The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1874) Lance Corporal Eric Fane De Salis MM, 2nd Australian Machine Gun Squadron, 2 Australian Light Horse Brigade, 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 Jennifer Surtees, the story for this day was on (1874) Lance Corporal Eric Fane De Salis MM, 2nd Australian Machine Gun Squadron, 2 Australian Light Horse Brigade, AIF, First World War.

1874 Lance Corporal Eric Fane De Salis MM, 2nd Australian Machine Gun Squadron, 2 Australian Light Horse Brigade, AIF
KIA 5 November 1917
Story delivered 23 June 2018

Eric De Salis was born on 4 May 1891, the fourth son and youngest of eight children of George and Mary De Salis.

The De Salis family were well known and well connected in the region, having senior magistrates and politicians among their ranks, and friends including the likes of Henry Parkes. Eric was the grandson of the Reverend P.G. Smith of St John’s in Canberra, and the godson of the agronomist William Farrer.

Though born at the family property at Cuppacumbalong, Eric and his family lived for several years near Tharwa before moving to Michelago. Eric attended the King’s School in Sydney, before going on to work on the family property, “Soglio”, and then for Dalgety & Sons in Sydney.

After enlisting in the Australian Imperial Force in August 1915, De Salis embarked for Egypt in December 1915 with reinforcements to the 6th Light Horse Regiment.

After spending time at the contagious diseases section of the Mena camp hospital on the outskirts of Cairo, De Salis then recovered from a bout of mumps in hospital in Abbassia.

In May 1916 he left his training unit to attend the school of instruction at Tel el Kebir, before spending another month in hospital, this time suffering from venereal disease.

He returned to training in August, just before the battle of Romani in the Sinai. The following month he was transferred to the 2nd Light Horse Brigade Machine Gun Squadron. After completing a machine-gun course in November, De Salis was promoted to lance corporal before the end of year.

By this time the 2nd Light Horse Brigade had taken part in the advance across the Sinai and was involved in the fighting to secure Turkish outposts on the Palestine frontier. On 3 April 1917, De Salis was wounded slightly, but stayed with his unit.

Having previously taken and then withdrawn from Gaza in late March, by the time of the second battle of Gaza in April, the allies faced Turkish reinforcements, as well as extended and improved defences. After three days of fighting the attack was called off, having failed to gain any significant ground.

Gaza finally fell on 7 November, after a wide outflanking move via Beersheba. By then De Salis had spent some time at a rest camp at Port Said, possibly recovering from his previous wound.

After the capture of Beersheba, the next target with sufficient water supplies for the Light Horse was Tel Khuweilfe. On 6 November the British and the Imperial Camel Corps attacked the Turkish positions at Tel Khuweilfe but met with stiff resistance.

The official history records that the Light Horse machine-gunners “rushed their guns up the hill within forty yards of the Turks, and, although they were shot down almost to a man, their very gallant action caused the Turks to pause”, thereby helping to save the Camel Corps’ position.

According to one eyewitness, De Salis’s unit “had to gallop into action to save the flank of the Camel Corps and when they arrived under the hills they got their guns mounted and commenced firing. The Turks were amongst the rocks close by. De Salis was No.1 on his gun and, when firing it, was hit by a machine gun bullet.”

He died later that day from his wounds and was buried near where he fell. As his tags had been lost at some point, his remains were unidentified and today he is commemorated on the Jerusalem Memorial, which commemorates some 3,300 Commonwealth servicemen who died during the First World War in Egypt or Palestine and who have no known grave.

Twenty-six years old when he died, Eric De Salis was posthumously awarded the Military Medal.

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 Lance Corporal Eric Fane De Salis, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section