The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (157) Private Charles Emanuel Bonavia, 11th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF, and (6969) Private Waldemar Beck, 16th 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 Tristan Rallings, the story for this day was on (157) Private Charles Emanuel Bonavia, 11th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF, and (6969) Private Waldemar Beck, 16th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF, First World War.

157 Private Charles Emanuel Bonavia, 11th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF
KIA 25 April 1915
6969 Private Waldemar Beck, 16th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF
DOW 06 July 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Charles Emanuel Bonavia and Private Waldemar Beck.
Charles Bonavia and Waldemar Beck were friends who immigrated to Australia from Malta in 1911. Charles had been born in Sliema, Valetta, on 25 September 1887, the son of Emanuel and Giorgina Bonavia. Waldemar was younger, born on 11 January 1889 to Lawrence and Carolina Beck of Misida.

Charles and Waldemar were probably already friends when they went to Malta University to study engineering and architecture with another friend, Anthony Xuereb. After graduating, in 1911 Charles left Malta for Western Australia. He established himself in Perth, followed several months later by Waldemar and Anthony, who travelled together.

In the short time Charles Bonavia had been in Australia on his own he had found a wide circle of friends. All three young men were engaging and gregarious, and Waldemar and Anthony had few problems adjusting to life in Australia. All three worked in engineering or draughtsman jobs when they could, although Waldemar, was obliged to take work as a motor driver to support himself on occasion.

Charles Bonavia was likely one of the first Maltese migrants to Perth, and he worked tirelessly to help more Maltese come to Australia. He would help newcomers find accommodation and jobs as they arrived, and was soon joined in this task by Waldemar and Anthony. The three ended up becoming friends with important people such as the governor and the Bishop of Perth. When the Bishop of Perth travelled to Malta for the International Eucharistic Congress in 1913, he spoke highly of the three “gentlemen settlers”.

Charles Bonavia, Anthony Xuereb, and Waldemar Beck all served in the military forces of their adopted country during the First World War.

Charles Bonavia was the first of the three to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force, doing so within weeks of the outbreak of war in August 1914. He left Australia with the first contingent later that year, and landed on Gallipoli in the early hours of 25 April 1915.

Anthony Xuereb enlisted the day after the Gallipoli landings, not knowing that Private Charles Bonavia was already missing in action. The 11th Battalion had become impossibly disorganised during the struggle to establish a perimeter at Anzac, and when the battalion finally had the opportunity to line up on the beach five days later, Bonavia was nowhere to be found.

Military authorities and Charles Bonavia’s family conducted exhaustive inquiries into his whereabouts. As many wounded Australians from Gallipoli were sent to hospital in Malta, Charles’s sisters were able to make personal inquiries. Reports varied widely, from statements that he had never landed on the peninsula, to claims that he was a prisoner of the Turks, and that he had been shot through the hip and was last seen wounded.

But none of these stories could be confirmed, and after months of inquiries, military authorities were forced to conclude that Private Charles Bonavia was killed in action at some point during the landing on 25 April 1915. His body has never been recovered, and today he is commemorated on the Australian Memorial at Lone Pine. He was 27 years old.

Waldemar Beck enlisted in the AIF in September 1916, leaving for active service abroad with reinforcements to the 16th Battalion the following December.

Private Waldemar Beck joined his battalion on the battlefields of the Western Front in June 1917 and was almost immediately drawn into small scale operations. He wrote to his brother George that it was “pretty tough, especially the first time we had to go through no man’s land under a heavy barrage but I do not want to tell you about such things … thank God I am safe and sound and I hope to continue to be so. So don’t you worry about me.”
In July 1918 the 16th Battalion took part in the Battle of Hamel, a small operation to capture a French village that has long been remembered as a stunning success. Nevertheless, even stunning successes had a cost on the Western Front, and one of those wounded on 4 July 1918 was Private Waldemar Beck.

Private Waldemar Beck left the battlefield with shell wounds to his right eye and skull. He walked out to the dressing station himself, but had been more seriously wounded than he appeared, and died two days later in the 8th General Hospital at Rouen.

A mate, Frank Bullen, wrote to George Beck to tell him what had happened to his brother, and to express his sympathy. He wrote that Waldemar “was most popular in the company… he was a general favourite among his chums and moreover always did his duty. The OC officers and remainder of the company join me in expressing their deep regret at his decease.”

Waldemar Beck was buried in the Bois-Guillaume Communal Cemetery Extension in France. He was 29 years old.
Anthony Xuereb left Australia for active service overseas with the 25th Battalion on 29 June 1915. He would serve throughout the war, and was the only one of the three friends to return to Australia, doing so in 1919.

Charles Bonavia and Waldemar Beck’s names are listed on the Roll of Honour on my right, among almost 62,000 Australians who died while serving in the First World War. Their photographs are displayed today beside the Pool of Reflection. Charles is pictured standing in the image to the left, whilst Waldemar’s portrait is on the right hand side.

These are but some of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Privates Charles Emanuel Bonavia and Waldemar Beck, who gave their lives for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.