The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2413) Private John Walter Forrest, 60th 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 Sharon Bown, the story for this day was on (2413) Private John Walter Forrest, 60th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2413 Private John Walter Forrest, 60th Battalion, AIF
KIA 11 March 1917
Story delivered 28 June 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private John Walter Forrest.

John Forrest, known as Jack, was born in 1896, the third son of George and Martha Forrest of Bendigo, Victoria. He attended the Violet Street School in Bendigo and went on to work as a saddler for a Mr Foster. He was a longstanding member of the local Methodist church and Sunday School.

Jack Forrest became one of four brothers to serve in the Australian Imperial Force when he enlisted in July 1916. He underwent a period of training in Australia before leaving for active service overseas with reinforcements to the 60th Battalion.

Private Forrest first went to England where he continued his training on Salisbury Plain. In late January he was sent to France, where he joined the 60th Battalion on the Western Front as the bitterly cold winter of 1916 to 1917 was drawing to a close. He was reportedly very popular in the battalion, and was described as “one of the best”.

A little over six weeks after he reached the Western Front, Private Forrest spent several days working near the front line as part of a fatigue party. His friend Private George Lee-Kim later described how “a bursting shell from the German guns killed Private Forrest and another Australian, while [an Australian officer] was seriously wounded by fragments of the shell”.

Forrest was buried in nearby Bulls Road Cemetery at Flers, where he lies today, with no epitaph. He was just 20 years old.

Jack Forrest was remembered in a service at the Forest Street Methodist Sunday School, during which it was said “a nobler or a grander death than his could fall to the lot of no one”. He was one of a number of members of the Sunday School to lose their lives during the war. His younger brother William would be killed in action less than two months later.

Forrest’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 John Walter Forrest, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Unit