The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2133) Lance Corporal John Buckley, 55th 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 Michael Kelly, the story for this day was on (2133) Lance Corporal John Buckley, 55th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2133 Lance Corporal John Buckley, 55th Battalion, AIF
DOW 3 September 1918

Story delivered 16 December 2017

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lance Corporal John Joseph Buckley.

John Buckley was born in 1893, the eldest of ten children of James and Ellen Buckley of Myalla near Cooma in southern New South Wales. Known to family and friends as “Jack”, he attended Myalla State School before working as a labourer.

Buckley was accepted in the Australian Imperial Force at Nimmitabel in January 1916, a few days after the Men from Snowy River recruitment march had passed through town. He joined the “Snowies” at Goulburn, and during the following months underwent a lengthy period of training as a reinforcement destined for the 55th Battalion. After sailing for England in November, he carried out further training on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire before embarking for France and joining the 55th Battalion on Christmas Eve 1916.

Buckley participated in the major actions fought by the battalion over the next two years on the Western Front. After the Germans abandoned their defences on the Somme and withdrew to the Hindenburg Line, the 55th Battalion participated in the Allied advance and captured the outpost village of Doignies on 2 April 1917. They fought at Bullecourt, where on 15 May, Buckley worked tirelessly as a regimental stretcher bearer. He was awarded the Military Medal For courage and devotion to duty shown that day. An excerpt from his citation reads: “Although an untrained stretcher bearer, he, together with the rest of the bearing party, saved by first aid the lives of seriously wounded men”.

After Bullecourt, the 55th participated in the fighting in Belgium, where on 26 September 1917, it carried out a highly successful assault on Polygon Wood. The battalion returned to France in April 1918, after a German offensive that succeeded in overrunning the British defences and got within striking distance of Amiens – the major support and
logistical hub of the British and French armies in northern France. The 55th was put in the line near Villers-Bretonneux, forming part of the defences that blunted the German advance and then fought in the Allied counter-offensive. By then, Buckley had been promoted to lance corporal and was a section commander in Number 12 Platoon’s Lewis gun section.

On 1 September 1918, the 55th Battalion participated in one of the most significant actions fought by the Australians on the Western Front. On that day, troops of the 2nd Division captured the summit of Mont St Quentin, while alongside them the men of the 5th Division captured the German bastion of Péronne. Buckley was hit in the head by a German shell fragment as he carried his section’s Lewis gun into battle, and was evacuated to the nearby casualty clearance station, where he succumbed to his wounds two days later. Aged 25 at the time of his death, Buckley was buried in the nearby military cemetery. A small epitaph penned by his grieving parents appears on his headstone: “Died for his country, may his soul rest in peace for ever & ever”.

John Buckley’s name is 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 Lance Corporal John Joseph Buckley, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Aaron Pegram
Historian, Military History Section