The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2665) Private Oliver Charles “Ollie” Jennings, 4th 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 Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (2665) Private Oliver Charles “Ollie” Jennings, 4th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2665 Private Oliver Charles “Ollie” Jennings, 4th Battalion, AIF
DOW 24 July 1916
Story delivered 13 September 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Oliver Charles Jennings.

Oliver Jennings was born on 19 April 1897 in West Maitland, New South Wales, the fourth of nine children of Francis and Hannah Jennings.

Known to friends and family as “Ollie”, he grew up in West Maitland and attended the local Marist Brothers High School. After leaving school, he was employed as a labourer by the New South Wales railways.

Following the outbreak of the First World War, Jennings enlisted for service with the Australian Imperial Force in Newcastle on 28 July 1915. After his initial training, he was posted to the 6th reinforcements to the 19th Battalion.

Jennings embarked from Sydney on 2 November aboard the transport ship Euripides, bound for Egypt. His arrival in Egypt coincided with the AIF’s return from Gallipoli and subsequent expansion from two to five divisions.

Jennings was transferred to the 4th Battalion. He sailed with his battalion to France in late March and by mid-April had entered the front line in the “nursery sector” near Armentieres, where new units would learn about the rigours of trench warfare.

The battalion moved south to take part in the capture of Pozieres in July, and on the 22nd the battalion was in positions to the south of the village.

The exact manner of his wounding and the nature of those wounds are unknown, but somewhere between 22 and 24 July, Jennings was badly wounded. He was carried to the 1st Australian Field Ambulance, where he succumbed to his wounds on 24 July. He was laid to rest in the Warloy-Baillon Communal Cemetery Extension. He was 19 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 Private
Oliver Charles Jennings, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section