The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1530) Sergeant James Ham, 34th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

Places
Accession Number AWM2021.1.1.30
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 30 January 2021
Access Open
Conflict First World War, 1914-1918
Copyright Item copyright: © Australian War Memorial
Creative Commons License This item is licensed under CC BY-NC
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.
Description

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 Tristan Rallings, the story for this day was on (1530) Sergeant James Ham, 34th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

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Speech transcript

1530 Sergeant James Ham, 34th Battalion, AIF
KIA 1 October 1917


Today we remember and pay tribute to Sergeant James Ham.

James Ham was born on 24 March 1884 to John and Ann Ham of Giants Creek, New South Wales. He was educated at the local school and went on to work as a labourer in the district.

James Ham enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in February 1916 at the age of 29. He underwent a period of training in Australia before leaving for active service overseas with the newly-formed 34th Battalion. Ham arrived in England in June 1916 and continued training as a member of a machine gun section in the 34th Battalion before being sent to the Western Front in late November.

Ham arrived on the battlefields as the fighting of 1916 was slowing to a halt for the winter. That winter would become one of the coldest on record, and Private Ham remained with his battalion rotating in and out of the front line in harsh conditions for several months, with the exception of a period in hospital with the mumps. He proved an able soldier, and received a series of promotions in the new year.

In May 1917, the 34th Battalion was in the front line in a quieter sector of the front in the north of France. On 17 May the Germans conducted a raid against the 34th’s lines, sending between 80 and 100 men over the top after a heavy artillery bombardment. They never made it into the Australian front line, and instead were stopped by machine-gun and artillery fire. The following night the enemy attacked again, with an even stronger force. Again the attack faltered in no man’s land, but this time five out of the 200-strong raiding party made it into the 34th Battalion’s position, bombing the Lewis gun bay and wounding four men.

Two machine-gunners were left, Lance-Corporal James Ham and a Private Taylor. Under heavy shell-fire, Ham continued working his gun, killing three of the attacking Germans in the trench, and the remaining two as they scrambled back over the parapet, single-handedly taking care of the only Germans to get into the Australian position from the raid of 18 May.

For his “gallantry and devotion to duty” during that action, Ham was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal. His medal citation noted that “his initiative and his courage in working the gun so effectively has aroused the admiration of his officers and comrades.”

A few months later the 34th Battalion was sent to Belgium to participate in the great British offensive of that year that would become known as the Battle of Third Ypres, or Passchendaele. On 1 October 1917 the battalion was in the trenches near the Belgian village of Zonnebeke. Their position came under heavy artillery fire on A Company’s position that morning, causing the deaths of 54 men. One of the men killed that day was Sergeant James Ham.

His gravesite was lost, and today he has no known resting place. He is commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres, not far from where he died. He was 30 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 Sergeant James Ham, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section

  • Video of The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (1530) Sergeant James Ham, 34th Battalion, AIF, First World War. (video)