The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1948) Sergeant Matthew Farrelly, 6th 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 Charis May, the story for this day was on (1948) Sergeant Matthew Farrelly, 6th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

1948 Sergeant Matthew Farrelly, 6th Battalion, AIF
KIA 20 September 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Matthew Edward Farrelly.

Known to family and friends as “Ted”, Matthew Farrelly was born in 1891, one of 13 children of Thomas and Julia Farrelly of Porepunkah, located at the foot of Mount Buffalo in north-eastern Victoria. After his schooling, he worked as an engine driver on the Victorian state railway. A local newspaper later in the war described him as “a single man, and a splendid type of an Australian soldier”.

Farrelly enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force at nearby Bright in January 1915. After three months training at Broadmeadows camp outside Melbourne he embarked for Egypt with a reinforcement group for the 6th Battalion. He joined the battalion on Gallipoli in July after its return from fighting at Cape Helles, and spent the following weeks defending the Anzac beachhead from front-line positions on MacLaurin’s Hill. In July, Farrelly was evacuated, suffering from a severe case of dysentery and pneumonia. He passed through a series of hospitals in Egypt, Malta, and England before he had sufficiently recovered.

Promoted to corporal in August 1915, Farrelly returned to the battalion in Egypt, where the AIF was undergoing an extensive restructure in preparation for its departure for the Western Front. Farrelly remained
with the 6th during the “doubling” of the AIF and was promoted to lance sergeant before sailing for France in March 1916.

As part of the 1st Division, the 6th Battalion was among the first Australian troops to see combat in France. They entered the trenches for the first time in the relatively quiet sector near the town of Armentières, where they carried out a program of patrolling and aggressive trench raiding against German positions. In July, the division was transferred south to participate in the British offensive on the Somme, and fought its first major action in the new operational theatre at Pozières later that month.

Over the following weeks, the battalion captured ground from the enemy incrementally, while being subjected to concentrated German bombardments. On 20 August, in the approaches to Mouquet Farm, Farrelly was severely wounded in the face by a fragment from an exploding artillery shell. He was evacuated to England for a lengthy period of recovery and did not return to France until the following year. Farrelly was recognised for his “distinguished and gallant services” at Pozières, and was subsequently Mentioned in Despatches.

He returned to the battalion in May 1917 following bitter fighting along the Hindenburg Line at Bullecourt, and owing to heavy casualties within the battalion was immediately promoted to sergeant. The 6th battalion spent the following months resting, training and taking on fresh reinforcements. It fought its next action in September after the focus of British operations had shifted north, with a concentrated drive
to break out of the Ypres Salient and capture the German submarine pens on the Belgian coastline
The 1st Division’s attack along the Menin Road on 20 September 1917 was the first in a series of methodical attacks that enabled British and dominion troops to advance towards the high ground near Passchendaele village. These attacks involved large amounts of artillery firing a “creeping barrage” in front of the advancing infantry.

During the initial phase of the campaign, this tactic was successful in advancing the allied line. But success came at a heavy price, with the 6th Battalion suffering over 230 casualties in its successful attack at Menin Road. The battalion war diary records the 6th encountering stiff resistance from German machine-gun crews as they advanced through Glencourse Wood. To make matters worse, some of the Australian and British artillery fell short and burst close to their own advancing troops. Among the dead was Ted Farrelly, whose remains were never recovered from the Menin Road battlefield.

Today his name is listed on the Menin Gate memorial, among over 6,000 Australians who died in Belgium and have no known grave.

Matthew Farrelly was 26 at the time of his death.

The small community of Porepunkah was deeply affected by his loss, and the national flag atop the Shire Hall was flown at half-mast out of respect for his passing.

His 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 Sergeant Matthew Edward Farrelly, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Aaron Pegram
Historian, Military History Section