The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2377) Sergeant Wallace John Sharpe, 6th Australian Light Horse Regiment, 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 (2377) Sergeant Wallace John Sharpe, 6th Australian Light Horse Regiment, First World War.

2377 Sergeant Wallace John Sharpe, 6th Australian Light Horse Regiment
KIA 28 March 1918
Story delivered 2 September 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Wallace John Sharpe.

Wallace Sharpe was born about 1891 in Gerringong, New South Wales, to the large family of James and Mary-Jane Sharpe. Growing up surrounded by his five brothers and four sisters, the young Wallace Sharpe attended Gerringong public school, served with the cadets, and played tennis with the Gerringong Tennis Club. Affectionately known as “Wally”, he was well known in the local area, working for his uncle at Nelson’s General Store, and often riding his horse round the district.

In July 1915 Sharpe enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. After months of training and attending officer school, on 3 May 1916 he left Sydney aboard the troopship Hymettus, bound for the Middle East. In Egypt he joined the 2nd Light Horse Training Regiment and for a time acted as assistant instructor at grenadier school.

In March 1916 Sharpe joined the 6th Light Horse Regiment, which spent late 1916 and early 1917 engaged on patrol work. When the British advance into Palestine stalled before the Turkish bastion of Gaza, the regiment was involved in two abortive battles to capture Gaza directly. Later they joined the operation that ultimately led to Gaza’s fall – the attack on Beersheba that began on 31 October. With the fall of Gaza a week later, the Turkish position in southern Palestine collapsed. Sharpe’s unit participated in the pursuit that followed, and which led to the capture of Jerusalem in December.

During this time, Sharpe’s leadership potential had been noticed, and he was promoted first to lance corporal in June, and in December to corporal and then sergeant.
With the focus of operations moving to the Jordan Valley, in late March 1918 the 6th Light Horse Regiment was involved in the first raid on Amman. After crossing the Jordan River and occupying the village of Es Salt, the attack on Amman began on the morning of 27 March.

On 28 March, Sergeant Sharpe was with a party that made an unsuccessful attack on Amman. During their advance, Sharpe and a few others of his unit were hit by machine-gun fire. An officer went forward to check on Sharpe’s condition, but came back with the news that he was dead. Fighting continued, and while the attack effected serious damage on the railway, Turkish resistance was so strong that the allied forces were forced to withdraw two days later, leaving behind the body of Wallace Sharpe.

Six months later, another attack on Amman was made, and the 6th Light Horse Regiment was part of the force that captured the city. Returning to where the previous attack had taken place, Corporal Ausburn reported that:
The dead bodies were lying there just as they had fallen, and we buried them. Sharpe was identified by some of the men. Sharpe was one of the most popular men in the Regiment. He was a great leader of men.

Sharpe’s grave was not recovered, and today he is commemorated at the Jerusalem Memorial in Palestine, and in Gerringong Cemetery.

He was 27 years old.

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 Wallace John Sharpe, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section