The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (717) Private James Brown, 15th 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 (717) Private James Brown, 15th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

717 Private James Brown, 15th Battalion, AIF
KIA 9 May 1915

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private James Brown.

James Brown was born about 1892 to William and Mary Brown of Gympie, Queensland.

After growing up in the area, and probably attending Gympie Central State School, he went on to work as a labourer.

Brown enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in September 1914, around a month after the outbreak of the First World War. He joined the 15th Battalion, and began initial training at Enoggera, leaving four horses in the care of a friend who lived nearby.

The 15th Battalion left Australia just before Christmas and landed in Egypt in February 1915, where it was assigned to the New Zealand and Australian Division. After a period of training in the desert camps on the outskirts of Cairo, Private Brown landed with the 4th Brigade at Anzac late in the afternoon of 25 April 1915. As the Ottoman defenders checked the advance inland, the 15th Battalion was rushed into the line on the left flank of the beachhead.

As the advance stalled, the battalion became isolated and things looked grim until it was withdrawn to a more tenable position. The battalion then helped shore up the line before occupying positions around Pope’s Hill and Russell's Top, where it joined an attack on 1 May.

On the night of the 9th of May, a party from the 15th Battalion crept out and captured the Turkish trench in front of Quinn’s Post. The next morning they were driven back with many men wounded as they ran for the Australian line.

In the aftermath of the attack, Private Brown could not be located. He was listed as missing in action and for months nothing was heard about his whereabouts. His sister, Elsie, wrote letters to the Secretary of Defence, anxious to know what happened to him.

A 1916 a court of inquiry found that Private James Brown had been killed in action on 9 May.

He was 23 years old.

Today he is commemorated by the Lone Pine Memorial, which commemorates almost 5,000 Australian and New Zealand servicemen who died in the area with no known grave.

The Brown family’s sorrow was compounded when James’s younger brother, Leslie, died of meningitis barely a month after enlisting in the AIF.

Many years later, when James’s father received a parcel containing his son’s medals and memorial scroll, the experience was bitter-sweet. He replied: “I received your letter and parcel with thanks but I will never get my boy back and it always brings it fresh to my memory”.

James Brown’s 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 James Brown, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section