The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (391) Private Harold Esam, 31st 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 Richard Cruise, the story for this day was on (391) Private Harold Esam, 31st Infantry Battalion, AIF, First World War.

391 Private Harold Esam, 31st Infantry Battalion, AIF
KIA 19 July 1916

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Harold Esam.

Harold Esam was born in 1894 in Warrnambool, Victoria, the sixth son born to Samuel and Catherine Esam. His father was an engineer, who passed away in December 1915. Little is known of Esam’s childhood, however in his adult years he worked as a labourer and was later employed by Kennedy & Co’s chemist in Timor Street, Warrnambool.

Harold Esam enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 7 July 1915, at the age of 21. Assigned to the 31st Battalion, he spent three months training at Broadmeadows camp before embarking from Melbourne aboard the troopship Wandilla in November.

Esam reached Egypt in December 1915, and his battalion joined the 5th Division. He arrived on the Western Front in June 1916 and had served just three days in the front-line trenches before taking part in his first major battle near the French village of Fromelles.

The battle began on 19 July, with Australian troops tasked with attacking the German front line surrounding the Sugar Loaf salient. The heavily-manned salient extended outwards into no man’s land, offering the enemy a position from which they could fire at advancing troops from multiple directions. Bombardment of enemy lines took place for three days before the beginning of the battle. The allies were confident that the enemy had not survived, and that they could easily capture their objectives.

Unfortunately, the bombardment signalled to the enemy to anticipate an attack, allowing them time to prepare for the onslaught. The enemy had survived the shelling and were able to quickly man their machine-guns and begin their own bombardment once the shells stopped falling.

The advancing allied troops walked into a relentless hail of machine-gun fire which decimated several waves of Australian soldiers almost instantly. The German front line was eventually captured, but owing to the overall failure of the battle, the troops were forced to withdraw. In just one night, Australian casualties stood at a staggering 5,533 killed, missing or wounded. Official War Historian Charles Bean labelled the attack “The worst 24 hours in Australian history.”

In the chaos of the onslaught hundreds of men went missing. Among them was Private Harold Esam. Initially reported missing, his identity disc was later returned from Germany, suggesting that he had been killed in action and buried by the enemy. His comrade Private Collings wrote to Esam’s family to describe his final moments:

He was in my company and in the charge on the evening of the 19th of July 1916. He was hit beside me and I think killed as he never uttered a word. Just after, I myself was wounded as we were under very heavy artillery and machine gun fire. I crawled into a shell hole and did not see Harold again. The following morning, when I was taken prisoner, a German gave me a piece of paper with his address on. So if you have not heard from him he has gone to that great place where there are no wars.

Private Harold Esam was 22 years old. His body was not recovered until 92 years later when, in 2008, a mass grave was discovered at Pheasant Wood, just outside Fromelles. Excavation of the site discovered the remains of 250 allied soldiers who had been lost during the fighting at Fromelles.

Esam’s remains were exhumed and re-interred at Pheasant Wood Military Cemetery in France. Identification of his remains was made possible by DNA testing of his descendants who chose the following inscription for his final resting place:

“Sleep peacefully Harold. We honour your sacrifice. Lest We Forget.”

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 Harold Esam, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meghan Adams
Researcher, Australian War Memorial