The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (5839) Corporal Ernest Hewitt, 20th 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 , the story for this day was on (5839) Corporal Ernest Hewitt, 20th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

5839 Corporal Ernest Hewitt, 20th Battalion, AIF
KIA 9 October 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Corporal Ernest Hewitt.

Ernest Hewitt was born on the 25th of June 1890, the third son of Walter and Julia Hewitt, of Leytonstone, Essex, England. He attended the Leytonstone school and gained military experience in the local Essex Territorial Army. At the age of 18, he migrated to Australia and began a new life living in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville where he was employed as an iron worker. In 1913 he married Violet Ward, and the couple would go on to have two children together, Richard and Maie.

All three of the Hewitt brothers served in the First World War. The two eldest brothers Walter and Frank served in the British Army; Frank died on Gallipoli in May 1915.

Ernest Hewitt enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in March 1916 in Sydney, and joined the 20th Infantry Battalion. After a few months training, he embarked with his unit from Sydney aboard the transport ship Ceramic, bound for England. At the time of his departure, Hewitt left behind his infant son and his young wife Violet, who was pregnant with the couple’s second child.

Hewitt arrived in England in November 1916 and continued training. He distinguished himself, and was promoted to the rank of corporal. In September 1917 he left England for the Western Front, joining his unit as it was resting behind the lines in the Ypres region of Belgium.

Hewitt had been at the front for ten days when he had his first experience of a major battle. On 4 October 1917 he took part in the battle of Broodseinde in which four Anzac divisions attacked along a four and a half kilometre front with the intention of capturing high ground held by German forces. The battle took place in thick mud, with heavy German mortar fire and chaotic fighting around reinforced German strong points. While it ended with Anzac forces successfully gaining their objectives, this came at the cost of over 8,000 Anzac casualties.

Hewitt’s next major battle came five days later at Poecappelle, an attack that was designed to build upon the previous success at Broodseinde. On 9 October 1917, in heavy rain and mud, British and Anzac forces attacked along a 12-kilometre front towards the town of Passchendaele. In appalling conditions, Australian forces managed to reach some of their objectives, but were driven back by German defences. The failed attack cost over 1,200 Australian casualties. In the chaos and confusion of the battle, Hewitt was originally reported as missing in action.

In November 1917, Hewitt’s wife Violet received a letter from a Private Gerald Sexton, who claimed that he had seen her husband dead on the battlefield and had seen him buried where he fell. He included in the letter some papers and photographs he had removed from the body before burial. Violet recognised the photos, and duly informed the authorities, who officially announced Hewitt as having been killed in action on 9 October.

Grief stricken and with two young children to raise, Violet left a poem in the local newspaper:

His gallant rifle may broken lie,
His bones may bleach ‘neath foreign sky,
But his soul, his soul will never die.

Ernest Hewitt’s remains lie buried in Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium, where nearly 12,000 soldiers of the First World War are commemorated. His gravestone reads: “Loved even beyond the grave, by his loving wife & babies”.

Corporal Ernest Hewitt 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 Corporal Ernest Hewitt, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section