The Last Post Ceremony commemorating the service of (QX10825) Private Archibald Robert Hoffman, 2 Company, Australian Army Service Corps, Second Australian Imperial Force. 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 Sharon Bown, the story for this day was on (QX10825) Private Archibald Robert Hoffman, 2 Company, Australian Army Service Corps, Second Australian Imperial Force. Second World War.

QX10825 Private Archibald Robert Hoffman, 2 Company, Australian Army Service Corps, Second Australian Imperial Force
DOI 21 January 1944

Today we remember and pay tribute to Private Archibald Robert Hoffman.

Archibald Hoffman was born on 14 May 1900 in Maryborough, Queensland, the son of Christina and Herman Hoffman. The family was large, with seven sons and two daughters. In March 1932, when Archie was 31, his father passed away; his mother followed nine months later.

Hoffman was a keen tennis player. After leaving school he worked as a labourer and a truck driver. On 6 June 1928 he married Olive Ashford, and the couple went on to have five children: Spencer, Gloria, Berol, Lester, and Rex.

In January 1939, Hoffman volunteered for the Militia, serving nine months with the 47th Battalion. On 15 July 1940 he enlisted in the Second Australian Imperial Force, and was taken on strength by the 8th Division Ammunition Company in the Australian Army Service Corps.

Before leaving for overseas service, Hoffman was farewelled and given gifts of remembrance by the people of Tiaro. He embarked aboard the troopship Sibajak on 7 August 1941, arriving in Singapore a little over a week later. He spent the next few months in and out of hospital with mumps, appendicitis, and other illnesses. On 23 January 1942 he was taken on strength by No. 2 Company, AASC.

The 8th Division was by now engaged in fighting invading Japanese forces in Malaya. On 14 February 1942 Commonwealth forces in Malaya were forced to surrendered, and Private Hoffman was among the thousands of Australians who became prisoners of war in Changi prison camp.

The Japanese began calling for groups of working parties to travel to various destinations in Thailand, Burma, and the Pacific area. With promises of increased food rations and no labour, Hoffman was among the 3,600 Australians who joined F Force, which left for Thailand in April 1943.

F Force’s treatment was horrendous. Crammed into trains and then forced to march more than 300 kilometres, many already ill men died before they reached camp. Over the following months they were forced to work in appalling conditions on the Burma–Thailand Railway. It wasn’t until November that the men of F Force began to be transported back to Changi. Of the original force, more than 1,400 did not return.

Private Archibald Hoffman never made it back. He contracted beriberi and pneumonia, and died in a Thailand camp on 21 January 1944. He was 43 years old.

Olive Hoffman did not learn of her husband’s fate until October 1945. Archibald was dearly mourned by his family, who placed in memoriam notices in the newspaper to commemorate his passing. One, inserted by his wife and children, read:
His pals are all returning;
What a joy for those concerned.
But for us an everlasting sadness,
For he will never return.
Although his smile has gone forever,
And his hands we cannot touch,
We will never lose sweet memories
Of the one we love so much.

In 1948 the Wattlebrae Tennis Club unveiled a memorial plaque commemorating Hoffman. Olive Hoffman had donated the land on which the tennis courts were built as a memorial to her late husband.

Private Archibald Robert Hoffman is buried at the Kanchanaburi War Cemetery in Thailand, under the inscription “He died that we might live.” His name is listed on the Roll of Honour on my left, along with some 40,000 others from 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 Private Archibald Hoffman, and all those Australians who have given their lives in service of our nation.

Christina Zissis
Editor, Military History Section