The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1501) Trooper Robert Herbert Morley, 4th Light Horse Regiment, 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 Gerard Pratt, the story for this day was on (1501) Trooper Robert Herbert Morley, 4th Light Horse Regiment, First World War.

1501 Trooper Robert Herbert Morley, 4th Light Horse Regiment
KIA 31 October 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Trooper Robert Herbert Morley.

Robert Morley was born on 5 April 1891 in Gormandale, Victoria, becoming part of the large family of Jesse and Sarah Morley.

He grew up in Gormandale and attended Gormandale State School. His father died in 1897, when Morley was just six years old. Morley later left school to work as a farmer on the family property.

He and his brother Charlie enlisted in Melbourne on 28 June 1915. After their initial training, the brothers were allotted to the 11th reinforcements to the 4th Light Horse Regiment. The Morley boys embarked from Melbourne on 29 October aboard the transport ship Palermo bound for Egypt. Soon after arriving in Egypt, both brothers contracted mumps and were briefly hospitalised.

The 4th Light Horse Regiment was engaged in security tasks around the Suez Canal until April 1917, when the regiment moved into the Sinai, providing rear security during the allied advance.

The 4th Light Horse Regiment’s first major action took place on 31 October, when an attack was launched on the town of Beersheba in an effort to outflank Gaza. Late in the day, with the situation deteriorating, the 4th and 12th Light Horse Regiments attacked Beersheba at the gallop, capturing the town shortly after. Both Morley and his brother Charlie took part in the now legendary charge.

The Light Horse regiments suffered relatively light casualties, but one of those killed was Trooper Robert Morley. He was buried in the Beersheba War Cemetery the following day. He was 26 years old.

The war years were unkind to the Morley family. Five siblings died in Australia due to ill–health. Two other brothers were killed fighting in France and the Middle East. Private George Thomas Morley was killed with the 26th Battalion in early August 1916, and Private Edward Ernest Morley, serving with the 21st Battalion, died of wounds received at Bullecourt in May 1917.

Archie, who had served with Edward in the 21st Battalion, returned to Australia after being wounded in 1917, and Charlie returned to Australia on compassionate grounds in 1918.

Morley’s name 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 Trooper Robert Herbert Morley, and all those Australians who have given their lives in the service of our nation.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section