Places | |
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Accession Number | AWM2019.1.1.60 |
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 | 1 March 2019 |
Access | Open |
Conflict |
First World War, 1914-1918 |
Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial 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. |
The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (962) Private Arthur William Moy, 39th 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (962) Private Arthur William Moy, 39th Battalion, AIF, First World War.
Film order form962 Private Arthur William Moy, 39th Battalion, AIF
DOW 7 June 1917
Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Arthur William Moy.
Arthur Moy was born in 1894 in Rupanyup, north of Stawell, Victoria. Arthur’s mother Mary was born in England, his father Ah came from China, and before Arthur’s birth the couple lived in Ballarat, where Ah worked as an interpreter at the gaol. Arthur was the eldest of five children, attended the local state school, and later worked as a hospital warder. The family was heavily involved in the local Salvation Army.
Arthur applied to join the Australian Imperial Force on 5 February 1916. Just over two weeks later, he married his sweetheart Jane Storey. The couple did not have long together, just six days after their marriage Arthur formally enlisted into the Army. His brother Charlie also enlisted, and the two brothers served as bandsmen in the 39th Battalion throughout the war. A third brother John, known as “Jack”, also enlisted, serving in the 46th Battalion.
Arthur embarked from Melbourne in late May 1916, and arrived in England in July, where he spent four months training. After transferring to France in November, he moved into the trenches of the Western Front for the first time on 9 December near Armentieres in northern France. He spent the terribly cold winter of 1916 and 1917 enduring the hardships of trench warfare, exposed not only to the cold, rain, and snow, but German raids and intermittent bombardments from high explosive artillery, mortar, and gas shells.
In mid-1917, Arthur and the 39th Battalion moved north to participate in the battle of Messines. This would be their first major battle of the war. The purpose of this operation was to capture the Wytschaete-Messines Ridge near Ypres, in Belgium. In this major engagement, the 3rd Australian Division, in conjunction with British and New Zealand troops, was to form the main attacking force. The 4th Australian Division was to be used to reinforce the operation. The use of these two Australian divisions meant that all three of the Moy brothers would fight in the one battle.
After a week-long artillery bombardment of German lines, at 3:10 am on 7 June, allied forces detonated nearly half a million kilograms of explosives placed in a series of mines dug deep under the German lines. The mines had taken Australian, Canadian, British and New Zealand miners two years to dig, but their effect was decisive. The explosions obliterated the German front-line positions and demoralised the remaining defenders. By 5:30 am, Australian, British and New Zealand troops had reached their objectives and occupied the heights. It was one of the most complete local successes yet seen in the war, but it came at a heavy price. During the battle, Australia lost 6,800 casualties, most from Arthur’s 3rd Division.
At some point during this first day of the battle, either as he moved into position or in the fighting later in the day, Arthur received a severe gunshot or shrapnel wound to his face. He was evacuated unconscious from the field and transferred to a casualty clearing station. He did not recover from his injuries, and died a few hours later. He was 23 years old.
His brothers Charlie and Jack both survived the war, but on the day that Arthur died Charlie received a gunshot wound to his thigh. While recovering in hospital in England, he wrote to the Australian Red Cross Society pleading for information about the fate of his brother.
Arthur is buried in the Bailleul Communal Cemetery Extension in France, where nearly 4,500 Commonwealth soldiers of the First World War now lie. His grieving widow left the simple epitaph on his grave: “Ever remembered”.
Private Arthur William Moy is listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among more than 60,000 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 Arthur William Moy, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.
David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section
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Video of The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (962) Private Arthur William Moy, 39th Battalion, AIF, First World War. (video)