The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (3305) Private Leslie Redman, 32nd 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (3305) Private Leslie Redman, 32nd Battalion, AIF, First World War.

3305 Private Leslie Redman, 32nd Battalion, AIF
KIA 29 September 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Leslie Redman.

Leslie Redman was born on 23 February 1886 in Goolwa, South Australia, the fourth son of Thomas and Helen Redman of Kingston. His father was a contractor on roads and railways around Kingston and Naracoorte, and his mother was known as “a great church worker” who was a “splendid horsewoman”. Thomas Redman eventually took up a property called Wirildie on the Blackford Range, and became a grazier. Leslie was educated at the state school in Kingston and at Kyre College in Adelaide. Later, he too worked as a sheep farmer. He spent many years in the town of Keith, where he was “always ready to assist in any sporting or patriotic movement, and was a member of the Congregational Church and Sunday School.”

Leslie Redman enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in March 1916. His older brother Vivian had enlisted in the artillery late the year before, but Leslie went into the infantry. After a period of training in Australia, he left for active service overseas in June 1916 with reinforcements to the 32nd Battalion.

Private Redman was first sent to England, where he continued training on Salisbury Plain for some months – arriving in France to fight on the Western Front two weeks before Christmas 1916. Not long after his arrival, the German Army withdrew to the Hindenburg Line, and the 32nd Battalion was involved in following up the withdrawal.

The 32nd Battalion had a relatively quiet time for some months in 1917. In September the battalion played a major role in the battle of Polygon Wood, a successful, if costly, limited-objective attack near the Belgian town of Ypres. After the attack, Redman was detached to serve with the divisional train for a little over two months. The divisional train provided horse-drawn transport for the division, and Redman worked with the coalguard. He returned to his battalion on New Year’s Eve 1917.

Much of 1918 was again relatively quiet for the 32nd Battalion. In September, however, the battalion played a role in the attack on the Hindenburg Line which would be Australia’s last large-scale operation of the war. The 3rd and 5th Australian Divisions were assigned the task of attacking German positions situated over the top of the St Quentin canal tunnel. They did this in conjunction with two American divisions. The Americans began the attack, with the Australians scheduled to move through after the Americans had taken their objectives, carrying the advance further across the tunnel.

On 29 September 1918, the 32nd Battalion advanced through heavy fog. As they went through the Americans’ position, they came under heavy shell-fire. Private Leslie Redman was hit by a shell and killed instantly. The attack moved forward, leaving his body behind, and his body was later retrieved from the battlefield and buried near others killed in the same blast. After this battle, the 32nd Battalion went into rest, and a few weeks later the war ended.

Today Private Leslie Redman lies in the Bellicourt British Cemetery, with no epitaph. 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 Private Leslie Redman, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section