The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (2893) Private James Drew, 57th Australian Infantry 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 Troy Clayton, the story for this day was on

2893 Private James Drew, 57th Australian Infantry Battalion, AIF
DOW: 5 April 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private James Drew.

James Drew was born in 1883 in Wellington, New South Wales, one of nine children of George and Bridget Drew. He grew up in Wellington, and after leaving school worked as a labourer in the district.

In 1916, Drew volunteered for service in the Australian Imperial Force. He and his nephew Hardie Drew enlisted on the same day in Dubbo. James trained in Australia for several months before embarking on the transport ship Afric in November 1916. The ship arrived in England in January 1917, and Drew continued his training there for three months.

In April 1917, Drew sailed to France, where he joined his unit, the 57th Australian Infantry Battalion. He was detached from his unit to work on the Corps Farm during late spring and early summer, probably selected because of his experience as a rural labourer in Australia.

When Drew rejoined his battalion in July, the focus of the British commanders had shifted to the north, to the town of Ypres in Belgium. In August, the 57th Battalion moved to the region around the northern French town of Hazebrouck, near the Belgian border. There, Drew and his comrades continued training. Knowing that both sides would be likely to use gas shells in attacking and defending, the training placed particular emphasis on gas mask drills.

In September 1917, the men of the 57th Battalion advanced to the front line in Belgium. They took part in the battle of Polygon Wood late in the month, during which the Australian and British forces captured all of their objectives at a high cost in casualties.

In late October, a day before the battalion was due to relieve another unit in the front line, Drew left his post and was found absent without leave. He was court-martialled for desertion and found guilty. His sentence was suspended, however, because men were needed in the battalion.

In December 1917, Drew came down with an ear infection and was sent to hospital in France for the winter months. He returned to his unit in February 1918. Shortly afterwards, the focus of the fighting shifted south once more, as German forces mounted a massive assault on the French city of Amiens. This city was a vital rail hub for the allied forces, and of great strategic importance.

British and Commonwealth forces managed to stop the offensive just outside Amiens at the town of Villers-Bretonneux. In early April, German troops renewed their attack on the village, but were halted by British and Australian troops. On 5 April 1918, Drew was wounded in the fighting, and later that day, he died of his wounds. He was 33 years old.

Drew was buried in Adelaide Cemetery, outside Villers-Bretonneux, where over 900 Commonwealth soldiers of the First World War are buried or commemorated.
Drew’s nephew Hardie, with whom he had enlisted, joined the 17th Battalion and served on the Western Front. Hardie had been killed in September 1917 during the third battle of Ypres in Belgium.

James Drew’s family suffered further pain when the package containing his personal effects was lost. It was bound for Australia in July 1918 on the steam ship Barunga, when the ship was torpedoed by a German submarine off the coast of Cornwall. British destroyers were soon on the scene and managed to rescue all aboard, but the personal effects of Drew, and about 5,000 other Australian soldiers who had died on the Western Front, were lost.

Private James Drew 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 James Drew, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Thomas Rogers
Historian, Military History Section