The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (838) Private John Turner, 11th Battalion, AIF. first World War.

Places
Accession Number AWM2019.1.1.108
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 18 April 2019
Access Open
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Copyright Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
Creative Commons License 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.
Description

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 (838) Private John Turner, 11th Battalion, AIF. First World War.

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Speech transcript

838 Private John Turner, 11th Battalion, AIF
DOW 31 July 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private John Turner.

John Turner was born in 1892 to William and Elizabeth Turner of Shiremoore, near Newcastle-on-Tyne in England. He came to Australia in 1913 at the age of 21, settling in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, near his uncle and cousins and worked in the South Kalgoorlie Gold Mine.

The year after Turner came to Australia, war broke out in Europe, and John Turner was among the first to enlist in the newly-created Australian Imperial Force. He was posted to the 11th Battalion and after a few weeks preliminary training in Australia he left for overseas service with the first contingent.

The 11th Battalion formed part of the covering force for the dawn landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915. The war diary notes that the men “landed under heavy musketry and machine gun fire and stormed the cliffs … pushed back the Turks and occupied the position [along the] forward ridge.” Private Turner remained with his battalion on the peninsula until September when he became ill with diarrhoea and enteritis. This became an ongoing problem and eventually resulted in his being evacuated and sent to hospital. By the end of 1915, Turner was in hospital in Birmingham, and would remain in England for several months.

By mid-1916, Turner was repeatedly missing parade and overstaying leave. He was finally sent to join his battalion on the Western Front in August 1916, just missing the desperate battle for the French village of Pozieres. Once in the field, his discipline problems disappeared, and within two months he was attached to the 1st Australian Divisional headquarters. It is not clear what role he was filling with the 1st Division staff, but he remained there for more than 18 months, finally returning to the 11th Battalion in June 1918.

In July 1918 the 11th Battalion was in the front line near the French village of Merris. On 28 July the neighbouring 10th Battalion conducted a small operation to capture the village, the 11th Battalion providing important flank support to the assault. On 30 July the 11th was relieved, moving back to a new position in the support line. As they were moving back, a stray shell landed among the men of D Company, killing two and wounding eight.

Private Turner was almost certainly one of those eight men. The following day he is recorded as being at a casualty clearing station, suffering from wounds so bad that he died later that day. He was 26 years old.

His 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 John Turner, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section

  • Video of The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (838) Private John Turner, 11th Battalion, AIF. first World War. (video)