The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (4794) Private Gordon Dow, 5th 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 Craig Berelle, the story for this day was on (4794) Private Gordon Dow, 5th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

4794 Private Gordon Dow, 5th Battalion, AIF
KIA 10 February 1917
Photograph: DA08504

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Gordon Dow.

Gordon Dow was born on 8 September 1880 to William and Isabella Dow of Emerald Hill, in South Melbourne. His father had come to Australia from Scotland, and worked for many years as an engineer, but his first love was violin making. When Gordon was still a small boy, his father retired from engineering and became a “renowned expert on violin construction,” with a little workshop he used to restore violins that were sent all over the world. Gordon was educated at the Dorcas Street School in Melbourne. He became a well-known figure in South Melbourne, and a popular sportsman. He played cricket with the South Melbourne Cricket Club’s second eleven, and was “one of the leading players of the successful Leopold Football Club.” His oldest brother William went on to be the city treasurer for South Melbourne, but on the outbreak of war in 1914, Gordon held the more modest job of bookkeeper for McCauley’s furniture warehouse.

Gordon Dow enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force in July 1915. He served in a number of training depots in Australia for several months, including Broadmeadows, Royal Park and Ballarat, probably in an administrative capacity related to his bookkeeping skills. He received notification that he would be leaving for active service overseas in early March 1916, and so, on 3 March 1916, just days before he left Australia, Gordon married Amanda Jackson at St. Silas’s Church in Albert Park.

Private Gordon Dow was first sent to Egypt, where he served with the 2nd Training Battalion – again probably in an administrative capacity – for several months. He also served with the 1st Australian Division Base Details in England before being transferred to the 5th Battalion in November 1916.

Less than two weeks after joining his battalion on the battlefields of France, Private Dow was wounded in the face by a bomb blast that killed one man and wounded 13 others, including Dow. His wounds were not considered serious, and after a few days in hospital in Etaples, he was ready to return to his battalion.

Private Dow returned to the 5th Battalion in the field on the second of January 1917. At that time the Australian infantry were rotating in and out of the front line on the Somme. It was a bitterly cold winter, and active operations had died down for a time. This meant that defensive work, construction, and surviving the cold, wet and snowy conditions became a daily part of life.

Nevertheless, battalions did sometimes send patrols of men into no man’s land to keep an eye on enemy activity and bring back any information they could. On the night of 10 February 1917, just one month and eight days after he rejoined his battalion, Private Dow volunteered to be a member of one such raiding party, comprising four officers and 103 other ranks. Attacking a German held position near Bazentin le Petit known as Bayonet Trench, the party was held up by enemy barbed wire emplacements, and suffered a number of casualties before being forced to withdraw.

One of the eight men killed on the raid was Private Gordon Dow. He was shot in the head and chest, and died soon after reaching the dressing station. His body was brought into the back lines by the raiding party, and he was buried nearby.

In Australia news of Gordon Dow’s death was reported in the South Melbourne newspapers. A report in the Record noted that “what makes the news sadder still than such sad news would otherwise have been, is that [the] deceased was married a few days prior to his departure (smiling, cheerful, and determined to do his duty to the Empire) for the front. Mingled with the sorrow that is felt at the loss of such an estimable citizen is deep and abiding sympathy for the bereaved widow, parents and relatives.”

Today Private Gordon Dow lies in Bazentin-le-Petit Military Cemetery under the words “Beloved husband of Amanda Dow, he bravely answered the call”. He was 35 years old. His widow Amanda, having spent just two days with her new husband before he left for active service overseas, never remarried.

Gordon Dow’s 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 Gordon Dow, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section