The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (45) Able Seaman John Edward Walker (Alias John Courtney), 9th Battalion, 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (45) Able Seaman John Edward Walker (Alias John Courtney), 9th Battalion, First World War.

45 Able Seaman John Edward Walker (Alias John Courtney), 9th Battalion
KIA 11 August 1914

Today we remember and pay tribute to Able Seaman John Edward Walker.

John Walker was born on 17 December 1884 in Townsville, Queensland, the son of John and Mary Walker.

He grew up in Townsville and attended school locally. As a young man, he moved to Sydney, seeking greater opportunities, and went to live with Mrs Courtney, a friend of his mother. Mrs Courtney, who had six sons of her own, suggested John go by the surname Courtney to fit in as a family member.

Shortly after the turn of the century Walker signed on for service on a ship using the name John Courtney. Throughout the early 1900s he served at sea as John Courtney, and became a member of the Royal Australian Naval Reserve.

Walker married, lived in North Sydney with his parents and wife, and was working on a station near Walgett in country New South Wales.

Soon after the outbreak of the First Word War, the British Government asked the Australian Government to send a force to occupy German New Guinea. The Australian Naval & Military Expeditionary Force would be made up of an infantry battalion with several other sections attached and a naval brigade of 500 men divided into six companies.

Walker returned to the colours shortly after the call went out for volunteers and signed on once again as John Courtney. He was assigned to No. 3 Company of the Naval Brigade, led by Lieutenant Oscar Gillan.

By 18 August, the AN&MEF had gathered at Cockatoo Island. The soldiers and sailors boarded the transport ship Berrima and departed the same day, escorted by the bulk of the Royal Australian Navy, including HMA Ships Australia, Encounter, Parramatta, and submarines AE1 and AE2.

After a brief stop at Palm Island, the force arrived off Kabakaul in the early hours of 11 September. The initial landing went unopposed but as the morning went on, German resistance intensified. As casualties mounted, calls for assistance were made.

Reinforcements from Berrima began landing at Kabakaul at around 10 am. No. 3 Company of the naval brigade landed first. Lieutenant Commander Charles Elwell of the Royal Navy took command of the company and led it along Bitapaka Road towards the fighting, with scouts sent out on both sides of the road.

About 40 minutes later, Walker, who was in one of the scouting parties, stepped out of the jungle onto the road and was shot by New Guinean soldiers in the treetops. One round hit him in the chest, another in the base of his skull, killing him instantly, and he became the first Australian serving in an Australian force to be killed during the First World War.

Elwell was killed soon after as he led a frontal assault on a nearby German position. Bob Moffatt was shot twice in the side and was taken offshore to HMAS Australia where he died the following morning.

Initially laid to rest at Kabakaul, Walker and Elwell’s remains were later reinterred in the Bita Paka War Cemetery at Rabaul.

John Walker was 29 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 Able Seaman John Edward Walker, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Michael Kelly
Historian, Military History Section