The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (NX12886) Gunner William Henry Simpkins, 2/1st Field Regiment, Second 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 Jennifer Sutees, the story for this day was on (NX12886) Gunner William Henry Simpkins, 2/1st Field Regiment, Second World War.

NX12886 Gunner William Henry Simpkins, 2/1st Field Regiment
KIA 7 May 1945

Today we remember and pay tribute to Gunner William Henry Simpkins.

William Simpkins was born in Portland, on the Central Tablelands of New South Wales, on 24 April 1917, the only son of Leslie and Lilian Simpkins.

Known to his family as “Harry”, Simpkins lived in the Sydney suburb of Kurnell, where he worked as a deck hand.
William Simpkins enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force on 19 April 1940. Having served in the Militia in the 59th Battery of the 18th Field Brigade, he was allotted to the 6th Division Artillery.

Not long after enlisting, Simpkins was admitted to hospital, and after being shifted from Prince of Wales Hospital to Prince Henry Hospital and then back again, was diagnosed with acute tonsillitis.

After treatment, and a week of pre-embarkation leave in July, he embarked from Sydney, bound for overseas service.

After arriving in England, in late October he embarked upon another troopship, bound for the Middle East. After stopping off at Durban on the coast of South Africa, Simpkins failed to embark on his next troopship. Although he made it aboard an alternative ship and continued his journey, he was charged with being absent without leave and was fined.

Arriving in the Middle East in late February 1940, Simpkins spent time training in Palestine. The 6th Division first saw action in early 1941, against Italian forces in North Africa during the advance to Benghazi. After taking Bardia in early January, towards the end of the month the Italian-held port of Tobruk fell to the Australians. During January and February 1941, the 6th Division, together with British units, pushed the Italian army back across Libya.

In early April 1941, Simpkins left North Africa, as the 6th Division was withdrawn to defend Greece. The Allied force was unable to halt the rapid German advance down central Greece towards Athens. Outflanked by the Germans, by the end of April they were driven off the Greek mainland. While some elements of the 6th Division were evacuated back to Egypt, the majority of the division was sent to Crete, where they were cobbled together to form a hasty garrison.

In June 1941, Simpkins was found guilty of leaving his guard post and was awarded a 28-day period of detention. When he had discharged the penalty, he was transferred an artillery training regiment, and in September he joined the 2/1st Field Regiment.

He joined his new unit in the Middle East, where it remained until February 1942, when the 6th Division was recalled back to Australia in response to the growing threat posed by Japan’s entry into the war.

While en route to Australia, Simpkins was with a group of soldiers diverted to Ceylon (modern-day Sri Lanka), where they formed a defensive garrison in response to concerns about a possible Japanese invasion. The group remained on Ceylon until July 1942. By the time Simpkins had reached Australia, the Japanese were advancing towards Port Moresby in New Guinea.

Throughout 1942 Simpkins was regularly found absent without leave, forfeiting pay and being confined to barracks as punishment. He left Australia for Port Moresby in February 1943, and after having spent some time in the tropical conditions was evacuated to hospital with malaria in April.

When he had recovered, he served with the 11th Field Ambulance until returning to Australia in August 1943. After undertaking labouring duties on the Sydney wharves, the men moved to Queensland in February 1944 and were assigned as artillery to the 1st Australian Corps. During this period, Simpkins failed to appear for parade, and was confined to barracks for a week.

After another move in May, Simpkins was found guilty of conduct to the prejudice of good order and military discipline, and confined to barracks for a week.
Although Simpkins would continue to fall foul of military discipline, he and his comrades would not see action again until late in the war, when they were committed to the Aitape–Wewak campaign in late 1944. Australian forces were taking over from US troops, who were redeployed to the Philippines. After arriving in January 1945, in May the regiment moved forward to support the push towards Wewak.

On 7 May, “a squadron of nine American Lightnings, sent out to strafe Wewak attacked in error the Australian artillery positions … The aircraft killed 11 and wounded 21, more than half of the losses falling on the artillery. The 2/1st Field Regiment lost six killed, its only fatal casualties in the whole campaign.”

Among those killed was Gunner William Simpkins, who was 28 years old.

The anger that the Australian soldiers felt over this incident was evident in the war diary of the 19th Brigade, which recorded:
“How the pilots mistook the two areas is beyond comprehension. Apart from the fact that Raiboin Island is directly off Wom, message dropping panels were prominently displayed, jeeps, bulldozers and trucks were being used extensively while there were in the vicinity of 2,000 troops in the area. American officers held an inquiry into the tragedy but the finding was not made known to this headquarters.”

Today, William Simpkins’ remains lie buried in Lae War Cemetery, under the inscription chosen by his grieving family, “Tho' lost to sight – to memory dear.”
His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.

This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Gunner William Henry Simpkins, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section