Places | |
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Accession Number | AWM2020.1.1.353 |
Collection type | Film |
Object type | Last Post film |
Physical description | 16:9 |
Maker |
Australian War Memorial |
Place made | Australia: Australian Capital Territory, Canberra, Campbell |
Date made | 18 December 2020 |
Access | Open |
Conflict |
Second World War, 1939-1945 |
Copyright |
Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial![]() |
Copying Provisions | Copyright restrictions apply. Only personal, non-commercial, research and study use permitted. Permission of copyright holder required for any commercial use and/or reproduction. |
The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (QX17505) Sergeant Keith Thornton Horsley, 2/26th Australian Infantry Battalion, Second 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 (QX17505) Sergeant Keith Thornton Horsley, 2/26th Australian Infantry Battalion, Second World War.
Film order formQX17505 Sergeant Keith Thornton Horsley, 2/26th Australian Infantry Battalion
KIA 28 January 1942
Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant Keith Thornton Horsley.
Keith Horsley was born on 13 August 1909 in Ipswich, Queensland, the third son of William and Alice Horsley.
Keith Horsley grew up in a family of seven siblings and attended Brisbane Grammar School, where he excelled at sports.
While Horsley came to be a sailing enthusiast and an all-round cricketer, his primary achievements were in rugby union. He represented Queensland in 1928, and went on to be secretary and treasurer of Queensland Rugby Union.
Horsley found employment as a sports journalist for the Brisbane-based Telegraph, and for many years was sub-editor in charge of the sporting section of the newspaper.
On 24 December 1930, he married Hazel South, and the wedding appeared prominently in the social pages of the Telegraph. The couple went on to have three children.
Keith Horsley enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force on the 30th of July 1940 at Kelvin Grove in Brisbane. The next day he marched out to Enoggera Camp. Horsley obviously displayed leadership potential; in August he was promoted to acting corporal, and in October he was promoted to acting sergeant.
In November he joined the newly-formed 2/26th Battalion, which drew its recruits from Queensland and northern New South Wales. After training at Grovely Camp and then Redbank Camp, in February 1941 the battalion moved to Bathurst and joined the other battalions of the 27th Brigade as part of the 8th Division.
In March Horsley was sent to junior leaders course at Narellan. He was promoted to sergeant at the end of July, on the same day that he and his battalion embarked for Singapore.
In Singapore the 2/26th was camped near Changi village on the north-eastern tip of the island. Horsley became a temporary AIF war correspondent in September. Remaining with his battalion, he wrote about being on jungle patrol – and the daily experiences and sporting activities of soldiers in Malaya – in articles published in the Telegraph.
With war against Japan increasingly likely, at the start of October Horsley returned to normal duty as his battalion continued its training and prepared defences.
The Japanese invasion of Singapore was swift and overpowering. Spread too thinly over too wide a front, Australians forces were unable to prevent Japanese amphibious landings that were launched on 8 February.
In the week of heavy fighting which followed, defenders were unable to stem the Japanese advance, and their perimeter soon began to shrink around Singapore city.
After the 2/30th’s successful ambush at Gemas on 14 January, the 2/26th conducted a fighting withdrawal. Between 26 and 27 January, the 2/26th held the Simpang Rengam crossroads at 46-mile post, where they were shelled by Japanese artillery and strafed by Japanese aircraft. By 28 January there was heavy fighting at the Namazie Estate rubber plantation. The 2/26th proved to be particularly successful in fighting these rearguard actions and its morale was high.
But they could not stop the Japanese. On 15 February the British commander on Singapore surrendered. The 2/26th would spend the next three-and-a-half years as prisoners of war, used as labour for work parties in Burma and Thailand, Borneo and Japan.
Keith Horsley, however, would not experience the suffering of prisoners of war forced to work on the Burma–Thailand Railway. He had been killed in action on 28 January 1942, reportedly shot by a sniper at Namazie Estate.
He was 36 years old.
Today his remains lie in Kranji War Cemetery. As he was a prolific letter writer, the Horsley family is fortunate to have the letters he wrote to his family at home.
In recognition of his service and sacrifice, in August 1942, the A-grade premiership of the Queensland Rugby Union was played for the Keith Horsley Memorial Cup. Another Keith Horsley Memorial cup was played for the reserve grade. Today the Horsley Cup is presented to Queensland Premier Grade Minor Premiers.
Keith Horsley’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, among almost 40,000 Australians who died while serving in the Second World War.
This is but one of the many stories of service and sacrifice told here at the Australian War Memorial. We now remember Sergeant Keith Thornton Horsley, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.
Duncan Beard
Editor, Military History Section
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Video of The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (QX17505) Sergeant Keith Thornton Horsley, 2/26th Australian Infantry Battalion, Second World War. (video)