The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (SX10482) Private Harold Arthur Treloar, Second World War.

Places
Accession Number AWM2018.1.1.310
Collection type Film
Object type Last Post film
Physical description 16:9
Maker Australian War Memorial
Place made Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Campbell
Date made 6 November 2018
Access Open
Conflict Second World War, 1939-1945
Copyright Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
Creative Commons License This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
Copying Provisions Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction.
Description

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 Chris Widenbar, the story for this day was on (SX10482) Private Harold Arthur Treloar, Second World War.

Film order form
Speech transcript

SX10482 Private Harold Arthur Treloar
KIA 3 August 1941
Story delivered 6 November 2018

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Harold Arthur Treloar.

Harold Treloar was born on 26 May 1912, the fifth son of Nicholas and Lucy Treloar of Edithburgh, South Australia. He grew up on the Yorke Peninsula, and played for the Brentwood Football Club. After finishing his education, he probably worked in the district before going to Kangaroo Island in the late 1930s, where he worked in the production of eucalyptus oil.

Harold left his work on Kangaroo Island to enlist in the Second Australian Imperial Force in November 1940. He underwent a period of training in Australia before leaving for active service overseas in April 1941. He joined the 2/43rd Battalion in Libya, where it was forming part of the garrison in Tobruk.

Besieged by the German Afrika Korps, Tobruk was an important deep-water port on the Libyan coast and was held by a primarily Australian force for several months. Shortly after Treloar’s arrival, the 2/43rd Battalion embarked on a series of aggressive but systematic patrols in no man’s land, pinpointing enemy positions and plotting minefields.

On 3 August 1941, B Company of the 2/43rd Battalion conducted an operation to recapture a post taken by a German counter-attack. The attacking troops moved into position to launch their assault in the moonlight, but were probably seen by Germans in the post. The Australians came under fire from the moment they moved off, and the attack ultimately failed under continuous, heavy fire.

At some point during the attack, Private Harold Treloar was killed. His commanding officer, Captain McCarter, later wrote to Harold’s parents to say “I can never hope adequately to express the depth of our grief in our sad loss, because your son was admired by every man in B Company for his manliness and courage”.

Today Harold Treloar lies in the Tobruk War Cemetery, under the words “he lies in this foreign grave, a hero of Australia’s brave.” He was 29 years old.

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 Private Harold Arthur Treloar, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section

  • Video of The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (SX10482) Private Harold Arthur Treloar, Second World War. (video)