The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (770) Sergeant Charles McCarthy, 2nd 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 Joanne Smedley, the story for this day was on (770) Sergeant Charles McCarthy, 2nd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

770 Sergeant Charles McCarthy, 2nd Battalion, AIF
KIA 24 July 1916
Story delivered on 24 March 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Charles Daniel McCarthy.

Charles McCarthy was born in 1894, the eldest of three sons of Joseph and Jane McCarthy of “Clear View”, near Narromine in central western New South Wales. At Narromine Public School, Charles was involved in junior cadets and was considered one of the best rifle shots in the district. He received the award for best shot in Narromine in 1909, and the following year was the winner of two gold medals and four silver medals at a cadet rifle meeting at Nyngan. In 1911, Charles was among 200 cadets across New South Wales selected to represent Australia at the coronation of King George V in London. On his return, Charles completed his schooling, worked as an assembler, and helped his father on the family property.

Charles McCarthy enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force just days after war was declared in August 1914. He travelled to Sydney to enlist at Victoria Barracks, and after a period of training at Randwick Racecourse, he was promoted to lance corporal.

McCarthy embarked for Europe as an original member of the 2nd Battalion in October 1914. Not long after the convoy departed Australia, Ottoman Turkey joined the war on the side of Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire; so the Australian convoy was diverted to Egypt to protect British interests in the area. No longer destined for the fighting in France, McCarthy and the rest of the 2nd Battalion spent the following months training at Mena Camp on the outskirts of Cairo, and in April the following year, were committed to the campaign in the Dardanelles. At his own request, McCarthy reverted to the rank of private before the battalion set sail.

On the morning of 25 April 1915 troops of the 2nd Battalion landed on Gallipoli, coming ashore as part of the second and third wave assaults. McCarthy was involved in bitter fighting as the battalion pressed their way inland under growing Turkish fire between the positions known as Walker’s Ridge and Russell’s Top. There, several days later, his battalion participated in a bayonet assault to clear the Turks from the area.

McCarthy remained on Gallipoli until early July, when he was evacuated first to Egypt, then to Malta, with a severe case of dysentery. By the time he returned to the battalion in January 1916, Australian troops had withdrawn from Gallipoli to Egypt. There they spent the following months training in preparation for their imminent departure for the Western Front. McCarthy was promoted to corporal, and after the battalion set sail for France in March, was made sergeant – becoming second-in-command of No. 12 platoon in C Company. The battalion spent several weeks in the relatively quiet “nursery” sector near the town of Armentieres on the Franco–Belgian border before moving further south to the Somme in July 1916.

The 2nd Battalion fought its first major action on the Western Front at Pozieres on the night of 22-23 July, in Australia’s first major contribution to the Battle of the Somme. Troops of the 1st Division, of which the 2nd Battalion formed part, succeeded in capturing the German defences at Pozieres which had blocked further progress towards the high ground at Thiepval. Once the village was in Australian hands, the Germans launched a determined counter-attack that was turned back after a stiff fight. Having pushed a significant bulge into German lines, the Australians were then subjected to a devastating artillery bombardment that crashed down on their positions from several sides of the battlefield. When it was relieved from the line just two days later, the battalion had lost half its numbers as casualties.

Among the dead was Sergeant Charles McCarthy, who was killed by a high explosive shell the morning after the battalion captured Pozieres village. He was 22 years old.

The men of McCarthy’s platoon gave him a hasty battlefield burial as the battle raged around them, but his grave was lost in subsequent fighting. Today his name is listed on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux one of the 10,700 Australians killed fighting in France who have no known grave.

Charles McCarthy 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.

His is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Sergeant Charles Daniel McCarthy, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Aaron Pegram
Historian, Military History Section