The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1983) Private Justin Hercules Breguet, 29th 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 Troy Clayton, the story for this day was on (1983) Private Justin Hercules Breguet, 29th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

1983 Private Justin Hercules Breguet, 29th Battalion, AIF
KIA 19 July 1916

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Justin Hercules Breguet.

Justin Hercules Breguet was born in 1897, the youngest of three sons born to Justin and Rose Brequet of Geelong, Victoria. Known as “Gus” to his family and friends, Breguet attended a local state school and later worked as a grocer and bread carter. He was said to have had a deep baritone voice, and used to sing Scottish songs at local concerts in Australia. Before signing up, he gained valuable military experience by serving for four years as a senior cadet in a local militia unit.

Breguet enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in July 1915, the same month as two of his mates, Allan Eldridge and Ernest Hopkinson. Breguet’s older brother Leslie also served in the war, enlisting in April 1915 and serving on Gallipoli. All four of these soldiers, Justin Breguet, his brother and his mates, would fight together in the same battle on the Western Front in 1916.

In February 1916, Breguet and his mates Allan and Ernest embarked on the transport ship Ballarat from Melbourne to Suez in Egypt. They were too late to serve on Gallipoli, and were instead headed for the Western Front. They served in the 29th Infantry Battalion, which formed part of the 8th Brigade of the 5th Australian Division. After nearly three months training in Egypt, in June 1916 they sailed for France.

Upon arrival in France, Breguet, Eldridge and Hopkinson transferred from Marseilles to Hazebrouk near the French-Belgian border. On 19 July 1916, they took part in Australia’s first major engagement on the Western Front, the battle of Fromelles.

Australian forces formed the northern pincer of an attack on a bulge in the German lines known as the “Sugar Loaf”. After a seven hour bombardment of the German lines, Australian troops climbed out of their trenches and into no-man’s-land. The 8th Brigade successfully took its objectives and held the German lines, but was forced to retreat in the early hours of the following morning after a German counterattack. Australian forces suffered over 5,500 casualties.

Breguet was killed in the chaos and confusion of this bloody battle. He was 19 years old.

There are a number of conflicting accounts of what happened to him as the 29th Battalion charged the German lines. Allan Eldridge, Breguet’s mate from Australia, said that they climbed out of the trenches next to each other, and as they ran across no-man’s-land a shell burst in front of them. Eldridge was wounded and forced to head back for medical treatment. He never saw Breguet again, and supposed him to have been killed by the high explosive artillery blast.

Another report states that Breguet was seen in the newly captured German trenches after the initial attack, but not seen again after the German counter attack. He was officially declared missing, and inquiries were made as to whether he was killed, wounded, or taken prisoner of war by the Germans. In the aftermath of the battle, his exact fate was unknown.

Justin’s older brother Leslie also fought in the battle. He was wounded, and while recovering in hospital wrote home to his parents, “I have not met Justin yet. I am so longing to see him. I hope he is safe and through the 19th July battle”. He would never see his brother again.

Breguet’s body was not located, and in March 1917 he was officially declared to have been killed in action.

His name was originally recorded on the VC Corner Memorial in Fromelles, which lists the names of soldiers of Fromelles who have no known grave. In 2008, a team of Australian researchers located a mass grave containing the remains of 250 Australian and British soldiers behind the lines of the Fromelles battlefield. Breguet’s remains were positively identified in May 2016, and he now lies in the Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery.

Justin Breguet’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 Justin Hercules Breguet, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section