The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of Lieutenant Albert Roy Retchford, 11th 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 Lieutenant Albert Roy Retchford, 11th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

Lieutenant Albert Roy Retchford, 11th Battalion, AIF
KIA 3 June 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lieutenant Albert Roy Retchford.

Albert Retchford, known by his middle name Roy, was born in Albert Park, Melbourne on 18 June 1894, the son of Richard and Lulu Retchford. His father had been born in Kapunda, South Australia, and it is likely that Roy spent part of his childhood in the mid-north of the state. At some point the family, including Roy and his brother Percy, moved to Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, where Richard worked as an engine driver at the abattoir.

In 1910, Roy’s father was driving a horse and trap along a road when he passed a string of camels, which caused the horse to bolt and crash the trap into a telegraph post. Some men came to his assistance, but he refused to go to the hospital and instead was taken home, dazed and complaining of head pains. Roy and his mother attended their father but his condition worsened and he was taken to hospital where he died of a ruptured spleen. Roy, who was not quite 16 at the time, was with his father when he died, and later formally identified his body in what was called “an affecting scene at the morgue”. The boy was called on to give evidence at the inquest of his death shortly afterwards.

A few weeks after his father’s death, Roy Retchford left Kalgoorlie abruptly. His widowed mother feared the worst, and tried desperately to find him. After four months missing, he was found in the Dowerin district and persuaded to wire his mother. Julia wrote to the man who found him, “am extremely grateful to you … my son has wired me fully, and promises to write by first mail.”

Roy Retchford was working in the locomotive branch of the trans-Australian railway when war broke out in 1914. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force the same month war was declared, and was part of the first contingent to sail later that year.

At the time a signaller in the 11th Battalion, Retchford landed on Gallipoli on 25 April 1915. Writing to his mother and brother, he said, “as soon as the boats struck the beach we jumped over the side into the water, which was well over our waists, and waded ashore, fixing our bayonets at the same time. We dropped our packs, and then took the hill in our stride … we … then established a fairly good position, digging in for our lives.” He added, “space will not allow me to describe even our first three days, but I can tell you that they made it pretty hot for us, shrapnel bursting all around us, and it was one incessant hail of bullets.” Roy Retchford finished his letter from Gallipoli by saying, “now mother darling, don’t worry as the kid is as good as gold, and as happy as ever, and satisfied that I did the right thing [in enlisting] last August”.

Retchford excelled as a soldier on Gallipoli, and left the peninsula with the rank of sergeant. During the early months of 1916 the AIF underwent a period of expansion and reorganisation in Egypt, and while Roy thought he might be transferred to a new battalion and given a commission, he became sick with the mumps instead. Nevertheless, his service was recognised by being mentioned in despatches in December 1915.

Sergeant Retchford wrote to his mother of his earliest experiences of trench warfare in May 1916. He said “we had an experience which I shall never forget. About six o’clock one evening the Germans opened a terrific artillery fire on the centre of our front. As it went on, the fire intensified … you couldn’t hear yourself speak, and it was nothing but a continual upheaval of earth, timber, iron, bags of sand, etc. All sorts of debris was falling everywhere. They played their machine guns on this sector. You would wonder how a fly could live amongst it, and yet as soon as the artillery ceased fire, our lads were up on the parapet, waiting for the expected attack.”

Retchford added, “next morning the hard part came—when we started to call our roll and to look for our missing. One little officer came up to me and put his arm on my shoulder and said… “poor H[illiar] is gone!” I burst into tears, for it was this Harry Hillier, sergeant of the 10th Platoon, that was so much with me on Gallipoli … I pulled myself together and had a look at the damage that had been caused [to the trench].”

Shortly after this experience, Retchford became sick with the flu, which later turned into pneumonia and was evacuated to England to recover. In early 1917 he undertook officer training, which resulted in his receiving the commissioned rank of second lieutenant. His service continued to be exemplary, and he would go on to be promoted to full lieutenant.

In March 1918 the 11th Battalion were in the front line near Hill 60, a position not far from the Belgian town of Ypres. Lieutenant Retchford was in charge of a patrol which was sent forward to examine German barbed wire defences. It was a bright moonlit night, and the patrol was seen by the enemy, who opened machine gun fire on them. Retchford’s sergeant had his leg broken by the fire, and Roy picked him up to get back. While he was carrying the sergeant, Retchford himself was shot through the thigh, but succeeded in getting him back. For his action on this day, Lieutenant Roy Retchford was awarded the Military Cross for his “courage and endurance of a high order”.

General Birdwood later wrote to Retchford to say, “I write to congratulate you most heartily upon the Military Cross … thank you so much for your courageous action. I trust that your wound is not severe, and that you are making good progress.”

Retchford had had a machine-gun bullet pass through his inner thigh, and after having the wound cleaned and stitched, was able to walk well by early April. He returned to the battlefields in mid-May after further recuperation.
Two weeks after his return to the battlefields, Retchford’s 11th Battalion conducted an operation near the Mont de Merris. Advancing closely under trench mortar fire, the battalion successfully captured its objectives in an operation described as “well planned and admirably carried out”.

Seven men were killed in action during the early hours of the 3rd of June, 1918, one of those being Lieutenant Roy Retchford. His body was recovered from the battlefield and today lies in Borre British Cemetery under the words “admired by all: Our Boy”. He was 23 years old.

Roy Retchford is perhaps best remembered by his own words written to his mother in 1916. He wrote, “you would think [war] was a picnic, and so it is for these boys. I am jolly proud to be one of them.” His mother requested that Roy’s Military Cross, which he had not yet received, be given to his brother Percy.

The name of Roy Retchford 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 Lieutenant Albert Roy Retchford, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section