The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (106) Private Alfred Keith McIntosh, 26th 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 , the story for this day was on (106) Private Alfred Keith McIntosh, 26th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

106 Private Alfred Keith McIntosh, 26th Battalion, AIF
KIA 29 July 1916

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Alfred Keith McIntosh.

Alfred McIntosh – known as “Alf” - was born on 15 October 1892 , one of seven children born to Keith and Annie McIntosh of Mount Gambier, South Australia. His father owned a gas-fitting and plumbing business in Mount Gambier, and was an enthusiastic member of the horse racing community. Alf attended the local grammar school, and went on to become a sheet metal worker. At some point he moved to Queensland, and took up work as a stockman.

Alf McIntosh enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in early 1915, and was among the first to be posted to the newly formed 26th Battalion. He underwent a period of training in Australia before leaving for active service overseas in July 1915. After completing training in Egypt, the 26th Battalion arrived on Gallipoli the following September, playing a largely defensive role before the evacuation.

The 26th Battalion returned to the Egyptian desert in early 1916, and Private Alf McIntosh underwent another period of training before being sent to France to fight on the Western Front. After a few weeks gaining experience in a quiet sector of the front, the battalion moved to the south to take part in the Battle of the Somme.

On 28 July 1915, the 26th Battalion entered the front line near the recently captured village of Pozieres. That evening the men moved out into no man’s land, waiting on pre-laid tapes to launch an attack against two strongly held German trenches known as the O.G. Lines. It became obvious that the German garrison in the O.G. Lines were well aware that the attack was about to take place, and as it was launched they opened heavy fire on the attacking Australians. To make matters worse, thick bands of barbed wire in front of the trenches had not been cut properly before the attack was launched, and many men were killed while trying to force a way through.

More than half of the 26th Battalion became casualties on 29 July 1916, including more than 250 men reported missing. Private McIntosh, who was a member of the machine-gun section of his platoon, and was reported missing. It took some time for investigators to determine his fate, but once they found another member of his gun crew alive, it was quickly concluded that he had been killed in action, having been shot through the head.

Keith and Annie McIntosh received a letter from friends of their son early in 1917, to tell them that Alf “suffered little or no pain, which is indeed a great blessing … we beg you to accept our sincere condolence in this, your great loss, for we were only too proud to claim your son Alf as a comrade and a companion in arms.”

Alf McIntosh’s body was never recovered from the battlefield, and today he is commemorated on the Memorial to the Missing at Villers-Bretonneux. He was 26 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 Alfred Keith McIntosh, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section