The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1645a) Private Frederick Cheeswright, 60th 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 (1645a) Private Frederick Cheeswright, 60th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

1645a Private Frederick Cheeswright, 60th Battalion, AIF
KIA 26 September 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Frederick Cheeswright.

Frederick Cheeswright was born in 1888 in Heathcote, Victoria, and grew up in nearby Tooborac, about 50 kilometres to the south-east of Bendigo. Known as “Fred” in the local community, he was the third son born to William and Christina Heathcote. He attended the local school at Tooborac and later worked as a wood carter and labourer. He was a keen and talented footballer who played as a ruckman for his school and later for the local Tooborac team. Cheeswright’s father, William, passed away in 1914, and when Frederick Cheeswright signed up to serve for Australia in the Great War, he listed himself as sole provider for his widowed mother.

Cheeswright enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in May 1916 and began months training in Bendigo with reinforcements for the 60th Australian Infantry Battalion. On 2 October 1916 he sailed from Melbourne aboard the transport ship Nestor, bound for England. Here he continued training for a month before departing for France and the war on the Western Front.

Cheeswright joined the 60th Infantry Battalion for the first time in the field on 8 February 1917 when they were in the trenches at Delville Wood and the Switch Needle Line. Cheeswright’s battalion formed part of the 15th Brigade of the 5th Australian Division and spent the first months of 1917 pursuing German forces as they retreated to the Hindenburg Line – a series of well-defended trenches designed to shorten and strengthen German defensive positions.

In May 1917, just over a year after Cheeswright enlisted to serve, the 60th Battalion saw serious action defending gains made in the Second Battle of Bullecourt. The field diary of Cheeswright’s battalion recorded on 12 May that “The whole unit acquitted itself well during a period of intermittent severe shelling. Bullecourt is considered one of the fiercest contested fronts on the British front at this time.” The battle was a success, but came at the cost of nearly 7,500 Australian casualties.

Later in the year Cheeswright and the 60th Battalion moved north with the bulk of the Australian forces to participate in the fighting in the Flanders region of Belgium.

On 26 September, they took part in the battle of Polygon Wood, one of a series of battles fought by British and Commonwealth forces near the ruined town of Ypres. At Polygon Wood, Australian forces advanced one-and-a-half kilometres towards the remnants of a destroyed plantation to the south of Zonnebeke and successfully took their objectives. In a single day Australia lost over 5,700 casualties.

During this battle, Cheeswright and the men of the 60th Battalion climbed out of their trenches into no man’s land and came under heavy German artillery fire. Private Cheeswright was killed during this advance.

In the chaos and confusion during and after the battle, his body was never found, and it is likely he was killed by a high explosive Germany artillery shell. His name is listed on the Menin Gate Memorial, which lists the names of nearly 55,000 soldiers of the First World War who have no known grave.

Cheeswright was a popular man in his unit, and after his death his fellow soldiers wrote home to his family to express their condolences. His family described him in a local newspaper as “Our darling hero”. He was 29 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 Frederick Cheeswright, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section