The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2568) Private John Leslie Gordon Arlow, 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 Thomas Rogers, the story for this day was on (2568)Private John Leslie Gordon Arlow, AIF, First World War.

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private John Leslie Gordon Arlow.

John Arlow, known as “Jack”, was born to Samuel and Julia Arlow in 1896, in Tower Hill, near Warrnambool in Victoria. His father was a commercial traveller, and his mother died when he was 11 years old. By 1916 he was living in Geelong, and working as a blacksmith’s striker.

Jack Arlow enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in January 1916, and was feted in the newspapers as a member of “Geelong’s first platoon”. He underwent a period of training in Australia before being sent overseas with reinforcements to the 29th Battalion, arriving in Egypt in April 1916. After two months’ training in the desert, Arlow was sent on to France, arriving in Marseilles at the end of June.

Shortly after his arrival in France, Private Jack Arlow became ill with enteric fever, and took several weeks to recover. He was sent to England for his convalescence, eventually resuming training on Salisbury Plain.

During this period of time he met 18-year-old Hilda Gale, a shopkeeper’s daughter. They married on 20 December 1916.

Private Arlow reached the battlefields of the Western Front at the end of April 1917. Although the 29th Battalion had a relatively quiet year in 1917, on 26 September 1917, the battalion took part in an attack at Polygon Wood, not far from the Belgian town of Ypres.

Advancing behind a heavy curtain of shell-fire, the infantry took most of their objectives in short order, although the Australians suffered a considerable number of casualties in the process.

Jack Arlow came though unscathed.

Early in 1918 Arlow was granted leave to the United Kingdom, and finally met his daughter who had been born the year before.

He returned from leave on 21 March 1918.

On 8 August the British opened their great offensive of 1918 with the battle of Amiens. The 29th Battalion took part in the advance that followed, rotating in and out of the line and steadily pushing the Germans back. By September the Germans were back in their strong defensive system known as the Hindenburg Line.

On 29 September the Australians took part in a major operation to breach the Hindenburg Line, attacking across a canal tunnel in conjunction with two American regiments. The following day the 29th Battalion were ordered to make a further advance. During this advance, Private Jack Arlow was killed in action.

No record remains of the manner of his death, nor was his body recovered from the battlefield. Today he is commemorated on the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux.

Hilda Arlow was in England when she received news of her husband’s death. She emigrated to Australia after the war, raising her daughter Winifred not far from Jack’s home in Geelong.

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 John Leslie Gordon Arlow, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.