The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1026) Lance Corporal Christopher John Parker, 7th Light Horse Regiment, 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 Gerard Pratt, the story for this day was on (1026) Lance Corporal Christopher John Parker, 7th Light Horse Regiment, First World War.

1026 Lance Corporal Christopher John Parker, 7th Light Horse Regiment
KIA 9 November 1917
Story delivered 17 July 2018


Today we remember and pay tribute to Lance Corporal Christopher John Parker.

Christopher Parker, known as “Christy”, was born in Cowra, New South Wales, in 1886, the eldest son of ten children born to Henry and Margaret Parker. He grew up in Canowindra, where his father worked as a farmer, and attended the local public school. He went on to work as a labourer in the district, eventually becoming known as one of the best horsemen in the district.

Parker enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1915, and his excellent horsemanship saw him posted to the 7th Light Horse Regiment. After a period of training in Australia he left for active service overseas on board the troopship Uganda in June 1915. He was first sent to Egypt, and from there to Gallipoli where he arrived without his horse in October 1915. Within weeks he fell sick and was evacuated to hospital where he was treated for appendicitis. He did not rejoin his regiment until early in the new year.

The 7th Light Horse Regiment was part of the force defending the Suez Canal from a Turkish advance across the Sinai Desert in early 1916, and went on to participate in the battles of Romani and Katia before following up the Turkish retreat across the desert. By 1917 the regiment was in Palestine attempting to capture the Turkish stronghold at Gaza. Parker, who had been promoted to lance corporal in late 1916, wrote home about fighting near Jerusalem. In mid-1917 his health began to suffer again when conjunctivitis turned into an abscess in his eye, and he took some weeks to recover.

In early November 1917, just weeks after returning to his regiment, Gaza fell to the Allies and the Turkish forces collapsed. The 7th Light Horse Regiment was once again involved in following up the retreat. Two days after Gaza fell as the regiment advanced they came under heavy shell and machine-gun fire near a place called Ebdis. Parker’s mate Trooper Leonard Williams later described how “we were fighting on a flat against a large body of Turks, which we had to drive back from some guns, and we came under some very heavy rifle fire and had some men hit.” Parker was among the first to volunteer to move the wounded men to safety, but as he went forward to do so he was hit himself. Shot through the head, Lance Corporal Christy Parker died instantly.

Trooper Williams wrote to Parker’s parents to say, “your son Chris was, without doubt, one of the finest characters I have ever met; he was loved and respected by all with whom he came in touch.” Christy Parker was buried nearby by his mates. Today he lies in the Gaza War Cemetery under the simple epitaph, “sadly missed”. He was 31 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 Lance Corporal Christopher John Parker, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Unit