The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (NX28792) Private William Joseph Foster, 2/2nd Casualty Clearing Station at 5th Australian General Hospital, 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 Troy Clayton, the story for this day was on (NX28792) Private William Joseph Foster, 2/2nd Casualty Clearing Station at 5th Australian General Hospital, Second World War.

NX28792 Private William Joseph Foster, 2/2nd Casualty Clearing Station at 5th Australian General Hospital
KIA 14 April 1945

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private William Joseph Foster.

William Joseph Foster was born in Sydney on 30 July 1918, the only child of William and Rose Foster. Known as “Titch” to his family and friends, Foster grew up near Sydney’s inner west, and at the time of enlistment was living in Glebe Point and working as a salesman. He was known as a fine sportsman, and before the war gained useful military and medical experience by serving in the 14th Field Ambulance, a local militia unit.

Foster enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 6 June 1940 at the Engineers Depot at Moore Park. He was taken on strength of the 5th Australian General Hospital, and began training at the camp at Greta, near Maitland, New South Wales.

On 19 October 1940 he moved with his unit onto the transport ship Queen Mary, and the following day embarked from Sydney for service overseas.

He arrived at the Suez Canal in Egypt in November, and worked with his unit to establish the 5th Australian General Hospital at Kefa Bilu, near Gaza in Palestine. From this time until April 1941, Foster worked at the hospital and spent time attached to the 2/2nd Casualty Clearing Station, which provided vital medical treatment for soldiers close to the fighting.

On 10 April 1941, Foster and the 5th Australian General Hospital transferred to Ekali, near Athens in Greece, to provide medical assistance for soldiers wounded in the fighting against German and Italian forces there.

The rapid Axis advance forced Allied authorities to begin evacuating medical staff and wounded soldier, but a large number of soldiers were in too serious a condition to be moved. Foster was one of over 150 Allied medical staff who volunteered to stay at the hospital to protect the hospital patients – in full knowledge that they were risking their lives and were likely to be taken as prisoners of war.

In the chaos of the Axis advance, Foster was originally reported as missing in action, but in June 1941 was confirmed to be a prisoner of the Germans. During his captivity he continued to serve in a medical role, first at the Allied prisoner of war camp at Kokinia, and later in camps in Poland and Germany.

Despite the hardships, Foster was able to continue to show his sporting ability, and competed in games against other prisoners. The records indicate that he excelled in rugby, cricket, basketball, athletics and quoits.

In early 1945, as Allied forces pushed the Germans back towards Berlin, Foster transferred to a hospital at Hohenstein-Ernsthal, south-west of Dresden in Germany. While there, he treated soldiers from both sides of the conflict.

On 14 April 1945, his hospital camp was liberated by American troops, and Foster was finally free after four long years in captivity.

However, not long after his release, Foster volunteered to come to the medical aid of some German soldiers wounded in nearby fighting. He and a small number of Allied medical personnel set out to the rescue, in two commandeered German ambulances. As they neared the wounded soldiers, they came under fire from an American tank who mistook them for enemy troops.

Foster died of his wounds shortly afterwards. He was 26 years old. He was killed less than a month before the end of the Second World War in Europe.

One account of Foster’s death stated that he was “killed while upholding one of the highest traditions of the service – attending to the wounded on the field of battle, whether they be friend or foe.” Private Ralph A. Johnson of Foster’s unit later wrote that hearing of Foster’s death was one of the saddest days of the war for him, and “that brave act was the sort of thing you would expect from Titch.”

Foster was posthumously Mentioned in Despatches for his bravery and devotion to service.

He now lies in the Nederweert War Cemetery in the Netherlands, where over 350 casualties of the Second World War are commemorated. His gravestone carries the simple epitaph: “R.I.P.”

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 Private William Joseph Foster, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

David Sutton
Historian, Military History Section