The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2761) Private John Stanley Piesse, 40th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

Places
Accession Number AWM2017.1.324
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 20 November 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 Charis May, the story for this day was on (2761) Private John Stanley Piesse, 40th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

Film order form
Speech transcript

2761 Private John Stanley Piesse, 40th Battalion, AIF
KIA 13 October 1917

Story delivered 20 November 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private John Stanley Piesse.

Stanley Piesse was born on 22 April 1897, the only son of two children born to Francis and Amelia Piesse of Hobart, Tasmania. His father worked in shipping, and eventually managed the Huon River Shipping Company, and became the Master Warden of the Hobart Marine Board. His mother was a well-known figure in Tasmanian life, being member of a number of important committees and boards. She was a tireless worker for underprivileged children, and became a magistrate for the Hobart Children’s Court. She was one of the first female justices of the peace appointed in Tasmania.

Piesse attended Hutchins school, and then the Friends High School. He went to work for an insurance company for a short time, before taking up a position as a clerk in the city engineer’s office in Hobart. He took a keen interest in military matters, and rose to the rank of lieutenant both in the cadets and in the citizens’ forces. At some point he became engaged to Dorothy Hulme, also of Hobart.

In July 1916, Piesse enlisted in the Australian Imperial Forces. He was 19 years old, and so obtained his parents’ permission. He went into Claremont Camp and began training with the 40th Battalion. His mother recorded that he was too young to be considered for a commission at the time, but on several occasions he was temporarily promoted to the ranks of sergeant, corporal, and company sergeant major. He left Australia for active service overseas in December 1916, arriving in Plymouth in February 1917.

Piesse continued training on the Salisbury Plain, and continued to hold numerous temporary promotions, each time reverting to the rank of private. He arrived in France to fight on the Western Front at the end of August 1917. Less than two months later the 40th Battalion took part in an operation to capture the Broodseinde Ridge. After several days of extremely heavy fighting Private John Piesse was reported missing.

An investigation was undertaken to determine Piesse’s fate and it was reported that he had been wounded by a shell that had killed several others. He had been left behind as the Australians had been briefly pushed back, and when his mates went back to retrieve him, he was gone. It was reported that “everything possible within human power was done to try and find him but with no results. We all took it that under cover of darkness he attempted to try and crawl back and went the wrong way. He was wounded somewhere up the back and legs.” His body was never recovered.

In September Stanley Piesse had written a last letter to his mother. As he sat and wrote it, war planes were in the air above him and he could hear the sounds of battle. He wrote “everyone is fit, happy and eager to get at the Bosche”. He added that he was not afraid: “I don’t say that as a boast – but rather in order that you may know I have done as father wished, ‘put my whole trust in God’ and with the result that I am perfectly happy and completely satisfied”.

Finally a report was received by some men who had been bringing in wounded to say that they had passed Piesse’s body lying on the battlefield. With so many wounded to be looked after, his body was lost, and today he has no known grave.

Today he is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, along with some 6,000 Australian soldiers who died in Belgium and who have no known grave.
His name is also listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 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 Private John Stanley Piesse, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section

  • Video of The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2761) Private John Stanley Piesse, 40th Battalion, AIF, First World War. (video)