The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (335) Private Hilton Clifford Price, 2nd 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 David Sutton, the story for this day was on (335) Private Hilton Clifford Price, 2nd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

335 Private Hilton Clifford Price, 2nd Battalion, AIF
KIA 29 August 1915

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Hilton Clifford Price.

Hilton Price was born on 26 August 1891 in Sydney, the son of Walter and Mary Price. His father worked for the railways as an engine driver in Penrith, but when Hilton and his brother were young, the family moved to Armidale, apparently for reasons to do with the boys’ health. After the move their mother’s health began to fail, and after many years of sickness she died in 1911. Hilton had his father’s mechanical interest, and after completing his schooling went on to work as a chauffeur.

Hilton Price was one of the first to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force after the outbreak of war in August 1914. He was posted to the 2nd Battalion, and after a period of training in Australia left for active service overseas. He continued training in Egypt before being sent to Gallipoli.

The 2nd Battalion formed the second and third waves of the landing on the 25th of April 1915. Private Price survived the confusion of the early days, and remained on the peninsula. On 6 August 1915 the 2nd Battalion was part of a force that attacked Turkish positions at Lone Pine. The war diary of the 2nd Battalion notes that at 5.30 in the evening, “three short whistle blasts sounded and [were] taken up along the line. Our men cleared the parapet and left the recesses in the new firing line instantly and attacked with vigour.” The Australians eventually prevailed after a desperately fought hand-to-hand battle with heavy casualties.

Three weeks later Private Price, was putting a billy on the fire at the mouth of his dugout when a Turkish shell scored a direct hit. Private Price and his mate were killed, one being torn in two by the blast, the other dying of his wounds within minutes. They were buried near each other in the Lone Pine Cemetery. Private Hilton Price was 24 years old.

His name 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 Private Hilton Clifford Price, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section
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