The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2871) Private James MYLIE, 33rd Australian Infantry 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 (2871) Private James MYLIE, 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF, First World War.

2871 Private James MYLIE, 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF
KIA 10 December 1917

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private James Mylie.

James Mylie was born in the town of Castle Douglas, Scotland, in May 1874, the son of John and Agnes Mylie. He attended a Protestant school in Scotland and went on to work on the railways as a carriage fitter. In 1911, at the age of 37, he emigrated to Australia. With his wife Betsy, he ran a laundry in the Sydney suburb of Marrickville.

In November 1916, Mylie enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force. He joined the reinforcements for the 33rd Australian Infantry Battalion, which consisted mainly of recruits from his home state of New South Wales. With his Scottish background, he quickly became nicknamed “Scotty”. At the end of November, Mylie embarked on the transport ship Beltana at Sydney. He arrived in Devonport, England, at the end of January 1917.

In England, Mylie and the other 33rd Battalion reinforcements undertook training in order to prepare for the conditions they would face on the Western Front. During this time, Mylie sustained a facial injury and was hospitalised for a month. He made a full recovery and returned to his training unit. At the end of June, he sailed for France, and then marched into Belgium, where he joined the 33rd Battalion in the middle of July.

When Mylie joined his unit, they were holding the ground at Messines. This ground had been captured from the Germans in the weeks before Mylie’s arrival, and the men were subject to artillery shelling throughout the month. The trenches were in a very poor condition, and many were flooded, so men of the 33rd Battalion spent their days digging out and improving the trenches, fixing parapets and laying duckboards.

Throughout August and September, the soldiers of the 33rd Battalion continued their training. At the end of August, their commanding officer noted that their training away from the front line had “greatly benefited” the men. In September, the unit moved across the border into Belgium.
At this time, British commanders began an attempt to push the German forces out of Flanders with a series of major attacks. The 33rd Battalion took part in the disastrous battle of Passchendaele on 12 October 1917. The battle took place after a week of heavy rain, and the battlefield had become impossibly muddy. Soldiers, supplies, and artillery became bogged down, and the Australians suffered heavy casualties.

Moving away from the front line after the battle, Mylie and the men of the 33rd Battalion resumed training and prepared for the onset of winter. At the tiny village of Le Touquet in Belgium, on the border with France, Mylie was engaged in digging and improving the trenches and drainage. On 10 December 1917, a shell landed near him, killing him instantly.

James Mylie was buried at Motor Car Corner Cemetery in Belgium, alongside 130 other soldiers of the Commonwealth. He was 44 years old, survived in Sydney by his widow Betsy and six daughters. The following words were inscribed on his tombstone, “The Lord gave/ And the Lord hath taken away”.

Private James Mylie 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 Private James Mylie, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Thomas Rogers
Historian, Military History Section