The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (NX69121) Private Stanley Lewis, 2/30th Battalion, Second 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 Joanne Smedley, the story for this day was on (NX69121) Private Stanley Lewis, 2/30th Battalion, Second World War.

NX69121 Private Stanley Lewis, 2/30th Battalion
Died of Illness 25 August 1943

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Stanley Lewis.

Stanley Lewis, known as “Stan” to his family and friends, was born on 14 December 1919 to John and Ruby Lewis. Stan grew up alongside his brothers George and Alexander and his sisters Beryl and Clarice at Boorganna, about 40 kilometres north of Wingham, and after school worked as a labourer.

He enlisted at Paddington in Sydney on 6 March 1941, the same day as his mate Fred Hume, who also lived near Wingham. The two would spend much of their war together, travelling on the same transport ship and fighting in the same unit, the 2/30th Battalion. After enlistment, Stan and Fred travelled to Tamworth, where they trained for five months, before departing together for south-east Asia aboard the transport ship Johan Van Oldenbarnvelt.

Stan arrived in Singapore on 16 August 1941, and less than a month later was admitted to hospital for an illness that would incapacitate him for four months.

On 5 December he re-joined the 2/30th Battalion, just in time for their first major action of the war. Following a Japanese attack on British and Indian forces in Thailand and Malaya on 7 December 1941, Stan, his mate Fred, and the 2/30th Battalion conducted the first Australian attack on Japanese forces of the Second World War. The operation was an ambush of Japanese troops designed to relieve pressure on British and India troops, and inflict as many casualties on the advancing Japanese forces as possible before retreating. It was extraordinarily successful. The 2/30th suffered 20 killed or missing and 58 wounded, the Japanese are believed to have suffered about 1,000 casualties.

But jubilation at the successful operation was to be short lived. Stan and the 2/30th Battalion were sent to assist in the defence of Singapore, which was a vital British base of operations. Allied forces were unable to defend the island from the Japanese attack, and on 15 February 1942, over 130,000 troops, including 15,000 Australians, were surrendered to the Japanese.

After the surrender the 2/30th Battalion was sent to Changi gaol, where they were used for labour, first in Singapore and later in Thailand, Burma, Borneo, and Japan. Stan was sent to work on the notorious Burma-Thailand Railway, which was built by thousands of Allied prisoners of war in horrific circumstances. Approximately 13,000 Allied prisoners of war and up to 100,000 civilians died during the construction of this railway. Stan was among them. In horrendous conditions, he succumbed to disease and died at Kanu 2 Camp on 25 August 1943. He was 23 years old.

He is buried in the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand, where over 5,000 Commonwealth soldiers of the Second World War are buried or commemorated. His grieving parents left the following epitaph on his grave: “His duty nobly done. Always remembered by his loving family”.

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among some 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second 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 Stanley Lewis, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section