The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of

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 (4103) Private Charles Alfred Olive, 29th Battalion, AIF, First World War.

4103 Private Charles Alfred Olive, 29th Battalion, AIF
KIA 30 September 1918

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Charles Alfred Olive.

Charles Olive was born in 1897 to Charles and Cath Olive of Lara, Victoria. Little is known of his early life, other than that he attended the local state school and went on to work as a labourer. Charles was one of eight boys in the family. In 1915 his father, a worker in the local lime quarry, was killed at work while laying a charge. Later that year his mother gave birth to a daughter who died shortly after she was born.

Charles Olive unsuccessfully tried to enlist in the Australian Imperial Force at least once, and was turned down for having insufficient chest measurements. He was not accepted until standards were relaxed, finally enlisting in September 1916. He underwent a period of training in Australia before leaving for active service overseas with reinforcements to the 29th Battalion.

Private Olive first went to England where he continued his training on Salisbury Plain. In May 1917 he joined the 29th Battalion on the battlefields of the Western Front. The battalion had a fairly quiet experience until September of that year, when it took part in the battle of Polygon Wood. During the operation, Olive received shell wounds to his arm and back and was evacuated to hospital in England. It took him some months to recover, and he did not rejoin his battalion until February 1918.

On 8 August the British opened their great offensive of 1918 with the battle of Amiens. The 29th Battalion took part in the advance that followed, rotating in and out of the line and steadily pushing the Germans back. By September the Germans were in the strong defensive system known as the Hindenburg Line.

On 29 September the Australians took part in a major operation to breach the Hindenburg Line, attacking across a canal tunnel in conjunction with two American regiments. The following day the 29th Battalion was ordered to make a further advance.

Private Olive had one of his platoon’s Lewis guns. As his platoon advanced, they were held up by an enemy machine-gun post. Olive opened fire and silenced it, continuing to fire as the enemy retired, until he was struck in the chest by a machine-gun bullet and killed.
He was 21 years old.

Olive’s platoon sergeant later wrote to his mother, saying “he was a great friend of mine as he had been with me since he joined the battalion”. Olive was recommended to be Mentioned in Despatches for his actions at the Hindenburg Line. His platoon sergeant wrote, “he deserved something; he would have received a medal had he come out alright … It’s hard for us who lose our chums after being together for such a long while, but of course one must expect these things at this sort of game.”

If Private Olive’s body was recovered from the battlefield and buried, his grave is now lost and his final resting place is unknown. He is commemorated on the Australian National Memorial at Villers Bretonneux.

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 Charles Alfred Olive, who gave his life for us, for our freedoms, and in the hope of a better world.

Meleah Hampton
Historian, Military History Section