The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2319) Private Stafford John Greer, 42nd 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 Gerard Pratt, the story for this day was on (2319) Private Stafford John Greer, 42nd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2319 Private Stafford John Greer, 42nd Battalion, AIF
DOW 1 August 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Stafford John Greer.

Stafford was born in Ipswich, Queensland, in 1891, the youngest of four children born to Stafford John Greer senior and Alice Greer. The Greer family lived in Murgon, north of Kingaroy in Queensland, where Stafford attended Taabinga State School. In the town of Murgon, he worked as a butcher. Stafford married Margaret, and they had a daughter, Lillian Marion, known as Marion.

In June 1916, at the age of 25, Stafford enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. After three months training at Fraser’s Hill army camp in Brisbane, Stafford embarked on board the transport ship Boonah bound for Plymouth. Arriving in January 1917 he undertook further training before sailing for France in May.

In France, Stafford joined the 42nd Australian Infantry Battalion, which was largely composed of soldiers from his home state of Queensland. During May and June, the 42nd Battalion marched with other Australian and British troops towards the border of France and Belgium.

In June, Stafford’s battalion participated in a reserve role in the battle of Messines. Despite being in reserve, his battalion was shelled heavily by the Germans and suffered many casualties. On 7 June, as the battalion marched through Ploegsteert Wood, it came under a major gas attack. Stafford and his comrades were forced to march while wearing bulky gas masks. Although this protected the troops from the horrific effects of chemical weapons, the extra weight exhausted them. After enduring rainy and cold weather, the mud made marching even more difficult.

Following a decisive victory at Messines, the Allied forces continued on the march towards the Belgian city of Ypres. As part of this campaign, Stafford and his battalion received orders to capture the German observation posts and communications trenches near the Belgian village of Warneton.

The operation began before dawn on 31 July, with a preliminary barrage and smokescreen created by Australian artillery. The 42nd Battalion immediately came under heavy fire in a German counter-attack. Throughout the day, the soldiers were engaged in hand-to-hand fighting as they captured the German trenches. Stafford’s battalion captured several German machine-guns and took several men prisoner as it successfully achieved all of its objectives.

In the afternoon, as the battalion was consolidating its positions, a bomb landed in the trench near Stafford, and he was badly wounded.

He was taken to the nearby Australian army casualty clearing station but died of his wounds the next day, the 1st of August 1917. Along with nearly 1,800 other Australian soldiers, he is buried on the site of that station, at Trois Arbres Cemetery in Steenwerck in northern France.

Survived by his grieving widow and his daughter Marion, who was less than two years old, today his remains lie under the epitaph inscribed on his headstone:
Sacred to the memory
of my beloved husband
for ever with the Lord.

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

Thomas Rogers
Historian, Military History Section