The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (NX56239) Private Laurence David Williams, 2/18th Battalion, 2nd AIF, Second 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 Greg Kimball, the story for this day was on (NX56239) Private Laurence David Williams, 2/18th Battalion, 2nd AIF, Second World War.

NX56239 Private Laurence David Williams, 2/18th Battalion, 2nd AIF
KIA 11 February 1942
Story delivered 25 July 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Laurence David Williams.

Laurence Williams was born into the large family of David and Gwendoline Williams on 19 April 1917. He grew up with siblings Leo, Frederick, Ruby, Nita, Victoria, and Thomas, at Ararat, Victoria, and attended Ararat High School before going on to work as a printer’s labourer at the Government Printing Office in the Canberra suburb of Kingston.

Known by the nickname “Lance”, Williams had already served for three years with the 8th Battalion Militia, and was serving with the 3rd Battalion Militia when he enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in June 1940.

On 18 June 1940, just a few days after enlisting, he married Gena Mavis Victoria. The following month he entered the training depot at Warwick Farm near Sydney and began training.
In February 1941, Private Williams left Sydney, arriving in Singapore to join the 2/18 Battalion, which moved north to Malaya, where it began training for service under tropical conditions. War with Japan was increasingly likely and the battalion set to preparing defensive positions.

The 2/18th stood to arms in December 1941 but it was a month before it encountered its first Japanese – two downed airmen captured in a hut outside Mersing. Its first major action was at Nithsdale Estate in the early hours of 27 January. The battalion lay in wait for the advancing Japanese and sprang an ambush that took the Japanese completely by surprise and inflicted heavy casualties.

After the ambush the 2/18th withdrew to Singapore. It was allocated a position on the island’s east coast but the wide frontage it was required to cover meant its platoons and sections had to be widely dispersed. When the Japanese launched their invasion on the night of 8 February, although its positions along the waterfront inflicted heavy casualties, the battalion had no hope of holding them back. The Japanese infiltrated between the battalion’s posts and the battle turned into vicious scattered engagements in the dark. The battalion fell into a desperate fighting retreat that ended with surrender on the outskirts of Singapore city on the night of 15 February.

Initially reported as missing, Private Williams was later confirmed as being killed in action on 11 February 1942.

During the retreat he had been part of the ad hoc formation dubbed “X Battalion”, tasked with launching a counterattack. After being attacked by superior enemy forces, Private Williams and several others were captured and executed by machine-gun.

Today Williams is remembered at Kranji War Cemetery where a cross bearing his name and details contains the epigraph:
Pense de moi
Je pense de vous toujours
[Think of me
I still think of you]

He was 24 years old.

Following the death of her husband, Gena enlisted and served as a driver in the Australian Army Medical Women’s Service. After the war she continued to serve, joining the Department of Defence and eventually receiving a British Empire Medal for her civil work in 1980.

Laurence Williams’ name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second 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 Laurence David Williams, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section