The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (QX1071) Corporal John Alexander French VC, 2/0th Battalion, 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (QX1071) Corporal John Alexander French VC, 2/0th Battalion, AIF, Second World War.

QX1071 Corporal John Alexander French VC, 2/0th Battalion, AIF
KIA: 4 September 1942
Story delivered 6 September 2018


Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal John Alexander French VC.

John Alexander French was born at Crows Nest in Queensland in July 1914, the son of Albert and Lucy. Known to many as “Jack”, he was affectionately known within the French family as “digger”, a reference to the war that began not long after he was born. After attending Crows Nest State School and the Technical College at Toowoomba, he worked at his father’s hairdressers and tobacconist shop.

French was a keen sportsman who played cricket, tennis and football. He was popular, but was regarded as quiet, unassuming, and serious. French was among the first men to volunteer for the AIF in October 1939 and was immediately posted to the 2/9th Battalion, then being formed in Ipswich. His mother only learnt of his enlistment two months later when he received notice to begin basic training. His parents were again surprised when French became engaged to Dulcie McCahon in March 1940. He decided to wait till after the war to marry her, in case he came home wounded.

French embarked with his battalion in May 1940, bound for England. The battalion entered camp near Salisbury and in November left for the Middle East. It spent several weeks training in Egypt and went into action for the first time in Libya, taking part in the operations that led to the capture of Giarabub, the siege of Tobruk, and later forming part of the garrison in Syria. By the time the battalion returned to Australia in March 1942, French had been made acting corporal.

The 2/9th Battalion remained in Australia until August, when it embarked for Milne Bay in Papua. With its sheltered harbour on the south-eastern tip of Papua, Allied forces had selected Milne Bay as a major base from which to conduct operations in the surrounding area. The flat coastal area had good approaches and was suitable for airstrips, making it a key stepping stone for the Japanese in their drive towards Port Moresby.

On the night of 25 August 1942, a force of 2,000 Japanese naval marines landed nearby to capture the base. From the outset, they were at a disadvantage: the marines came ashore 11 kilometres east of their intended landing area, and their intelligence significantly underestimated the Allied garrison. The Japanese expected no more than a few hundred troops, but there were actually about 9,000 Allied troops at Milne Bay, including the 7th and 8th Australian infantry brigades, and the P-40 Kittyhawk fighters of Nos. 75 and 76 Squadrons, RAAF.

In the fight that followed, the Australians engaged the Japanese landing force and fought it to a standstill. The survivors were forced to abandon the enterprise. It was the first major defeat suffered by the Japanese on land since the start of the war.

On 3 September, the Japanese attacked K.B. Mission in an attempt to capture No. 3 Airstrip. B and C Companies of the 2/9th Battalion were brought forward and moved through the advanced companies of the 2/12th Battalion. They immediately encountered Japanese in strength. In a fierce fight, the Australians lost eight men killed and 21 wounded, against 70 to 80 Japanese killed. The following day, A and B Companies launched an attack. A Company took its objective, but B Company – of which French was a member – ran into terrific fire.

It was then that Jack French performed the action which would see him awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. His citation reads:

At Milne Bay on the afternoon of the 4th September, 1942, a company of an Australian Infantry Battalion attacked the Japanese position east of the Buna Mission where it encountered terrific rifle and machine-gun fire. The advance of the section of which Corporal French was in command was held up by fire from three enemy machine-gun posts, whereupon Corporal French, ordering his section to take cover, advanced and silenced one of the posts with grenades. He returned to his section for more grenades and again advanced and silenced the second post. Armed with a Thompson sub-machine gun, he then attacked the third post, firing from the hip as he went forward. He was seen to be badly hit by the fire from this post, but he continued to advance. The enemy gun then ceased to fire and his section pushed on to find that all members of the three enemy gun crews had been killed and that Corporal French had died in front of the third gun pit. By his cool courage and disregard of his own personal safety, this non-commissioned officer saved the members of his section from heavy casualties and was responsible for the successful conclusion of the attack.

Largely as a result of French’s actions, between 60 and 70 Japanese had been killed by the time the Australian attack had ended. Further attacks were made in the following days until organised Japanese resistance collapsed.

French’s award was gazetted on 14 February 1943, making him the first Australian Victoria Cross to be awarded for an action that occurred on Australian mandated territory. On 9 February, The London Gazette had contained the announcement of an award to Private Kingsbury for his action on 29 August 1942, a few days before French’s gallant action.

The 2/9th Battalion’s commander, Lieutenant Colonel Clement Cummings, said that “you couldn’t get a quieter bloke than French”, but he had already earmarked French as officer potential. French’s platoon commander, Sergeant Colin Bradford, wrote to French’s parents:

As a mate of Jack’s for the last three years, I can assure you that his death came as a very severe blow to me, especially as he was killed almost at my feet … Yesterday I called on his fiancée and gave her full details for I am sure Jack would have wanted me to do so. Jack and I joined up in Toowoomba together and since that day we have never been separated. His career as a soldier has been faultless, and I shall not hesitate in saying he possessed remarkable courage.

The Queensland state government instituted the annual Corporal Jack French VC Memorial Prize in October 1943. It consisted of a gift of embossed books sent to high school students with the highest marks in English final examinations. French had sat the examination in 1928 and attained his highest mark in English.

Queensland Governor Sir Leslie Wilson presented French’s Victoria Cross to his father in December 1943. Also attending were his mother, his fiancée, a sister, and French’s only surviving brother. The third brother, Flight Sergeant Gordon Albert French, was serving in RAF Bomber Command as rear gunner in a Lancaster crew when he was killed during a raid over Nuremburg in Germany just four months before the investiture ceremony.

Aged 28 when he was killed, Jack French is buried at Port Moresby (Bomana) War Cemetery in Papua New Guinea.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 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 Corporal John Alexander French VC, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Aaron Pegram
Historian, Military History Section