The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (SX2926) Captain Justin Way Skipper, 2/27th 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 Jana Johnson, the story for this day was on (SX2926) Captain Justin Way Skipper, 2/27th Battalion, Second World War.

SX2926 Captain Justin Way Skipper, 2/27th Battalion
KIA 29 November 1942

Today we remember and pay tribute to Captain Justin Way Skipper.

Justin Skipper was born in Adelaide on 3 May 1914, the second son of Stanley and Kathleen Skipper. His father, Stanley, was a barrister and founder of the Commonwealth Club in Australia, and had enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force late in the First World War, saying that although it was “unsound for a nation to send its married men to war … when the single men would not come forward there was no excuse”. Stanley added “he was making no sacrifice – it was his wife and children who were making the sacrifice”. Lieutenant Stanley Skipper served as a repatriation officer on the Salisbury Plain, and took on an important role in the repatriation of the AIF in 1919.

Justin Skipper attended St Peter’s College in Adelaide, where he was a notable athlete in intercollegiate competitions with Prince Alfred College. Named for South Australia’s chief justice Samuel Way, Justin was at least the fourth generation of his family to study law, which he did at Adelaide University.

Justin Skipper was serving with the 10th Battalion of the militia in the early months of the Second World War. In May 1940 he transferred to the newly formed 2/27th Battalion with the rank of lieutenant. After a period of training at Woodside Camp in the Adelaide Hills, he left Australia for active service overseas in October 1940. Although he was evacuated from the 2/27ths lines a number of times with sickness, he served during the invasion of Syria and Lebanon. From mid-June 1941 the 2/27th took part in bitter fighting as part of the battle of Damour. Several weeks after the armistice on 12 July, Skipper was again evacuated with sickness, but had served with such distinction that he had been promoted to captain.

The 2/27th Battalion left the Middle East in January 1942, arriving back in Adelaide in late March. Six days later, Justin Skipper was able to serve as his brother best man at his wedding at Scot’s Church. His stay in Australia, however, was brief, and in August Skipper’s battalion was sent to Port Moresby.

By early September 1942 the 2/27th Battalion was in position at Mission Ridge on the Kokoda Trail, preparing to meet the Japanese advance. The battalion held on to its positions for two days before being forced to pull out by a Japanese outflanking move. A grim two-week withdrawal through the jungle followed, with little food. Sick and exhausted, the 2/27th re-joined the main Australian force at Jawarere, 40 kilometers east of Port Moresby, on 22 September.

After a period of rest and retraining the 2/27th returned to action at Gona in late November. On the 28th the men of the battalion spent the night lying in position in kuni grass to the south-east of Gona. They heard their neighbours, the 2/14th Battalion, come under heavy fire as they moved into position to their west, but they were not ordered to move themselves until the following morning.

At 9 am on 29 November, Skipper received the news that the 2/14th had taken so many casualties that the 2/27th would take over the role of advancing on Gona. The village was held by some 550 enemy squeezed into 250 square metres of space, well entrenched and covered by a comprehensive field of fire. The attack quickly devolved into a series of small scale rushes on strong posts.

In the process of attacking what was described as “a particularly sticky post”, Captain Justin Skipper was killed in action. His mate Captain Ron Johnson later wrote, “Justin was right on the post, urging his chaps on when he fell. He was killed instantly. He died as only the very bravest die – the only way worthy of such a gallant soldier.”

The bodies of many of those killed in the early days of fighting at Gona could not be recovered for some time. On 9 December 1942, the body of Captain Justin Skipper was found, still bearing its identification discs and paybook. His mate from C Company, Captain Jack Cuming was lying dead not far away. They were both buried in the cemetery at Gona, where Justin Skipper lies today under the simple epitaph, “the happy warrior”. He was 28 years old.

Captain Johnson wrote to Justin’s parents, saying “it is very hard to write about Justin. Words seem so inadequate. He was such a perfectly grand officer, soldier and friend … Justin always seemed to me the perfect epitome of all a man could be. That’s what everyone who was lucky enough to know him always thought.”

Captain Justin Skipper was posthumously Mentioned in Despatches for his “gallant and distinguished services in the South West Pacific Area”. Since 1947 he has been commemorated by award of the Justin Skipper Prize in law at Adelaide University, a tribute by his parents.

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 Captain Justin Way Skipper, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section