The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (177) Lance Corporal Frederick William Reed, XXII Corps Australian Light Horse Regiment, 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 (177) Lance Corporal Frederick William Reed, XXII Corps Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF, First World War.

177 Lance Corporal Frederick William Reed, XXII Corps Australian Light Horse Regiment, AIF
KIA 11 April 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Lance Corporal Frederick William Reed.

Frederick Reed was born in 1886 in Portsea, England, the son of William Henry and Alice Reed. Frederick’s father was a carpenter in the Royal Navy, and “Fred”, as he was known, also became a carpenter. The Reed family moved to Kent, where Frederick joined the East Kent Mounted Rifles, a local militia unit.

Reed later emigrated to Australia, and when Britain declared war on Germany in August, he was living in Casterton, Victoria, near the South Australian border. He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force almost immediately, becoming the second volunteer in his shire to do so. With his knowledge of horses, and previous experience in a mounted infantry unit, Reed joined the 4th Australian Light Horse Regiment and began initial training at Broadmeadows camp north of Melbourne.

Reed travelled on the very first convoy of Australian troops to be sent to the war, embarking at Melbourne on the transport ship Wiltshire in October 1914. He arrived in Egypt in December, and spent the next several months training at the army camps there.

In 1915, British commanders decided to establish a beachhead on the Gallipoli peninsula, but horses were unsuitable for the rocky, mountainous terrain. The squadrons of the 4th Light Horse Regiment were broken up and the men reinforced the infantry on the peninsula without their horses in late May 1915. In June, the regiment was reunited and remained in defensive positions at Anzac, mainly around Ryrie’s Post.

The conditions on Gallipoli were crowded, and clean water was scarce, which led to outbreaks of disease. In September, Reed developed typhoid and was evacuated to the hospital ship Gascon. He was treated on the island of Malta, and then in hospital in Egypt. His condition did not improve, however, and in January 1916 he was sent home to Australia to recover.

Back home in Casterton, Reed was feted by his local community for his service. He was, however, keen to get back to the front. By June 1916, he was once again training in Egypt. A small number of light horsemen were assigned duties in France, rather than the Middle East, and so in August, Reed left Egypt for the Western Front. When he arrived in France, Reed joined the II ANZAC Corps Mounted Regiment.

Mounted soldiers were not suitable for trench warfare, but the corps carried out other important tasks in France. Reed and his comrades carried out traffic control, rear area security, prisoner escort, scouting and reconnaissance, and anti-aircraft gunning. The unit saw action at the battle of Messines in Belgium in June 1917. Soon afterwards, Reed was promoted to the rank of lance corporal. In October, he and the men of the II ANZAC Corps Mounted Regiment maned the trenches around Ypres. With the re-organisation of Australian forces in November 1917, Reed became a member of the 22nd Corps Light Horse Regiment.

Reed visited England on leave in February 1918, and while there, he married Helen. When he returned to the front, he spent a week with the anti-aircraft section of the 22nd Corps before returning to normal duty.

In March 1918, German forces began what would be their last major assault of the war. In Belgium, where Reed was stationed, the Germans sought to recapture the high points of Flanders after losing ground there in late 1917. Reed was detached to join the 49th Division, an English unit, and was fighting with them on 11 April 1918, when he was killed in action. He was 32 years old.

Reed was initially buried on the field of battle, but later his remains were moved to Hooge Crater Cemetery. His widow Helen had the following epitaph inscribed on his headstone: “Greater love hath no man than this”.

Lance Corporal Frederick William Reed 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 Lance Corporal Frederick William Reed, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Thomas Rogers
Historian, Military History Section