The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (SX6405) Acting Corporal Arnold Joseph Pike, 2/43rd Australian Infantry 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 Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (SX6405) Acting Corporal Arnold Joseph Pike, 2/43rd Australian Infantry Battalion, Second World War.

SX6405 Acting Corporal Arnold Joseph Pike, 2/43rd Australian Infantry Battalion
KIA 3 August 1941

Today we remember and pay tribute to Acting Corporal Arnold Joseph Pike.

Arnold Pike was born on 15 June 1902 in Murray Bridge, South Australia, the son of Joseph and Martha Pike.

He and his siblings attended the local school, and he went on to work as an agriculturalist.

Around 1927 he married Ethel Rawson, and the couple would eventually have three sons, Geoffrey, Rodney, and Donald.

The Pike family was heavily involved in the Methodist Church. Arnold was secretary of the church social club, he and Ethel were members of the choir, and Ethel taught Sunday School.
A year after marrying, Arnold and Ethel Pike moved to Gawler, about 40 kilometres north of Adelaide. Ethel became president of the Gawler Woman’s Temperance Union, and Arnold maintained his links with the church.

Arnold also had some military experience, having been a member of the Citizens Forces: a part-time, voluntary Militia force.

In June 1940, Arnold enlisted for service in the Second World War, passing his medical examination on his 38th birthday. Private Pike reported for duty on the 22nd of June 1940, and soon marched out to Woodside Camp, the nursery for the three South Australian battalions, 2/10th, 2/43rd, and 2/48th.

Pike suffered from a fractured foot bone in early July while training, but was back in action with his unit by the end of the month. Not long afterwards, he was given pre-embarkation leave, spending time with his wife and children before leaving Australia for overseas service.

After a train trip to Melbourne, on 29 December 1940, Arnold Pike embarked for the Middle East as part of the 2/43rd Battalion. The battalion arrived at Egypt at the end of January 1941. Disembarking at Port Tewfik, the port of Suez, it travelled by train to Palestine. Southern Palestine was being used as a base for the Australians, and the 2/43rd went into camp at Khassa, north of Gaza.

Pike was taken to hospital was an eye complaint in mid-February, but was back with his unit in early March. At this time, the 9th Division was brought to Libya, to garrison the area east of Tobruk. The division did not have enough vehicles to bring all its units forward towards Benghazi, so the 24th Brigade – of which the 2/43rd Battalion was part – remained in Tobruk.

The situation quickly changed in April. The German Afrika Korps, leading an Axis counter-attack, pushed the British from El Agheila and the 9th Division withdrew to Tobruk. The division and the 18th Brigade defended the fortress for the next six months. The 2/43rd participated in the usual pattern of defensive duties, manning parts of the Red Line, working on the Blue Line, and aggressively patrolling no man's land. The Red Line was a series of concrete pillboxes forming a semi-circle around Tobruk. It was the town’s outer line of defence, while the Blue Line was the second line.
Pike was appointed acting lance corporal on 19 June, and on 11 July was promoted to acting corporal.

In late July, a plan was developed for an attack on the German and Italian troops holding positions to the south. “Zero hour for attack” was 3.30 am on 3 August. While the attack proved to be unsuccessful, the battalion’s war diary records that it was “noteworthy for the way in which the men, regardless of casualties, moved forward determined to come to grips with and defeat the enemy. ‘Despite heavy casualties’, one observer remarked, ‘they moved on as though it were a tactical exercise.’”

Amongst the dead was Arnold Pike, who was 39 years old, survived by his wife and three sons.

Today his remains lie in Tobruk War Cemetery under the inscription “He gave his life for his loved ones. Greater love hath no man.”

His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 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 Acting Corporal Arnold Joseph Pike, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section