Places | |
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Accession Number | AWM2018.1.1.23 |
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 | 23 January 2018 |
Access | Open |
Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial![]() |
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. |
The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (4479) Private George Thomas Morley, 26th 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 (4479) Private George Thomas Morley, 26th Battalion, AIF, First World War.
Film order form4479 Private George Thomas Morley, 26th Battalion, AIF
KIA 5 August 1916
Today we remember and pay tribute to Private George Thomas Morley.
George Thomas Morley was born on 14 March 1886 into the large family of Jesse and Sarah Morley in Gormandale, Victoria.
Here he grew up, and attended Gormandale State School. His father died in 1897, and in the years that followed, Morley left school. By the outbreak of the First World War, he was working as a farmer in Coalstoun Lakes, Queensland.
Morley enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at Brisbane on 6 December 1915. After initial training, he was allotted to the 11th reinforcements to the 16th Battalion. On 30 March 1916, he embarked from Brisbane aboard the transport ship Star of Victoria, bound for Egypt.
Following a brief stop in Egypt, Morley sailed for France in May and was sent to the 2nd Australian Division Base Details at Etaples. At the end of July, he was sent forward to join the 26th Battalion, which had suffered heavy casualties at Pozières.
When Morley arrived in early August, the battalion was at Tara’s Hill, preparing for their next attack on the Heights of Pozières. After an intense bombardment on 4 August, the 2nd Australian Division, of which the 26th Battalion was a part, attacked and captured the heights.
At some stage during the early hours of 5 August, Morley was killed. The manner of his death was not recorded, and his remains were never located.
A court of enquiry held in June 1917 found that he had been killed in action. After the war, his name was added to the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.
George Morley was 30 years old.
The war years were unkind to the Morley family. Five of George’s siblings died of ill–health in Australia, and two brothers were killed fighting in France and the Middle East: Private Edward Morley died of wounds received at Bullecourt serving with the 21st Battalion in May 1917, and Trooper Robert Herbert Morley killed during the attack on Beersheba on 31 October 1917 while part of the 4th Light Horse Regiment.
Two other brothers, however, would return after the war. Archie, who served with Edward in the 21st Battalion, returned to Australia after being wounded in 1917. Charlie, who had served with Robert in the 4th Light Horse, returned to Australia on compassionate grounds in 1918.
George Morley’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 Private George Thomas Morley, 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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Video of The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (4479) Private George Thomas Morley, 26th Battalion, AIF, First World War. (video)