in the Beach Cemetery at Anzac, under the epitaph: “He patiently waited his master’s call; died as he lived, loved by all.” He was 19 years old.

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 Private Edward Walter Wait, and all those Australians who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section