The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1280) Private Francis Arthur Anders, 6th Machine Gun Company, 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 Meleah Hampton, the story for this day was on (1280) Private Francis Arthur Anders, 6th Machine Gun Company, First World War.

1280 Private Francis Arthur Anders, 6th Machine Gun Company
KIA: 8 November 1916

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Francis Arthur Anders.

Francis Anders, known by his middle name “Arthur”, was born in Deniliquin, New South Wales, on 4 November 1887. His parents, Charles and Ellen Anders, later moved to the Echuca district, where his brothers and sisters were born. Francis’s father, Charles, worked various jobs, including as a labourer and a drover. He was a violent drunk, and eventually deserted the family when the children were small. In 1898, during one of Charles’s rare visits to the family in Echuca, the four-roomed weatherboard house caught fire and burned to the ground. Ellen Anders was grateful for the assistance of her friends and neighbours in getting her family back on its feet. Arthur was educated at the Echuca State School, and went on to work as a farmer in Queensland.

Arthur Anders enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in June 1915, about four months after his younger brother, Alfred. After being sent to Egypt, in August 1916 Arthur was able to transfer from the 26th Battalion and join his brother in the 23rd Battalion. Within weeks they were sent to Gallipoli.

The Anders brothers arrived on Gallipoli after the major fighting of the August offensive had died down. Nevertheless the peninsula remained a dangerous place to be, and in late October Arthur Anders was shot in the right leg. He spent several months recovering in hospital in Malta, but after being transferred to Egypt, his leg became swollen again. Sent to hospital once more, he contracted dysentery and was seriously ill for several more weeks.

Around this time, Arthur was listed to be sent back to Australia, but his recovery proved better than expected and he was sent to France instead. By that time his brother Alfred had transferred to the 6th Machine Gun Company, and Arthur applied to join him. He arrived in Etaples in early September 1916, and spent several weeks training before joining his brother in the 6th Machine Gun Company on 10 October.

Less than a month later, Anders’ machine-gun company entered the front line near the French village of Flers. The following day the 7th Brigade attacked German positions around Bayonet Trench, with the 6th Machine Gun Company providing support. They would continue to fire on enemy positions after the 7th Brigade’s attack failed.

After 48 hours in the front line, Arthur Anders’ crew was ready to come out of the front line and go into reserve. Before they could do so, their section of the line came under German bombardment. The men took cover in the trenches to wait for it to stop before getting out.

As Arthur Anders sheltered with his comrades, a shell scored a direct hit to their trench, killing him and four others. His brother Alfred was not in the line at the time, but found out what had happened, and wrote to a friend, “Their end was painless, as death was instantaneous. The shell evidently struck Arthur and burst, and flying pieces and concussion killed the others.”

Alfred Anders went forward to see where his brother was killed, but could not bury him or the others as the shelling began again. Alfred, in writing about his “exceptionally unfortunate and sad circumstances,” was relatively matter-of-fact about the loss of his brother. His concern was for “those at home who feel the loss the greatest. I know that at the present time mother, who is in a weak state of health, will feel the shock very badly.”

Arthur Anders’ body was later recovered from the battlefield and buried in the AIF Burial Ground at Flers. His remains lie there today, under the words, “There is a link death cannot sever; fond remembrance clings forever.”

His brother Alfred Anders was killed in action a few weeks before the end of the war, two years later. He is buried just 30 kilometres from his brother.

Their names are 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 Francis Arthur Anders, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section